anonymousmoose

Well, since I'm still relatively new to MB, I thought I might share how I ended up with a Mercedes.

Mercedes has always been my favourite car-maker (although the new Rolls-Royce Phantom & Ghost...). I am from Germany, and yes, Stuttgart was my home capitol city. When I was young, I collected mainly Mercedes collectables and secondly BMW. Porsche is my favourite sports car company.

Epilogue; As this is an USA based forum; I need to make it clear that foreign cars here cost much more then Australian or cheaper Asian cars. Have a look at www.carsales.com.au if you want to familiarise yourself with Australia car prices. Example, a new Porsche Boxter can cost double as much here as in the United States. A 1980s trans-am sold here for $16,000 [a friend had one]. So the decision to buy a German car can be a serious cashflow decision compared to an Australian GM/Ford/Toyota or cheap Asian car.

So a month or two ago, I seriously was looking at changing from an Australian GM vehicle to my first German car. I ruled out Mercedes-Benz as they are usually more pricey compared to BMW & Audi. In fact, I nearly bought a Lexus but the dealer (not a lexus dealer) was very unprofessional. I also did test drive an 07 w204 diesel but it was the Classic entry level model and it just didn't do it for me (lovely engine though, pity it wasn't the elegance or avantgarde for that price).

So I sold my GM car privately and was in a big hurry to buy something. No more casually looking around. My wife and I only need one car so we didn't have a backup vehicle.

I test drove a few BMW's and amongst was the 06 BMW 320d[iesel], which I really enjoyed. I was going to pull the trigger on it the coming week.

So I was sitting at home on a Saturday and I just happened to search for Mercedes-Benz again on the online carsales. To my surprise, An 06 C200 Kompressor Avantgarde with AMG sports options came up at a dealer for a reasonable sticker price. The best thing; my father knows the owner of the dealership very well. And its not just some two-bit dealer, its probably the most prestigious car dealer in the state selling authorised new Ferrari, Lamborghini, Austin Martin, Jag, Rover 4x4 etc.

The advertisement I saw didn't have a photo, which meant they got the car in that very day. So Sunday after Church, I drove down just to have a look. I called the dealership Monday and took a test drive. The salesman remembered me when I was there once before. He told me I can have it for their consignment price. It was a car they were selling on consignment for someone who just bought a new Land Rover or Range Rover. My father called the dealership owner to confirm the best price and the next thing I knew, I was driving something I thought wouldn't be possible, a Mercedes-Benz with a 3 year extension of the manufacturers warranty and most of the upgrades .

PS
I also received new breaks, the interior door puller and some other little bits fixed. I later noticed a few scratches on the exterior but I can live with it for the price I paid.

So what's your story

mikev7

wells, i was in the market for a new(er) car. i was going to be frugal and only spend 14k on a car and invest my moneys in another rental property. i i had my eyes set on a jaguar s type r but it had some issues and i passed on the buy. i ran across a is 250 on another car lot and fell in love with it. i then opted for the is 350 at 25k. $$ i fell in love with i tell you! i couldnt for the life of me find a is 350 anywhere. i finally found one in atlanta after over a month of looking for 24k otd. awesome car!

i planed the trip to atlanta from new orleans to get it and someone bought it from under me the day b4 i was to hit the road to get it.

I WAS REALLY PISSED OFF! i had a fix on that model car and couldnt take anythng else. months passed and still no 350s anywhere. i had to pick up a car part to fix my mothers car one day and i stopped by a lux car lot on a whim looking for a 350. nothing was to be found. i saw a c32 sitting on the lot and just out of curiousity i asked for a test drive. the next day i paid cash for it. 16k otd. i fell in love with it and it was just hot enough to take me off my lexus addiction. some of you might know this car. i actually met the prev owner a few times.

mikev7

just to add, i sold my gm made trans am ws6. to get a more practical car. it was moded out and a ***** to drive anywhere but the track or strip.

MIKESV8

Hey I know him! Wow he did alot of things with that car too.

C230 Mulac

that's a very nice c23, good buy

so here's my story, lol

my family is from former Yugoslavia and moved to the states in 1985, me being born in 1986, 1st generation in the states, so my parents are both(especially my dad) very particular about having a good quality reliable car, which in their mind nothing beats German engineering.

so right about when i was getting my learner's permit, my parents were like "alright petar let's find you a car." so we had a family friend who lived a ways away who knew some places he could get a good used German car from. so he gets two 1983 MB 300SD (3.0L straight 5 Turbo Diesel), one green and one blue, and drives them over to our house and my parents are looking at it with me and they're like alright, which one do you think you want? only real difference aside from the color was that the green didn't have working a/c and i can't remember which had more miles. they were both in great shape, power windows, power sunroof, power seats, very nice cars for their time. so i decided upon the blue because i wanted a/c and i liked the color better.

