Hello fellow forum-mongers. I've been lurking on this forum for a very long time and this past Wednesday was the day I picked up my w204 C350 Sport. Previous cars I've owned was a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX which was modded to stage 4(12.94s quarter), and a E46 05 BMW M3 on a short lease for business.

So far, I've been very impressed with my C350. I've tested the E92 335i before making my decision and I'm glad I picked the C350. The 335i handled extremely well and has alot of power to boot around but personally I was never concerned about performance and I expect alot of w204 owners to feel the same.

As far as options go, the C350 I picked up came in Palladium Silver with P2 package.

I'd like to point some things out that solves alot of the questions I had prior to my decision to pick the car up.

1) The car I picked up was prepped a 2 days after it came off the ship. Picked it up on the third day. Luckily for me, it was made in Bremen, Germany. People who may purchase the car anytime soon will probably get the same build location and not from East London, SA.

2) My dealer did not have any Quickpark systems and was not aware it was available as a dealer installed option on the car. This was a very reputable dealer here.

3) Parking brake. As some people noticed with some video reviews online, the brake is located on the left side of the car. This is a truck-type Parking Brake system.

4) Damn, the transmissions is smooooooooth.

5) I'm a pretty big music listener but I would not call myself an audiophile. However, the stock sound system sounds very good and does not distort at higher sound volume. Lows, mids, and highs were above what I was expecting. This may be stemming from the fact that my E46 did have Harman Kardon sound system that was known to be horrible. I've haven't heard the HK system on the MM package for the C-Class yet.

6) Lack of a built in cell phone charger dock in the armrest storage area. Now I have to stow my cell phone inside the glove compartment. The glove compartment is pretty small, compared to my previous cars.

7) The car is stiffer through twisties than my WRX when it was stock. This was a big surprise for me especially since I used to auto-cross alot in my WRX after I had some good suspension parts in. It was very predictable and spirited through the corners. I did not push the car too far though since it is not through its break-in point yet.

8) With the P2 package, the rear turn signals are LED red. This confirms what people are saying about them in other threads. However they are extremely bright and if there is someone behind you that cannot see them, then they need an eye exam.


I'll add more to this thread as I think of it but so far I love it. The M3 was a nice car but it was just a more expensive and luxurious WRX with RWD instead of AWD in terms of performance. The C350 is more of an elegant blend of ride quality, utility, styling, and performance.

My new C350





My old WRX

Nice! Congrats on the new car and thanks for the thorough write-up. I see that there are plenty of buyers who have shopped the E9x against the W204, me included.

1) What do you like most about the W204?

2) Are you adhering to the "break-in" rules?

3*) Are you really satisfied with the performance? Do you think you'll miss the power of the twin-turbo 3er engine?(I'm asking because I have a bit of trepidation about giving up the speed of the 3er).

I preface the following paragraph by saying that my boys(14 and 11) and I have had several conversations pertaining to speed(335i) versus styling(C350) and which would you rather have...

*Recently, we were on our way to get some grub. We were passed by what appeared to be a '67 Chevelle SS. As would be the case, he gets stopped by the next light and I pull up beside him. The I-40 East exit is about 150 yards away to the right. He looks over, I compliment his ride with a but I want NO PARTS of this stoplight derby. I'm in my Maxima SE and she has not a prayer, what with the loud burble that only a jacked up American muscle car can make. So, my boys ask "Dad, is that car fast?" and I reply, "Yep! It has tons of hp and torque. Just watch him when he takes off." I knew this guy would accelerate like the proverbial "bat out of hell." Needless to say, in an instant all we saw were taillights and exhaust. This prompts yet another discussion about speed versus styling. I said "the Benz is stylishly quick but would not have kept up with the Chevelle. However, the 335i would've hung with him!" All my kids know is that I'm considering the 3 or the C and they haven't a clue that I've already ordered a C350. Their response was "I'd rather drive the vehicle that looks better." Of course, styling is purely subjective.

i am so glad i ordered palladium silver. looks so hot.

nice comments on the new C350...sounds sweet.

Btw, the correct phrase is "A LOT" - not "alot"....

Congratulations on your C350!

Let us know your likes and dislikes.

