Jens C320

I made up my mind today on ordering a C320 4Matic Touring. I test drove the Audi A4 Avant 3.0 and the Audi Allroad and even though I liked the Audi's performance better I want a car that I can take on long trips with great comfort. The A4 was a tad too harsh and loud for my liking and the Audi A6 Avant which was my first choice feels "flimsy". So off I go to my Mercedes Dealer and I am ready to plunk down my cash. Unfortunatly the dealer doesn't have any C320 4Matic Tourings so now he is looking for a car that matches my wishes:

C320 4Matic Touring
Pewter Silver Metallic Exterior/ Ash Leather Inserts Interior
C2 and C4 Packages

Somehow I am hoping that he won't find anything that fits my criteria and he does a factory order (trying to justify the waiting time since I don't like the idea of getting a car which has been abused on test drives).

Now my question is, are there any options which are "special order" that the dealer might now know about (he just started in sales and seems somewhat clueless) but that MB USA allows, like Cloth Seats (I don't like leather)? I am still disappointed that MB USA does not allow its customers to mix and match options like MB Germany does. This is my first Mercedes bought in the USA and I clueless as to how things work here

Thanks in advance for the answers!

Jens

trench

Jens,

We don't get nearly the mix and match options that are available in Germany - or the rest of the world for that matter. No cloth is available for any Merc here except the C230K and the MLs. Whatever you can build on the mbusa.com are the only variations imported to the US.

The dealer shouldn't have any problem ordering you a car, in my part of the country this if often the best choice (instead of waiting for a car with the desired options to simply show up). You just have to leave a deposit - usually anywhere between $250-$2000 (don't worry it's refundable if you change your mind).

Cheers, BT

PS: Good choice on the 4matic.

Matt230K

That car is a very good choice. However, I would be very very surprised if your dealer was able to find a car like that. You will probably have to order it. I don't know whether your salesman talked to his manager or not, but the manager should have known how rare this car will be and told you there is not much of a chance of finding it, unless you get real lucky. Hopefully you do, but even if you have to wait for an order, that will be a good looking car.

Jens C320

Thanks for the info. I talked to a few associates and all of them have the same sentiments about the available options on a US MB product. The deposit is no problem, I am used to it from Germany as well (but I don't think it was refundable on a factory order). My salesperson hasn't called back today which means he hasn't found a match yet.

Thanks,
Jens

Jens C320

I've been complaining about the performance of my 2003 C320 4Matic Wagon since I got it. The dealer never had a C320 to test drive, only a C240 4Matic Wagon. I did some 0-60 runs in my C320 4Matic Wagon and the fastest I achieved was 10.5sec's and the slowest 11.3sec. This was on a cool, dry day with no accessories running at about 7500ft altitude. The car still pulls from traffic lights faster than other cars so I am thinking that the altitude is what is making the car so slow. Any one have any figures that would let me estimate how much time I should loose 0-60 at 7500ft compared to sea-level.

Mike T.

Sounds about right to me. The 4WD version can't be all that fast at sea level either, as it's heavy. Ask a weatherman what the air pressure is up there and you could do some calculations to see what's up.

Look on the bright side, when you visit the coast, you'll be a superman. I mean you, not the car

CRB

Yes, Jens C320 I do remember your intial post some months ago. Aside from the drag races, how is that 4matic wagon been treating you?

All the performance numbers that are published (by manufacturers, magazines and such) are the result of abusive launch techniques. Holding the brake pedal down and loading up the torque converter and such.

Car and Driver got a 7.6 second 0-60mph time in thier testing of a C320 sedan. The wagon weighs more. And the 4Matic adds yet more weight. So figure an abusive "car mag" launch would get you an 8.5 second 0-60mph time at sea level. Then adjust your numbers for the altitude that you mentioned and the fact you aren't abusing your expensive new car ( I hope, I hope!) and your 10.5 seconds would seem to be in the ballpark.

I don't know that a dealer is going to spend too much time trying to solve the "too slow" problem. If, in fact, you do have one.

Jens C320

Well with as much "exercise" that I get each day I need all the advantage I can get when I visit my friends that live near sea level Well, I have figured that 10.5secs is about right for the car. It doesn't bother me half as much when I know it is normal, if I wanted a drag racer I would have been able to find something a lot cheaper (WRX STI...). Anyways, that is why I have a 2003 VW GTI 1.8T

Jens C320

Well, I am not going to dealer for this, since 10.5secs seems to be in the ballpark at this altitude after looking at the automatic/wagon/4matic times...I always was looking at the 6.x sec times from the C320 with Manual and I really couldn't believe that there would be such a big gap between the fastest and slowest version of the C320. But to tell the truth I am somewhat disappointed in the car, not performance wise, but in regards to luxury. This is the first Mercedes that I have owned, or as matter of fact anyone in my family (only BMW, Audi/VW and the occasional Porsche). I just did a 5-day trip to and from Mississippi, many miles of horrible roads to test the car on. The wind noise seemed excessive (at the rear doors), road noise was louder than I expected (probably the crappy stock Goodyear’s), the rain-sensing wipers do not go to the fastest position, only to constant, and the ride seemed punishing. I felt like I needed to get out of the car after several hours! Even when I had my Ford Focus “beater” (I liked the car, lots of bang for the buck, but I admit I drove it to school and work in case of door dings) I drove it to Utah and back on a 4 day trip and I never felt my back or butt. I will be taking my GTI on a 6-hour drive on Sunday, so we will see if I am just out of shape or if it really is the Mercedes. If I had known about the lack of comfort, I would have probably gone with the VW Passat W8 (which I did not buy because I think it is ugly) or the Audi A6 3.0 (which looked too boring). Yet, the car is still an improvement over the BMW 328i I traded in. Reliability has not been a high point with the C320 either, I had numerous electrical problems, from blinkers to seats. I don't expect I'll keep the car after the 50,000 mile warranty is expired, but until then I plan on liking the car...I'll probably get some better tires and if I can find it maybe some softer shocks to soften the ride (...which 19 year old have you ever heard make that comment...). I am not sure if I was expecting too much of the car, but I imagined it would have been a better touring car. I also wish for better mileage. I averaged about 27.8mpg with the A/C cranked, which seems low, since the BMW would average 32-33mpg on pure highway trips and the GTI gets 31mpg in mixed driving and I would guess aroung 34-36mpg on pure highway.

But don't get me wrong, I still like the car, I am just not as excited about it since I had high expectations and my extremely well build 2003 VW GTI seems to be of equal quality at less than half the cost.