patrick_y

There's a reason why they don't have bespoke cars for the US. In Germany, they take non-refundable deposits on the cars that are ordered in unique manners such as special paint, special stitching, etc. However, in the US, since most states have a "nothing delivered nothing received" policy, most states forbid dealerships to keep deposits on such cars.

Thus, if you ordered a C300 sport in a brown colour with neon green hides and then say later you don't want to take delivery of it because it didn't come out the way you thot it would, It'd be very difficult for the dealership to keep your deposit; and they probably would have a car that would be difficult to get rid of.

For Parktronic, Mercedes actually thought since the C Class is so small, and American parking spaces so large, the C Class does not need Parktronic in the North American market. However, they do offer it for E-Class models, because they think E-Class is large enough for it. This brings to mind, why does the BMW 3 series offer Parktronic in the US.

QQQ

They should make Parktronic available as option and let customers decide what they want, not preaching the customers you don't need one coz your car is small.

MB-JIM

Mercedes has always been a leader in safety but what has happened in recent years? Many safety items are denied those of us in the US.

Some countries already have a mandatory back up monitoring system. Here, we don't even have the option to get Partronic. How can Mercedes withold something that can save injuries and lives?
A NHTSA report based on 1998 data stated there were 183 fatalities plus about 7,000 injuries per year from vehicles backing up. Many of these were children. Although 60% of these injuries were from large vehicles, the balance were from standard size cars.
I believe that all of the C Class car competitors offer a backup system.

Also, Mercedes, what about the strobing stop lights, tracking xenon lights, driver's knee airbag and an emergency triangle in the trunk lid? We need safety items as here as well as those in Europe.

And finally, why not let us get the 350 engine in the luxury model?
I feel much more control in my 06 C350 than I did in my C320.
I know that the 350 is overpriced but at least let us decide if we are willing to pay the price. It only requires one click on the computer order form to make the Luxury Model as a 350.

pmb600

I am not talking bespoke as in strange paint colors etc. My point is that if Mercedes-Benz USA does not want to have tons of options available for dealers to order, that is ok, although I don't understand why, it should only increase their profits and hurt the dealership if they have a hard time selling them. What I would like to see is a special group including options such as Parktronic that one could get on a car if they ordered it. Audi does this and has a special group of options that are only customer orderable and not dealer orderable.

About the deposits, I don't think that is actually true. If you read any contract when you order a car it will state that it is a non-refundable deposit. Most dealers will just give it back because of two reasons. One they will probably not have trouble selling the car, and two because it would be a bad idea to make a customer angry that could spread negative word of mouth. What's a $1000 or so deposit compared to countless negative word of mouth?

Germancar1

Guys, the C is down on equipment for 2008 the same reason the S-Class didn't offer everything at once for 2007, a smooth, glitch-free launch. I'm willing to bet that if more people ask for Parktronic, Keyless-Go, etc. Mercedes will offer it for 2009, after they make sure the quality and reliability of the car is up to par. Also for 2009, the new V6s and the Advanced Agility Package will definitely make a difference. The C350 has always been a slow seller, which is why the new one is price a little bit lower than the old one, and comes with much more standard equipment so it should sell better this time around. Then again just maybe there aren't enough people ordering Keyless Go and Parktronic on C's to make it worthwhile.

M

Blk04cobra1

I think so, I believe we are at 32 days and counting before our official first one for sale will hit the lot...thanks for the info on the keyless go as I hadnt heard yet that they weren't going to offer it.

patrick_y

I agree, Mercedes-Benz should offer a completely bespoke program like they do with the Designo program in other markets or like competitor BMW has with the "BMW Individual" program they have in other markets. Bespoke colour choices along with bespoke options.

Personally, I fully agree with you. I for one want just the harman kardon but not the navigation. I want the xenon headlamps, but not X and Y that comes with the package, etc.

In California, the deposit on the car is refundable as long as the car has not been delivered. This is a state law, and it varies from state to state.

GPI

Are you able to get discounts on the W204 in California?

Stormin

+1...

A non-refundable deposit would in fact make this a reality, but it would be the fact they can't get around the legal ramifications of keeping said deposit. If they could, I would order a custom color and custom interior in a heartbeat. (Mmmmm... Metallic red C300 6spd, with black leather seats, and creme colored alcantara centers...)

That said, I think that it is foolish of them to not offer Parktronic, Keyless Go, and several other options as "order only" options for those of us willing to wait. It's not as if a car with these options would sit forever on a dealers lot if the customer backed out of the purchase.

I had to order my car because none on the lot had the options I wanted. While I was waiting the dealer had one come in that was VERY similar, but not identical (I would have lost the folding rear seat option). My sales rep called to ask if I'd like to apply my deposit to that car, or if I was OK waiting. When I asked about the car I was having built, the reply made perfect sense. "It's nothing to worry about, it would sell within a day or two of us receiving it." But I was fine waiting for exactly what I wanted.

Sure enough, when my car arrived it was taken off the trailer and pulled into the showroom. While I was filling out the paperwork they had a customer ask to buy it.

slammer111

Just wondering, has anybody tried to get around the lack of options by doing European Delivery?

