We were up in Chicago earlier this week. My wife and sister-in-law went shopping and I went to Mercedes of Westmont. I had arranged a test drive with Mark earlier that day.

The dealership has a 4-5 story parking structure with alot of vehicles in it. Mark had a dry and clean red 6spd '06 C230 in a heated delivery bay waiting for me to arrive. I thought that was great. No standing out side in the 35F wind looking at a wet car. Mark went over alot of details and benefits of owning a MB. I learned some things here. We went for a ride. They have a nice 15-20 minute route planned out. The car feels solid. Its quiet. I may be supersensitive due to all of the reviews I have read. There may have been a little more tire noise and exhaust note than the C280 we drove a week ago. I would not have noticed it if I had not read it Im sure. I liked the blue tinted glass. I liked the radio. The seat was really comfortable. I could get it adjusted just right. The climate control was quiet and warmed up right away. The engine/trans combo is nice. The engine has enough hp and torque for the car. I rev'ed it to the limiter in first by accident. That caught me off guard. I kept it in the 3-4 k rpm range after that. The steering I liked alot. It has a quicker ratio than the 280. It also seemed like it required less effort. The brakes have good feel and the right amount of effort once I got used to them. The peddles I really liked. I think the little rubber pads on them must be really soft or something. I liked the way they felt when I braked, clutched.

Mark did not try to pressure me into buying that day or adding alot of options I didnt want onto the car. We briefly talked about the current lease offer. We are planning to purchase. He said they can get me the car I want and they rarely loose a customer to price. He said they sell...if I remember correctly 150 cars a month?.. subsequently they are alloted many limited production models. There was a 2007 MB in the delivery bay for test drives, a limited production AMG (<55 in the US), a V12 Kompressor, a V8 Kompressor ..( I didnt see the model numbers), sitting on the showroom floor. Nice but Im uneducated on these models.

He wrote down on a form the model, options, colors I wanted and the approximate date. I got a follow up call two days later from a pleasent woman asking me about my test drive experience etc. I told her it was likely the best one I have had/could remember. They wanted me to come back in and have my current vehicle appraised. I would be suprised if they would give me what I could sell it for private party. Ill give it a try when we are ready to buy (March/April).



Rich

 

Rich,
It's great when the system works that way it should.

 

I am surprised that there are that many C-class sedans with manual transmission nowadays . In my case, it was easy because I special ordered mine but I don't believe the dealer had one on their lot when I placed my order

 

My wife just bought a 2006 C230 Sport 2.5L V6 with 6-speed manual transmission, a few weeks ago.

So far we had almost 1,000 miles on the car, and everything was solid. We drove it to the mountain roads last weekend, and the handling was surprising well and sporty. Power was enough for passing even climbing uphills, though it might need a downshift or two, not bad for a little 2.5L V6 hauling a 3,4xx lbs body.

The car has a nice balance between luxury and sporty. I would recommend it.

 

same here, my dealer didn't have one in stock and my saleswoman had told me that my C230k sedan was actually the first manual sedan she had driven. i think that MB putting the AMG spoilers on the car really caught the eyes of alot of BMW and audi shoppers and having the option for a manual has increased sales. BMW typically has a higher than normal percentage of manual cars on their lots and now MB having their 3-series competitor with a sportier look and feel is really increasing the amount of available manuals. prior to the AMG kits being added, the C-class really had more of an older persons and boring look to it. it was the only thing that got me to look into buying one.

 

still abit too much on the luxurious side for me coming from a BMW, but it is pretty well balanced. still love the classy look to it though.

 

We are on the same page I used to like BMW a lot before BMW decided to build those Chris Bangle designed cars. Some people like them, I don't. I only like one of those cars, the Z8, but it's out of my price range.