06C230

It's kind of like the whole gas issue that's going on. Once companies see the customer is willing to pay a certian price they aren't going to lower it. Would it make sence that as each year goes on that the price of a new car keeps going down? That's not how the world works.

If you don't like mercedes then don't buy another one, i could care less but get your info correct first before saying you know it all. At least I've been down to my local bmw dealer and have talked to them about the FREE service before saying what I know.

NY C32

Okay, you can be as cynical as you want but these type of things are considered value adds and are not factored into selling prices.

I'm currently consulting for a major medical device manufacturer who's price point is between $50k-$450k. They have a minimum net selling price which factors in every cost associated with manufacturing, warehousing, transportation and selling these products. Only one year warranties (repairs and service) are built into the selling price. The sales reps can give away extended warranties as part of a value added program which is part of the negotiating process which costs less than the dollar value given. Again, these extended service/warranties are not built into the selling price. Those costs come out of a repair arm of the business and are actually given and come out of the repair business budget.

tommy

You're arguing with him for no reason, though. It's a fact that prices didn't come down, thus it's a fact that you got hosed on not getting the "free" service anymore. Period.

You and TN are doing the "how many angels can fit on the head of a pin" argument here. Why, I don't know.

BMW's "free" service should definitely be figured into the C vs. 3 series argument, as far as valuing them against each other. But to me, the quality of the handling, manual transmission, and aftermarket make picking the 3 a no brainer, even without the freebies.

NY C32

Good comeback... "Don't buy another Mercedes if you don't like it"

I'll buy whatever I feel like buying and as of right now, I won't buy another Benz because the quality doesn't deserve the price. The free service is a secondary thought. Oh BTW, I do know what I'm talking about through real experience, not "talking" to the dealer

I bought an Audi Coupe the first year they offered free maintanance. There was a measely $500 increase in MSRP from the previous year. I highly doubt that money went to offset the costs associated with the value added benefit of free maintanance.

I bought an BMW E30 M3 that included free service. When I brought in my car. Rather than giving me a stripped down loaner or rented Kia, they'd ask "3,5 or7?"

I bought a Jaguar S-Type 4.0 that came with service. Contrary to what most say, the car was never in the shop

If you want, I can also list my families cars too. Both before and after car manufacturers began giving away maintanance.

SeaCoupe

Geez, this seems unfair to the poor guy. His thread gets jacked into a free and unfree type discussion. Geez.

I drove the new 325 and the 330. Slow as dogs. Last years cars felt so much better. If you want performance, Get the sport package on you MB.

Me personally, I like to buy a car right when the model gets revamped so I have what appears to be a newer car. But, I don't car for the BMW's lack of performance in comparison to previous models.

Ed

bnzct

Too many BMW's on the road.
You don't want to have everybody's car...

TA-9FF

How can BMW afford to keep doing this Free Maint. stuff???? I agree with the other forum members, all this free stuff should translate to "Hmm time to cut corners here and there on the cars, so we can make up for this free service" OR "Hmm time to jack up our MSRP"

Also, if BMW is offering Free Main. currently, why isn't MB doing it as well on all their cars to keep up with competition?? Or does MB already have their hands full trying to work on their quality issues and needs the money?

On another note, I have a friend who has an E46 3 Series, brought it in for service, and was given an E90 for a loaner. She agrees with me that the E90 is slow as *****, and generally not nearly as good as her E46. IMHO, the E90 drives like a cow. And looks like it to boot.

Get a C dude. It has its quirks, but then again every car does. If you wanna get a new 3-Series, wait another 7-8 years for the NEXT iteration to come out.

06C230

Well I didn't get hosed on my mercedes. I do find it pretty sad that on a mercedes forum that you have so many people that would rather own a BMW. Why didn't you just buy the bmw to begin with. If you weren't sure at the time you purchased it but now know you dont like it, instead of *****ing about it why not go buy another car. Maybe the few of you i'm talking about are the kind of people that feel the need to complain about everything. If you own a car you don't like then get rid of it. Do you keep old girlfriends around that you don't like cause you don't have the ***** to get rid of them also? All i've heard is a bunch of complainers. All the cars mentioned are great cars and it just comes down to personal choice. All companies have thier problems and if you think going to a different car company is going to make your life that much better then more power to you. Mercedes is a great car, so is bmw, audi, and so on. Drive the cars and figure out which one you like best. Who cares if bmw offers FREE service when it's not really free in the end. It's sad that this guy comes to a mercedes forum asking how the benz is and all there seems to be is complaints. If the cars are that bad then do me a favor and get your car up to speed and drive into a brick wall.

Now to the guy that started the thread, my opinion is just go out and drive each car and don't listen to anyone. Buy the one you like the best and that drives the best to you, cause in the end that's all that really matters. Every car out there has it's problems and you can always find people that think a car sucks when another person just told you it's the best thing out there.

patrick_y

Okay, this is going to be a slightly longer but more detailed post.

