jpgroom

I tried responding to another post but ny computer kept locking up. The MB dealer in Phoenix told me due to mad cow they were not able to order leather on the C230. The car is going to be for my wife and she doesn't mind the cloth seats, however my butt definitely prefers the seats in the C240 (leather or MB-tex). I am not sure if I want to spend the extra $5k on the 240, I am going to test drive one in a few days and see if they are flexible on the price. The salesperson said the 230 is not taking away from the 240 sales but I'm not sure I believe her, especially when they have 25 of them on the lot and no C230's. There was an earlier post about the 4 banger lifespan, how does the 2.6 liter hold up? Does it have inherant problems like the 3.2? Thanks in advance.

Jim Groom

Margo

Did you go to Phoenix Motor Co.? I ordered mine in August from Schumacher, black, C5,C7, oyster leather. I kept checking all fall about delivery (which is two weeks away!!) and was told that leather is in production.. no problems. In fact, after Christmas I saw three C230's, all with leather... each one delivered in early December. So, I don't know why you were told that... cloth is nasty... hold out for the leather.

jpgroom

Margo

I was told this by Phoenix Motor Co 2 days ago, I am going back day after tomorrow and ask again. Are the cloth and leather seats shaped differently or is the difference in the covering. Thanks

greg230

it sounds like the dealership is trying to encourage you to take a possibly already produced coupe with cloth, over you ordering one with leather.

dealers would always rather sell out of their inventory, or trade and sell out of another dealers then order your car.

i would also in general avoid a dealership that told me a blatant lie

leather is ready, and churning out of the factory.

my dealer informed me that nearly 90% of the coupes he has delivered in december and january are leather equipped.... so they are bsing you.

greg

Rick

Leather's been back in production since September. Granted, the wait for leather is longer because MB is still filling back orders. This guy is trying to con you. Try another dealership, and have them do a nationwide search of in stock vehicles at other dealers.

Word has it there's a real nice one that just became available in Louisiana...

shtatc

jpgroom...

I was told something similar last September when I was looking to buy a new car....was looking for a C230 with leather, but the dealer in Tucson told me that they had 20 on order already (mostly with cloth seats) and if I wanted leather..it would take another 2 months extra....so, I went with the C240....I think I am happier overall because of the 4 doors....wish I had more HP...but having 4 doors is alot more convenient for me....also, I needed a car right away...could not wait 4-5 months for a car to be ordered. Not sure if all that was BS...but I am happy with my decision on the C240/6spd with leather.

DrMike

Definate BS! My 230 coupe is at the dealers, for pickup on friday (i hope). I ordered just after Thanksgiving, and they adjusted an order they had in line to my specs: silver/auto/c5 (I know...c7 is a great deal). Leather was not a problem, and the car was built in mid dec.

My policy with dealers is that they only get to lie to me once (lie to me once, shame on you, lie to me twice, shame on me).

Do some phone shopping, and you can even check some dealers who are a short, cheap flight away.

vinmanc32

And when he's done, tell him to yank this chain. Mad Cow! What a barrel of horse crap. I cant even believe he had the nerve to say something like that. That would mean that all of the bigger Benzs would be out of production now. Since none of them have cloth... unless you ask for it. you need to go back there and b**** slap him and tell them to get the car you ordered... with the leather. hes tryin to unload something he has in inventory.

revstriker

I ordered a C230 back in October and was told that there was a delay in production on cars with leather. The dealer told me that it was because of Mad Cow disease. I also checked with another dealer in Dallas, and got the same story. I was told that on the other model cars, it was not a problem because the leather is cut 2 years in advance. Because the C230 is new, they didn't have enough leather cut to process the amount of orders they were getting. Now I don't know if this is true, but it's what I was told from two different dealers.

I too test drove the C240. I thought that it was a great car! But it's a different feeling than the C230. It's almost apples and oranges. I ended up getting the C320 which I'm happy with, but part of me regrets that I could not wait for the coupe (it was delayed 3 different times).