Hi! I'm new to this forum and not quite familiar with MB cars.

Anyways, I'm trying to help my sis out in her planned purchase of a C230. I just want to help her get a good if not fair deal. As far as options are concerned, the only thing essential that she wants is a Navi. Of course, I tried to convince her to get more options such as the bi-xenon headlights and upgraded audio system but adding all those goodies comes at a steep price.

So, I would appreciate it if anyone could give me suggestions, tips and advise on this purchase. I'm mostly familiar with Acura where there's not a lot of options (most items are standard).

Also, she's living in the Bay Area, so please recommend good dealers if you know of one.

Thanks a lot.

Honestly, IMHO, it's hard to not have most of the options. I have all the options EXCEPT Navi, mostly because (big shocker) I can read a map and get directions online before having to leave somewhere. Which I think, most people who get navi are either too lazy to bother, or they just like having a nice screen in their cars. Who knows.

In terms of the Acura, I usually can't stand Acura's because most of them are front wheel drive, and torque steer to me, is a pain in the ***; but Acura's have superior Navi systems that would put to shame most of the the available systems out there now. So if all your sister wants is a car with a great Navi system, go with the Acura. If she appreciates luxury, refinement, relative performance and better handling, go with the Benz.

With all the options except Navi, I paid $35k, for a new 2006 C230 Sports Sedan. Not sure how you guys do it in the Bay Area, just giving you an idea how of much I paid and what to expect. Hope this helps.

what part of the bay. if she wants to come to the south bay she can get hooked up at smythe.

^San Francisco.. She's willing to go anywhere in the bay area for a great price.

How much over invoice are these cars selling? Let's say before options... Just want to get some idea..

Go with the Acura. the navi is a lot better.... say Touchscreen? and voice command is standard. also it is a lot easier to use by far (compare to MBenz and Lexus) i've used them all.

^I know.. Acuras have very good navi (I have one)... But my sis really like the C230, so Acura is out of the question..

Welcome

A lot of people have posted this info numerous times. Remember, the search function is your friend.

^I'll try that..

I just bought a 2006 C230 SS in August paid $32,700. list was 34,255. Sunroof, CD Changer, 7G auto trans. no Nav. They are selling service loaners for $29,500 same equipment and base cars w/ 6 speed manual, no sun roof, no CD changer for $27,000 here in south FL. Should be able to deal as well anywhere. Just go on the M-B website http://www.mbusa.com and see the national offer on the C class, dealers will usually match or beat that deal.

First of all, Bay Area is very confusing. It's San Francisco Bay Area. Without that, some people might be thinking Tampa Bay Area (which is in Florida).

The C230's nav is useless. Your sister should take a test drive of the nav with the car moving.

Remember, whatever you got for a price, the salesman is always happy. Because you settled. Honestly, you can buy these cars below published invoice and the dealership will be happy.

hey welcome to the boards first off! I put my car up for sale as of today if you are interested. Guarantee you will not find a benz in the condition as mine with everything already done for less than what dealerships are asking for...here is a link for you to read up on https://mbworld.org/forums/classifieds/152901-sale-2004-c230k-over-8-000-accessories.html

tell her to get the 2007 C230. It comes with some cool standard features that the 2006 C230 does not have.

This thread has the information about the 2007 C230:
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w203/149876-07-sport-models-include-spoiler-dual-tips-c55-discontinued.html

I forgot to mention I got the Alpine Blackbird GPS/Nav system not as stealth as the factory, but works much better. Easily updted online for free can be hardwired up under the rear view mirror, portable to another car and has Mp3ability to play throught the factory radio. I loaded 32 CD's on one SSD card. Lastly, I doubt you will find a C230 with Nav anyway. Hope this helps.

right, wait for the 07 model to come first
and a navi on c230, it's an $2000 option

i paid $33k for a c230 sport with sunroof, cd changer, petwer color,
7-speed auto, heated seat

so if i add all the option (including bi-xenon, power driver seat, premium sound) with no navi and no tel., the total will be around $35k
although now i want the bi-xenon and power driver seat

if the navi is a must, why don't you ask her to get a aftermarket navi.
i'm sure it will be less than $2000
i don't know if Cal. allow to put portable navi, i don't think they allow that
but if they do, it will only cost $800 max.

Thanks for all the replies.

I did told my sis about the '07. She said she will look into it. She has talk to a dealer what she likes which is (I believe) a red, MT with Nav. The dealer said that there's only two of that in the U.S. and none of them are in California. And they can't order for her anymore because MB is now making the '07. So its either she picks a different color or wait for the '07. I'm not sure if its just dealer BS, so I told her to to ask different dealers.

Options, options, options.... There are just too many options. If the OEM Nav is not as intuitive or user friendly, I will convince her to get an aftermarket one. That will give her some more $$ to add some more options.

The Bossman, I checked ur car.. It's sweet but she prefers a new car. Thanks. Loaners are definitely out of the question. More often than not, they are abused.

BTW, She will test-drive the car this weekend.

Yup, I just abused a loaner in May.
Loaner is worse than off-leased car

the OEM Nav probably does not work quite as well as the aftermarket ones. However, i think it looks much nicer . BTW it works well enough for me, but I'm easy to please

One good thing about the OEM is that no aftermarket Nav will match the look and how nicely integrated it is to the overall look of the interior. Nice pic and thanks for sharing.