Yeah, it's kinda stupid how W204 C-classes don't have Parktronic available here. In China, even those cheap $8000 Chinese built cars, and vehicles such as Toyota Camry have them!

QQQ

Won't work... even if you do ED you can only order US options. ED doesn't allow you to pick Euro options.

patrick_y

I don't believe people in California can get any discount on the W204s, at least not initially.

Initially, there are waiting lists for this car as people are on a queue to aquire them in California. Most people will have to wait until December before you'll see any sort of discount.

patrick_y

Was your car equipped with a manual transmission? If so, I'm not surprised you had to order yours.

Options that significantly add to the cost of the car's price tag such as Parktronic and Keyless Go may inhibit that car from being sold, especially if it's a C-Class. Dealerships think many first-time buyers will not be able to appreciate certain options and will not be willing to pay the extra premium, thus, they simply don't order cars with them.

So, if you think from the dealer's perspective (and the importer's perspective) there is a bit of risk. Some dealers are just too money grubbing to take these risks and don't want to have a car that sits on the lot for an extended period of time ruining their turnover average.

Until the dealers and the importer is willing to take some risk so its clients can get what they want, we clients will acquire cars with less equipment or look at competitor products.

patrick_y

Do you know how much a Toyota Camry costs in China?

There is a special high-end Toyota Camry for Asian markets that looks very different from the one that we have in the US. It's also much more expensive, nearly $60,000 USD with taxes. You're not comparing apples to apples.

slammer111

That I didn't know. No wonder they all looked slightly different than the ones here.

Over there though, even the Mazdas look different (and yes they have "parktronic" too). Hell, our minivan (Pontiac Montana) has Parktronic there (it's sold as a Buick GL8). I did take a quick glance inside and they look pretty much identical to their North American counterparts?

patrick_y

It's mostly the same as the US models, they should look relatively similar inside and out. Buick actually has a factory in China as well as Jeep. They build many of the cars in China to lessen taxes.

Cars truly cost a fortune in Asia. There is no place in the world where cars are as inexpensive to acquire, maintain, insure, and keep running as the United States. Canada is slightly more expensive than the US, but on a world-scale, it's still very inexpensive.

If you want to know how bad it can get, a C230 in Thailand costs 3 million baht or $100,000 USD with taxes. That's for the Thai built Mercedes. You don't even want to know how much a German one costs. Vietnam is also about the same.

slammer111

Yeah, I can imagine, considering how little most people make there (it's crazy). Though if all you want is a set of wheels, you can get a car for less than $10000USD new over there (like those cute little K-cars). Luxury truly is luxury there.

With that said, this was spotted in Hanoi, Vietnam. Just thought I'd share

patrick_y

I wouldn't say luxury is truly luxury there. Their C-Classes (albeit, they do have Parktronic available) are about the same as C-Classes in the US and Canada.

Cars themselves, in the poorer countries of Asia are considered luxuries. They're much more expensive to acquire, insure, register (applicable to some countries), and maintain (applicable to some countries).

However, even in industrialized nations such as Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and perhaps a few others; most families will only have one car for the entire family. In the US, it's one car per person.

musclecarboy

i dunno if I'm just bein a NOOB, but are we (C-Class) gettin a clean diesel?

pmb600

You're not beeing a NOOB. There is talk of the BLUETECH C-Class coming to the US. I hope it does, and I hope it's the C320 BT with 4Matic and sport package

pmb600

I know normally people would ***** and moan about someone badging their car like this, but after hearing how expensive they are, I think maybe the guy deserves putting that on his car, since he could have gotten an S-Class for that price in the US!

slammer111

Exactly, the guy probably paid the price of a CL in North America to get that C, and in Vietnam where most people are lucky to make $5USD a day, that's some serious cash.

But in Vietnam actually, I saw quite a few S-classes. You'd think they all ran grow-ops or something.

musclecarboy

I own a landscaping company so I drive a truck all the time normally but now it's time to reward myself. I currently drive a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 w/ Cummins diesel and I run pure BioDiesel in it. I'd most likely run the benz with 20% Bio.

If we get the same engine as the E320, this car would be a rocket! For such a small car having that much torque would be amazing! A C320 BLUETEC would dominate a C350. I look forward to MB gettin their @ss in gear and making more diesel models.

Dema

Can somebody provide a link to toyota site in China?

I tried
http://www.toyota.com/chinese/vehicl...mry/index.html
but it looks like in Chinese for US.

MAH4546

Cars do cost a fortune in most of Asia, especially Singapore (where a C-Class can run you $85,000), but one major exception is Japan. Cars don't cost a fortune in Japan. Japan is probably the cheapest modern country to purchase a new car, even cheaper than the US. $18,000 goes a long way in Japan. While cars are narrower and shorter, they are packed to the gills with features (i.e. you won't find a Japanese car without navigation as an option; 65%+ of cars sold in Japan are sold with nav systems).

The most ridiculous place to buy a car? Try Brazil, where, thanks to import taxes, a Nissan Versa will set you back $38,000, $93,000 will get you a Hyundai Veracruz, and $196,000 will put you behind the wheel of a V8 BMW X5. In Argentina, it is cheaper, but since the economic crisis in 1999, imported cars have to be sold in US dollars, which effectively tripled the price of car imported from outside of South America overnight.