heat010

Hi Gang,

I have a tight budget on this one and I'm playing with the figures. I'd like to go C5, but the traffic in the Bay Area is a bear and I'm not sure if I'm going to blow out both my leg and clutch from being in stop and go traffic all the time.

What would you decide between the 2 options. I definitely have to go C7. I know the short throw shifter will be a nice throw in if I go C7 and the manual.

Need all of your wisdom oh great ones!!

toki999

I'LL GET MANUAL.....

C7 WILL BE NICE BUT....LEATHER IS ALWAYS NICE FROM THE INSIDE WHERE UR BODY SNUGS INTO THE BUCKET SEAT....SO...THINK ABOUT THAT AND DECIDE....TOUGHY HUH?

LATES


BRILLIANT SILVER / C5 / NO CHANGER.....YET!

dasMafia

if you're getting the C7... get the manual, the shifter is better than the standard unit, and the leather is a HUGE upgrade from standard. whatever you do, don't buy the auto thinking you'll use the "touchshift" thing... you just won't.

sal

I know what you're going through, I had a similar dilema when ordering mine, I opted for the manual because i wanted my moneys worth on the c7, j/k it's a great deal either which way, seriously to me it was worlds difference between the two and I live in the ever so populated Miami. Leather is sweet but you could always go CST

benzy230

get the manual, I have drove the auto.....its difference is night and day! Plus the clutch is not all that bad....easy to push!

Lynn

The C230k engine has a broad, flat torque curve. It pulls smoothly from 1000 rpm's in 2nd and 3rd, and 1200 in 4th. You won't need to shift as much as you would with many Japanese 4 cylinder cars.

I would not have leather with out the heated seats. The Bose isn't worth the asking price, even as part of the C5 package. My advice is to get the C2 and C4 packages and add leather and better sound when you can afford it.

viper

Do yourself a favour. Drive the manual and automatic and choose which fits YOUR NEEDS best.

gab

if u dont need to drive up those 50 degrees++ slopes in downtown SF pls get yourself a stick

if u like the comfort in traffic then get yourself an old boring camry or something as a commuter car

revstriker

From your original message, you sound like you want the auto, but are having a hard time choosing between that and leather. Therefore, my advice would be to get the auto. The auto tranny works nice on the C230, even if you don't use the touch-matic option. You can always save up and get the leather after-market as a few on this forum have done.

galaxygrrl

As another Bay Area native let me add my two cents since all the flat landers in this list might not understand what we call steep here.

I went back and forth between the stick and auto for weeks. I love driving a stick, but I live on Russian Hill, the steepest hill in the city (yes, it is the one in the movies with the cable car). I also sit in traffic alot to get over the Golden Gate Bridge. IMHO, traffic is a pain with a stick, the parking on the hills is a unbearable. (even if I use an emergeny break).

I think if traffic is the only concern, a stick is reasonable approach. If you drive a stick well, shifting in traffic is really second nature. If you don't and you buy one, you will soon, so that is OK too. Just treat your clutch with TLC.

If you live on a hill, I just don't think it's worth it. If you live on a hill and you need to learn to drive a stick, you most likely will blow you clutch. Also, I see people out of my windows all the time who can not drive a stick on a hill get themselves in hairy situations.

If your knee and hip is your concern, good health is more important than any car.

Finally, I like the automatic. It get's great reviews. Road and Track said they prefer the automatic and this is the quote from FORBES review, "We tried both on the track and, for the first time we can remember, would go shiftless". That helped me decided. I like the automatic.

You can always add leather later.

Let us know what you decide

Cheers

KWiK

Get the auto, you can always add leather later. I have the auto and once you get used to the Eshift function it can be quite fun. Also, when you don't feel like shifting, you won't have to.

columbus

phew - tough call! True, Lynn's right, it's got good torque so you can be lazy with the shifter. True, with the C7 package, the manny's even nicer. Buttt - revstriker & galaxygrrl have good points. Those hills are no joke, and with a foot-pedal parking brake. Plus I hear nothing but good things about the MB autos.
I drove an E-class CDI in Germany last summer for two weeks. Got tired of the auto-stick feature fast, but didn't miss it.
I dropped leather cause I like the sport cloth - warmer in winter, no sweat when wearing shorts getting into the car after parking it at Jones Beach all day. But I sure as heck didn't want to forego that beautiful panorama roof.
C7 and CD-changer are a must. Oh, and Orion-Blue of course, right, tommy?

goodkat

I never had a chance to decide on manual or auto. A dealer called me one day and said he located a car at the port will all the options I wanted and none that I didn't. It was a stick. And thank goodness for that!

