EEH

Hello Everyone,
I'm new here. I am almost certain that I will buy a new 230K sedan in the next month or two. I want a fun car that's (relatively) inexpensive, will last long commutes and many years. I have been waiting for M-B to come out with a manual 4 door sporty car for several years.

My wife has a 3 series BMW and the quality (and more important, the service) has been awful. The car is fun to drive, but "high strung". The 4K rev of the engine at highway speeds gets annoying. So I am off BMWs.

My question is, will the 230k w/manual be a good compromise between commuting comfort and sport. Will it have enough "sport" to actually have fun at a track? Should I look at other cars? I need four doors and fun! Convince me this is the car for me!

Eric

Lynn

Slap on some sway bars and have fun.

bagwell

I'd say the C230K sedan is fairly close to the 325i...it still requires (IMO) lowering springs for looks and better handling...but seems to be a great deal to me....go drive the Mazda6 S model just to get a comparison...$23k

TimmyC230boy

I was wondering, since the C230K sedan will have same engine will the pulley work for it also??

Vince

it's the 1.8L engine. Therefor no pulley yet. However if someone developes it, then it is possible.

CitronC230K_03

i say go for! it should be a fun car, and if you get some AMG sway bars it will be a really fun car! hopefully a pulley will come out soon. :p

AndrewK

Like the others said... get some springs and AMG sways and you'll be set. Judging from the pictures, its in desperate need of lowering, so that would have to be the #1 priority.

EEH

Thanks for the advice. 'Bout the AMG sway bars, do I have to go through the dealer, or does an aftermarket company sell them too? Also has anyone put these on themselves? I know my way around a toll box a little.
Thanks

Lynn

You can only get them from the dealer. The part numbers have been posted, and several people have installed their own. Do a search in this forum.

r6bruin

Hey Eric, I'm actually going through the same thing too. I was thinking about getting a E46 3 series for some time but am impressed with the new C230K sedan. I test drove a C230K auto last weekend and the ride is softer than a 3 series with sports pkg, so if you're into tracking you might want to check out other cars as well (like G35 or IS300).

On the other hand, I love the style of the C230k and there're neat stuff like the rear air vent and rear sunshade that you can't even get in cars at the same price level.

So it all depends. Btw, if we both are interested maybe we can get 'em at the same time so hopefully we can get a better deal with that?

Good luck on your car searching .

TNblkc230wz

Personal emotions and desires have to be considered when purchasing any new car. However, I will give you my evaluation. I have personally settled on the MB over the BMW, Audi, and Lexus. Now do I want a Blk C230WZ or C320C.

I have recently test driven many cars in this category, including an A4 1.8, 325s, IS300, and C230c. From a performance stand point. They are comparable cars.

The car mags say the BMW handles the best, but it is subjective and you have to put the roads you drive on into the equation. The BMW clearly corners flatter, but the MB can be fixed with MB parts for about $200. IMO, the A4 with the sport package is clearly the best handling, but stiffest car.

I have driven the MB 2.3 and 1.8, BMW 2.5, and Audi 1.8. The MB 2.3 may be a little quicker than the 1.8, but the 1.8 is clearly much smoother and more refined IMO. The 1.8 does not even vibrate on cold startup. In my test drive, I thought it to be as smooth as the BMW 2.5. The Audi engine is much rougher and is much slower. According to the spec sheets, the 325 automatic is slower than the MB 1.8 (8.1 vs. 7.5). The transmission of choice, manuals, are probable about equal I haven’t seen US C230 manual specs). The fastest of this group is the IS300 Manual.

The MB has more back seat room and is more versatile with the seats folded (hatch). If you really don't want a hatch, the C230 sedan is now available and if you want more SPEED, the C320 coup is available.

