c230pete

Hey everyone, this is my first post. I am slowly shifting away from my love of Honda/Acura to Benz. My mom owns a C320 fully loaded, and I love to drive that thing....I will be in the market for a new car soon and I am seriously considering the C230 Sedan.....

For those who own this vehicle, how do u enjoy it? And how much did you pay for it?? Here are some numbers I came up with and let me know if this is accurate somewhat -


invoice of C230 - 26,031

I'll be willing the pay ----> 26,031 + auto tranny 1,300 + C2 package (sunroof rain sensors and rear sunshade) 1,600 + Cd changer 400

add freight - 720

Roughly (don't quote me, this just a rough estimate)

32,700 (includes tax)

Damian L

hey no profit? this isn't a fire sale,is it.
just bustin'- unfortunatley that is a good price to buy at .
there is not a better deal than the c230 spt sedn today performance/saftey/fuel economy/looks/resale/prestige it has it all
dont hesitate to join the family.

caraudio_nutt

carsdirect is selling them at invoice.....try them, also the dealer will be making some holdback anyways so why not try invoice....

tom incredibie

push for 1500 under invoice before taxes. you'll be very surprised.

jpb5151

Our sales rep wouldn't even budge and we wanted a car _now_ so we paid almost 38k for auto, c2 and extended warranty out the door including 5.75% tax. Also, 4.75% interest rate for 5 years.
[edit2, forgot cd changer, t-storms woke me up waaay too early]
For the record, we pretty much did the opposite of what Edmunds.com and other sites recommend for buying a new car. We could have done Internet quotes and played the 2 MB dealerships against each other, but we just decided to get the car. If you're patient (we weren't; even the 1-day wait for the car nearly killed us), you're sure to get a better deal.

[edit to address the how-do-we-like-it part]

We both love the car. It's the first car I actually feel relatively safe in. The stability, handling and brakes are very nice. My only real gripe is that sometimes it's faster to manually downshift than wait for the tranny. Another small disappointment is the lack of low-end torque. Don't get me wrong, it's plenty for getting around in traffic and so forth. For really wanting to push it hard though, it's not quite enough.

dmatre

Bought my black/black C230K Sedan in January.

Paid exactly $32.7k, for exactly same packages (auto, C2, CD changer).

Dealer tried to run the numbers every which way to show a bigger discount, but when I calculate my trade-in price at wholesale (which they must put it onto their books at), the final price was 32.7k.

I've had the car 4 months, 5700miles. No problems. The car definitely gets better with every mile. Car is getting faster, and more efficient. Took the same 420 mile trip when the car was new, then again just recently. Mileage jumped from 29mpg on 1st trip to 34mpg on last trip! (same roads, same 'no-traffic' conditions, same '15 over' cruise setting - running 70-85 depending on local speed limits).

Even on 6-7 hour trips, the car is very comfortable.

One other thing that I've noticed: When the going gets bad (torrential rain, high winds, hail), this car feels very relaxed and composed. In my wife's car ('99 Passat), I am certain that I would've been driving my tail off to keep the car going forward and in my lane. The benz just tracked true, CD playing, greatly reducing the stress of a bad drive.

If you read through the forum, there are those who have had problems with their C's (same if you check the Lexus/Acura/Infinity/BMW/Audi/etc forums). There are also those, like myself, who have had nothing but good experiences with the car.

When I first got the car, the auto drove me crazy (former racer). I couldn't get it to go to the right gear entering the corner, then it would lug through the corner, and then BANG! downshift and scream out of the corner.

After a couple of months living with the car, it seems that I have 'learned' to deal with the tranny, and it has 'learned' to deal with me. It takes a while, and it'll never be as precise as a manual, but you can get it to do what you want it to do.

Good luck.

czachari

Got the manual, car is very nice so far, no real problems.


CZ

c230pete

I actually tried carsdirect.com and a dealership quoted me 31K with C2, auto, bose, cd changer....However it didn't include tax....Basically the car is at invoice price here.....

Now its time to scrape some cash together for a down payment.....By the way, how old are you guys? I am only 22 years old, and not to be shallow or anything, but thinking of owning a Benz is kinda neat, don't know how to explain it...

jpb5151

Early 30's over here.

