Just out of curiosity...


...what would it cost to order a c230 for euro delivery, fly over to say England or Germany and arrange to have the car shipped to the US?

Are euro delivery cars that different from those made for the USA? I'm sure there are different emissions regs over there.

 

I would think that they (MB) wouldn't sell to a US owner for Euro delivery on a car that's not approved of in the US. Besides, you'd have to pay taxes (much higher than here in US, no matter what country), duties, etc. Which would probably at least double the cost at least. Besides, it wouldn't be able to be driven here legally because of not passing DOT standards.

TN - I'm in the same boat. Other than the SLK, I don't see anything in the MB range that I'd even consider after I'm done with my coupe.

 

Count me in the same boat. If I had to replace my 2005 Coupe today and could not order or find one, then I would not be buying a Merc -- even though I have been delighted with the car in the 3.5 months I've had it.

As I wrote two months ago in this thread, IMHO the 2005 C230k Sport Coupe offers by far the best deal in the MB line-up. I got a lot of car for the money I paid (27k including tax) -- much more than I would have gotten from its competitors. To take but one oft-cited example, the ride of the Acura TSX is plebeian compared to the C's.

Despite the severe discounting that is rampant for C and E sedans (see reports of $10k discounts on E320 sedans in this thread), value for money is not something I find in many other Benzes. Likewise, to say that the W209's price-quality ratio is not very good would be an understatement. There is no way that I'd pay so much for what is essentially a Sport Coupe with a trunk and a prettier interior -- at least the previous CLK (W208) had a distinct personality. I do find the W209 CLK convertible very appealing but, when my wife and I considered it last June, we concluded that it was too expensive relative to the BMW 330i convertible (which we almost bought, despite the large price gap with the C). And, while I am partial to the E, its handling is a bit too stodgy for me to consider it (at least until the E350 Sport becomes available).

At the LMT last October, I drove many different Benzes and concluded that I'd have had to pay 50k more to get something with four seats _significantly_ better than my C230k SC. This may seem like an exageration, but only the S500 seemed worth the extra cash.

Bottom line: too bad MB is dropping the Sports Coupe. To paraphrase 4CAR, this car looks like a proper baby Merc and feels like one. Then again, if we like exclusivity, perhaps we ought to thank MB for keeping them rare.

 

Tommy, Tommy, .....

The way to do this is to fly to Germany and buy a Coupe. MB stealers can sell to service personal. That way you get the correct config. In addition they can arrange for shipping. Plus when you take it out of the country you'll get your VAT back. Downside is that you'll only have the international warranty.

How do you think all those other greymarket cars got into the country. True, you may have to make a few minor changes to satisfy DOT, but....

 

Well, given the MB's reliability record, one has to be insane to get one without warranty. I know a guy who bought a car in Canada and brought it back to the US which saved him ~10K USD, but Canada is close enough to take it to a dealer if really necessary, plus, AFAIK, Canada uses US DOT specs for the most part anyway.

 

I ordered my '05 SC in September and picked it up about 1 month ago and agree with ayilar that it is a fantastic value...especially with the Love Mercedes discount... (total before tax was $26,210). The changes for 2005 brought the exterior detailing and interior fit & finish to where they always should have been for a baby Benz.

Attended the DC auto show this weekend and saw nothing that even comes close to beating the Coupe. It's too bad that most people in the US wouldn't even attempt to discover how great a compact hatch with decent performance from 4 cylinders and some nice 'luxury' features can be.

I'm just thankful I've got one and that it will be a few years before I have to start thinking about what will replace my 'C'.

 

I also agree... If I need a different car, I'll probably keep the Coupe, as its value already is much higher than its street price.

 

I think the dealers did in this car just as much as MBUSA did. Definately the best Benz for the money!

 

If MB stops importing the C Coupe, then there are other good vehicles from which to select. In my case, none of those options are MB vehicles.

 

(i) DavidLee: Nicely put. For me, the only car that came close in appeal (higher) and functionality (lower) was the RX-8. What else did you look at? Surprisingly, after negotiating with several dealers and getting to rock bottom prices, the 8 would have been three thousands _more_ than the C. You used the LMT coupon, I used a C-Spot coupon. We got similar deals and have almost the same car, except for color and EP.

How do you find the car on DC streets? Have you gotten snow tires yet?

(ii) Outland: Based on my personal experience, I have to disagree. Both dealers I visited knew the car well and talked very positively about it. I had a very open mind before going shopping, and it took me close to a month of back-and-forthing between various cars to decide (Chrysler 300C, Audi A4 Avant, BMW 330ic, BMW 325ix, Mazda RX-8, to name only the finalists). They knew it, yet never questioned my tastes (granted, they had no clue what a Mazda RX-8 was). Throughout, both dealers obliged with multiple test drives of manuals and autos, sedans and coupes. They never made me feel like a wannabe because I wanted the cheapest car in the line-up (admittedly, I'll never know whether that's because they knew that I could afford the others but my wife really liked the looks of the Sport Coupe and I wanted value for money -- see my last post above). Overall, I had an excellent experience.

