C450 AMG Sport discussion only.
1) Have they stopped taking orders for 2016 c450?
2) Is it possible that as early as February, that an order placed now which usually takes 3 months to build, would already be considered MY2017?
3) would that also mean that the money factor on a lease would go up again, since it'll be considered as a "newly" released model (c43)?
Any info/input would be appreciated, thanks!
Anybody have any idea how far away from dealer delivery at this point?
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
I've been researching the C450 for a short while now and yesterday I officially read all 131 pages of this post. Today, I had the chance to get down to a dealership in Alberta, Canada and see the car up close and take it for a drive. Overall, the car was very nice (tough not to be impressed). It was a tad smaller than I was expecting, but very nice none the less. The dealership was also a fairly different experience from what I'm used to. Regardless, I had a couple questions:
- The one they had in stock had the red upgraded leather interior. While I did like the red, I'm not sure the leather is worthy of an extra $2000 (CDN). Do the seats themselves change from leather to the regular black w/red stitching? I enjoyed the side bolsters and would hope they stay regardless of material.
- This one did not have the optional steering wheel. Exactly how is it different from the standard? Is it purely just the material, or the shape/girth as well?
- Having never owned a MB, or necessarily a car I'd consider this class of luxury, what is the cost of ownership like compared to a lesser more economical brand (ford, chevy, etc)? I don't know many folks personally with MB's, so obtaining this info has been fairly tough thus far.
- Lastly, and this may be a better question for the dealership, but how can their price on the car be ~$75 when the same car according to the website is built at ~$69k? Are the various admin fees, freight, pdi, etc really worth $6k??
Thanks in advance!
I've been researching the C450 for a short while now and yesterday I officially read all 131 pages of this post. Today, I had the chance to get down to a dealership in Alberta, Canada and see the car up close and take it for a drive. Overall, the car was very nice (tough not to be impressed). It was a tad smaller than I was expecting, but very nice none the less. The dealership was also a fairly different experience from what I'm used to. Regardless, I had a couple questions:
- The one they had in stock had the red upgraded leather interior. While I did like the red, I'm not sure the leather is worthy of an extra $2000 (CDN). Do the seats themselves change from leather to the regular black w/red stitching? I enjoyed the side bolsters and would hope they stay regardless of material.
- This one did not have the optional steering wheel. Exactly how is it different from the standard? Is it purely just the material, or the shape/girth as well?
- Having never owned a MB, or necessarily a car I'd consider this class of luxury, what is the cost of ownership like compared to a lesser more economical brand (ford, chevy, etc)? I don't know many folks personally with MB's, so obtaining this info has been fairly tough thus far.
- Lastly, and this may be a better question for the dealership, but how can their price on the car be ~$75 when the same car according to the website is built at ~$69k? Are the various admin fees, freight, pdi, etc really worth $6k??
Thanks in advance!
I can`t comment for sure on the steering wheel, but I do know that the performance wheel has Alcantara and the AMG logo on the bottom. I would assume it is beefier, but not 100% sure on that one.
Cost of ownership will be much higher than you`re used to. Not only are you comparing to a domestic brand, but to a non-luxury domestic brand. Both domestic brands and germans depreciate heavily so neither is ever a good financial investment. Dealer service is going to be WAY more for an MB - parts are expensive and so is labour. On a new car, on warranty, it should be less of an issue - but long term, the MB will cost you big. Performance consumables on cars such as a C450 are very expensive (runflat sticky tires, sport brake rotors and pads, etc.)...
I've been researching the C450 for a short while now and yesterday I officially read all 131 pages of this post. Today, I had the chance to get down to a dealership in Alberta, Canada and see the car up close and take it for a drive. Overall, the car was very nice (tough not to be impressed). It was a tad smaller than I was expecting, but very nice none the less. The dealership was also a fairly different experience from what I'm used to. Regardless, I had a couple questions:
- The one they had in stock had the red upgraded leather interior. While I did like the red, I'm not sure the leather is worthy of an extra $2000 (CDN). Do the seats themselves change from leather to the regular black w/red stitching? I enjoyed the side bolsters and would hope they stay regardless of material.
- This one did not have the optional steering wheel. Exactly how is it different from the standard? Is it purely just the material, or the shape/girth as well?
- Having never owned a MB, or necessarily a car I'd consider this class of luxury, what is the cost of ownership like compared to a lesser more economical brand (ford, chevy, etc)? I don't know many folks personally with MB's, so obtaining this info has been fairly tough thus far.
- Lastly, and this may be a better question for the dealership, but how can their price on the car be ~$75 when the same car according to the website is built at ~$69k? Are the various admin fees, freight, pdi, etc really worth $6k??
Thanks in advance!
2. The "AMG Performance" steering wheel is a little fatter. Overall shape is the same.
3. I would expect dealership service and maintenance to be higher. Not that big a deal if you are doing you own oil changes and all the other easy stuff. Cost to operate will be higher since you will be running premium fuel.
4. The build price on the MB website is the MSRP including MB delivery charge. If you built it on MBUSA you need to convert the currency ratios to get CDN equivalent cost.
To the guys who already own a C450, why would you recommend against going this route? Curious to hear what you guys' thoughts are.
Last edited by inhartwetrust; Feb 16, 2016 at 11:33 AM.
To the guys who already own a C450, why would you recommend against going this route? Curious to hear what you guys' thoughts are.
To the guys who already own a C450, why would you recommend against going this route? Curious to hear what you guys' thoughts are.
Definitely agree that the C450 would be brilliant in the snow while the C63S will require judicious use of the throttle...but it's definitely do-able, IMO. Outside of a Grand Cherokee back in college, I've never used AWD/4WD vehicles. I live in Central Ohio, so we normally don't have Canada-like brutal winters, but we do get some big snow storms from time to time.
If a road is icy, truly icy, you're screwed either way. AWD helps to get the car started from a static position easier, past that (assuming smart use of the pedal) the tires are what keep you connected to the road.
That's why I asked you why you feel hosed. Until Mercedes releases the specs of the C43, there is nothing other than a badge that is confirmed.My speculation is that the C43 will get the 9g transmission and nothing more than the C450.
Last edited by LogicDSS; Feb 16, 2016 at 12:39 PM.

This is going to be a brutal decision, it seems. Maybe the C43 will be announced to have a louder exhaust and a 9 speed transmission, then I could probably pick it without much second guessing...otherwise, it's either compromise for the C43 for the snow driving ability, or suck it up with a better C63S.

This is going to be a brutal decision, it seems. Maybe the C43 will be announced to have a louder exhaust and a 9 speed transmission, then I could probably pick it without much second guessing...otherwise, it's either compromise for the C43 for the snow driving ability, or suck it up with a better C63S.