Have fun

1) So far its been what I expected out of the car. Effortless transmission, enough power on tap to get you by the roads, louds of electronic goodies that so far works flawlessly.

2) I spent some time reading the manual and I made sure I do not pass the 3k rpm mark on the car. I never did on my previous cars so I don't think I will have the urge to do so in this one. Speed wise, I've stayed under 65mph. I did however, play with the Sport mode on the car for a bit but that was it. It was recommended in the manual that you keep the comfort mode on for the duration of the break-in period.

3) I've said to myself countless times that I'm over the speed factor. You can only go so fast from point A to point B. A sub-13 second WRX and an E46 M3 had much more power than what I needed. I don't think I'm going to miss it. There is hardly much difference in a spirited mountain drive if you are going a few seconds slower, if you enjoy it, you enjoy it. What ultimately drove me to the W204 is mostly because I did own the M3 which if I decide to get the 335i, would not be much of a difference either except for a slightly more superior chasis.

Great post! Keep us up to date. I love the Palladium Silver! That's what I ordered as well, and it's great to see nice pics of it.

Goodness, this break-in period sounds torturous

Nice pics and good choice in the car

That WRX loooks pretty nicely modded

Enjoy

if you have time, give us more exterior and interior pics


turn singnals 2 different colours ????

today I saw W204 on my W203 on street I say exactly rear tail lights tandings are not so good

New pics by request:

Nice ride!! i think there are not too much C350 in Hawaii but a lot of 328i and 350is. Well like I said earlier, I will get my car in March but if the dealer can not given me any discount then I will just have to wait for the 2009 model. I thought by March the value of the C350 should depreciate a little.

Hi, glad that I got a C350...
hm, I want to ask u how much u paid for it, u don't have to tell if you don't want to .

there's a thread on the forum where people have been posting what kind of deals they've been getting for their cars....might check there

+1....might have to take a road trip to get it over with...

good news is I put a lot of miles on the car so it should be over in just a few weeks.

Same here, I plan to get it over with in a week or less, lol.

that would take me 4-5 months to break-in here in Honolulu.

I suppose you could do laps around the island... under 65 mph, of course.

Where are you guys (and Gals) getting this info about keeping it under 65 during break in? My manual says nothing of it. Maybe my car is special.

On a humorous note, my salesman told me that the "S" setting is for "summer" and the "C" setting is for "cold"! No he wasn't kidding. He told me that since we live in California I could just keep it in "S". I told him I'd just figure everything out by reading the manual, but thanks for all of your expertise.

Now gimme that survey, MBZ!

Hey I live in Cali too, just out of curiousity was this salesperson a "he" and is this dealership based in Fremont? My salesperson made a couple of silly comments as well.

Is the salesmen sure that S does not stand of "Speeding" and C for "Crawling"??

Nope, I'm in So. Cal at this was at the "nations largest volume MB dealership". Volume apparently doesn't obviously equate to knowledge, or common sense for that matter!

i think House of Imports is known for being largest volume MB dealer.
in fact, i think one Asian guy and his team sells more MBs than most entire MB dealers in the US.

imho, one reason for this is that most MB dealers(and car dealers) for that matter still don't understand that selling more volume at lower prices will maximize profit longer term(MR = MC, econ 101). instead, these dealers (esp in Norcal) insult high income customers by putting in stupid "$10k market adjustment prices" on top of the over-priced MSRP and try to make maximum price/car. these dealers are often selling less than 100 cars/month. the smart ones figure out if they sell cars at big discounts for 12 months, they'll get much higher allocations and eventually they could do 200-400 cars/month and make much more profit as well as service/warranty work.

My $02.
patrick

He's not so far off-beam as you may think. While the transmission options are labelled "S" (Sport) and "C" (Comfort) in the W204, exactly the same settings have been labelled "S" (Summer) and "W" (Winter) in other models. The Comfort (or Winter) mode starts in second gear not first and has lower upshift points which has the dual effect of giving more gentle acceleration, i.e. more Comfort, and less chance of breaking traction on slippery surfaces, i.e. more appropriate for Winter. Maybe his expertise level is higher than you think...

You MAY be right, but California may be the last place you would think that be mentioned.