MHPHOCKEY

Congrats on your choice...Now lets hear the colors and options! Sorry Patric and I turned your thread into a Ferrari discussion last night!!

Mike

dozier08

No sweat. You can't beat a Ferrari.

I am going with Black on Black. The options will be sunroof package; power seat and column memory; folding seats; bi-xenon's; entertainment package with 6 disc; automatic tranny (i have random back trouble and changing the gears would be hard on it); and ill get the ipod hookup.

I told them to not wax it when it comes in, just more work for me to do to strip it. I haven't made up my mind on door sills or anything. For now, this is enough.

patrick_y

Yes, very sorry.

patrick_y

I just happened to remember which options I got my C230 in.

2005 Blk/blk
sunroof package
entertainment package
lighting package
and autmatic transmission

Since this car is used as a commuter car, I really wished that it had a fold down rear trunk, sometimes when i buy something of larger size that would've been nice.

Right now, I also wished I had ordered the car (this car was bought off the lot rather than ordered) and had gotten the fold down rear seats and the memory driver seat. Whenever my domestic staff at the house drives the car, I always have to change the seat setting. Gets annoying after a while. Plus it's difficult to find that sweet spot.

The 2006 model doesn't come with rear side impact airbags, I'd get them even though I rarely have people in the back of any car, much less a C Class.

e1000

sweeet!

TA-9FF

Take that Lexus!

sdsilverm3

You really should take that Lexus. I don't think buying a euro car that's in the last year of production is a good move. Sure it looks great now but euro cars age pretty quickly once a redesign takes place regardless of whether the new body style looks good or not. Japanese cars don't really have that issue. Reference the RSX vs last generation Integra. However, I do agree that the IS windows are small and you do feel pretty cramped in there. The C-class has more room but not by much as both cars can pass for 4dr 2 seaters if you're over 6' tall.

jan ken po

I cringe everytime i read something like this. 95% of the time, a car is never an investment. Your looking to make a good choice, not investment.

dozier08

it is just semantics. don't worry so much.

TA-9FF

Wow Ling, I think I actually disagree. I think it's the other way around.....for some reason I think Euro cars age much better than Japanese cars. A W202 still looks good to me, compared to the last generation TL, IS, ES, etc. The only car I think still looks hot is a 95 Supra Turbo.

And to this day I STILL think the E36 and E46 looks great! Timeless design.

sdsilverm3

Well the topic is subjective but I do remember a topic when I was discussing the S-Class and how even the smallest of changes makes the previous year models look dated. I used to own a '99 E36 M3 and that was the last year of production. Once the E46's came around it no longer appealed to me. I agree with you that the W202's still look good but only the AMG models because they're so rare.

e1000

Gotta disagree with you on this one as well. IMO, japanese cars look dated much quicker than thier european counterparts.

I would also much rather buy a european car (or any car) at the end of it's product cycle than in the begining. Look at the reliability ratings on any car and you'll see that even Lexus irons out small issues early in a product cycle. Case in point, the new Camry and it's automatic transmission already has a recall on it.

TA-9FF

I agree with you on the AMG models and the rarity of them that makes them appealing.

Sometimes when I see a 1990 Lexus LS400 driving around, I'm thinking WOW that looks OLD!

Blah, it's all subjective!

e1000

a 1990 Lexus LS400 IS old

patrick_y

Regardless of whichever car you get, the IS250 or the C230, both are just great cars.

Just get one or the other, keep in mind, since both cars are so similiar in handling and performance, try to go for the one that you can get that's less expensive. I would personally seriously consider the Lexus since the ownership of Lexus is less expensive.

Whichever one you get, don't look back. Regrets are a waste of time.

mick1

Lexus has had great successes in America but it is struggling elsewhere: in Europe and Japan.

"Japanese consumers are highly brand-conscious," says Tatsuo Yoshida, an analyst at Merrill Lynch (MER) in Tokyo. "If the goal [of Lexus in Japan] is to be a true luxury brand up against European premium brands, it won't be an easy task."

Newly introduced Lexus brand struggles in Japan

Outland

Because its a C-Class Coupe.

Outland

The new Avalon is taking a pounding in quality ratings. Similar brand new models from Ford and Buick both finished ahead of the Avalon in quality and reliability. Buick...

Outland

I have to disagree with that. The old IS looked old about 2 months after it landed here. The RSX has joined the Integra on the scrap heap...and I'd rather have the Integra. The RSX always looked like a stubby Honda Civic with funny headlights to me. I don't think you can pin aging of the styling on one geographic area vs another. Most of the Acura designs look old the moment they come out because youve seen it already..the basic shape is always Accord plus. Lexus kept mining the old Benz look for several LS cars, the ES has always looked like a primped up Camry, etc...

Nissan is the only one of the asian makes with some styling muscle. Its not always pretty(FX), but its distinctive.

sdsilverm3

I realize that going against the grain on a car forum isn't always well received. You guys get my respect for handling it in a mature manner unlike a specific BMW forum (I won't say no names) where it would have been a full blast flame war already.

e1000

life's wayyyy too short to get involved in a flame war. A lot of people have a tendancy to get worked up on forums, especially over thier cars. I think the root of it is that they don't want to feel like they've spent a lof of money on something when another car may have been better. Some people seeem more prone to this than others and there are some here as well (really not trying to point anyone out). At the end of the day, we all need to remember that car companies wouldn't make different cars if there weren't different people that like different things. I think people need to just be happy about what they have and be confident about thier purchase.

patrick_y

Yea, I would agree. I've seen some of the BMW forums, those people can get kind of nasty. I guess BMW owners are less mature than Mercedes-Benz owners? Less educated? We're talking average BMW and Mercedes-Benz owners who use forums. Of course I'm sure there are some pretty Mercedes-Benz owners out there as well.

TA-9FF

Well said my friend! And I've come to the conclusion there really isn't a perfect car.

Well.....the 997TT and Zonda F are perfect to me.

patrick_y

I know I'm gonna get killed for saying this. But seriously, a car's just a car. Worst case, if you seriously make a mistake, trade it in, take a hit of a thousand dollars or two, and voila, you learned your lesson.

Had a friend who bought the 2004 G35 Coupe. First got it in auto. His friends ridiculed him. Less than a month later, he brought it back to the dealership and he traded it for a manual. Damage to the wallet of only $1k.

A car is just a car.

patrick_y

Question, would you get your 997TT in manual or automatic? The automatic's 0-60 time is much faster (3.2 vs 3.8 seconds).

I'm not the best manual driver myself, and thus you'd expect me to buy a manual, but since Porsches are usually manual cars (for obvious reasons), I'm actually thinking that I would actually seriously consider the automatic despite lots of question asking.