wblynch

On the way home tonight I saw a w204 Estate with Michigan plates driving down the San Diego Freeway.

Does anyone know if we will be getting the wagon in the United States?

I'd seriously consider replacing Wifey's 2004 C240 if they do.

PHYBENZ

Highly doubtful. The GLK will take the place of a C Class wagon.

delirium

i saw one on the 405S this week too. Silver C-class wagon w/ Michigan plates.

wblynch

Probably the same car. I couldn't get the tag numbers... I'll keep my eyes open. If I get a chance to see him stopped anywhere I'll ask how he got it in here.

Turboxer

GLK can't get that place, as a BMW X5 is not getting place of a 5series for example.

chilledbenz

The U.S. market gets the GLK instead of the C Estate. The Estate you saw with Michigan plates could be either a manufacture test car, or someone living in Michigan went across the boarder and bought a Canadian car. I've heard horror stories about trying to import a car from Canada, so I'm going to guess its a manufacture test car.

wblynch

Yeah, I figured it's likely a MFG or distributor car.

I work for xxxxxx's (major Asian brand) US headquarters and I see test mules and lead cars from different manufacturers around LA all the time (often in camouflage).

I saw a trio of the new E-Class Mercedes in full camo about 5 months ago, for example. And the W204 C-class were out here for almost a year before they were introduced for sale.

But they don't have them here, out and about on the road for no reason. Which leads me to speculate on the C-class Estate.

The other possibility is perhaps the driver was able to order a US-spec Estate for German Factory delivery? That would give me encouragement that there's a way to have one here.

Ron Jr

Thats strange while driving around last weekend I could have sworn I saw a W204 wagon and commented about it to my wife. Didn't see the plates and to be honest I cannot say 100% that it was a W204.

delirium

Ya we get a lot of mfg cars here too because there are a lot of division offices here for the auto manufacturers.

S204HONGKONG

I love my wagon! (from Hong Kong)

Maxy

Hi S204,

Great looking wagon.

I am looking at getting a black estate/c220cdi/avantgarde with the split beige/black interior.

One question though is yours a flat black or metallic black. i was thinking of getting the flat black and saving $$$'s and cannot see the point in getting the metallic unless i keep it spotless (which i wont) ALL the time. Also have you got the factory tinting on the rear windows??

Again way good looking wagon.

Cheers
Maxy

S204HONGKONG

Hi maxy,

Mine is a metallic black (obsidian Black 197) with black AMG interior - it's a pain to keep clean, but I do all the washing by myself and have avoided spiderwebs on the paint.

The tinting on mine was done by a professional tinter (but with semi-professional results)

splinter

Spotted this one on several occasions from our VPC about town being subjected to long-term durability testing.
Spoke with its driver regarding U.S. availability. He nodded yes, but shared he “can’t say.”

When Affalterbach tweaks it with their hardware, it’s certainly a possibility for practical family transport.

wblynch

I've seen that exact same car 3 or 4 times on the 405 freeway in Orange County. I remember the plates.

I've always wondered how they got it in here.

I still want one bad and would rather have an S204 than the GLK.

I_Love_MB

Well, I'm from Europe and this seems to be a Avantgarde version available in Europe (without AMG/Sport package). I have exact same version/color but with AMG/Sport bumpers.

RabbitDad

Actually it's the Elegance version, you can tell by the alloys. Avantgarde has much nicer ones (7x2 spokes). Of course there's no way to be really sure unless you see the front (or even better the interior) of the car.

wblynch

At the local dealership on Saturday for a car wash, 2 different ladies approached us in our 2004 C240 wagon and asked where we bought it.

They both said they wanted wagons and not SUV's but couldn't find them. They were disappointed when I told them the last ones in the US were 2005.

My wife's 2004 is still like new and we were instructed by my sister that she gets this one when we're done with it.

I think there's more demand for C-class wagons in the US than MB-USA is willing to acknowledge.

Krytech

I believe it, I see a lot of C/E wagons around here. And it sounds like the R Class is kind of a bust.

Kind of off topic but my dealer once told me that MBUSA had done a survey and according to them, their most affluent customers purshase the E-wagon by a significant margin. Seems strange until you really think about the buying habits of truly affluent people. It first guess I would of thought CLS, S, SL.

RabbitDad

In Europe it's the same. Old money drives E-class estates *a lot*. S-class is is more for high-profile businessmen (or nouveau riche in case they have blinged up alloys).

peabers

If they (finally) bring it to Canada, I will be first in line to replace my wife's Subaru with it. I don't understand why we are stereotyped as being SUV-driving-wagon-haters. Guess consumer research missed us during their phone interviews.

vic viper

I am still surprised that MB hasnt made a truck with flat bed for the US market yet