I don't really have to deal with hills and/or traffic all that much, so these aren't concerns for me. But what a blast this car is with a stick. It's a performance vehicle. The stick is much shorter with the C7, and just feels right as opposed to the non C7 stick.

Grab the leather and let your senses enjoy :p

Larry

BigDaddyPR

ill go with the manual.... i got an auto trans plus i got the leather interiors and if someone make me loose one of the two options it would be the auto....i wouldnt change the leather... besides is not the same a mb with leather than one without it!im not sure about this but i think that before the c230 no mb came without leather. Besides youre going to have fun wiping the floor with some integras and civics!!im having some troubles with the automatic transmission.... sometimes it wont change shifts( on auto not shiftronic ) and when using shiftronic it got a delay between shifts!( not the half second delay... sometimes much more) so take my advice and get the leather and forget the auto trans... you can live without it!

tommy

As of right now, I am encouraging everyone to not get Orion. :p

There are way too many; I still really don't understand how popular it has gotten - I thought it was a niche color when I first ordered it.

As far as the leather vs. auto option, if you really want both, and I know this is a total rationalization, but I would say to go ahead and get both. The difference in your monthly payment can't be all that much, plus it would be easier than buyer's remorse down the line. And factory leather, if you like the colors and look of it, will always fit better than aftermarket.

I've never had to drive on hills too much, but I've got a 8-mile, 30-45 minute commute over here by NYC, and my manny is fine. Don't forget that there are 2 days of the week where the commute is no issue, so compare the hassle of it during your commute vs. the fun of it on weekends. I think that it's worth the m-f added leg wear.

MB-BOB

I think Galaxygirl's observations are the most astute for this SF question, and the clincher for me is the reminder by Columbus. You do NOT have a hand-operated parking brake in the C-Class, but a foot-operated one. Unless you have three feet, that's a pain with any manual transmission car on a hill, and SF is a nightmare. My choice would be auto, although I agree with dasMafia that you shouldn't justify it with the touchshift option, as you will find you do not use it very much.

Secondly, brakes in general are a real issue in SF. I had a cabby there tell me once that his company conducted monthly brake inspections, and replaced pads every three months. (I vaguely recall he said it was a city ordnance for cabs, but I'm not sure on that.)

Finally, I agree with tommy, that you should "step out there" as far as you can with the money issue. We all have budgets. However, buyer's remorse is more expensive psychologically than an extra $20 on the monthly car payment. Get as much as you can and be happy.

young

heh, another auto vs manual thread

i don't use the touchshift to shift up/down for normal driving but i do use it automatically (no pun intended) when i want to pass people! i really enjoy that; hold shifter to left to downshift to lowest possible gear, step on it, and then go back up to D...

i'm definitely a clutchless manual fan - like SMGII or a better sequentronic (although, if it was offered in the US, i'd have gotten it) but i know a lot of manual drivers really enjoy the clutch so YMMV.

this post will self-destruct in 10...9...

DrMike

A stick trans can be a real asset in a hilly city. In my poor student days in Seattle (which rivals SF for hills) the manual trans was a real life saver. On most streets in Seattle, you are going up or down. I was able to get along for months with a dead starter because I could just let the car start rolling and pop the clutch to start it.

I did a lengthy drive this weekend along 2 lane highways in CT,VT and MA. The auto with manual shifting was great, and eased the pain in the stop and go stretches when we hit ski traffic.

Also, since I am recovering from leg surgery, less pedals makes driving easier.

The MB factory leather is quite comfy. The textured/perforated surface keeps you from sliding like other leathers. Definately happy with it.

nukblazi

er this seems like a no brainer.

Leather and a manual trans, unless your wife can't drive stick. Even more reason if you don't want her to drive it.

I opted for the manual trans, I love it. The cloth int. looks tacky and an auto trans isn't as much fun.

.elijah.

I've seen most of my friends who drive the 2 dr. coupe w/ the manual stick. It give the ride a much much more sportier feel! The leather seats give the feel of MB luxury and to tell you the truth, i totally got appaled the first time i saw non-leather in the U.S. Now its not that bad. There are a few good points here and there.

I have an auto (but mine is a 4 dr.) and sometimes i do want the stick, but sometimes i just don't want to drive and my friends have a goodtime driving the car. I realize that if i had a stick, this could not be done. So, it just makes driving a little less of a hassle when all your passengers can just interchange on a long haul.

