LILBENZ230

Yes you'll need to pay that off first.

PharmD

Glad to see that you're unharmed - that's why we drive safe vehicles!

LILBENZ230

Yes, if you think about it - The W203's safety features are still pretty cutting edge even as the cars are aging.

samaritrey

+1 mine even has rear side impact which is still not in a lot of sedans even some w203's they made it an option. i hope i never have to use any of them but i have a feeling the car will either get totaled or something else major be for i ever get rid of my c320. 141k and still going

LILBENZ230

2005 was the last year of the standard side bags in the rear doors. I have them, as well. But tests revealed no difference in protection. It was superb with or without the bags for the rear passenger. It's a side impact crash for the front passenger that is a W203 weak spot. It's acceptable protection, but not the best and definitely could have been better.

Glyn M Ruck

Another deletion!!!! The 202 did so badly in Euro NCAP & some unofficial diagonal crash tests that Benz were determined that the 203 would be good for the time. A Ford Mondeo was better than a 202.

Hence the weight increase in the 203.

TemjinX2

Yeah, air bags are pretty heavy. I remember i could hold a seat without air bags in one hand and I could barely hold a seat with air bags with two hands.

Glyn M Ruck

Do all American 203s have the side curtain bags? I see Shivi's does. I understand some markets deleted these - stupid!

LILBENZ230

While the rear door bags were deleted for 2006 and 2007 (became optional) they were done so at the expense of safety. Rear passengers were well protected. It decreased the price of the car, the weight of the car, and repair costs in the event of an accident. I really didn't see it as a stunning deletion. That said, I like it that my C230 has all of the bags.

Glyn M Ruck

203 also has a far heavier floor pan than the 202.

LILBENZ230

All W203s have side curtain bags. Deleting those in any car would be sales suicide in the USA. And those WOULD have came at the expense of safety, unlike the rear door bags.

TemjinX2

Yeah even hyundai's come with 8 air bags now.

Glyn M Ruck

Good!

LILBENZ230

But everyone who knows anything about cars knows the number of airbags isn't really indicative to overall safety. Are rear side bags even optional for the W204? I don't think they are. It earned the difficult "Best Pick" from the IIHS - something the 8-bag W203 couldn't do. It's like that "Door thunk" thing - sure it's cool but it is no measure of safety.

LILBENZ230

OP:

I understand the "cool" status of the 190E Cosworth.. but I really think you should think hard about it. There is something to be said for the feel of a newer model car. Had you been in a 190E Cosworth on the day of your accident rather than in a 2005 C230, the outcome would likely have been much different.

Nevermind the fact that the cops often make blatantly ignorant remarks about accident "what ifs", think about it. You were told that without the side and curtain bags, your girlfriend could have been seriously injured. An old car will have none of those passive features, and no active ones like ESP either.

I just can't see it. You were thrilled with the protection provided by a car with modern safety features... so you're ready to replace it with one that can't even compare in that way?

Just think carefully. Good luck.

TemjinX2

I"m not saying air bags is a indication of safey, but as something that has become so common that you can find it one of the lower priced brands. A lot of more modern cars use more High Tensil steel to protect the passengers from impact.


The high tensil steel helps more then the air bags. You can see it in the that video where mercedes did a head on collusion with a Smart car against older S-class.

Glyn M Ruck

Our 204's have a curtain/window bag that goes from the A pillar right through to the C pillar. I'm sure yours are the same. 2010 models now include a side knee bag for the driver on top of side bags, front bags & driver knee bag in the old standard configuration. Front bags are dual action deployment.

Dingleberry

the entire car should just turn into an airbag, similar to a popcorn kernel popping open.

samaritrey

That would be cool. anyone remember the James Bond movie where his coat inflates to a big ball.

Norwichdelta06

no! the best was in Demolition man where the car fulled up with FOAM that hardened instantly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnyhkBU1yaw

shivi1345

yeah I hear 'ya........I definitley get it

I'm thinking about a C43......has a lot of the same features as W203, and the price will be pretty low. I'm not going to re-invest all of the insurance pay-out in a new car cuz I'm transferring to a 4 yr. school in less than a year now

........but I just read Glyn's post about how bad the W202 did in the Euro NCAP Crash Tests............


still waiting to see how much $ I'm actually gonna get btw

Glyn M Ruck

I owned a 202 from new for 5800 Kilometers

shivi1345

^ hahahha......so does that mean it's fairly safe?

I saw that it got 2 stars out of 5 in Europe, but it got 4 out of 5 in the US (3/5 for driver side impact)

The W203 got 5 out of 5 in Europe. 4 out of 5 in the States (but 5 out of 5 for driver side impact)


this seems pretty odd......b/c both models got pretty much the same rating here, but very different ratings in Europe.......




I'm really starting to fall for this one, even though I like it in black better....

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/1563683748.html



AND the flatbed just came to take Her away.....so sad watching the bottom of the bumper scratch up my driveway as it got pulled up, then watching it being taken away.....still looked so damn good, ugh... lol

Glyn M Ruck

No - just fair for the time. The 202 was not a very safe car.

LILBENZ230

The early W210 cars weren't safe either. WTF was up with Benz back then? They had that vaunted door thunk, but a 1997 Camry was vastly safer than either W202 or W210 (early).