Hi folks!

Just realized that today, exactly one year ago, I left the dealer and drove home in my brand new C. Must say it has been a pleasent year of car-owning (mostly). In this year I've managed to drive 16000 km, wich is not that much considering 6000 of these kms was driven in 70 hours last summer So what can I say about the car so far? Well, it still feels brand new, I'm still as happy as I was a year ago when I get to drive it. Ok, here are some pros and cons that I've collected during this year:


Pros:

*Superb long trip comfort. I really love the MB-seats and they get better and better the longer the trips get.

*Extremly low wind and road noise. I've never been in a car that even comes close to the C in terms of "silenceness".

*Quite torqey engine. Not a performance monster in any way, but I thought it would be slower than it turned out to be. I just love the flat torque-curve. Mabye I would have appreciated this even more if I had the manual tranny...

*Smooth auto tranny. MB really knows how to build auto trannys. And I'm SOOOO impressed by the auto-adapting feature. I really love when it downshifts for me when breaking before a corner!

*Still an eye-catcher People still turn their heads when I pass them by.

*Fuel consumtion. Well on the long-trip last summer i averaged 8.3 liter/100 km. Pretty good for this kind of car I think.

*It's even fun to wash this car.


Cons:
Well, like many of you I've had my share of glitches, rattles and quirks. Everthing has been taken care of now, and I hope the fixes will be peramanent.

*SOFT paint, that seems to be very prone to chipping. I washed the car yesterday and found somewhere around 15 chips. Most of them are located in the plastic parts in the front (bumper). The rest of them are located on the hood, the A-pillar, the front fender and the rear-view mirrors.

*Unsexy sounding engine. Well, I really can't figure out why MB's has to sound this way. Maybe they should hire a sound engineer to their development department? They should learn a lesson from f.e. Volvo (who hired a church-bell maker/tuner when designing the exahust system for the 850) or BMW. They are sexy sounding cars!

*Tiny standard rims! The C200K comes standard with 15"-ers, which of course are good for the comfort, but hell, they don't look good. I'm still asking myself if I should upgrade to 17" or 18". What do you guys think? Is 17" (AMG monoblock II or lookalikes) too small? Is it by the way ok/safe to buy AMG-copys?

(*)A little more power wouldn't hurt. I think my next upgrade (after larger wheels) will be a Kleemann ring pulley.


Sorry for making this post long, but I felt I had to share my experiences! Thanks for reading

 

Happy anniv. 2u n ur car DtS! u just made me realize that its exactly 6months since i got my car today! May21st.

 

get the 17's - (although the roads in Sweden are excellent so you could probably go with 18's for more $$$$$$).

I like the C7 wheels or the C32 type (17's)

 

Since all of your little bugs are worked out ...i guess the best is yet to come....happy one year!!!!!

You are so right about the paint though...i have had mine for almost 6 months and the nose of the car has about 5 nicks and chips.....

 

I'm with you all the way with the "Unsexy sounding engine" since we both have the same model....sounds like a sick hoover if you ask me ... thats why I want to change the exhaust ... but still don't know which one to get (supersprint, AMG, Remus....)

I would suggest to go for 17" and lowered the car ...I've got 17" replica of AMG style III wheels with Eibach springs. The car looks much better than stock (mind you I got the "Classic" model which only comes with 15" hub cap wheels!!!...I can't believe I paid that much and still got hub caps ), the ride qualite is a bit stiffer but still very comfortable.

Want power??....get Kleemann ... I'm happy with my Kleemann upgrade.

Like you I'm one happy MB customer, I've got the car for about 9 months now and I hope that I'll be enjoying the car for years to come.

 

Congrats!

I would go with 17 inchers - about right for street use, ride is still comfy and yes, it looks good - also tires are less expensive than 18 inchers and ride is better. Try edgeracing.com for some wheels as another site.

Lower - only if you will keep it all your life.

Kleeman ring pulley - yes, sounds like a winner especially if you may upgrade in next 4 years. If keeping the car forever, that alloy wheel may be the better bet

Engine? I think the new smaller engine will sound better. We are stuck with a 90's engine.

Have fun and try a clear bra and light kit for those chips (stongard.com). You can but pieces of the kit if you like.

Bonne route!

 

Thanks alot for your positive feedback, congrats and opinions!

I plan to keep this car for a long time, and will probably not lower it, due to all snow we get here in the winters. I imagine a lowered car gets stuck easier in the snow. Of course I'd love the lowered look. Isn't coilovers one way to solve this dilema (low during summer - high during winter)?

I don't want to sacrifice too much of the superb comfort in the car so I think I'll stick to 17" rims, which I believe most people consider rather "large" after all

A pulley upgrade is a "must have". I've now seen enough people in this forum beeing satisfied with Kleemann's products to feel confident in buying either their ring pulley or their alloy pulley. Don't know wich of these two pulley upgrades that will be better in the long run, but that is something to add to the calculations.

Problem is there is no place to buy Kleemanns products in Sweden (I didn't find any retailer anyway), but on the other hand, Denmark (and Kleemann HQ) is only 700 kms away

Hope you all will be just as happy as I am after one year with your C!

 

No, real coilovers don't adjust height up and down. Although I have heard some kits that do that. Coilovers are expensive and must be installed and each corner must be weighted and balanced and you must have the right machines to do it right. you could ruin the car with a bad coilover install.

So if you like the ride, be happy with it going really fast. After the pulley upgrade, check out a brake upgrade or antisway bars or performance dampeners.

Have fun!