What do you least like about your W203?
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Super Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 645
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From: Perth, Australia
Audi A4 Quattro 2013
What do you least like about your W203?
So we all love our w203s, of course 
But how about this for a bit of a fun, social thread...
What do you least like about the/your W203?
And don't list your faults or service-costs, it as it doesn't count. No one likes problems or costs.
Lets try to keep it for features or the way the car's designed.
I'll start;
It is a great car! The more I drive it, the more I understand how enthusiastic everyone here is about the w203.
But how about this for a bit of a fun, social thread...
What do you least like about the/your W203?
And don't list your faults or service-costs, it as it doesn't count. No one likes problems or costs.
Lets try to keep it for features or the way the car's designed.I'll start;
- I think the auto-headlights are over sensitive. If it had an adjustment, would be nicer. As soon as I go under a bridge of some shade, they go on and then off again when I'm in the clear. I head its not good for the long life of bi-xenon lights.
- Mercedes bluetooth doesn't have a re-dial option
It is a great car! The more I drive it, the more I understand how enthusiastic everyone here is about the w203.
Last edited by anonymousmoose; May 3, 2011 at 09:43 PM.
Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 120
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From: St.John's Canada
2006 C230 6 speed
A little more cabin room would be nice, as well as maybe 30 or 40 more HP, 201 HP is a bit underpowered. But then again thats what the C350 is for. Other then that i'm still happy with my W203
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 10,067
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From: Westwood, NJ
2004 Civic Si. FWD for the Win!
Well, my least favorite thing is the lack of reliability, but since I can't talk about that, it would be:
1) Footbrake placement is really dumb, especially a manual transmission
2) Speaking of that, the manny feels like it's from 1985
3) HVAC is overly complicated. I'd much prefer a 4-speed fan with direction buttons.
4) Sunroof one-touch open is two-touch.
5) Paint is of very poor quality, and car's going to have to go back for some bodywork soon. Rust is coming from everywhere now.
6) Way too heavy.
7) Cassette player. Seriously?
That's off the top of my head. I still love my car, but it's got a good amount of misses in the design of details.
BTW - if you haven't driven the Fiat 500 yet, you should. Very fun car; went to their studio in SoHo yesterday, and did a test drive around the area. Light clutch, and a surprisingly enjoyable drive. Abarth, here I come.
1) Footbrake placement is really dumb, especially a manual transmission
2) Speaking of that, the manny feels like it's from 1985
3) HVAC is overly complicated. I'd much prefer a 4-speed fan with direction buttons.
4) Sunroof one-touch open is two-touch.
5) Paint is of very poor quality, and car's going to have to go back for some bodywork soon. Rust is coming from everywhere now.
6) Way too heavy.
7) Cassette player. Seriously?
That's off the top of my head. I still love my car, but it's got a good amount of misses in the design of details.
BTW - if you haven't driven the Fiat 500 yet, you should. Very fun car; went to their studio in SoHo yesterday, and did a test drive around the area. Light clutch, and a surprisingly enjoyable drive. Abarth, here I come.
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,105
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From: Toronto, Canada
2019 C300 Wagon; '75 Triumph TR6; previous: 2004 C230 6spd sold after 17 years of driving
My beefs would be the nickel and dimed items that Mercedes adds as options that cars like the Accord or company's like Hyundai come as standard items. At least now MB has learned and the new C comes with items we take for granted but for the W203 in the year my car was born they were expensive add ons
-leather (should a premium car come with vinyl??)
-CD player (who uses cassettes even in 2004?)
-no fold down rear seats (gladly trade my remotely flip down rear head rests for that)
-no pass through (how am I supposed to buy a broom or shovel or curtain rod??)
-metallic paint (get real, they manufacture Iridium or Brilliant silver in oil tanker quantities)
-sunroof (again lower priced cars come with it as a standard item)
-1 accessory outlet (not convenient if you have a GPS, phone charger and radar detectors)
-full power seats, (what about power fore and aft instead of bargain basement manual lever)
-heated seats (cars less than half the price came with them standard)
-aux input (not even an option and the iPod was already out for a few years prior)
-variable speed intermittent wiper (every japanese car I had one could dial in the delay in the intermittent mode)
As far as functional beefs:
-a foot operated parking brake is STUPID in a manual car, at least add a hill-holder feature that Subaru pioneered in the 1980's
-more power would be nice, engines always seemed underpowered save for the C32/55
-leather (should a premium car come with vinyl??)
