Would you buy a demo C230K with 5k miles on it with the same full warranty as if it were new for a few thousuand dollars less?

It's not so much a matter of price but availability. I can get the one I want next week rather than in October.

I don't see why not. When I finally unloaded my future lemon C230K, it had 5300 miles on, and several problems that had occurred (which were design problems) had been fixed, in my opinion, permanently. I'm sure MB would want a demo to function perfectly, and will already have fixed these nagging problems.

Also, I wouldn't be too concerned about hard driving when new. In an earlier thread, MB208 (I think he really is a MB Tech) said he has yet to see an engine failure due to it not having been broken in correctly. MB also uses Mobil 1, most people feel it is the best oil out there today.


To me, it also depends on price. If they're giving you like 2k discount, go to another dealership. If they're talking 4k on a 28k car, I think it's worth it.

Well, I wouldn't do it. Probability for getting i mistreated car would cause be to much thinking, even though the car migth not be mistreated in any way. I don't say I mistreat demo cars, but on of the things I think ALL of us did when we test-drove our cars was to floor it and check its performance out. Maybe this don't cause any trouble for the car in the long run, but still, who knows... Even the users manual tells us to take it easy during the first 1000 miles, and my belief is that not many demo cars had been properly "broken in".

Just my 0.02

If I were planning to keep the car beyond 100K miles I would look for a new car, have the Dealer do an extensive search of other dealer inventories. A demo typically has a hard break in period, I know as I pushed my dealers demos hard while finding the right car.

But if your only planning on keeping the car for less then 100K miles the rough break in period should have no impact to you ownership.

It is a total crap shoot. There are plenty of people who have had brand new cars with significant problems, so getting a new one doesn't mean you won't have problems. But if you can get it cheap enough, and they will let you take it overnight to test/drive for a day, it might be a good deal. I would want to drive it at least a full day to make sure there is nothing obviously wrong.

The long test drive is a pretty good idea.

I don't plan on keeping the car over 100k miles. And it is almost $5000 discount on a fully loaded car, which is really tough to pass up. As long as any defect doesn't get blamed on negligence that was caused in that first 5000 miles, it should be convered under warranty.

You save a nice bit of money on a car that is still not really broken in. Although some may have hit the throttle a bit hard most, Im sure, did not. Most people coming in to test drive a C230 were not looking to see how fast they can get through the slalom. I wouldnt worry too much about it, especially if you are getting the full warranty. 5k is nothing. I would not do this with any AMG vehicles because they are limited in production and in that I would want a new one. Good luck.

i would never buy a demo because i've seen how the sales ppl drive the cars on the test drives. this is my story about my test drive in the c230. the sales guy takes me to a gravel road and says he wants to show me how the ESP and ASR features work. so first he goes forward and at just over 80km/h he cranks the wheel, lets go and slams on the brakes. DAMN, the car did some amazing stuff and i was very impressed. BUT then he says "it also works in reverse." so we drive back up the gravel road and he sets the car up in reverse. he pins it in reverse and we build up some decent speed before he does the exact same thing. he cranks the wheel, lets go and slams the brakes. the next the i know we jump a curb and run through a steel fence. anyways to keep this short, he did do some significant damage and that is why i would never buy a demo. i know this story sounds a little crazy, but i swear that this is what happened to me. crazy stuff....