Should I buy it
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C350 Coupe 2012
Should I buy it
Hi - I currently drive an 09 A5 3.2 stick shift. I love the car but next year they will be changing the lights on the new models. I went to the Mercedes and test drove the C250 coupe because they didnt have the C350. They are offering me $35K for the Audi and I paid $38K 2 years ago. In addition, they are giving me a brand new C350 for $42K out the door. Options include (18" wheels, Panoramic, Navigation) and 50 extra HP vs the A5.
Is it a good deal? is the C350 better than the A5? what are your recomendations?
Thanks,
R2racer
Is it a good deal? is the C350 better than the A5? what are your recomendations?
Thanks,
R2racer
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Based on what you paid for A5, what they're giving you for it and C350 price, I would say Yes, its a good deal.
IMO, No. C350 is not better than A5 (and I'm an MB biased guy). C's extra horsepower is compensated by the manual (with much more control over the car) in A5 and torque is very close. Most importantly, A5 has mighty Quattro (so if you drive in wintry condition or even wet roads often, there's no comparison).
Stay with A5. Having said that and considering Audi's poor resale (MB is not better) what they're giving you for your technically 3 year old car could be an insentive enough to switch to ... '12 A5 (unless you can effort E350 coupe, which is very different from C350 in feel and refinement).
IMO, No. C350 is not better than A5 (and I'm an MB biased guy). C's extra horsepower is compensated by the manual (with much more control over the car) in A5 and torque is very close. Most importantly, A5 has mighty Quattro (so if you drive in wintry condition or even wet roads often, there's no comparison).
Stay with A5. Having said that and considering Audi's poor resale (MB is not better) what they're giving you for your technically 3 year old car could be an insentive enough to switch to ... '12 A5 (unless you can effort E350 coupe, which is very different from C350 in feel and refinement).
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IMO, No. C350 is not better than A5 (and I'm an MB biased guy). C's extra horsepower is compensated by the manual (with much more control over the car) in A5 and torque is very close. Most importantly, A5 has mighty Quattro (so if you drive in wintry condition or even wet roads often, there's no comparison).
Stay with A5. Having said that and considering Audi's poor resale (MB is not better) what they're giving you for your technically 3 year old car could be an insentive enough to switch to ... '12 A5 (unless you can effort E350 coupe, which is very different from C350 in feel and refinement).
The E350 coupe isn't much different...it's the same chassis and same drivetrain..one is a bit more luxury-oriented, the other more sport-oriented.
I'd jump all over this...I doubt you'd ever be able to get that price for your A5 again..especially with the refreshed model coming out soon.
Last edited by C300Kid; Nov 16, 2011 at 01:42 PM.
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Relax.
1. I did say "its a good deal", no questions about it. The reason its not a "great deal", is (until transaction takes place) I highly doubt any dealer would actually pay $35K for '09 A5 3.2.
2. I said stay with A5, but 2012 (assuming Audi matches stated trade-in price) model not what he has now. O/P loves the car. There's no substitute for 6spd. A5s (S-line only) are still a bit more upscale than updated 2012 Cs (coupe/sedans), and much more upscale than pre-2012 Cs.
2. My comments are based on owning ten (10) Benzes over the last 12 years and two (2) high end Audis - A8 and A6 4.2. I do not care what one's friends, with I assume A4s, are saying.
3. I own E550 coupe now. The current E coupe line is a replacement for CLK (regardless what MB calls it), which was also based on C platform. CLK was far superior car to any same engined C. Same (if not more) can be said about current "E" coupe. There's no question E350 coupe is a superior car to C350. MB agrees - just look at the sticker price.
1. I did say "its a good deal", no questions about it. The reason its not a "great deal", is (until transaction takes place) I highly doubt any dealer would actually pay $35K for '09 A5 3.2.
