amgme

it's all about how people view the car and it's simply just that. quite a lot view the c230k as a poor man's benz. is a c32 a poor man's amg? probably only in your eyes.

it is given the label because that's how people view it. i don't think you'll get much support on your new claim. so this means the m3 is a poor man's M. silly.

remember, i'm not the one that started this term. the polls show the opinion of people's views on this.

lighten up and enjoy your car. all i said was a lot of people buy into brands. that was my point here. don't tell me you don't think that people do this.

tommy

That would be his point right there.

Who's being a little sensitive now?

Pweb

preyx

Umm... yeah. I asked for an admin to close this topic in my reply when the post count was still 5 or so, but how little they listen... in fact, they decided to get involved in it instead...

Accord

Preyx, there is no reason to close this thread. There are no flame wars, nothing. Most of it is a mature debate. I read every single thread and every single post on MBWorld, so please do not accuse me of not listening . Just because someone wants a thread closed because someone else disagrees with their opinion will surely not happen. If you ever want to notify me of trouble in a thread or something of that nature, please click on the link that says "Report this post to a Moderator." This is the fastest method of notifying myself or one of the other moderators of something, we will review it, evaluate it, and make a decision.

And to get back on topic; Mercedes-Benz was actually debating whether to release the C230k in North America or not. They were afraid that it would tarnish the reputation that Mercedes-Benz has established over the last 100 some odd years.

There is no chance you will ever see the A-Class, V-Class, etc. here in North America anytime soon, because a Mercedes-Benz minivan will surely tarnish MB's reputation.

The reason they have no problem releasing these vehicles (A, V, etc.) in Europe is because over there, the reputation of Mercedes-Benz will not be hurt at all. Across the pond, people do not judge someone on the type of car they drive or how big their house is. Over in Europe, Mercedes-Benz is just an average road car.

Now the question remains: did the C230k Coupe hurt the reputation of Mercedes-Benz? Hell no! They are selling a ton of C230k's and have opened up the Mercedes-Benz market to a whole group of new people.

Do I personally consider the C230k to be a "poormans benz?" No, I do not. Mercedes-Benz targets the C230k to the younger generation between ages 16 and 30. If someones father drives a S500 and has been driving other Mercedes-Benz vehicles for many years, this persons child will most likely receive a Mercedes-Benz when they're 16 and obtain there license; and what car do you think they will be looking at first? The C230k! I know tons of people who have received C230k's from their parents as graduation presents. This is exactly what Mercedes-Benz wants! An entry level vehicle to keep people coming back. If someone is spending $25k+ when they're young, when they are older and much more affluent they will be very inclined to come back and purchase another vehicle upwards of $70k.

In the past recent years, it was very unlikely to see a young person driving a Mercedes-Benz. MB's were targeted towards older retired people. MB has done a fantastic job of changing this image, and the C230k has played an enormous part in this.

I am sure some people will disagree with me, and I hope someone does. The world would be a very dull place if people did not have opinions.

230

How could anyone disagree with that? Perfectly put, hat off to accord

Accord

On a side note, any 16-25 year old who owns a $25k+ car is a great thing, not just a Mercedes-Benz, but any make that costs this much. Go to any other country in the world, you will not see anything like it. Infact, most people in other countries don't even drive cars, the main form of transportation is bus, taxis, train, etc.

Gotta love it. Only in America!

tommy

Yes, the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor should be a tremendous source of pride for the US.

Forgive me from waving the flag at spoiled rich kids.

preyx

Ok, I admit, my last comment was going a bit too far, but hey, you start thinking wierd things after staying up for over 30 hours, right?

But I seriously believe that if MB got such a huge success by opening into lower markets, I'd love to see them bring over the A and V class. The A would be a great car to enter into a market dominated by Japanese companies with a sprinkiling of American and German ones.

And as for the V, they missed the opportunity when minivans were in the heyday before SUVs took over, but I'd still like to see them bring it over. My feeling is it'd bring more meaning to the phrase "travelling in style". I realize this is cutting into the "status symbol" aspect of it, which people really dislike, but it's still somewhat true, even of a C230k.

I hope MB will continue to bring great things, and I don't doubt for a second that they will deliver cars that I know I will be happy with.

The original reason I was getting so heated up over the forums was that the discussion seemed to deteriorate at some points, but with a charged question like this, I suppose it's expected... :o

taylor192

Change it to say "North America", I'm 23, Canadian, and paying for it myself.

psun786

well, i don't have to say any more coz 41% of ppls agree dat c230k is as cheap as they looks (maybe not the owner, who knows and who cares other than themselves)~ and 59% of ppls don't~

forums are places where ppl can post their opinions and see how others will react~ for those of u getting so angery @ my opinion, u guyz sure entertained me very much & i like to say thank u~ 84 posts on my pole~

slkride

why are the owners of the c230 getting so angry about? i thought that you guys didn't care about what anyone thought. it seems as if they need to defend this labeling because they feel somehow insecure about the car. just way to sensitive about this issue. if it's labelled as that, just accept it. you can't change other people's view on it.

just look at the poll and see what other people views are. it's a pmb.

psun786

Accord is certainly right~ i do agree c230k is some what a marketing sucess for MB

viper

I hope your dealer is good. Or else you will be paying for it many times over.

David N.

