As the title says , I'm looking into buying a C 230 Sport . I'm looking into a 2004 through 2006 . From your experience , is there a particular year out of those 3 that is better than the other ones ? Which engine is best , the supercharged 4 cylinder or the 6 cylinder . Is stick shift better than automatic ? What are the Pros and Cons of this car ? I've been looking to get one for a while , but I want to make a more educated decision as to which model to get , or if to get one at all .

TIA.

Paul G .

 

I have an '05 c230 and I like it because it gets very good gas mileage (about 28mpg in mixed driving) and is fun to drive. It is a little faster to 60mph than the v6 model. I like the interior and exterior of the car. It is pretty sporty. It is also very safe car. It has eight airbags and the models with the big brakes stop on a dime. Also there is nothing like driving a Mercedes.

Now to the cons. These cars are very expensive to maintain. Even if you are handy and can do the A,B service yourself and stuff like brakes it still is a fortune. The brakes and tires wear faster than your average because they are better. So that is one of the trade offs. Alot of the work will need to be done at the dealer since there are not that many shops that have experience with these cars (may not be a problem where you live) and the dealer is VERY,VERY expensive. If you drive about 15K a year you cost will be around $1000. That of course does not include gas and cost of car.

Now to the worst part. The electrical systems on these cars are to complicated. I have had several problems with mine and do not see it ever ending. I still have the car under warranty so that is the only saving grace.

Well I hope this helps. Good luck on your decision.

 

well here's my 2 c

I purchased a 2002 model 4 months ago and I haven't had any problems so far (touch wood). The shape hasn't changed much with the C class sports coupe. So take this with a pinch of salt if you will.

some stats I've picked up.. the 2002 model 4 cyl 2.3 l has 280nm torque compared to the new V6's 240nm. the 2.3 l is much better for modding I believe. I just prefered the larger instrument cluster on the older models. it is alot smaller in the new models. the supercharged models are faster than the V6 in my opinion. supercharger is a little noisier than the V6 though. I will be extending my warranty in the next year or so and honestly..the warranty makes all the difference.. the dealership has to sort it out.. excluding friction parts and fuel ofcourse.

excellent car.. going 230km/h feels like 100 if you weren't looking at the speedometer. brakes are awsome.. get a good rim to clean though.. takes me 5 min to clean mine and I try and do it every 2 days.. that's how bad brake dust can get. Building and keeping a really good relationships with your dealership is "KEY". i'm not one for any major engine modding etc, cosmetic yes, so if your not skimming heads or having the engine modified - everything should be fine.

I know you wanted info on 04-07 models.. and I only had mine for 4 months so that really doesn't qualify me.. so it's just my opinion.. anyways. use it don't use it.

okay that was more like 50 cents...

 

Good car if you're lucky... not so good if you're unlucky like me. within 1 yr I had 4 unscheduled visits to the dealer. Looks like I need to go again soon for power steering noise issue for the second time. Try to get one with warranty

 

KA8, gotcha beat... 7 services in 45 days, one of those services, MB had y car for 30 days.

personally, go with the superchargered 4 cyclinder. its way better on gas then the small v6. OR get the c350, more power and better gas mileage.

 

If you are sold for a C-class then there is only one question you gotta ask yourself:

Do I drive highway more? - V6 (2006+)
Do I drive city more? - 4 cylinder with kompressor

 

badass--damn 7 times in 45 days

v6 does have bad mpg on the city. I've been averaging around 20mpg.
On the HWY I've been getting 26-28mpg. I love the exhaust tone of it. Sounds like a quiet remus exhaust

 

Thre aren't too many responses b/c this has been discussed before. You may want to use the search to check other threads.

2005 model is the last yr they made the 4 cylinder. The sport version has the AMG body kit, unlike the previous yrs. in 2002, they introduced the aluminum trim. you won't find it in the earlier yrs. the dash also looks different btween yrs. The newer ones personally i think look better.

good luck.

 

My opinion...

2004 - old style but has free maintance (if you want to go the cheap way)
2005 - awsome body kit, looks 100x better i think
2006 - I've never driven a 2006 so i can't comment

You can see which one I went with

 

Thanks to all for your quick responses . This car would be for my wife and I get to drive it here and there I do mostly highway and she has a good mixed drive . I guess the best thing to do is test drive both models auto and shift and see what we like more < luckily for me she likes stick shift better than auto

 

Good luck finding a stick shift, They are kind of hard to find. You will have to do some shopping for a stick

 

I have found a few already . I was just trying to find out the Pros and Cons and figure out what year model would be best .

 

What did you decide?

 

the 2007 is the best model year haha i might be biased because I'm trying to sell mine let me know if you maybe slightly interested.

 

Check this out

https://mbworld.org/forums/classifieds/226488-fs-2006-c350-sport-7-spd.html