I am brand new to this forum, so please let me know if I asked anything stupid or how can I find information without bothering you guys with a new thread.

The situation is that my wife is considering a 2006 c230 Sport. Her previous, and only, car is a Honda Civic, so she does not have any experience with a car in the c230's class. While she is very pleased with the short test drive and the overall impression the C230 has on her, she is worried about the reliability of the c230.

My local European car forum (I have an Audi A4) members pointed out that JD Powers ranked the MB below BMW and Audi in initial quality (I have not verify this myself), and pretty much warned me to get ready to be stranded. Is this a somewhat realistic picture or is the 2006 c230 better? I figure it is the older Kompressor model that is subjected to the failures.

So if some of you 2006 owners can provide me with some feedbacks here, that would be of great help.

And to be clear, my wife understands that a MB would not be like her dad's Camry. But she does not want a car that will disappoint her either.

My wife also test drove the Lexus IS250, but she felt the IS is simply nowhere near as solid as the C230. Did any of you also test drove the IS and came away with that impression?

Lastly. There is some info about a 1.9% financing offer for purchase, but the dealership says 2.9%, what gives?

I have had my car for 5500 miles so far (took delivery in mid January) and I haven't been to the dealer once except for the required 1500 mile service. Everything has been absolutely solid on the car. I am very pleased with it.

I've had the car for 11 months and 19,000 miles. the car is at the dealer right now for a warranty work, but it did not get me stranded. the check engine light went on so i took it in for service, the dealer then provided me another mb to drive while the car is getting fixed. The car is awesome, and dealers tend to fix issues with their cars. You may want to consider cost of services too, service A (which is the minor service goes for around ~300) and service b which includes couple of things to replace than service a is ~500. Service intervals are at 13,000 miles. If you don't drive much then it's about 300-500 on services per year. Would I recommend the car? Definitely! Also consider the timing of your purchase, I bought mine late august last year, MSRP was at 35,500 and I picked it up for 28,700 (plus tax and license). I hope this helps.

funny how JD power ranks their stuff. Personally I wouldn't rank BMW or Audi over my MB. I had a BMW 3-series and many friends have the A4. They're pretty much a wash with minor glitches.

Hi, I went from a civic to a c230 as well.

I'm pretty happy with the car overall and it is definiately a lot better in regards to quality when compared to a civic. I'm sure your wife will love it.

My friends all love my car and are always complimenting me on it whenever I go out. It's still economical as it's an entry level mercedes, but looks nice.

I acquired my C230 Kompressor in January of 2005.

Let me put you on track, Mercedes-Benz engines and transmissions are considered to be some of the most reliable in the industry. So if you're thinking that the older "Kompressor" cars are not reliable, then you are likely mistaken.

However, Mercedes-Benz vehicles are not at the pinnacle of INITIAL Quality (as determined by JD Power & Associates). This means, initially, within the first year, there may be some problems, programming errors if you will.

Mercedes-Benz cars are highly complex and consequently, sometimes, computer components fail. While these very rarely leave you stranded on the road, they will sometimes require you to make a stop at the dealership for warranty repair at your earliest convenience.

An example would be; it's a nice sunny day, you're driving on the road, and all of a sudden, the car computer beeps, "Malfunction, ESP Dead, Visit Workshop", "Malfunction, ABS, Visit Workshop", "Malfunction, EBD, Visit Workshop". So, the next day, you visit the dealer, and they find out, some sort of switch is broken. They fix it, and you get a loaner car in the meanwhile.

Servicing the car;
Service A - $300 (I recommend every 10k miles, but Mercedes says 13k miles)
Service B - $450 (I recommend every 10k miles, but Mercedes says 13k miles)
Brake job; pads, rotors, front and rear - $1000 (depends on how much you use the brakes, anywhere from 20k miles to 50k miles)
Tires $600-1000 (20k miles give or take, the rears wear out a bit faster)

Major service at 60k miles $1500

Major Service at 100k miles $2000

Total cost to maintain with gasoline at $3.499/Gallon; approximately $0.30 a mile.

They say if you have to ask about the maintenance, then that means you won't be able to afford it. I disagree, since if you think about it, compared to some other cars, it's not that bad.

Oh, Lexus IS250. I think it's a great little car. I felt there was nothing wrong with it at all. Since in January of 2005, the car wasn't out yet, I was unable to consider it, but had it been out, I would've very likely acquired that car instead. The Lexus IS250 is smaller in the rear seats. Personally, I think the BMW 325i is the best car in this segment.

Point is, you're not going to get failures from the engine, so don't worry if it's a Kompressor engine or not. Cars these days, usually it's the transmission will go bad first, and I don't think Mercedes are an exception (the car's transmission will likely last 150k miles easily however).

It's a fairly reliable little car. But, it does have these tiny problems. I always tell people, European cars rarely have large problems like engine/transmission issues. However, they often have small electronic problems that are still annoying and fairly costly to fix.

i jus recently went to a fully modded civic coupe to a white c230 sport v6 as well, let me tell you that first off ill never drive anything less than a european car prolly ever again, second the car is lovely inside and out and i have tasteful plans for it, third the only gripe i have is the gas and cost of it, but then again its a mercedes and its a v6, compared to a 1.6 4cyl, you have to expect it. Hope she goes for the mercedes, ther solid and very luxury/sporty all in one, u cant ask for much more.