Our dealer wanted $1000 down payment but we gave more (that much less for interest to accrue on).

I think you'll really like the car. You'll love it especially on the highway; it's very smooth regardless of how fast you're going.

It'd probably be good to test drive it and compare to the 320. Maybe you'll forego the better handling and mileage of the 230 for the extra low-end torque of the 320. [now that our 230's broken in, it's not so bad, though]

LiquidSmile

I'm 25.
I just got my C230K Sport Sedan two months ago for 28,750 out the door (turn key) with C2 and C3 Pkg. So you can rape the dealership. I walked out on the deal twice and it took a week of calls. The last time I walked out I did not even plan on going back. The salesman called me on my cell phone. I was so pissed, but I picked up the phone because I thought I left domething there. It went like this:

Salesman: Mr Thomas?
Me: Yes
Salesman: I have everything ready to go.
Me: What are you talking about?
Salesman: Your vehicle is here..
Me: What Vehicle?
Salesman: Your C230K is ready to be picked up.
Me: I thought they would not work any lower and that was final..
Salesman: My Finance Manager is the best there is and he got it for you.
Me: Cool, I'll pick it up on Monday. (It was Friday)

I let it sit in the showroom for the weekend, taking up space. It was raining during the weekend, and I liked the fact of leaving it there, while they walked by it thinking "we gave that car away"

I went back on Monday and I threw the keys to my Dad and Let him pull it off the lot. (Me, My Brother and Sister all did this for our first vehicle purchase.. )

It was a good feeling...

Damian L

its amazing to me that someone gives you a fantastic price and you consider it rape.

LiquidSmile

uhh Did you read it correctly. I said it is possible to rape the dealership. It's not like they came out and threw that price at me, I basically made them give it to me... They deserved it.....
(Basically making a pun on what some rapists say)

peet

Got mine for just under 30 with C2, C4 and 6 disk plus premium audio. Considering invoice is 29,914 (plus whatever the premium audio cost - didn't find and list was a hair over 34 that's a pretty sweet deal.

Traded in my coupe with auto (after tax savings - got $25.5 for it) - it was 2003 about 10 months old.

Basically I added a year to my payments.

As far as liking it... All the little things that bugged me about the coupe - no auto sunroof close, hatch didn't pop up on remote open and that godforsaken auto transmission and ****ty bose system (the one in the sedan is great) are gone. I now think it is a near-perfect car.

My to do list includes sway bars, lowering springs and maybe the C32 brakes. Hopefully one day the upgraded Kleeman supercharger - hey Kleeman!! HURRY UP!

Go for it and don't look back.

Peet

P.S. Everyone that's seen both of the cars says the sedan looks nicer - but that's a personal opinion.

Lynn

Sorry, peet. Brandon posted that the market for the Lysholm conversion is not big enough, so it will not be sold.

caraudio_nutt

mine's comin in at the end of june.....i hope i get invoice on it.....i ordered every single option available except for cd changer and bose.....

czachari

The 1.8L C Class is selling very well.


CZ

electromethod

it depends on the region in which you are purchasing. This topic has been beaten to death about how one person paid more than the other. I live in florida and was able to buy for 300 dollars over that invoice. Plus i paid the state fixed price for the extended warranty. I bought mine completely over the phone...... dealer was 100 miles away. Some people have told me that in Southern California for example they were able to get below invoice...... It just varies where you are Good luck ! You can also get them to throw in free tint and pinstrip if you want.......
P.S. i love my car since the first day i got it in feb. 4500 highway miles and still loving it.

tsberkey

I just picked up my first Benz two weeks ago. I was not planning on buying until this summer, and surely not a Benz, but I got an offer I couldn't resist. C230K, Alabaster White, Oyster Leather, C2, CD Changer, and 5-sp Auto: Actual MB Sticker price (with no additional dealer markups)- $29,995. Sales price- $23,995. They only had three at that price and by the time I got there, there was this one left! I feel like I have died and gone to heaven! Good luck with your purchase. You won't regret it.

FrankW

my brother's friend just got one. They paid around $30k out of door with auto, leather, and moonroof.

caraudio_nutt

you guys arent talkin about the sports sedan are you??

amdeutsch

tsberkey isn't but FrankW is.