jctevere

I really try so hard to like BMW, but in the end, there is just something about them that I don't like. It just seems so bland or "dead" unless you go all out for the M-line package and cosmetic upgrades. ESPECIALLY on the inside. The Coupe is much better than the horrid sedan, and the new 5 series is great. Every time my lease comes up I look at BMW, I admire them when I see them on the road, but when it actually comes down to crunch time, I just can't get myself into one. Is it just me?

It also probably doesn't help that they have the most Obnoxious sales force besides Audi. "We don't haggle our pricing, we are BMW." LOL

Or the best is when the Audi guy tried telling me that U.S. buyers are stupid because Audi is seen as better than Mercedes in Europe and sell more than BMW and Mercedes combined there... Great approach, insult your buyer. Maybe its because your cars offer no competitive advantage and because you don't discount your cars in the U.S. so they end up costing 3-5k more apples to apples to purchase.

I absolutely LOVED my Infiniti G37 Coupe. It was FUN to drive, had a character of its own. It just couldn't stand up to the daily beatings like my Mercedes C-class; and that right there says something. By the end of my 24 month lease I needed new tires (but I needed those around the 12k mark, I literally had no tread left by the 24k mark at turn in, haha). The tranny shifted like crap, and I needed a new brake job by 20k. Not to mention that the car was involved in 3 hit and runs. So it was a wise choice to pass up on it, and I decided to try out Mercedes. The quality certainly is there, intitial quality, ride quality, build quality, etc.

I am at 24k right now and still have plenty of tread left on the tires, plenty of miles left before I need a brake job and most importantly, the car still drives like it did from day one. But I am a bit disappointed with the standard tech in these cars and cheaper interior. The 2012 refresh seems to show a step in the right direction though. And the recent refreshes of other models have probably sold me on the Mercedes brand for good. New SLK, CLS, etc. I will probably pick up a c-class coupe when they introduce the new 5.5L motor and get rid of the gas sucker 6.3.

My family has always had a Mercedes since our first one in 1998 when we got the SL 500. That car was awesome, we then traded in for a new 2003 model, and still have it. When I got my w204, we loved it so much we got a second 2011. We are now looking to trade in our Escalade for an ML or a GL and swap out the 03 sl500 for a new SLK when it comes out.

denot

Interesting...
In australia the V6 Camry (called Aurion) 0 - 100km/h is 7.42s
while C250 CGi (1.8L turbocharged) 0 - 100km/h is 7.40s
and the baby C200 CGi (1.8L turbocharged) 0 - 100km/h is 8.2s

C300Sport

Now that's funny...

RLE

Too many act like it which is the real problem here.

RLE

Who cares? I for one do not want to be one of the Camry People or worse, the Prius People or worst of all (shudder) the Minivan People.

Sportstick

I agree with the sentiment, but question the sequence. For someone with several kids and associated stuff, a minivan at least has a valid purpose and is more efficient and versatile than porkish SUVs. There is no reason for anything as soulless as a Camry.

golfster

Did you tell him the M-B depreciates must faster?

lithium332

While I understand the C-class is a much better car than the Camry, I can't help but wonder why aren't Mercedes cars faster? Is it really that expensive to create a more performance oriented engine? Why can a Camry which costs so much less have a faster engine? I doubt the cost of the nicer materials in the C-class are so much that it's impossible for Mercedes to install a faster engine. I am guessing it must be the premium that we pay for the brand name after all.

Sportstick

Identical horsepower, MB has superior torque...Camry weighs 155lbs less...and it shows for better and worse throughout the car, but, again, so what? Are you not moving quickly enough?

Runamuck

Just tell him you get BJ's in your car. /thread

lithium332

I was just wondering why. If I was looking for speed I would've gotten a Lotus.

joshg1001

unreliable? You do know that V6 is the same engine you find on most toyota products now and Lexus models too. I dont think they are unreliable. You find it in the ES, IS, RX, GS, camry, rav4, avalon, highlander...

Its a pretty fuel efficient engine too for its power, more so than the one in the C350.

RLE

Value drops like an elevator with a broken cable.

mac911

Honestly, do you want a car that handles like a floating tank or a nice an agile Mercedes-Benz saloon?

There is no comparison in how they drive.

Glyn M Ruck

Sportstick has it spot on - I come from a family of Toyota & Benz drivers - both because of reliability at the end of the day in African conditions.

