Heated seats
Navi
Backup cam

Any known or common issues I need to look out for???


Thanks!

Get the lighting package! The HIDs make a huge difference and look phenomenal.

I've had my 2012 250 for a year now and it's running beautifully. My only complaint is the turbo-four isn't particularly powerful in its own right or compared to the same class offerings from BMW or Audi, and it's not outstandingly fuel efficient. It's as though Mercedes-Benz couldn't decide if they wanted to build a powerhouse or a fuel-sipper and chose neither. That said, in my hands its torque affords me more than enough power to do what I need, and its fuel tank affords me plenty of range. And the powertrain is very refined, being smooth with a chassis which filters out any harsh vibrations or sounds.

Im a relatively new C 250 owner (4 months -12,000 miles) got a 2012 CPO C 250. My previous cars were Infiniti G 37s, M 45s, Ford SHO, Merc LS V8 and right before the C 250 I drove a Prius for 40,000 miles because I thought saving a little on my 140 mile daily commute would be worth while (mistake).

I see you have a G 35, you will find the C 250 under powered compared to your G and the combination of turbo lag and lazy transmission takes a little getting used to to maximize the driving fun. But IMO you will gain better mpg, better ride and handling higher build quality and a more solid overall feel.

The C 250 is a nice semi fuel efficient sport sedan that can also put a smile on your face both from a driving perspective and for its looks.

If you want something more like the power of your G drive a C 350 . If your buying new the 2014 C 350 are rated at 29 hwy mpg only 2 less than the C 250.

Over all I enjoy my C 250 for what it is and will run it up to 80,000 miles in the next 2 yr and then possibly trade it in on a CPO 2014 C 350 (Im sure they will be available then)

Thanks for the great feedback guys.

Yea, I drove the c250 and felt the less power than my g35, but like you also said, i like the finish and look of the C250 inside and out.

I am looking for a sedan with some pep but good gas mileage.
The VW CC seems similar as well. 4cylinder and turbo.

Im going to keep my G35 coupe.


The c250 or the VW CC is going to be my sedan car.

I will look at the c350 as well, but it might be outside my budget.

One more question...
I have found the perfect 2012 C250 loaded with everything except Nav and Backup Cam.

Some Nav questions...

Is the Nav on there any good or is it outdated? If so, are Nav updates easy?
Can I add the Nav later or is it impossible or is too expensive and not worth it?

Thanks!

I don't think it's easy to add factory nav after the fact, but if the car has the "becker prewiring", then you can add the becker nav unit at any time. My car has the prewiring, but I haven't bought a becker unit yet, because of the mixed reviews.

How can I find out if it has "becker prewiring" or not?

Check the glove box compartment on the passenger side.

Look in the glove compartment, and you should see a cradle/dock looking thing that resembles this...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-MERCE...-/281179097761

This is where you insert the becker device.

I believe it's on the top/left side of the glove box inside. There are a few "vin decoders" available on the web...if you can get the vin number from the vehicle, then you can enter it into an online vin decoder and see if the option was added.

Good luck!

One thing that should be clarified is that there are 2 nav systems for the facelift W204. There is the Becker Map Pilot (being discussed here), and there is COMAND Nav, with the 7" screen and Multimedia or Launch packages (2012 only).

Retrofitting COMAND is not easy. The Becker system is not hard to do - it's designed in mind with being a retrofit. Even if your car is not prewired (no cradle), the retrofit is still possible.

I have COMAND Nav and like it a lot, but I have had several loaners with the Becker Nav and it is not bad at all. The only thing I have heard is that updates to the built in maps are slow to be produced.