2. I said stay with A5, but 2012 (assuming Audi matches stated trade-in price) model not what he has now. O/P loves the car. There's no substitute for 6spd. A5s (S-line only) are still a bit more upscale than updated 2012 Cs (coupe/sedans), and much more upscale than pre-2012 Cs.
2. My comments are based on owning ten (10) Benzes over the last 12 years and two (2) high end Audis - A8 and A6 4.2. I do not care what one's friends, with I assume A4s, are saying.
3. I own E550 coupe now. The current E coupe line is a replacement for CLK (regardless what MB calls it), which was also based on C platform. CLK was far superior car to any same engined C. Same (if not more) can be said about current "E" coupe. There's no question E350 coupe is a superior car to C350. MB agrees - just look at the sticker price.
Last edited by threeMBs; Nov 16, 2011 at 04:12 PM.
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Well since we're discussing the A5, your high end cars are irrelevant. The biggest pos of all friends Audis was a new A6..couple years old now.
The C350 and E350 coupe sticker prices are barely different.
The C350 and E350 coupe sticker prices are barely different.
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Yeah, I've had the same longstanding problems with Audi, which is why I am with Mercedes now. I've had a A4 that blew the tranny at 40k (thank god for warranty), after getting it fixed I traded in for a newer A6, hoping to get rid of any "lower model cheapness" and that was a TRAINWRECK. Ended up taking the car back under Lemon Law and I have myself a w204 now. 40k miles and still drives like the day I got it.
Personally, I would RUN, not walk, to this deal. The fact that you can get $35k for your car is grounds enough to take this deal... The C350 is an awesome car, the interior is just outstanding, and the looks are awesome IMO. If you need 4matic, they are coming in teh coupe alternatives in April. See if they can lock you in a deal now (with you getting a similar value for your car).
To the guy claiming that he has "high-end Audi's". A6 isn't anything to brag about, and you can keep the A8. The only one I might be caught dead in is the new S8 rumored to be about. Also, the new e-class coupe isn't much different than the new c-class coupes. OF course its going to have more features (as its $10k premium would suggest). But the c-class is by no means "cheap" as your making it out to be. It still has the MB engineering, simplicity and technology behind it. Combined with the fact that a C350 vs E350 has identical chassis, engine, transmission, suspension and the interior is almost the same and apples to apples fully loaded the E-class is $15k more expensive (missing ventilated seats in c350). I think the answer is pretty clear. The C350 is simply an AMAZING value, not to mention I prefer to styling of the c350 over the e350...
Personally, I would RUN, not walk, to this deal. The fact that you can get $35k for your car is grounds enough to take this deal... The C350 is an awesome car, the interior is just outstanding, and the looks are awesome IMO. If you need 4matic, they are coming in teh coupe alternatives in April. See if they can lock you in a deal now (with you getting a similar value for your car).
To the guy claiming that he has "high-end Audi's". A6 isn't anything to brag about, and you can keep the A8. The only one I might be caught dead in is the new S8 rumored to be about. Also, the new e-class coupe isn't much different than the new c-class coupes. OF course its going to have more features (as its $10k premium would suggest). But the c-class is by no means "cheap" as your making it out to be. It still has the MB engineering, simplicity and technology behind it. Combined with the fact that a C350 vs E350 has identical chassis, engine, transmission, suspension and the interior is almost the same and apples to apples fully loaded the E-class is $15k more expensive (missing ventilated seats in c350). I think the answer is pretty clear. The C350 is simply an AMAZING value, not to mention I prefer to styling of the c350 over the e350...
Last edited by jctevere; Nov 17, 2011 at 01:27 AM.
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I have never posted in any "C" forum before (reasons will become clear - keep on reading if you care) until recently in this forum simply because the new C coupe has very close (but not identical - cheaper materials are easialy evident) interior design to the E coupe.
This is for sure my last post in here, as I'm getting exactly what I should have expected.
