Eric_John

Hi all, This is my first post on here! I'm in Lubbock Texas. A few weeks ago my wife found a Silver 2011 C300 (29k mi) Sport that she couldn't live without, sooo... after a really good deal, we now have one. We both love the car so far but it didnt come with an owners manual.

I'm taking the car into the local Benz dealer for some waranty work (struts and roof trim clearcoat peeling) and while on the phone with service dept. I had them send me their basic maint. schedules. It looks like $300 for oil changes (plus about 50 "checks") every 10k and then an ascending list of services that include fuel filters, cabin filters, brake fluid changing and trans service. This brings me to my first question(s)...

Is there a place where I can order/download a owners manual? And are all those "checks" required with the service or can I just do the oil changes myself using MB parts, etc?

Also, I'm looking to buy new tires and have read that the Conti All Season DWS tires are really good... any thoughts?

And one final question (for now) any of you guys using AEM or K&N air filters? Thoughts?

Thanks for the time....

stratman1954

Congrats on the new car. I have a sport also and find it rides a bit hard. The car has Michelin Pilots now and have been advised the Continentals have a softer ride. I have used KN filters in other cars and in my opinion they are not worth the price or effort. As far as service I won't pay $300.

Sportstick

Look here to chase down an owner's manual:

http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/only_m...owners_support

As for tires, the right answer will always be "depends". It depends on what you want....maximum handling? softeness? wide variety of temperatures, including light snow? You need to share more about where the car will be year-round (just in Lubbock?) Will it be in the small amount of snow you occasionally get, or not even that? Tell us more and we can give a more detailed answer.

C300CA

Depending on where the car is serviced, Service A is around $200 and B is around $400, both include long list of checks besides oil change and other changes.

I asked my dealer just change the oil for like $89, for two times (two years).
If you do your own oil change, not going through MB dealers, you will lose 24/7 road service after the first four years. In other words, if you always use MB dealer service, 24/7 roadside assistance is always included.

I will toggle between oil change only and full Service A and B, just to save a little but not totally ignore checkups.

Eric_John

Thanks guys! The car will be driven mostly in Texas but we get a pretty good amount of snow in Lubbock so I wanted to go with an all season tire... I am little worried about tire warranty due to not being able to rotate... has anybody encountered that issue?

From the little research I have done, are diy oil changes best done with a mighty vac? or is there a drain plug in oil pan/sump?

Thanks again!

I have road side assistance through my insurance so I'm not really worried about that.

Sportstick

DWS are quite good for your needs....nice balance of ride and handling, as you didn't prioritize either. Also, does fairly well in light snow. But, Michelin is just now launching a new Pilot Sport AS3, which supposedly has leap-frogged the DWS and their prior A/S Plus. Good light snow performance with summer tire handling. Keep in mind no all season tire is meant for or will do a great job in more than light snow. Check out reviews or call Tire Rack for more info.