blazed54

went into the only mercedes dealer on Oahu, Hawaii this past weekend hoping to get a good deal on a new '05 c230. they have a lot in stock, roughly 20-30 but none in manual! i was also hoping to find one with just the bi-xenon and nothing else but they only came loaded, bumping prices to around $36,000 msrp. i currently drive an auto acura tsx and the difference between the manual and auto is quite significant with 1/4 mile times differences of at least 1 second. is there that much of a difference between the c230 auto and manual? or is manual just for people looking for the driving experience and not the performance benefits? i really want manual but if there isn't that much of a difference from auto i may be able to settle for auto . any feedback is appreciated.

p.s. my first post btw, hi everyone

vraa

I can't really help you with your auto vs. manual search, but I'd love to be the first to welcome you to mbworld!

We have a wide variety of characters here :p

Buellwinkle

MB automatics have a lag to them that I find annoying but when I went shopping for one I wanted an automatic anyway to appease the wife and kids who drive manuals but only under protest. It was year end and they only had 5 C230's left, all manuals. So I was willing to pay the $1,500 or so that the automatics were but couldn't get one unless I went to another dealer but I like my dealer so I got the manual (4 out of 5 of my MBs were manual). I have no regrets, runs fine, gets great gas mileage and shifting is something I've done all my life and the only trans available for motorcycles so it's sort of second nature, don't think about it much. I can tell you the big downside, it's very hard to sell an MB with a manual trans so if you get it, make sure you keep it a long time.

onesandzeros

Hi blazed54. Mine is manual and it's definitely fun to drive.

2003-2005 MB C230
0-60 mph : 7.5 sec.(manual), 8.0 sec.(automanual)
from this site http://modernracer.com/mercedesbenzc230.html

mick1

the way i see it, you've got to shift pretty well to outperform the automatic transmission. I don't think I can outperform it but i like to shift the gears myself anyway. It's like listening to someone playing the piano on CD versus playing the piano yourself. You probably can't play as well as the guy playing on the CD but you still enjoy playing the instrument.

Axxis22

manuel here

Battery!

Not many are sold in manual, that's why they sit for a while and become a good deal. If a dealer has a manual, it's usually ordered as a "price car," that is one that is bare bones and can be had for much less than it's well-equipped auto version - which is a majority of the C classes on a lot. Welcome to the board!

tommy

Well, I know that on the '02 C230s, the difference, 0-60 (note: two shifts involved to get to 60), was half a second. The slushbox also got better gas mileage, a sad sign of its lack of manhood. I'd expect similar results from newer classes.

One good thing - the new manny is many times better than mine, and is actually competitive to other marques.

Welcome to the forum.

Steve Clark

Really?.

I'll bet the all the pussified AMG owners agree...

tommy

Really? An AMG has the same tranny as a C230? Same programming?

As far as slushboxes pussifying a car, well, you've got a point there.

delbomber

manual here...was ready to pass on the car after testing the auto, manual has juuuuust enough pep to make it a viable city car, although those twisty coast roads would be great fun...

r3v1ls

Took me a while to find a manual too in the LA area. Only a couple of dealers had one. We got a great deal on it though, most likely cause no 1 wants a manual in LA, and the dealer needed to get rid of it because the 03 cars came in

kewlbenz

Manual here. Love driving manual, it's more fun.

r3v1ls

I agree with kewlbenz, i wish Mercedes made more cars with manuals, most preferably an AMG :v

mick1

I find that if I want to be in front of the car next to me, I would have to shift at 4000 rpm in 1st gear, 4000 rpm in 2nd gear. Same with you guys ?