my dad and i did all of the work on the car ourselves and it taught me a lot about how to do things myself instead of getting ripped off at the mechanic, and we had a good local mechanic that worked on Euro cars that charged very good prices for major work if we needed it. the original transmission went out at about 245k and i had to get a used one with 80k on it from a junkyard in Tennessee(got it shipped to me). i also got a paint job on the car about 6 months after i bought it so it looked nice a new i bought it for $3k at just over 200k, drove it for 2 years and sold it for $2200 at 252k so didn't lose too much on it. i really miss the car though, wish i still had it as an extra car.

after that, i drove several newer VW's, mainly jettas and golfs, which are a good reliable car, but nothing was ever as nice as MB.

so December 2009 i graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering and started working in construction management as an engineer. i had always been a poor college student and now that i had a real job and making my own money, i had much more to spend so the first thing i thought was let's save some money and get me another car. i was getting tired of driving my 1998 VW golf, not to say it wasnt a great car, but i wanted something newer and a little faster and nicer.

So june 2010 i've saved up a good amount of money and i'm looking around for a car, specifically looking for either a BMW 3 series or Audi A4/S4, or a Jeep Wrangler, and i definitely wanted to have a manual, which is why i wasn't initially searching for MB 'cause there's rarely a manual to find in the states. i stumble across a used car dealer in Fredericksburg, VA because i see a nice looking Wrangler in the lot. i tell the guy "yeah, i'm either looking for a Wrangler or a BMW 3 series or Audi A4, that type of car, preferrably a stick." he looks at me and says "how about a Mercedes?" and i said "well, is it a manual?" and he says "Yes" and then i start to get excited thinking what's in store for me now?

so he walks me over to the 2006 white c230 that i'm driving now and shows me the car. 6 spd manual, amg styling and sport suspension, intake, and exhaust, 49k miles, 1 previous owner, perfect carfax, all maintenance done, AND it was originally imported from Germany by the first buyer so it's a legit German made Mercedes. i immediately take it for a test drive and i love it. i talk to my gf afterwards at the dealer because she was with me and i'm like "baby i love this car and i'm going to buy it now!" guy had it priced at $24k and i talked him down to giving it to me for $20k including all taxes, tags, processing fees, and all that bs. he put brand new tires on it for me and there's my MB!

i have to say that i might eventually buy another car like an M3 or an Audi S5 or something, but i will always make sure that i also have a Mercedes because there are my favorite car manufacturer. they've got excellence in everything, comfort, reliability, style, performance(even though Audi or BMW may outdo them in this aspect sometimes). my next buy will probably be an AMG and i will keep this car for a daily driver. i've had it since June and now i have 71k, so 22k miles in less than a year, lol!

sorry to write so much

anonymousmoose

Great story Mulac. Finding a German assembled one is even more rare. Ours here in Australia are South African assembled.

C230 Mulac

Thanks! yea i guess i got lucky with this one, 71k miles and no major problems at all. the only thing that's gone wrong with it is the thermostat got stuck open about a month ago and i took it to my mechanic cause the check engine light was on and it was like $250 with parts and labor.

And my first statement before, i meant to say "c32" not "c23" lol

W203E35

Mine is a funny story.

I was in the market for a car. I had my eyes on the E36 M3. It had to be manual and I wanted something in good condition. I checked out couple of them and they were all beat up until I came across this very clean one with low miles. I drove all the way to San Diego from Los Angeles. On the phone the owner said it's immaculate condition, it doesn't have any mechanical problems and it runs great. I asked if it has ever been in an accident and he said no. So me and my buddy hopped in his car and took the trip.

I test drove the car and it was running like a champ. I pulled over hopped in the back to let my friend give it a test drive. I noticed the window liner in the back was kind of off. "huh that's weird". So then when we go back to the owners house after test driving I started looking under the car and I saw over spray on the fender liner. It made sense the car got T-Boned!!

I basically told the guy that he was an *** hole because we drove all the way down here and he lied to us about it not being in an accident. He then said he was the second owner and didn't know....complete lie

Back home was the worst trip ever. Got home and told my parents I'm done, I'm just going to lease a crappy car until I can save up and buy something newer and better. My dad started looking at cars online. He really liked the w203 and always talked about it but (sorry not to offend anyone) the 200hp just wasn't appealing to me. Then one day he said "how about a 2006 C350" The noob that I was I didn't even know there was a w203 350. So we took the trip down to the dealer and in February of 2009 I picked up a C350 Sport with 20k miles for around 21k out the door.

mikev7

it's a moded c32 AMG. 400+ hp. Lolls.

C230 Mulac

damn dude that's a really good price for that

C230 Mulac

holy sh*t, that makes it an even better buy, lol

MabelFolks

Hmm, well, nothing will make me stop loving my Mercedes) I had several cars before it, but none can compare with it. Since I am a writer, I even wrote several essays on this topic and not only, you can find free examples of my essays check this out, I would be very glad if you would appreciate my efforts. I am sure that everyone can find there something for themselves. Photo of my Mercedes-Benz W203 is below

Vopla

I totally understand you, I have a very similar story.

C230 Sport Coup

I just wanted it. And I had the moola. Drove off the showroom floor, 21 years ago.
Still have it.