anonymousmoose

Well, I've driven the car for over a year now and thought I'd give a review from a non-mechanical owners perspective. Hope you enjoy the read and that its useful to some potential buyers of a w203 out there.

Please leave a comment, ask question or discuss

My Benz is a C200 Sports Edition Sedan MY05 registered in 2006.
The Australian Sports Edition was the top of the range for that year and came loaded with most of the options available. I lucked out.

Here is a like of all the tech specs.
http://www.redbook.com.au/cars/resea...or-w203-83605?

In 2011 I purchased my first Mercedes after wanting one most of my life. Over here in Australia they are not inexpensive so it took a while to take the plunge and purchase one.

Drive;
The smoothest car I've personally ever owned and I am very happy with the drive. Its not the fastest car, 9.1 seconds to 100km/h wouldn't suit those who like to be pushed back into their seats but for a tame driver like myself, its enough. I've had V8 luxury sedans in the past and never drove them for speed, but for comfort.

It can take a second or so for the Kompressor to kick in when putting the foot down which is a little bit annoying, but you get used to it. Whilst not very fast off the mark, once you get some momentum behind you, the car overtakes pretty well. We can only do 100km/h on our Freeways and 110km/h on our highways so there is lots of overtaking in country roads. The Kompressor overtakes long trucks with ease.

Handling is superb with the sports setup my car has. I test drove the 3 series BMW and whilst the BMW might be a bit better, the Sports Suspension on the w203 holds its own. I much prefer it to the standard suspension setup of the w203. Cornering can be fun in this car.

I've only driving it once above the speed limit and at 150km/h it handled like driving at 100km/h. MUCH better than my last cars who were local GM (Holden) builds.

Comfort;
For an entry level Benz sedan I am very happy with the comfort. The seats are firm and good for my back. I sit pretty straight in my drivers chair and I can drive for hours without feeling any need for a stretch. I wouldnt call them full-on sports seats but my car seats do differ from the standard w203. Memory seats would be nice but I haven't really missed not having the option. I pretty much am the only driver.

Dash and console layout is fantastic and I really like the steering controls. No need to even touch the console if I didn't want to. The only thing missing is an MP3 DVD reading option and a Bluetooth music kit. But saying that, the Bluetooth phone kit is fantastic.

Maintenance;
So far nothing major has gone wrong and the two things that have were repaired under warranty or fixed by me. Things that have gone wrong;

• Sunroof sensor didnt auto-close sunroof: Repaired by lubing it.
• Cracking FM radio when rear window demister was on: Replaced rear window under warranty.
• Oversensitive front parking sensors: Replaced sensors under warranty

The rest is just servicing and replacing parts as per the service book. No break downs, no leaks etc.


The interior holds up well for a car now 7 years old with no cracks in the man-made leather.


I do recommend, for Australian buyers anyways, a good aftermarket warranty and a reputable dealer to buy from. My dealer is not Mercedes authorised but they sell new the most high-end cars in my city so they do look after their customers.



Will I buy another Mercedes?
If I don't try out a BMW next, you bet-ya. The only hurtle may be finding a future pre-owned C class of the w204 generation with all the options my w203 has. I would love the current shape E class but I think it will be a bit out of budget as a next car, even pre-owned with the Aussie prices. I have still over a year to go on my lease and in no hurry to upgrade. The longer I wait the more inexpensive the w204 Facelift models will become and I might be able to find a Sports Edition AMG C200 or C250.


I hope you enjoyed the read an sorry for the spelling errors, typed this in hast and will re-check my work a bit later


Here is my car at the dealership when I first saw it;

TorontoW203

Great review. Thank you!

RA053023

yeah, great review & a great city you live in too mate

btw, ive had my car for 1 week & paid $16.7k for it & yeah its the smoothest car ive driven.

cheers
Andy

Glyn M Ruck

Pleased to see you are enjoying her Sven.

Carsy

Glad to read of another satisfied customer.

Please do something for me , test drive a 220CDI 204 before you decide on your next vehicle. !!

anonymousmoose

I drove the 220CDI when I was Benz shopping and bought my w203. I think we spoke about it online back then :-). I loved the engine but I wasn't the biggest fan of the interior personally. It was an 2007 or 2008 so it was the 1st Gen. Plus it was the base model and the Elegance & Aventgarde lineups were too expensive for me.

If I do get another C Class it would probably be the W204 facelift, and there is no 220CDI but a 200CDI & 250CDI. I'll keep my eyes out for one. I am hoping maybe by that time the E class, E200 or E220 CDI will be in my budget. I'm a big fan of the E class. But I would only really be interested in the 2009 and up model so it will probably be out of budget.

If my leasing company allows it, I might also look for one of these convertibles.

anonymousmoose

Thats a good price Andy. You wrote 60,000 miles in one post, does that mean about about 97,000km? Mines coming up to 80,000km going by the price you paid, looks like resale is dropping crazy which is unfortunate. I still go over a year on my lease.

This looks like the cheapest on in Perth on Carsales: http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de...-2005-14118827
So you got a steal of a deal!

If I sold mine now, this would be a comparable one in Perth: http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d...-2005-14228487. Looks like the exact same car.

Carsy

I think you should have the convertible for the weekends & the 200 CDI for work .

I can't get over what a great turning circle the C Class has. Marvel at it every time I park. The E Class may not be as nimble. ?