MarkL

Wow, talk about a 2nd life! This thread was started 1 YEAR AGO! At first, the 2/20 date threw me off, but it was 2002. Haven't heard from the original poster, heat010... wonder what he ended up with???

daimaru

While the foot-operated parking brake cannot fully duplicate the effect of a hand-operated one in this situation, it can still be used to help prevent rolling backwards. Since the foot-operated parking brake cannot be released bit by bit, one just has to time the rev/clutch right when pulling on the release handle... and yes, it'll take some practice!



Heh, I can never understand what the hurry is for the SF cabbies, especially the ones driving on Geary and downtown... They always seem to be conducting a 0-60-0 test...

mctwin2kman

If you can not start on a hill without the use of a parking brake you should not be driving a stick I am sorry but my wife never drove a manual car until our C230 and she does just fine on hills. I know we are not in SF, but if you do not know how to make the clutch and engine hold the car long enough to get your foot to the gas pedal then you are old and slow or just do not get it. Anyhow, moving on to the thread at hand. I had the same dilema until I thought hey it is only 20 bucks more a month and I want everything I really want or may want on a $30+K car. If I am paying for it I do not want to regret not getting somethung later on. So I picked the leather and my wife told me to get the stick because that is what I really wanted and she would learn if she wanted to drive the car. Well I got everything in my sig and my wife learned to drive stick and loves it. Now I only see the car on snowy days and for my one day a week time I get it. Oh well.

CRB

If you would even consider an automatic then go ahead and get it. I think that it is so awesome that Mercedes is starting to get manuals back into the mix in the United States. The shortshift option should be extended to all manual offerings and what to heck happened to the Sport package. It seems like it is one step forward and two back.

I want to see a C350 wagon with a 6-speed short-shift manual and a Designo leather option. Sport and stealth. That is my dream Benz and I hope they build it.

C230 Sport Coup

Wow, so much enthusiam for the manny tran.
Every car I had previous to this was manual, and personally I love the auto in THIS car.

I used to travel for work a lot, and got to drive lots of American cars with auto's and hated them. ALL of them.
The Supercharged T--bird was kinda fun....they ran out of Ford Tauruses, and had to give me something. :-)

To me this auto is different. VERY different.

And not sitting in traffic, clutch, clutch, clutch, clutch, clutch, is so nice.

It's just as quick as the manual, I think I've read even quicker maybe.

And yes, I DO use the manual function.
Downshifting thru mountain corners, almost like a manual. Not quite, but almost. Click, click!

But why force yourself to make a choice between leather and auto?
I don't get it. As you can see from my sig. I have, auto, leather, sunroof, and C7. Total out the door, about 30K.
So what's the big deal with 1500 bucks?

The C7 wheels, you won't appreciate with the suspension stock,
gotta get AMG bars, and better springs.
If I had to choose, I'd forget the c7, and get leather and auto,
add rims and tires later, when you upgrade the suspension.

You can't put chains on the C7's, if you plan to ski. The C7 tires only last about 15K miles. I'm pulling mine, and saving them for summer Big Sur jaunts and the like, picked up a set of stockers on ebay for ~500 bucks with new tires.

It's gonna cost more than that to replace these Michelin Pilots...
try 1250 at Wheel works. and just think, you get to that EVERY year, maybe sooner! Yes, there are less expensive tires. Still looking at 600-700 a set.

It's nice having the door handles match the car....
but you could likely do that easy enough.
Did I miss anything? Hmm. The pedals....well, like I said.
If I absolutely had to make a choice. But it seems silly to force this contraint upon yourself, spend 29K instead of 30K and never really be happy. For that money, get what you ****ing want!

Thats what my buddy told me as he dragged me out of
Fletcher Jones, as I nearly bought a Capri Blue, leather, auto, sunroof, with no C7, and 1500 surcharge for the paint, when what I really wanted was Orion Blue w/ c7 anyway, no surcharge.

"For that kind of money, be paitient, get EXACTLY what you want and nothing less". And so I did.

Also, as pointed out the E brake is on the floor, not center console. If you go to SF, yer gonna be screwed. How you gonna start from a hill, with one foot on the gas, one on the clutch, and one on the ebrake, leanig forward in the seat, trying to reach the release, as you sit at 45 degree upward angle on California Street, fuggetaboutit!

And heated seats in the Bay Area? Bah. You don't need 'em.

The stock leather is sooooo nice....and so is the auto, and this is from a guy who never ever woulda bought an auto before.
Touch shift rules!
You guys and you love of the clutch!
Well, that why I still drive my little convertible on the weekends with a 5 speed on occasion.

But the Benz is my daily driver.
GEEZ I just saw this thread is a year old.
Have I got SUCKER stamped on my forehead?