Personally, at this time, I would seriously consider the BMW.

But let's take a look at the BMW's scheduled maintenance.

BMW's scheduled maintenance will cover EVERYTHING, you just pay tires and gasoline.

For the 2004 Mercedes-Benz vehicles, they did not cover brakes and brake pads, they did not cover wear and tear items, only scheduled service such as Service A and Service B.

So, these are the things you should consider when you're looking at these two cars.
1. Price. The BMW will cost more, because you are paying a bit of the service upfront like what 06C230 said. HOWEVER, should you ever decide to get rid of the car, this money does come back because BMWs do have higher resale value because on average they're maintained better. A C230, you should be getting about $4k-5k off MSRP. A BMW 325i should be around $2-3k. BMWs are discounted less.

2. Cost of INSURANCE. The BMW is more expensive to insure. This is particularly noticeable when you are a younger driver (such as myself). However, if you are a more mature driver, there will be much less of a difference. If the difference is substantial (for me the difference was over $1000 a year, you can imagine how expensive my insurance is and I don't have any points on my record) then go for the Mercedes. Keep in mind, you need to do everything you can to stay ahead of the game here.

3. Accessibility. Do you have a BMW dealership nearby? Do you have a Mercedes Dealership nearby? I love Maserati, but even if I had the money, I might think twice because the closest dealership is over an hour away. Also, these cars sometimes have little electronic problems. You will have to go into the dealership sometimes.

4. Which transmission are you getting? My personal recommendation, if you're going to get manual, go for the BMW, if you're going for the automatic, then it doesn't matter UNLESS you like to shift manually while in Automatic, if you like to shift manually in automatic, the Mercedes Touch Shift transmission is very good.

5. Which car do you like better? Notice, the BMW's radio is very difficult to use. Notice the BMW's suspension (sport model) is in my opinion more comfortable than the C230's. Both handle pretty well, the BMW's rear tires seem to have even more grip. Which styling do you like better (I like the Mercedes styling WAY more here)?

6. Assign each one of these aspects, from bullets 1 to 5 a specific point value. Draw a Venn Diagram and count which one has more points. Then, that will tell you which one you're leaning towards.

Lastly, if you can't make up your mind, or you really don't care, and the money is about the same either way, go for the BMW.

Whichever decision you make, simply never look back.

ultraseven

I will second your argument with the "price doesn't equate to quality", but I've already known that when I walked into the showroom. Hence, I've never started the usual "I thought MB stands for quality" threads.

I also believe that even pre-2004 models so called "free maintenance" also only covered service A and B's, not wipers, brakes, or rotors. If you rack up the service bills, they should come up to about 1200 - 1500 dollars. This number was based on 2005 service records, and can vary from one dealership to another.

As for the thread starter, I would prefer the 3 based on the fact that it just went through a model change recently. The 2007 C class will be the final year for this generation.

rlee02135

It depends on the amount of money you have to spend.
if you go with bmw you should get the new twin turbo 3-series.
if you go with benz, go with a c55.

NY C32

I just realized that I accidently deleted my orginal response while addressing the maintainance issue.

I think the current W203 is better looking than the previous 3 series it competed against however I like what BMW did with the new 3 series. I think its the only good looking BMW on the road and with the sport package, I'd take it over a C-class.

patrick_y

I don't think he's looking for something in that HP range. And some people think the C55 is a tad bit overkill (I don't, but I know people who do).

And then most people buy the C55 because it is overkill and they like overkill (that's what I'd buy it for).

The C230 and the 325i are a good match. They're both great cars for the money. I'm surprised that nobody's considering the IS250 from Lexus here. I think that car's wonderful (except the rear seats are a little more snug than the C or the 3).

patrick_y

Hmm, that's a tough one, you see, some people find the new 3 series to be a bit too chisled. Personally, I don't find any faults with the new 3 series EXCEPT for the rear taillights, they could've come up with something better for the rear taillights.

NY C32

That weird, I think the tail lights are what I like most on the 3 compared to the 5 and 7.

06C230

I like the new IS250 however i'm 6'4 and just like the old IS300 it's not set up for tall people. I have to have the seat all the way back to fit in it and then I have to really stretch for the wheel.

patrick_y

Hmm, I'm glad someone can appreciate those taillights. Personally, while they don't look bad, they don't look special. In my opinion, my favorite taillight design was the 2001-2003 BMW 5 series tallights, it's got that nice fiber optic strip. I like that taillight design.

patrick_y

Totally, agree, i'm 5'6", and another family member is 5', and a friend of mine is 6' something. The seating position for people of all these heights is acceptable.

The IS250 really doesn't work for anybody higher than 5'10. I have a friend with the porcupine hair who's 6', just got his IS in April, and he has to put the seat all the way down in order to prevent his hair from hitting the roof.

06C230

yeah and it's to bad cause I really liked the car when I test drove it. However I seemed to have the same problem in the new 3 series as well.