ismeto

only wonder maybe it is same in the world not only in America

I see more 3 on the street than new C in my country too

I think C is more expensive than 3

tanktube67

Where are from?
It's because the 3 has being more reliable than the C

mac911

I find people still have this image that BMW is the fun and exiting car, and Mercedes-Benz is an old guy's car. I don't really care. I prefer there being a few less Cs than 3s on the road.

importsrhot

I think the 3 series, in the past, has successfully appealed to a bigger demographic than the C class. I've always seen the C as a more feminine car than the 3. This could change with the W204 though.

ismeto

femine car man car dad car .etc.. I do not understand why they calls car like this way

oblu

It's also because BMWFS has been consistently more aggressive with lease rates than MBF has been. Every time I've shopped, the 3 has been close to $200 less per month than a C except for special MB clearance events.

ZippyD

BMW will lease to anyone #1 and the car is more youth oriented #2. Pretty simple equation.

importsrhot

For example, the new VW Beetle is a feminine car, would you not agree? Every car is designed with a certain audience in mind. Infiniti designed the new EX to attract more female buyers by making it softer, more "feminine", than the usual Infiniti car. There's nothing wrong with relating a car to a certain role/characteristic. Just a way to describe its personality. After all, every automotive company markets its unique image/personality, because it's what sells when a consumer identifies with that image/personality.

Flame3g

Nicely put. Me personally i think its all about choice. i think MB is playing it smart. I really think there trying to get back to elite status, and i'm all about that

farouk2000

No, its not about elite status..its about sales, MB would love 2 sell as many Cs as Bmw does with the 3, But the 3 has traditionally been a better car, better roadholding,Better Sales, more sporty, Fun Factor..etc etc..But that has changed with the new 204 which is finally giving a fight 2 the 3 series..

This has been the first year in south africa where the W204 C is outselling the 3 on a monthly basis and with a wide margin....

JimPap

My personal opinion with no facts to back it up.

I believe that MB decided to go after this market and build a car with a higher quality level than the price would normally buy you. MB is willing to delay profits in order to get a large chunk of this market.

oblu

I don't doubt the profit part ... but after having this car for 6mo, I see nothing in the car that says high quality. The plastics look and feel cheap; the controls look and feel cheap; equipment that should be standard isn't there. Maybe high quality compared to the w203?

Steering wheel is rock hard and thin ... why can't it have some padding?
Climate control rings have a ton of play when turning, and the ring feels like cheap chromed plastic ... why couldn't this have been done better?
Cheap chromed strip on dash.
Door handles feel like cheap chromed plastic instead of a piece of aluminum ... needs to be done better.
As lots of people are discovering, the lower grill is made out of thin cheap plastic that breaks easily .... would it have killed them to make it 1mm thicker to resist road debris? Or at least make it easier to change out?

Basically everything I touch in this car except for the gear selector needed to have been done to a higher standard to compete at this price point. I feel like I'm getting into a american made car every time I get behind the wheel.

My BMW and my Audis were all nicer made cars at the price level. I'm discovering that the product is still living off the brand image and not it's own merits.

mac911

The car feels high quality to me. For me, the interior even oozes quality. I really think one has to accept there are different opinions on quality. I think my opinion on quality is whoever came up with the interior design back in Germany. The two of us must be very similar.

narky

+1 except not quite so harsh, maybe. I've had the car for just about 2 months, and that legendary "solid" feeling of a Mercedes seems to be a myth. Or maybe it's just how it used to be. The car's build and material qualities are just as good as any other car; they're just not as soundly superior as all the ads claims to be. Even so, I love this car, and I must say that there is no other car at this price point that I'd rather be driving instead right now.

The car drives well enough, and it looks freakin super. The looks are what got me, really, as I've always been a BMW fan, never a Merc. I never liked the w203, because it looked "feminine," as someone else has said. The w204 is different though.

and I like the interior.

webada

BMW sold about 555k 3-series (includes sedan, coupe, wagon... ) where as c-class sold about 380k (includes c, slk, clk) with approx 200k of them are the c-class. The number is world wide.

BMW sells more cars in United states than German while Ben sells more in German than US.

mkaresh

People have already hit on the main reasons. To summarize:
--BMW has image as driver's car, largely justified
--BMW wins far more magazine comparisons, especially before the C204
--Mercedes quality image hasn't been the best lately
--BMW has been more aggressive with incentives

But the C204 is making up a lot of ground through:
--more distinctive styling (probably the #1 reason)
--improved handling (though still not up to BMW)
--reduced base price (compared to C203)

narky

+1

I've always seen more 3-serieses rolling around than C-classes. Used, new, old MY, new MY, it doesn't matter. Always more 3s thans Cs around. Which is good.

chilledbenz

The 3 series is heavily discounted, with it coming in easily $5k under the price of a simliarly equipped C class. The 3 series always garners better reviews from magazines and the like as well, many people take those reviews as the law and base their decisions on them. I'm sure the C class is outselling the 3 series as of right now because its a new model and new models always sell. There is a new freshened 3 series on the way for 09 so that will tell the true numbers, by that time the discounts on the C will be more in tune with the 3 as well making it an even playing field.

By the way +1 to those posters about the less than solid feel of a Benz with this C. I'm rolling up 5k miles and starting to notice they cut a lot of corners with this one.

jherbias

Can you give some examples? I was thinking of getting one. All I know is that when I sat in one at the San Diego auto show, it felt very cheap, especially the black interior. Kind of a shame since the car looks very nice from the outside.

chilledbenz

Thankfully no mechanical problems to speak of, but the over all fit and finish and materials used doesn't seem to be up to MB standards. I just got my first door ding last week thanks to the poor design of the chrome bump strips or lack of bump strips I should say (although all car companies seem to be removing the bump strips). At first glance the interior looked really cheap as many have already said on this board many of time, but after awhile it grows on you and doesn't seem as cheap as it first looked. That said the materials aren't as good as the outgoing w203 and the plastic bits seem to be making some creeks and pops now. They could have solved this problem by making all the parts your hands touch (arm rest, door pulls ect.) soft touch like in some of the other classes. A problem I haven't had yet thankfully, but one that seems to be quite common is the flimsy mesh grille at the bottom of the bumper on sport models, seems to break easily. The seats are a disappointment as well, they don't really look like seats that should be in a $30k + car and they don't sit like they should be either. There are great things about the car as well don't get me wrong, the exterior is amazing and makes you forget about some of the nit picky things. I also want to add that I had the same problems in my last BMW (minus the flimsy grill) it was much worse, but then it had 50k miles when I got rid of it, so we will see with this C class. I'd still buy a new C over any other model currently offered, but that new A4 has my interest peaked.

emps

+2 Those climate control rings bug me every time I turn them. My baby's toys feel sturdier than them. Let's not even get into the door pins either. If it weren't for Chris Bangle and his bubbly design we would have been in a BMW again. Like many have said, the w204 design looks great from the outside, but what they skimped out on underneath the covers is beginning to wear thin on some of us.

angeloxnet

I tend to agree coming form a W203 not too long ago, but compared to the BMW's interior it is much more fresh and exciting.

The BMW is boring, unexciting, i understand they want to stay true to their history but sometime's the "driver's car" needs new toys. Hey that's just me, I like technology. If BMW did something about those orange dials and lines I'd consider it.

extassy

The trend could change with the new C-Series...

ismeto

it should begin (changing) with you

new C
Exterior face 9/10 rear 6/10
interior 5/10


for 3 previous version was better

JimPap

As Cylon number 6 said on Battlestar Galactica "something's changed".