tonyteetime

Mike , it sounds like you are leaning at the c300. I'm very happy with mine, so go for it.
Give the people at Annapolis Mercedes a visit. I got mine from there and the sales and services people have treated me great.

hondafan

I don't know if I really dare chime in for fear of not having any wood to knock on, but I've had my 2008 for a little while now, and it has almost 100K miles. It's a 4Matic sport, and all I've done on it has been maintenance, which with the 13K mile interval I've only done it twice now. As far as repairs, I had a sticky thermostat so I spent $180 to get the part and took 45 minutes tops to replace it. I'd say this has been as reliable as my Subarus and Hondas both. I had a Honda Prelude that threw a rod bearing with 124K miles.

Cars are hit and miss, and logically when your more expensive car breaks, you're more upset about it, or you take it to a luxury dealer who charges more to do service. That's my experience. You're not buying a history in buying new, so you know exactly its story, and don't need to worry about finding out scary things later. That's my $.02

stratman1954

Everybody NEEDS a Benz at least once in their life

Pete7874

Just a few posts earlier you noted that you find Lexus IS too sporty, yet now you say you find Lexus boring? Which one is it?

As for AWD, it is my opinion that it is highly overrated. A good set of winter tires will do more for you than any AWD system and cost you less than the premium on AWD plus the high likelihood that it will fail. The transfer case on our C300 4-matic failed at only 60K miles.

BTW, my bmw is RWD and with winter tires it handles Illinois and Michigan winters very well. In fact, it handles them better than my wife's C300 4-matic with all-season tires.

Sportstick

I think he was comparing the Lexus ES (boring) vs IS (too sporty). I get that.

I do agree with you about AWD. Many installers (such as those working with tirerack.com) will store the offseason set, so the OP would not have to store at home. That way, all the benefits of rear wheel drive could be easily available.

mike82212

Yes I was talking the ES vs IS. I know of no one in this area to store tires. I really do like the C300, guess I will take my chances and also buy a extended warranty to cover myself

Sportstick

If your mind is still open on this issue, go to tirerack.com and find the installation tab. Enter your zip code to find their approved installers near you. Call a couple to find out if they offer storage.

MDMercedesGuy

I really think the requirement of AWD is really unfortunate and restricts choices too much... Maryland does not get enough snow to require AWD.

w204_Generic

Weather is not the only factor that makes all wheel drive better though. Everyone seems to be only talking about AWD superiority in the snow, due to the ability of better traction. Some other benefits include:

- Performance and Handling increases
- Better Weight Distribution

Just throwing it out there for the OP to make a decision regarding All wheel drive or not.

Sportstick

That's exactly the point! Neither does Michigan!

Sportstick

I don't believe this is true. The addition of 100+lbs over the front axle causes slower performance due to weight and parasitic losses, and increases understeer.

If starting with a front wheel drive vehicle, then adding the rear drive components to achieve all wheel drive (a la Audi Quattro) would be a relative improvement, at least, in balance and handling. But, more mass and more spinning parts are directionally incorrect for performance.

crater64

I've not added anything really constructive to this board yet but hopefully some shared experiences may help.

I'm an SC native who's lived in PA for the past 15 years. I never shoveled snow until I turned 30. A year after moving to PA I bought my first Subaru wagon as an acknowledgement I'd probably not be moving back South for a long time. Between that time and a month ago I owned that and a second Subaru wagon. The cars were everything I wanted and then some in terms of all-weather handling and performance. They understeered somewhat but I rectified that with bigger rear sway bars. Their biggest drawback was fuel economy; my second Subaru, a turbo Forester, was especially atrocious but I knew it wouldn't be great when I bought it. Not so bad to begin with but worse with longer commutes and client visits.

In the past year my wants and needs changed, and after 15 years I learned to drive in the snow better and to rely on AWD as a crutch (actually and psychologically) less. Among others the W204 sedans got on my radar. Long story short, the combo of better handling, weight distribution and fuel economy (subjective) and the failures of the 4Matic transfer case (objective) led me to choose the C250 over the C300 4M.