-CD player (who uses cassettes even in 2004?)
-no fold down rear seats (gladly trade my remotely flip down rear head rests for that)
-no pass through (how am I supposed to buy a broom or shovel or curtain rod??)
-metallic paint (get real, they manufacture Iridium or Brilliant silver in oil tanker quantities)
-sunroof (again lower priced cars come with it as a standard item)
-1 accessory outlet (not convenient if you have a GPS, phone charger and radar detectors)
-full power seats, (what about power fore and aft instead of bargain basement manual lever)
-heated seats (cars less than half the price came with them standard)
-aux input (not even an option and the iPod was already out for a few years prior)
-variable speed intermittent wiper (every japanese car I had one could dial in the delay in the intermittent mode)
As far as functional beefs:
-a foot operated parking brake is STUPID in a manual car, at least add a hill-holder feature that Subaru pioneered in the 1980's
-more power would be nice, engines always seemed underpowered save for the C32/55
Last edited by Boom vang; May 2, 2011 at 11:39 AM.
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Joined: Mar 2010
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From: Nothern VA
2007 E350 4 Matic Silver/Ash and 2005 C55 Black/Black
I dis-like the rain sensing wipers. Mine always seems to go crazy, like wipe really fast when it is not raining that much. I would prefer having a setting for low speed instead of just for speeds two and three.
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Joined: Sep 2010
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From: Washington DC
1999 E320 4matic Wagon, 2005 C55 AMG - sold, 1998 VW Jetta TDI - sold, 2006 C230 Sport - Totaled :(
i've only a few:
-no sunroof
-need more power for m272!
-bix should be standard for this car in 2006
-little bit more headroom in the rear, some of my tall friends are a little cramped when the car is full
-ipod hookup
other than that, car is great. i guess tommy's may be a little different cause it's older but my manual feels great, car drives well and handles amazing. i just wish i had my sunroof, bix, and more power
-no sunroof
-need more power for m272!
-bix should be standard for this car in 2006
-little bit more headroom in the rear, some of my tall friends are a little cramped when the car is full
-ipod hookup
other than that, car is great. i guess tommy's may be a little different cause it's older but my manual feels great, car drives well and handles amazing. i just wish i had my sunroof, bix, and more power
Super Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 587
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From: Boston
12 E350 4Matic Sport
Those damn squeaking noises, and the fact that it takes a lot of new parts and hours of labor to repair.
Besides that, I hate the layout of the power window/seat buttons. It's just not practical for a person to have to bend over just to reach them.
Oh, and also, the ashtray can't be removed unless the shifter is in D or lower (on a Automatic) but that's a minor issue.
Besides that, I hate the layout of the power window/seat buttons. It's just not practical for a person to have to bend over just to reach them.
Oh, and also, the ashtray can't be removed unless the shifter is in D or lower (on a Automatic) but that's a minor issue.
Last edited by Crna Mechka; May 2, 2011 at 01:50 PM.
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 10,067
Likes: 11
From: Westwood, NJ
2004 Civic Si. FWD for the Win!
Exactly. They did update the manny mid-stream, and you're the happy recipient of it. Consider yourself lucky.
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 18,677
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From: OC
a quarter mile at a time
I think so, I think after the M I'll go back to a Benz of some flavor.
Have you tried the iPod integration?
i've only a few:
-no sunroof
-need more power for m272!
-bix should be standard for this car in 2006
-little bit more headroom in the rear, some of my tall friends are a little cramped when the car is full
-ipod hookup
other than that, car is great. i guess tommy's may be a little different cause it's older but my manual feels great, car drives well and handles amazing. i just wish i had my sunroof, bix, and more power
-no sunroof
-need more power for m272!
