cammyfive

Hello all. Long time lurker, first time poster. I've been a member of several other boards for a number of years, but since I'm in the market for a new(er) Mercedes...I wanted to hit upon the knowledge base here. I'm looking at a 2004 C230K sedan automatic. It is a pretty basic bar (only options I can tell are the Sport Pkg, sunroof, and CD changer). It is in mint condition with 44K miles on it. One owner, as well. The lowest the current owner will accept is $19,200.00. It seems that KBB, Nada, and Black Book are pretty far apart in their values so my question is: does that seem to be a fair price. Second, the only upgrade I would like to make is OEM xenon headlamps. Is it pretty much a plug and play type retrofit/upgrade? Any noteable problems/issues I should be on the look out for? Thanks in advance for all your help!

Blake P

You will have to have the car's settings changed for xenon headlights by the dealer or other shop with the Star Diagnostics. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere Steve (MBenzNL here on the forums) visits frequently, he can sell, install, and set xenon=present for you in about an hour.

moosejaw

I can tell you this..... I just sold my 2003 C230 6 speed out the door for $17.8K, it had 51000 miles. The bank who is finanicing the car for the new buyer told me the car is worth $23K as defined by NADA. I was shocked to learn that the same car, same features was only worth 15 and change on KBB. I think that's a fair price to pay for a 2004. pretty much every C230 you will run into to has the options stated above.

It used to **** me off when I had so many people offer me $14 or $15K for the car. I was begginning to wonder why until someone mentioned KBB abd I was using NADA. Compared to what others were selling for in the area, My car was selling for less and more features minus the automatic.

The guy who bought it has a real nice car that was babied since day one. I hope he takes car of it just as much as i did.

RES

I would think with the low miles that would be a decent price. You could always try and offer a little less and then come back with a counter offer. Everyone who sells a car has a lower number in mind when they go to sell a car, try testing that. As for the car I havent had any problems with mine, i drive it 124 miles round trip when I go to work and it makes the drive enjoyable. I thought for a second about going with a Honda Civic to save money, but I am glad everyday I drive this car that I didn't go cheap. And this car is getting about 32.5 mpg after the Kleeman kit, so I believe its a decent mix of safety, fuel economy, and just plan fun to drive and enjoy. This is my second Mercedes and not my last.

Buellwinkle

Is it a 2004 or 2004.5. There are a lot of improvements made in 2004.5 like the paint is ceramiclear so a lot less swirls and chips, has blue tint, 5 spoke wheels, chrome tailpipe, 1" lower, etc... If I was shopping for a 2004, I would strive to make it a 2004.5 for the improvements. If 44K miles sounds low, mine has 25K miles.

RES

Sorry, I thing that might be average. They say about 12,500-15,000 a year is average for value calculations. In my world it's low with 70,000 miles on mine so far.