Time will tell if I made the right decision.

mike82212

I thank you for all of the responses. I had never considered AWD, just FWD. I fell in love with the handling of the C300. I like the style inside and out. If it was FWD it wouldn't be a issue. I know there is some more maintenance with AWD and a hit on the MPG. What scares me is the problems some say the transfer case/transmission on this car.

The AWD is a bonus when the weather is bad and I have to be somewhere, not that I have that much weather here in Maryland near the city. But I would not go with RWD and winter tires are not a option.

tonyteetime

Maryland may not get much of snow , but we do get rain and icy road. All wheel drive handles much better in rain and icy condition versus rwd.

Mike,
As far as the concern about the 4matic transmission, I would not worry much as you have a 100K miles warranty and you can buy additional warranty if it concerns you.

Some of the earlier generation of 4matic have issue with transfer case , but the latest generation should be fine as all the bugs have been corrected. As long as you keep up with the scheduled maintenance suggested by MB , you should be fine.

mike82212

Thank you Tony
I thought the warranty was for 50,000?

tonyteetime

You are right Mike . It's 50K not 100K.

MDMercedesGuy

This could not be more false.

AWD adds more weight to the front of the car, where it definitely is not needed. AWD adds parasitic drag to the driveline, reducing efficiency, fuel economy and performance. Handling is moot on these cars as they are not set up for handling benefits from AWD, however the steering on an AWD car is noticeably different than that of a RWD car.

Quite frankly, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic states where 4Matic cars outnumber the RWD cars are an example of Mercedes' effective marketing and playing off of the fact that drivers around here freak out when there is 1/2" of snow on the ground. This unfounded fear of RWD is hilarious.

MDMercedesGuy

AWD will help you get going, but it will not help you stop or turn any better. All it does is instill a false sense of confidence in a driver until they get themselves into trouble. If you are in a situation where AWD makes the difference, you are the issue and not the vehicle.

This is not the case... search threads here about transmission failures on W204 4Matics.

mike82212

I am comfortable driving in snow and bad weather. I ran ski trips for many years in the North and out West and saw LOTS of snow!

I understand the limitation of FWD, AWD and RWD, but AWD does help along with knowing how to handle the snow

spyked

Lots of good lease specials out there. Maybe just lease the C300? Then the 4MATIC issue belongs to the next owner.

The extended warranty will pay for the transmission replacement, sure. But they replace it with the same type of transmission. There are people going on THREE replacements.

It sounds like you really like the car and just want to justify it. And that's fine. But you have been presented with facts. If the car is $40k and then you have a $6K repair, why not just go buy a $46k car? Audi S4. 335iXdrive.
CPO Lexus GS AWD.

Anyway, if you get the C300, let us know what you got (pics!).

Oh, the wildcard here is the Volvo S60. T5 AWD or T6 AWD. More power than C300 and a very nice little package.

Sportstick

I think we all agree AWD helps a bit to get you going on low traction surfaces by having two more driven tires find some grip, but that's about it. The pushback here is that some of us don't think that minor assist is worth the trade off for cost, maintenance/repair, effect of the weight on handling, steering, performance, and fuel economy vs rear wheel drive. This is especially true if the alternative is just stopping by a shop for a "pit stop" for winter tire switch on/off twice a year.

mike82212

One of the reasons I looked at the C300 and not the C250 was the Turbo, not sure about those long range.
YES, I do want the Benz, but this board has me seriously rethinking the C250

Sportstick

Sounds like time for back to back test drives!

spyked

If you go with the C250, you might have to search for your car. C250 Luxury models are RARE. I lucked out...my dealer had ONE that was there for a few months that happened to be equipped the way I wanted. But based on my limited experience, your dealer might have to find one for you. Lux models are rare, and then to find one optioned the way you want is not easy.

I've always been curious to know the ratio of Sport to Lux manufacturing specs for North America. Or, Avant Garde vs. Elegance in the rest of the world...

mike82212

to get the C300 would be a order also, so either way I am ok ordering the car