zxc1

Hi!
As you can tell, this is my first post here. I live in Ontario, Canada and I'm in the market for a new ride.
I was "lurking around", quietly, for a while when the new coupe came out. Now that that decision time is approaching, I'm back with some questions. I noticed this forum is fairly friendly, so I hope I don't get my a** kicked for asking too stupid questions .
Anyhow, I'm interested in the C240 - with manual - if I can convince my "better half .
The other cars on my shortlist are the A4 and the Acura3.2TL, the latter kinda' getting more and more off the list...

To start things off with a question - How expensive is to keep a C240? I mean scheduled maintenance during the first 4 years. I plan on leasing now, but that might change.
Does Mercedes (or any dealer) have something like "free" maintenance in Canada?

cheers,
zxc1

David N.

No free maintenance in Canada. Depending on your driving style, you'll need to get an oil change approx every 15000 km. MB uses synthetic oil in their cars. Not sure about the coupe though. MB has an "A" service, and a "B" service. A is about 100 bucks, and B is high 200's. After you pay Mikey and Jean, you're looking at 500 cdn a year to maintain you're baby. IMHO, not a big deal really.

Do you want a coupe(c230) or a sedan(c240/c320)? I think you confused the coupe with the 240 in your post.

Take it easy.

bagwell

Have you drove the Acura 3.2 TL type S ? Curious as to how it would match up dollar for dollar. And the rice rocket requires zero maintenance I bet.

I have a 01 C320 myself and love it. Check EBAYMOTORS for a used C240 or even C320...some C240's are on there for under $29K !!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cg...item=598258163

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cg...item=598351527

zxc1

Thanks for the info!
I was originally looking for the coupe. I went to the dealer a couple of days ago to check it out, and - as usual - my wife was right - not very suitable if you have a 3 years old kid and an adult (sometimes) at the back.
The 240 wasn't even on my list initially. Looking closely at the base version - price/features/looks - I think I have to restart all this number crunching/feature comparo again...

thx,
zxc1

Flashman

Interesting...

I have a 2 year old that rides rather often with me and it was an initial concern I had with the C Coupe. When we went to a test ride, we actually tried it out with the child, too see how annoying it would be to put him in/out of the rear seat and found that it really wasn't a problem.

We even noticed how you can safely put the baby seat in the middle (the no-seat space) of the back seat. This can be done because the C Coupe has the new baby seat connectors at the bottom of each seat. Using a special clip-at-either-end baby seat belt ($25) you can then attach any baby seat to the inside latch of each rear seat, and the child seat would sit locked and safe in the middle (and far away from those side impact bags). It also leaves space on either side if you are really desperate for taking more people (though somewhat cramped). This also gives the child a nice view forward. Of course, this would not work with a booster seat.

Rick
---
2002 C Coupe Magna Red C5 C7 (on order)
1993 Mazda Miata Roadster

zxc1

To bagwell:
Yes I drove it. It's OK - nothing out of the ordinary. Fit and finish doesn't look all that good. I found the interior a bit cheesy.
One big thing going for it is it's interior room.
I had this leftbrain/right brain going for a while - bigger/reliable/japanese vs. nicer/european/maybe not so reliable...
It looks like second option is winning.

cheers,
zxc1