The Toyota side just want transport & the Benz side love their cars & enjoy the Benz feel.

Only boy racers care about 0.2 of a second to 60. Benz builds safe cars for high mileage reliability/durability in their traditional markets but have tried of recent years to improve the age demographic.

If you want more power buy an AMG - you are catered for as well in the line up.

Fortunately Benz cars hold value in their traditional markets - Europe, Africa, Australasia. Even our old 2003 W203 will still fetch an easy US$ 26K in SA. I guess in the US about US$ 9K

Only the US suffers a precipitous loss in value due to that market's dynamics & the fact that the cars are cheap to start with there. The real cost of entry to the Merc family is comparitively a lot higher in other markets unless you want to buy an A Class and even that is expensive for what it is. You don't find college kids driving a Benz to school in their traditional markets.

jctevere

Just because it has the same basic engine configuration as other models, doesn't mean it has the same reliability. Manufacturers always change designs and components even within the same engine according to the model. I'm not saying that the v6 engine is unreliable; I am saying that the v6 engine paired with the Camry is unreliable. Consumer Reports backs this claim by not being able to recommend the v6 camry and v8 tundra and cites reliability for the cause. While mainting its strong recomendation for other v6 models (with the same engine) and the camry 4 banger.
@ Glyn M Ruck:

You are completely right. Here in the U.S. jsut drive through the student parking lot at my college (Hofstra) c-classes are a dime a dozen here, and you will commonly see e-class, clk, cls, sl, slk and cl as well. You can even find exotics in the wild like the Audi R8 and maserati...

Heck, even in my high school mercedes are all over the parking lot. You want to see the brand new mercedes that came out, go to high school east and west in dix hills, you will see every color combination and each model. And this not only goes for mercedes, but also for any Audi, BMW, or other luxury cars...

I am Jeff

I'm pretty sure everyone here will agree that Consumer Reports isn't exactly a reliable source to be quoting here. I for one never look at them or give what they have to say any consideration. The fact to the matter is the V6 in the Camry is used across the lineup without any major changes. The only difference between the ES and Camry is the tune for Premium in the Lexus and Regular in the Camry. The fact that the Camry is faster than the W204 is pretty sad, even if it's in a straight line. Mercedes has always lagged behind in the HP and efficiency area for the C and E class lineup (V8's not included). It took them forever to upgrade the 3.2 liter engine in the w203 to the 3.5 liter 268 horsepower engine. Everyone else has had 300HP engines and it won't be till 2012 before MB releases their version. You all might say that it don't matter, because you're driving a Mercedes, but I'm telling you it sure as hell bothered me that my 48k C530 couldn't beat a 28k Toyota off the line.

sknight

So, the car is slower than a Camry. Life must be good to worry about something so trivial. Should have been a better consumer.

lithium332

I guess that's the same sentiments as someone who bought a Murcielago that can't be a GTR off the line.

I am Jeff

Exactly! To each his own. You buy what makes you happy, but to be beaten by a typical run of the mill Camry is pretty bad. You can't spend your time worrying about trivial stuff like this, just enjoy what you have. But things like this, is kind of hard to ignore. I just wished that Mercedes was more in tuned with the industry performance and kept up with it.

sknight

The performance as-is is very respectable. I don't understand why people are fretting. They're not drag cars. There are more parameters than acceleration, but it's a classic example of people never being satisfied with what they have. If people did their homework and didn't buy the Mercedes because of the power issue, Mercedes would have right away done what they needed to get the sales up, but people still buy for a reason. there will always be power levels going back and forth, but what we have here is elitism and people in disbelief that a company they perceive as "inferior" can beat Mercedes, when in reality, Toyota has an ungodly amount of resources and technology and engineers backing them.

jctevere

Exactly. They just seem to have no stance. They aren't performance mongers or fuel efficient. They are just average. Don't even get me started on standard features.

sknight

Mercedes has rarely been in tune with the industry. I mean, this company was installing cassette players in their cars for years beyond when others were over a half decade into cd players standard, like Chevrolet.

waiszeto

Come on man .... Camry cant get any girls DUDE! Forget about the UGLY car.... The girls will love u more if u have a C-Class !

I am Jeff

That brings a very interesting topic. Yes, the MB can assist you in getting the gold diggers, but good luck tapping that *** in the back of a W204, especially if you have the PANO option. While in the Camry, it's definitely doable! lolz