After owning old and my first (benz) - 260E, i found myself in the market for the 02-2003 C32 AMG...
After reading Publication about 2003 c32 AMG, i'm 99% sure that i would like to buy 03 rather than 02 model, because of the optional clear Bi-Xenons headlights...

But then i just received pretty good offer on 02 model with just 19k on it for only $30,500...
Now Question is, especially to 2002 c32 owners-is it worth to try to find 03 model with clear Bi-Xenons headlights...?!? Or it’s better to accept offer and buy&install xenons later on...!?!
and Question for everyone else, what you think about the offer for the 02 model that I just received...

and Lastly, Question of Reliability and Durability, what is in your opinion is more durable and will last longer for me... 02-03 C32 or 03 CLK500...?!? That’s more like a question against the kompressor [ Too bad you can’t get CLK500 with aluminum trim with out any interior work done...]

P.S.: Offer that i received has no Xenons, just regular lights, 2-tone heated seats, cell-phone prep, No NAV[Not looking for car with NAV]...
Salesman wanting to sale the car faster said "What about installing Xenons later on...?" But i don't think you can get same clear headlights just like on picture for 02 models...-right? Hows the after-market Xenons look on 02 is models....?!?

[Previously was just a forum reader, now its time to post and ask questions... ]

Thanks in advance....

 

do a search on bi-xenons...

but to answer your questions..

$1200 you can get brand new ones.. plug and play. I paid a local body shop $100 to install..

you will need to have the computer setting reprogrammed, which can be done at the dealer if they let you.

Talk to STeve ML on this forum. Search for STEVE ML and he will be able to help you.

If the price is good, get the car and install the bi-xenons later.

where are you?

welcome aboard....

If you look at all my mods... all have been done after the fact. Don't pass up a good deal.

 

There are many threads in the W203 forum about Steve and a recent one by yours truly fitting Bixenons. Anything can be fitted to the C32.

Just search or browse.

contact steve@mbenznl.com for pricing.

 

ignore my question about your location.

You should be able to find help in Boston to reprogram the bi-xenons.

 

Thank you for welcome!!
As always newbie tried to search and thats where a lot of newb questions started to pop up about xenons and then about everything and life universe...
I found "Great" topic with same struggle about buying c32 vs. clk500 which turn into something that wasn't helpful at all...
"OEM Mercedes Benz C-Class W203 Bi-Xenon Projector Headlights will fit 2001 to 2006"-pulled that one actually out ebay, so there weren't any size changes...!?!
if thats correct, what do you think about sales offer i received...!?!
"Don't pass up a good deal."-been burning my mind since i left the dealer...

 

After looking for a C32 for over a month, I can tell you that there are approx. 90 available around the country right now. Only a few of those have really low miles, no issues, and priced right. I can tell you that the two tone leather deducts some off the sale price as there are a lot less people that like the look than the standard charcoal leather, so resale may be an issue down the road. A big factor for '02s is warranty. Most of them have run out of the factory warranty by now and a "good" aftermarket warranty will cost you between $2500 & $3500. '03s still have some warranty left but no more than one year, so a Star Marked extended warranty would be your best deal, but the car would need to be purchased from a Mercedes dealer or from an owner that had. Only a Mercedes dealer can certify the car and offer the factory extended warranty, so if any other dealer says they can, they are lying.

A good price for the car you are talking about is probably in the $30-34k range if it has a clean history. Make sure you run a CarFax and have a local MB dealer run the VIN# to check the service history. Try to find out who owned the car previously and contact them to see how they treated the car. There are a number of C32's that have riden hard and put away wet. Guys typically don't pay an extra $15k for a car to get 349hp and are not tempted to maybe use it a little more than they should. Lots of guys have added mods to boost the hp, lowering springs, rims, etc. You should'nt have to pay any more for a car with mods and can be a big plus if you were planning on adding them anyway.

Is the car you're looking at is at a dealer in Matick, MA? I may be wrong, but I seem to remember something fishy about that car. If it's the car that I'm thinking about, it's been for sale at two or three different dealers since May of '05. Check the CarFax and you will see no owners listed during that time. The photo of the car in the ad had it sitting next to a blue older Vette. There are a couple with a history like that. One is at Perillo BMW in Chicago. Auction in OH and a few months later, ends up at Perillo????

There is a really nice '02, 15,xxx miles, 2 owner Silver one in Chicago that can be bought for around $32,500. I thought I had it bought, but the buyer backed out at the last minute. Not sure why.

Also, I just found a Black/Black '02 in St. Louis with 19,000 miles, one owner, great history that can be bought for around $35k with a StarMark warranty. If interested, send me a PM and I'll hook you up with the owner. Oral surgen that just has too many cars.