But as we part, my take on C - from W203 model on, including W204 model prior to 2012 interior facelift, these were never true Benzes - I had many W203 and W204 loaners over the years - all POS compared to Es and CLKs (not even bringing in SL). The only purpose of these cars (it actually started with 190 in 80s) was to bring buyers to the MB brand who otherwise could not afford the marque with hope that they'll be able to mature ($$$) to keep on going up the scale. This comes directly from the upper management at MB Manhattan (the only MBUSA owned dealership in US) a few years back.
On Audis - while A4s are not any better than Cs; 2001 A6 4.2 I had (a wide body V8 engined car with 4 seat sport seating) was a great car as was 2005 A8 (I put 100K+ trouble free miles in 5 years on it). But we're not talking about Audis here.
The O/P's questions were: a). Was he getting a good deal? - Yes; b). Was C350 coupe better than A5 (I understood it as 2012 MY, not his 2009) - (I said IMO) No.
I'm clearly stating my opinion only (which may or may not be facts), on the other hand both last posters misrepresented their opinion as facts. Big difference, don't you think?
Good luck with your cars and nice talking to you all. Now I'll go back to were I came from and will leave you nice folks alone.
This is for sure my last post in here, as I'm getting exactly what I should have expected.
But as we part, my take on C - from W203 model on, including W204 model prior to 2012 interior facelift, these were never true Benzes - I had many W203 and W204 loaners over the years - all POS compared to Es and CLKs (not even bringing in SL). The only purpose of these cars (it actually started with 190 in 80s) was to bring buyers to the MB brand who otherwise could not afford the marque with hope that they'll be able to mature ($$$) to keep on going up the scale. This comes directly from the upper management at MB Manhattan (the only MBUSA owned dealership in US) a few years back.
On Audis - while A4s are not any better than Cs; 2001 A6 4.2 I had (a wide body V8 engined car with 4 seat sport seating) was a great car as was 2005 A8 (I put 100K+ trouble free miles in 5 years on it). But we're not talking about Audis here.
The O/P's questions were: a). Was he getting a good deal? - Yes; b). Was C350 coupe better than A5 (I understood it as 2012 MY, not his 2009) - (I said IMO) No.
I'm clearly stating my opinion only (which may or may not be facts), on the other hand both last posters misrepresented their opinion as facts. Big difference, don't you think?
Good luck with your cars and nice talking to you all. Now I'll go back to were I came from and will leave you nice folks alone.
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Yawn.
Keep drinking your kool-aid, buddy. Keep your nose up, especially with those replica wheels!
Funny how you say that the W203 and W204 were never "true" MB's, when your E550 is a re-skinned W204.
I wouldn't say an old A8 or even an ugly A6 are "high-end", but as you please. The only Audi's in the US that are worthwhile are the R8 V10 and GT. The R8 V8 is a joke.
Keep drinking your kool-aid, buddy. Keep your nose up, especially with those replica wheels!
Funny how you say that the W203 and W204 were never "true" MB's, when your E550 is a re-skinned W204.
I wouldn't say an old A8 or even an ugly A6 are "high-end", but as you please. The only Audi's in the US that are worthwhile are the R8 V10 and GT. The R8 V8 is a joke.
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I have never posted in any "C" forum before (reasons will become clear - keep on reading if you care) until recently in this forum simply because the new C coupe has very close (but not identical - cheaper materials are easialy evident) interior design to the E coupe.
This is for sure my last post in here, as I'm getting exactly what I should have expected.
This is for sure my last post in here, as I'm getting exactly what I should have expected.
But as we part, my take on C - from W203 model on, including W204 model prior to 2012 interior facelift, these were never true Benzes - I had many W203 and W204 loaners over the years - all POS compared to Es and CLKs (not even bringing in SL). The only purpose of these cars (it actually started with 190 in 80s) was to bring buyers to the MB brand who otherwise could not afford the marque with hope that they'll be able to mature ($$$) to keep on going up the scale. This comes directly from the upper management at MB Manhattan (the only MBUSA owned dealership in US) a few years back.
