Mr Purple

Hello there US!

I've been reading this forum, and a couple of others, before and after recieving my W204 in July 2007. But it seems this one has a load more activity..! So i thought i'd stick details of my car up and answer any questions versus UK specifications.

Oh and i'll include the price tag in $, so you can gloat

C220cdi sport
Automatic transmission
Tenorite Grey Metallic
Reef Grey leather upholstery
Intelligent light system
Heated front seats
Parktronic
Seat memory pack
6 disc cd changer
Birds eye maple wood trim
Panoramic sunroof
Harman Kardon sound system
cup holder (!! - yes had to pay for it!!)

$66,596.42

stuck to my own navigation (smart nav) as it's brillant.. www.smartnav.com (not affliated or a spam link)

tanktube67

Welcome to MBW

^ Dollars?

Mr Purple

Oh yeah good point! Because no other country really has sterling(£), i forgot that there are different 'dollars'! It's in US dollars

kimyoung_k

With US$66,596.42, you could buy C63 AMG in states

Mr Purple

Yeah, i read elswhere on this forum that the start price of C63 is $57k. Cant really figure it out myself. i mean if MB can make a profit shipping a car half round the world for around 60% of the UK price...i read UK MB sales were around 90,000 cars. probably not as much as the US, but i'm sure it is not far off either.

ColoradoDriver

"Sales at MBUSA were up for the year, with the final year-to-date total amounting to 253,433 new units - an increase of 2.2 percent over 2006."

I suspect much of your higher prices are due to taxes. Your VAT alone causes a major hit that we across the pond do not take.

tmehanna

OK, Egyptian specs and pricing.

No factory optional equipment allowed, it's a package.

C280 (=300) Avantgarde (Sports less the bodywork and AMG goodies)

Auto Trans
Audio 20 single CD player
Leather Seats.
Black Bird Maple
Cup Holders
Rear Sunshade
Moonroof

USD 80,405

Mr Purple

Bit suprised there. thought it would be closer to double, but it almost triple UK sales..

and you right about VAT. i dont know how much you know about VAT (17.5%), but VAT is something that doesnt even go to the UK coffers. It is a tax collection for the benefit of the European Union..

Also, a few years ago it was feasible to be able to claim the VAT back if i brought the car through a(my) company. however, now it would cost you around $10k a YEAR in car road tax if you brought it for pure business use! It works out better to buy it privately and claim mileage etc.

ColoradoDriver

FYI. Here in my small town in Colorado, the only tax paid on a new vehicle is on the difference between the selling price of the new vehicle and the value of my trade-in vehicle. And that sales tax rate is 4.9%. So if you trade up regularly, the tax is only on difference in value between your old and new vehicles.

tanktube67

^

acr2001

This must be the guy in charge of Mercedes sales in those countries.

tmehanna

Forgot to mention Parktronic and memory package for driver seat

Uga Uga

Very interesting.

Mr Purple

same here. thought this is very interesting.

In the UK, US is seen as more of a consumer society. But, if you think about it, is the US consumer that is the smart cookie. It's our UK goverment that takes the money in extortionate taxes rather than leaving for us to spend how we choose. My guess is, the US citizens have obviously made it clear to their goverments that they wont get away with 20% sales tax and so forth.

BenzRulez

Well, The Australian government have the additional luxury car tax at 25%.

ColoradoDriver

You guys, down under and across the pond, need to try your own versions of a Boston Tea Party!

Here in the States, we need to make sure the next election does not take us closer to the nanny state that decides what is best for us--and our money.

pwidjaja

Not bad, in Indonesia, around USD82K for C230 w/amg package, seat memory package, shifter on steering wheel, harman sound system, 6 CD, no rear sunshade, no moonroof, no partronic, and other things pretty much standard. But then, I believe it even more expensive in Singapore.