Mercedes main objective is for every garage in the world to have a Mercedes in it. Mercedes isn't just for "rich" people. MB is doing what any smart business would do. They are trying to increase their market share in the auto industry. What better way to do that then to sell a vehicle that offers all the virtues of an MB but can be had for less money. Let's also not forget that MB is trying to attract a younger demographic with this car. 18-25's with money to burn probably can't afford and have no interest in driving an e and an s class at this point in their lives. Maybe one day. Maybe a CLK, but why spend 70k(on the road in CDN$$) for a CLK 320 when I can buy a civic for 25 and mod it to high hell and have just as much fun. With the 230, I can mod it and I can have a helluva lot of fun all for a decent price, and best of all, it's a mercedes.

Why should MB wait until people are in their 30's b4 they try and start building brand loyalty? Brand loyalty should start sooner. With the 230, it will. They can get kids in their cars and they can have them as customers for life. Start at a 230, got to a 320, then an CLK, kids come, then an E, maybe an S, kids leave, midlife crisis, buy a CL.

As for the 230 being a "Poor Man's" MB. I think not. A Mercedes is not a poor man's mercedes. Another car of another make that "tries too hard" to be as good as an MB is a poor man's MB. It reminds me of when I bought my 318i 5 years ago. My "friend" always used to talk **** about how it was a poor man's bimmer. Meanwhile he used to drive his Daddy's loaded Toyota Camry with V6, leather, Premium CD sound system. You name it, this car had it. And it dawned on me, HIS car was the poor man's BMW. His camry is trying way too hard to be something it's not.

As for the 230 not being an attractive car, well, looks are totally subjective. What I don't understand is how people can say that a 230 looks "cheap". How a 230 can look "cheap" is beyond me. What does "cheap" look like? Say you don't like this or that for this reason or another, but don't utter stupidity like "I don't like the car, I think it looks cheap". WTF does that mean? You may not like the rear end styling. That's valid. You may think the suspension is not firm enough. That's valid. But cheap is BS.

OK, I'm done. Have I made any sense?

BlackC230Coupe

its funny to see psun786 and slkride talk about how the c coupe is a poor mans mercedes, i think almost anyone with a c coupe can afford your cars c320 and slk230 pretty easy if they work a touch harder if they cant afford it already. Personally out of the C class sedand and slk class i would pick the c230 coupe over all of them. (i am not talking about the c32 or slk32).

I think if u consider the c230k a poor mans mercdes i actually think of those to be poor mans mercedes to.

My c230k is just as MB as my CLK430 which is not as POOR as both of your mercedes.

i am not talking about anyone else with the cars mentioned above but the 2 people mentiond above.

i also might think both of u guys may have considered your cars to be poor mans MB's till the C230k came out. Now u have something to talk about to make u guys feel better.

le848dave

This so reminds me of my Chevy Impala '00 that my c230k replaced...all the Chevy boards dissed and made fun of the 2000 and up Impala because it wasn't true to it's name. As far as I'm concerned, Chevy and Mercedes decide what is a Chevy and a Mercedes...there's no poor version of any of their cars. The reality is that whatever the owner feels about the car, that's what it will be to them. If the MB is a poor man's car, than I love being poor.

I still wish they made a convertible c230...I wanted an SLK but I need more room. The reason I went for the C class myself is because cars are a bad investment...it can be said that the more expensive cars as being the equivalent of men buying fancy cars to make up for other shortcomings...as the joke goes that is.

As it stands, I bought my Mercedes for the reliability, quality, style, comfort, design and overall beauty of the car. I looked at a lot of cars and nothing fit the personal needs as much as this car...not to mention, it was the best sales experience of all the cars I looked at.

Just to finish it off, Mercedes is just the poor man's Maybach...ha!

dave

JeT

I don't think its due to insecurity...maybe just a reaction to a statement of opinion that is framed to antagonise i.e more of a reaction to an elitist stance you are inadvertantly or intentionally projecting. If your intention is to just push buttons...well then you were sucessful...I like to do that from time to time as well.

In Australia, it is an automatic reaction to cut people down who believe in their own minds that they are better than everyone else (maybe you don't but thats the perception you are projecting)...I don't know what the Yanks call it but here its called "tall poppy syndrome".

Anyway, we will have to agree to disagree (even though your argument apparently applies only to the US.).

TNat

Forget about "poor man's" Mercedes. Mercedes Benz as a corporation has *****- plain and simple. They saw me comin from a mile away. I'm 20 years old and doing good enough to get $30,000 car. This car will only make me work harder to make more money so i can get the clk's and cl's. That, in my mind is just good marketing, and I, as a businessman, look for those qualitys in a product that i buy. I might not have a million dollar house, but to buy a new MB at 20 years old, I consider myself rich, as did the salesman who sold me the car. This is the reason why I'll never buy BMW products, they aren't as innovative as Mercedes. BMW missed the boat completely with the 318ti, they didn't offer anything but the name in that car. No one who bought a ti drives a new BMW now, thats why the new mini cooper doesn't say BMW anywhere on it.

I just got my 10,000 mile servicing last week, and the service department was so nice to me- very professional. They know that I'll wind up giving their company a quarter million in sales over the next 10 years if everything goes as planned. Thats who i like to do business with.

I'm sure most people will agree with me on this one, as I see most people in this forum are in the same catagory as myself. I really tried hard not to reply to this thread, but no one brought this point up, whos with me on this one?

dswildfire

inferiority complex, and yes those people get very heavily scrutinized.

Pweb

preyx

C230K

All these messages and no one has define the the word "POOR". I believe that NO ONE on this forum is poor,so let's drop this and move on to topics that help us enjoy our rides.
Tom

Pweb

Aren't you guys tired of this subject..?

OK - define the word "poor"?
The person who POSTS after this post is POOR.

So don't post, let this subject die...

WyattEarp

You and your snob friends are my next target