rtking

Thanks to everyone for their input. I agree and I've decided to pursue a car with the right color exterior/interior and options and have Steve install the COMAND system afterwards.

Now the BIG questions:

1) What's a 2002 C230 Coupe with 9,000 miles, leather, homelink, panorama roof and automatic transmissionn worth? The owner wants me to make him an offer.

2) Is $15,500 for a 2002 C230 Coupe with 48,000 miles, leather, panorama roof, homelink, auto trans, Bose and power seats a good deal?

3) Or should I consider buying a new 2004 C230 Coupe for $25,000?

Thanks for any and all input!

Bob

Xeon

seeing your option 2....i think i can safely say my car is worth about 17.500

Guest0001

1) KBB states 18,300 for private value

2) KBB states 16,000 for private value

3) If its in your budget, sure why not? Best option!

Outland

That's dirt cheap. Go for it. You can add plenty of goodies and still undercut the 04.

02 and 05 are the best years for Coupes. If you go 05, load it up, and get the v6.

kokketiel

Why '02 and '05?

rtking

Thanks all! I think I'm going for the '02 Coupe (for $15,500.) I'm working-out the details now.

Kokketeil: If I searched the forums right, the '02 is preferrable because of the 2.3 liter motor and the ability to modify it. I actually prefer the 2.3 (2002) Coupe because of the torque offered by displacement and the torque range that it spans. The fact that I can modify it for more power is more of a plus.

The '05 is a nice car with the revised dash, console and DVD based navigation system. But for my fiancee (who will undoubtedly park by braile for a bit) I think it's a bit much to be driving a $30+K car to do that. (I am going to be buying some cheap rims to put on the coupe until she masters parallel parking though.)

Bob

Saprissa

That would be only for C230K Coupes, not for C320 Coupes.

Best C320 Coupes are 2003 !

chriscman

Because of our first addition to the family (due next July), I have decided to give up my 03’ S2000 and purchase a new sedan. We also currently own a 01’ BMW325ci and started the sedan thought process with thinking about acquiring a 3 series sedan, but felt like we wanted a change. No particular reason for the change but desiring something a little different. We looked at the Audi’s A4 3.0, Lexus ES300, and Acura TL (would still like to think about the Volvo S60)… but fell in LOVE with the Mercedes C320 Sports Sedan over the other competition

I am posting to the board for two reasons:
(1) I know we have some problems with the German built quality early on with the Bimmer, but the Mercedes reviews seem to have MANY more quality problems. Does that still hold true for the 05’ model. I know it is a crapshoot.
(2) Always used Edmunds pricing method for getting the best deal for all other cars, can someone help on the pricing tips. Live in the DC/VA area and want to know good dealers, wiggle room (over invoice), what others paid (including tricks for hidden dealer costs – Advertising, etc) and negotiation room when ordering. Looking at Orion Blue, fully loaded, except heated seats and no leather.

Many thank for all the help.

amdeutsch

Welcome to the board.

The info you are requesting has been posted numerous times. You might want to search out these threads/posts and then ask for additional clarification while referencing the corresponding post.

05Css

Hey chriscman it sounds like the moderator didnt give a good welcoming so I will take some time and answer some of your questions. I was in the same boat as you were 2 months ago. I use to own a C240 for 3 years and hated it. First it was slow as crap, second I had to take it in for warrenty over 30 times. For my next car I for sure was going to change brands. But when the 05 came out with the AMG body kit for the Sport model, the new interior, and the better quality I fell in love with the car. You are right, reliabilty for Benz sucked for the 01 - 04 years. But with the 05 it has improved and now its back on track.

I considered BMW but after visiting some forums I realized the 04's were having several problems that I didnt like, plus next year will be a new design. Audi and Volvo never took a look at, from what I hear they are not reliable either. You can never go wrong with a Lexus, but the IS300 will have a new model next year and the ES300 is front wheel drive. Acura, has a lot of goodies that come with it, bigger car, nice and all but front wheel drive again. Here is what I can tell you, Benz will always have all of them beat as far as image. Its a solid car, good handling. I think where Benz takes a hit is power.

Also I drove both the C320 and the C230 and to be honest with you it wasnt much of a difference for the extra 5-6k. Make sure you drive both before you buy. I would stay away from the C40 because its slow as a turtle.

As far as cost, well I bought mine at invoice, just like you see in edmunds. Some people based on their region like CA were able to buy it below. But do not buy it at anything above.

Orion blue is an awsome color, as a matter fact thats the color I test drove. But I wanted white, I thought it was more classy, plus white at night is like yellow in the day time, flashy

Good luck to you, let us know what you descide on

mick1

zero quality problem so far . everything works !

littlemin

Welcome! I personally think the search function in this forum isn't too great...but anyways!

I'm new to the forum too so I'm in the same shoes as you are. I'm looking into the C230 SS as well. The only problem I keep hearing about it is the engine leak, but its definitely fixable and is not recurring (or so I heard). As for pricing, here in Cali, getting the car with $1k or $2k below invoice isn't too rare.