Last edited by C300Kid; Nov 17, 2011 at 02:35 PM.
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Also, the new e-class coupe isn't much different than the new c-class coupes. OF course its going to have more features (as its $10k premium would suggest). But the c-class is by no means "cheap" as your making it out to be. It still has the MB engineering, simplicity and technology behind it. Combined with the fact that a C350 vs E350 has identical chassis, engine, transmission, suspension and the interior is almost the same and apples to apples fully loaded the E-class is $15k more expensive (missing ventilated seats in c350). I think the answer is pretty clear. The C350 is simply an AMAZING value, not to mention I prefer to styling of the c350 over the e350...
Ps...loaded C350 to loaded E350 is a $15k jump? Seems unrealistic as I've driven the E350 coupe and the two cars are almost too similar to be in the same lineup. Is it C350 to E550 you're thinking of? I haven't spent any time building the cars so I honestly don't know.
Last edited by C300Kid; Nov 17, 2011 at 02:51 PM.
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C350 Coupe 2012
Well I think I am going to go for it. I am not sure why "threeMBs" is giving us attitude. He should please stay away from the Forum if he does not have anything useful to say. I am looking forward to becoming part of the C- Class community. I will send pictures in January when I get the car.
Thanks again,
R2racer
Thanks again,
R2racer
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Congrats man..and smart choice! Typically this forum is pretty laid back, I was just in a bad mood earlier and that bs set me off haha. Welcome to the group.
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Here's my E Coupe with 19" BBS.....every compliment I've gotten was "WOW! I didn't realize Mercedes made should a sporty coupe" (which is a stupid comment of course, but people are generally positive nonethelesss)
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2012 C350 Coupe 4Matic will be released for sale in the USA on April 17, 2012. You can order it in advance, perhaps around the first of the year.
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CH-R. Basically a lightened version of the classic CH that BMW's and Audi's have had for years (note the machining on the sides of the spokes). BBS built this fitment for the C63 specifically. 18x8.5/18x9.5.
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Yep, I agree with everything you said. The C350 to E350 coupe isn't even a 10k premium, it's only 7k..obviously due to the larger size and more features offered by the E350. Both cars are of similar quality.
Ps...loaded C350 to loaded E350 is a $15k jump? Seems unrealistic as I've driven the E350 coupe and the two cars are almost too similar to be in the same lineup. Is it C350 to E550 you're thinking of? I haven't spent any time building the cars so I honestly don't know.
Ps...loaded C350 to loaded E350 is a $15k jump? Seems unrealistic as I've driven the E350 coupe and the two cars are almost too similar to be in the same lineup. Is it C350 to E550 you're thinking of? I haven't spent any time building the cars so I honestly don't know.
The e-class is a gorgeous car, and to the guy with the e-coupe who posted the picture (don't have your name in view), beautiful car. Aftermarket rims always greatly change the look of a car, and even more so on the e-class coupe. That looks hot. I don't even like my friends stock e350 coupe, but yours looks sick. Its kind of disappointing how ugly/boring stock Mercedes rims are (unless you get ///AMG - and even then... eh.). That's about the only thing Audi has going for them (at least on the 2012 a7)...
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C Class isn't much smaller at all. And, the E Coupe can look plenty aggressive....you just need to swap the ugly stock wheels out. That said....the design language between the E and C Coupes are VERY different.
Here's my E Coupe with 19" BBS.....every compliment I've gotten was "WOW! I didn't realize Mercedes made should a sporty coupe" (which is a stupid comment of course, but people are generally positive nonethelesss)
Here's my E Coupe with 19" BBS.....every compliment I've gotten was "WOW! I didn't realize Mercedes made should a sporty coupe" (which is a stupid comment of course, but people are generally positive nonethelesss)
I too have always seen the E Class model as a granpa Merc, the C Class model seems to get away with looking sporty stock standard, but what a difference a nice set of wheels makes to the E