-bix should be standard for this car in 2006
-little bit more headroom in the rear, some of my tall friends are a little cramped when the car is full
-ipod hookup
other than that, car is great. i guess tommy's may be a little different cause it's older but my manual feels great, car drives well and handles amazing. i just wish i had my sunroof, bix, and more power
Have you tried the iPod integration?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,545
Likes: 6
From: Washington DC
1999 E320 4matic Wagon, 2005 C55 AMG - sold, 1998 VW Jetta TDI - sold, 2006 C230 Sport - Totaled :(
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 18,677
Likes: 9
From: OC
a quarter mile at a time
It's a controller box and a wiring harness. You end up with a plug in your glove compartment and control your ipod menu via steering wheel inputs. The ipod menus are relayed back to the display in your guage cluster. Worked well for me. The ONLY thing to watch out for is the earlier versions of the kit had low volume which was remedied through a small in-line amp device specific for the kit.
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 8,384
Likes: 800
2019 G70 6MT & 2022 Ford Maverick XL
Stupid foot operated e-brake
Range display is wildly inaccurate at times and updates too often, should be more consistent like other cars. Real world range for me is 360 miles to a full tank of mostly city, mostly highway I get 450... After every fill up the car says 454 on the range display.
Range display is wildly inaccurate at times and updates too often, should be more consistent like other cars. Real world range for me is 360 miles to a full tank of mostly city, mostly highway I get 450... After every fill up the car says 454 on the range display.
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From: Bay Area, CA
2006 C280
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From: bay area, california
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
holy crap the crappiest window switches in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm very very surprised no one mentioned them yet. my sister's 02' c240 had the drivers window control fall off and i'm very afraid to use mine now because they feel cheap and i don't want to braek it.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,545
Likes: 6
From: Washington DC
1999 E320 4matic Wagon, 2005 C55 AMG - sold, 1998 VW Jetta TDI - sold, 2006 C230 Sport - Totaled :(
whats wrong with the window switches, i think theyre nice, maybe the ones before 2006 were different?
i think we can all agree that the one thing everyone hates the most is the foot e-brake lol
i think we can all agree that the one thing everyone hates the most is the foot e-brake lol
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From: Raleigh, NC
2005 C230K, 2019 Honda CR-V, '74 Lotus Europa
The thing I dislike the most is the position of the brake pedal (I have a 6sp). The 6sp is not as fast a shift as I'd like. I also wish it had a power outlet that was hot when the car was turned off. My one touch sunroof is only one touch as long as I hold the button down. The windshield wiper sensor seems to be overly sensitive sometimes (but then I've never owned any car with a windshield wiper sensor before). I don't like having a bunch of button blanks and buttons that don't do anything. I don't like fake spare tires (but I do like the extra storage in the trunk). I haven't been impacted by it yet, but replacing front rotors with every other pad change suques!
One gripe I have about most cars is that when you turn on the wipers, your headlights don't go on with them.
I know we're griping here, but on the other hand, I like the 33mpg I got on a trip I took to the mountains this past weekend! The power is adequate for me (speaking of my 2005 C230K). I'm not crazy about pleather but it certainly doesn't seem to be the sweat inducing plastic I remember when I was younger.
I don't know why so many people don't like the parking brake but then I don't live in San Francisco. I almost never use mine.
Overall, I really like mine! I haven't liked a car this much since my Probe GT (ok, that was only one car ago, but you could go a lot further back and still not get a car I liked as well.
One gripe I have about most cars is that when you turn on the wipers, your headlights don't go on with them.
I know we're griping here, but on the other hand, I like the 33mpg I got on a trip I took to the mountains this past weekend
! The power is adequate for me (speaking of my 2005 C230K). I'm not crazy about pleather but it certainly doesn't seem to be the sweat inducing plastic I remember when I was younger. I don't know why so many people don't like the parking brake but then I don't live in San Francisco. I almost never use mine.
Overall, I really like mine! I haven't liked a car this much since my Probe GT (ok, that was only one car ago, but you could go a lot further back and still not get a car I liked as well.
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 475
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From: Tampa/Lutz, FL.
Correction, Drove An '05 C230 Kompressor SS
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 58
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From: Ont, Canada
2005 C230K coupe
Creaky, squeaky, rattling interior - should be put together better for a Benz! And, in a far second place would be lack of variable intermittent wipers, followed by the less than melodious M271 engine sound at startup and when cold.
But don't get me wrong, I do love this car!
But don't get me wrong, I do love this car!