I'm considering Lexus models too...my mom has a LS430 so I'm confident about its quality. However what I don't like is the interior of Japanese cars. They look too cheap. Just my 2 cents. But I'm concerned about C230's acceleration and power....

My options are

C230 SS
White
Sunroof Pkg
Lightning Pkg
COMAND Pkg
Auto Trans.

I believe I was quoted around $33200 (invoice) for this car at a southern cali dealer. Gonna go test drive the car this weekend! Best of luck to your car purchase!

revstriker

Welcome to the board. I currently have a 2002 C320, and I have to say that I have been completely satisfied. The only problem that I had was very recently when I got a signal to check the coolant. It was fine, so I brought it in to service and they replaced the fan (bad bearing). My wife has had a 2000 BMW 323i which also was a nice car. However, she had more problems with her car (still not a lot though) than I have had with mine. We just recently (less than a month ago) traded in the BMW for a SUV.

Anyway, I think a lot of the quality issues get over played sometimes. Sure, you will find quality issues on specific cars no matter where you look. A friend of mine went through two Audi TTs, and they both spent more time going up and down then on the road. Point is, you should not concern yourself with quality, and just buy the vehicle that fits your needs and desires the best.

Good luck.

chriscman

The information and tips have been very helpful! I wish the search feature worked better. I assume it is like this everywhere, on Bimmer.org and S2K boards, same thing. I will attempt to locate my questions, but INVOICE for a Benz???

I thought I was doing good on the Bimmer for $1.2k over invoice and I ordered it. That was back in 01 and they gave me that their allotment was up and this was the last car they could order? Yes, I bought that line.

Please feel free to add to this thread. I love message boards for cars and think most people are pretty helpful.

Many thanks

revstriker

It's hard to say what a car should go for since there are a lot of factors involved; location, dealership, current inventory, model year. I think the best place to look is Edmunds. They can tell you what people in your area are actually paying. You can also look up any rebates that are available.

tommy

Rev is obviously high. IMHO, there's no way to know the quality of '05s yet, and considering that the changes have been almost exclusively cosmetic, there's no real reason to expect their quality to be any higher than '01s-'04.5s. Though time will tell.

Coming from an S2K, you're going to be very disappointed with the "sportiness" of the Benz. Unless you're looking at a pure family sedan, then you'd be fine. I'd look at the S60 too; very nice.

Many MB dealers are running winter specials now, at least in my area. You might be able to get a year-end bargain if you find a dealer trying to add a couple of units to their year-end tally, and get an even better deal than if you wait a couple of months.

05Css

I have to agree with tommy. Coming from an S2K you will be dispointed with the spotiness of the car. Even if you get the C320. I use to have a fast car and that thing was fast. When I bought my C class it took a long time to get use to it and still miss sports car. But I bought my C class for a reason, I was sick of getting tempted to race, I was looking for a safe car, and looking to fit more people. You really have to evaluate your needs. As far as quality, for sure the 01 - 02 model had tons of problems. But a lot of fixes came out since then and the quality improved. I guess what has left a sour taste in a lot of people is that they expected Benz to have much better quality than it demonstrated.

Let us know what you descide. If you other questions just post them. Dont be shy, we will not be beat by any other forum in helping you

gameson

are there things i need to look for/inspect for this year 01 c240? are there any bugs for this model? i m in usa. thanks

05Css

DO NOT DO IT. I repeat, DO NOT DO IT. 01 - 02 was the worst year specially for that model. Lots of bugs, I use to have one and took it in 30 some times to the dealer. Buy something else. To list all my problems and to tell you what to look for would take up a lot of time.

Good luck to u

mick1

my last car was a 99 bmw 328i and the 05 mb c320 ss seems just as fast as the bmw.

rockintunes23

Must be the benz you had with bugs. I had a 01 c240 manual and it was great. At first, there was a few things to fix... but after all the service recommendations were covered, it was a great car. Had no problems with the engine what-so-ever.

If it wasn't for a retard running a stop sign and totaling it... I would have it now and not shopping around for a new car. I loved my 2001 c240 from day one when I picked it up in Germany back in September 2000. I had it shipped to where I live in Delaware.

Now I have to drive a cheap crap rental-car since my accident a month ago until my case is resolved with the insurance company.

Just keep in mind... Mercedes-benz has the most options in that line of cars!

gameson

what do u think is a good price for c240 from a private party?

elchinocache

depending on how many miles. but dont pay more than the low 20's. i would say about 19 20 k if the car is in good condition and it doesnt have many miles and the title is clean

YeeHaw

my '02 C240 has had minimal problems....

Buellwinkle

My buddies 2001 C320 was flawless, no problems. The only thing you should know about 2001-2002 C240's is that many were made in Brazil (not any C230/C320 I've seen) and possibly the quality may not be as good as those made in Germany. I don't know how you can tell but when new it said so on a sticker on the window. Some say the VIN has a code for what country it came from but when I saw them on the lot, the VIN was German even though the sticker show final assembly in Juiz de Fora, Brazil.