BrabusCClass

I wish they had the C230K sedan when I got my car.

gab

i guess 230k sedan is even faster than the 230 coupe cos its lighter. I cant believe the coupe is what 60lbs heavier?

from the price range c320 coupe is also on my list, if it had come out when i bought the car

EEH

Thanks everyone for the input, I think the 230K sedan is the car for me! I have test driven the audis and Japanese models, but the looks of those just don't do it for me (except the WRX-no flames!).

r6bruin, I'm on the east coast so we'd have a long distance to cover for the haggling!
Eric

r6bruin

That's too bad. I got another one from the board who's also interested in buying one and it seems like we might be able to get $2k off if we do a group buy... so check around and see if there's others who's interested and drag them along, you'll be suprise how much bargain power more you'll have in this case.

Good luck!

speedfrk

If you guys do get the 230 sedans, have the AMG sway bars installed at the dealer before you pick it up. Just make them include it in the deal. They are only a couple hundred bucks, and may well be the best upgrade deal you can get on a MB. The part #'s are posted in a couple of forums if you need them.

TNblkc230wz

I will definitely get the AMG sway bars. I will also get the Audio 10.

FrankW

4k rpm at highway speed? I assume you have the E36 318. The E36 really wasn't that good as far as quality goes. E46 is whole lot better.

anyway, back to your question. You'll have to answer that yourself when you test drive the car.

EEH

Frank,
No we have a 2001 325i, at 80 mph the tach is close to 4 grand (maybe 3.85k). It does get tiresome. My 1980 VW rabbit was the only car I have owned that rev'd higher.
Eric

David N.

Could you please elaborate further. How did you come to this conclusion? Have you ever owned an e36? Any friends that have one? What quality issues are you speaking of in particular?

I visit the bimmer boards, I don't see alot of posts on the e36 boards about poor quality. I do see alot of maintenance q's. Some people may confuse these things.

FrankW

interesting, my brother's 528 and my old 328Ci at 80 the tach is only about 3100-3300 rpm. My Beetle 1.8T runs at 4000 rpm at 85 mph.

FrankW

Quite a few of my friends has E36s. The trim pieces in their cars are really in "pieces". A lot of the plastic parts i.e. air vent, etc could have been made with better material. Like i said in the previous post I had a 2000 E46 328Ci. All of my friends who has E36 agree that the E46 has much better quality feel to it (both interior and exterior).

yeah, it's true that you won't see many people complaint about quality on the Bimmer boards as you would see them on the MB boards. But from time to time there are complaints.

EEH

David,
We have owned our 2001 325 for nearly two years. We have been dissapointed in the quality and service. Here are some examples of our problems:

Engine burns a quart of oil every 3-5K miles, told on many occasions that was "normal". (It has the 10k service interval)

Clutch shutters at start up, told that is "usual" by dealer.

Mulitple electrical problems (right and left turn indicator assemblies needed replacing at diferent times, sunroof malfunction).

Warrenty work for a faulty radiator thermostat, after the work they "forgot" to fill the coolent to the top and the car ran hot until I looked at the coolent level.

Frank,
Probably the final drive gearing was different for those models. Ours is definately high revving!

Eric

FrankW

the engines consumes oil and you were told it was "normal" is just total BS given from the dealership. I can say that most BMW dealership and their service dept are run by the most Ahole-est people you can find. But not the dealership where I got my car.

my car didn't have any problems other than the trunk release failiure, sun roof panel came off, and rubbing of the driverside door seal against the door panel. None of the mechanical problem what so ever (mine was steptronic btw)

EEH

Now that the bugs are worked out our BMW seems fine. It was just a painflu process getting there. I agree that the burning oil is a load of crap , but the dealer doesn't! I have spoken the BMW USA about this and they have said..."Oh thank for giving us feedback about the problems you are having, we will speak to your BMW service center" and......nothing happens. So I give up.

This is sad to say but my $20,000 Jeep Wrangler had fewer problems and MUCH better service than the BMW. Once on a service they were an hour overdue to return my Jeep and they gave me a free oil change! The BMW dealer never even calls to tell us we can pick the car up...oh well. I hope M-B has better service, I can understand if they have some flaws, as long as they fix 'em.

Sorry to rant!