(iii) Vadim: I agree. I'll be getting the MB extended warranty after the Winter is over, now that I know I really like the car.

 

I have a great solution to this problem. Let MB ditch the coupe - so be it. They already killed the free maintenance. The package is getting less and less attractive.

On the other side of the street, however, you know - the four circle dealer. Audi has the new A3 coming over. Initially only the 5 door hatchback but if we're lucky they will bring over the S3 or even the SR3. Write your Audi contacts to beg and plead for this. Just think if even the S3 came over, that would be as if MB brought the AMG coupe to the states - something that never happened!

Once this happens (comes over) the game is done. You'll have an as good or better sporty car with free maintenance and all wheel drive!, albeit from a different German marque.

 

Have you driven an A3? The suspension is nowhere near as supple as the C's.

 

I checked out the RX-8, MINI Cooper S and an RSX-Type S. The RX-8 was nice, but a little too 'stylized' for my taste, the Acura was Honda-Civic-bland and while the MCS was perfect on the outside the interior was way too 'PlaySkool' plastic. Besides, after adding options to the MCS it outpriced the C-Coupe!

As for snow tires, we're having such a mild winter here (so far) that I'm hoping I won't need to worry about them until next year... It's been cold enough at times though that I have found I love the heated seats... the best I've ever experienced.

 

When I bought my Coupe I tested the RSX( agree with you wholeheatedly that its a very bland car, and the no torque at all engine is only fun when you drive it like you hate it), BMW 3series, Mini Cooper S(Mini was near perfect IMHO, but they were THE hot thing, meaning it cost as much as the C-Coupe, and I didn't think it was the better car if the money was the same), Focus SVT(great handler, low on power, and a little too cheap interior), Audi TT, A4(nice car, a Coupe version would have sold me), and several interesting used vehicles(928S4, C43, C5, 968, CLK Convertible, Supra, etc) but in the end, the Coupe was a perfect fit for what I needed-car had to have 4 seats, safe, and something my wife could handle) and frankly I liked the styling! It was unlike anything else on the road. Loved it ever since. Not too crazy about MBUSA(not MB, just the american arm)....

 

I test drove a coupe a few weeks ago, the MB coupe, and it was not nearly as sporty as the sedan was. They definitely should make it even sportier than the sedan in my opinion. They should keep importing it, and beef up the HP. If the Kompressor had near or over 200 HP, that'd be awesome. Still great riding cars. My aunt swears by MB, and this is one of the first times I've ever actually driven one. Can't wait for mine! But yeh, they should just update the coupe, make it look a little bit different than the sedan, and people will buy em. They don't market them enough. They always market the sedans, but I guess that's what MB is known for, not for the economy benz (which in my opinion, isn't so economy anymore, it's NICE).

 

You should pick similar trims next time you do a test drive. There is no way a C Class sedan could be sportier than a C Coupe, unless you compare a C32/C55 to a Coupe. Coupes come stock with a sport tuned suspension - same as Sport Sedan.

 

I test drove a C320 coupe and a C230k sedan. The Kompressor just seemed sportier. I've already been flamed on here on one board saying it was sportier. I thought the car felt lighter, and the C320 drove a lot more solidly, and just didn't seem as fun to drive. They didn't have a C230k coupe. And the guy wanted me to see the diff. between the engines. The C320 had more pick up, but the overall feel felt TOTALLY different. Just my opinion.

 

Well, you should have compared a C320 Coupe to a C320 Sedan then (or C 230KSC vs C 230KSS). Of course the cars you test drove were not the same car. They use different springs and struts/shocks depending on the trim. The 6-cyl engine of the C320 is heavier than the 4-cyl engine of the C230K. No wonder these cars felt different on the road.

 

tell me about it. lol.

 

I own a 2003 C230K Coupe and have had 2005 C230K SS for loaners and I can tell you the new sedan handles a little better or diferently than the Coupe. Remember the 2005 SS both C230 and C320 have an even more tweaked and updated suspension than the previous, as well as staggered wheels and 4 Pot front brakes! The Staggered Wheel setup alone give the car a more broad stance and helps in the handling department. Now I have not driven a 2005 C230K Coupe to compare though and do not know if the Coupe got some of the same upgrades for the suspension. Although I do know that the 2005 Coupe's do not come with the staggered wheels stock.

 

mctwin2kman: the 2005 did receive suspension upgrades, and does come with staggered wheels.

 

I did not know the Coupe got the updates as well! Thanks.

 

I didn't realize it was a huge difference in test driving the coupe and sedan. I wanted to test drive what I could afford, which was really just the Kompressor sedan. That's the only one I've wanted anyways. The coupe needs to be updated in a similar way to that of the SLK. Made more masculine. The new AMG details are nice and make it look tougher, but the coupe should get sleeker, and sportier, in my opinion. Don't flame me again guys. I don't know too much about the cars.. I'm new to this!!!

 

You should bring your flamesuit.

We LIKE the way it looks. I think the sedan looks girlie. The Amoeba lights have never worked for me...the worst part of the car. With BIX they look better, but still queer.

Happy grilling!

 

MB Called the C230 Coupe an "Amazing Success" today in an article about the B-Turd.