In the end, you can get a really nice car for around the $$ figure that you mentioned, but be carefull....... As far as Bi-Xenons making or breaking a deal, like th others have said, they can always be added. Sorry to be so long winded, but I thought I would share what I could after spending countless hours on the web doing research. Good luck with your search!!

 

does anyone have any bi-xenons for my '02 c32 that they want to sell me?

 

You did not mention what the color was of the '02 that you are looking at, but if it is Blue, I would almost bet that this is it?????E-Bay completed listing

I ran a CarFax on it and although it shows a clean record, it does show two owners and then for sale at a MB dealer in Oct. '05, then sold at an auction, then for sale at current dealer. Not sure why it has not sold since Oct. but my bet would be the color. Probably sold for $26-28 at the auction. You don't see many blue ones, but if it's a color you like, might be a pretty good deal.

I can e-mail the CarFax to you if you want.

 

SteveL1, thats the one... and i do have carfax on my hands, yeah 2 owners both from same state...same thought here "Why it has not sold since Oct, as pre-certified benz, at the big dealer that it was sold from at auction...?"
I don't know but something is holding me down, even though i like the car a lot...
I keep looking into myself to find stuff to stop me from buying the car...
88 260E was much simpler case of sales...- But may be that was because I didn’t know much about benz, and even now I still feel like there is tons of information that needs to be learned…
Previously test drove another 02 c32 with 48k on it. That test drive got me thinking if i really want c32, because i defiantly could feel when kompressor was kicking in and/or when the car lagged a bit before it kicked in...
Now this c32 test drive was smoother, enjoyable and felt in love with color; carfax - 2 owners with only 19k on it-got me thinking why did big dealership after 1 or 2 lease(s) decided to sell it at auction rather than try to sell it as pre-certified...!?!(or may be it was for sale but it seat on lot for longer than 90 days on same dealer, they brought it to dealers auction?!?) But then after getting deeper and deeper in research on the web and on the mbworld, i found that c32 gets build in S. Africa, yet CLK were build in Germany...?!?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kar don

all RHD c-class cars are from SA, all CLKs are from germany... bremen.

That’s Brings me back to question against the kompressor, Reliability and Durability and CLK500...

P.S.: i wasn't looking at the car in Natick, MA...
SteveL1, really appreciate long reply, since I’m not rushing into buying and hopefully with help of mbworld members I’ll get the best knowledge before writing out the check for amazing c32 or beautiful “Chick magnet”500...

 

What are the options that are missing? Power-shade and what else next to the heated driver's seat button on the left...?

 

Nothing, it's blank.
You're missing the NAV though

 

does anybody know if you can fit an equalizer to this open space?

I bet if we had a 16 band EQ for our stereo system, we can really bring out the base FQ.

sometimes the adjustment of Hi or Lo Fq is just not enough.

It maybe tacky or it might not look as nice.. since I doubt MB has a EQ unit.

just food for though?

 

yes, its missing the climate control system...

 

so that 2nd button on the left was always blank no matter how loaded c-class was...!?!

 

in the US - YES

in the Rest Of World - NO, the loaded C-classes come with a parktronic switch there

greetingz,

 

hey u beat me to that car

i called the weekend you purchased it..

congrats... i'm so jealous

 

i end up not buying it, someone else did, like i said previously, something was stopping me[was keep trying to find excuse or issue about what i don’t like in the car], some light clicking sound under the hood[similar sound you would get if like rubber belt was hitting something while it passes by other object]-only was noticeable when i popped the hood, 2 owners with such low mileage is hard to say how it was treated, and why owners was dropping the car, better to have 1 owner benz with all records. Ride and price were great, but some bad feeling [aren't buying car to have bad feeling & then say to myself 2 month later "oh *****, i knew something was telling me its bad-where can i sell it now...!?"]...
Dealership on other hand was very nice, yet small in size, that's another reason that stopped me...- if i will end up with used 32kompressor, i would like it to be one owner car with extended warranty so i can enjoy trouble free AMG[don't like idea of fixing jerky transmission, etc]..

P.S.: TopGun32, i would like to do same EQ project, no matter if its C32 or CLK i’ll end up with, that’s the main reason I’m looking for benz without NAV is because of that space and because I would like to have PDA with NAV instead(friend inspiration) =)

 

i was seriously contemplating buying that car, I had called (I think) the day after you placed a deposit and was I offered the gentleman a tick under 30,000 bucks. I was ready to wire the money next day when he told me that someone else had left a deposit and was awaiting financing. I was told that if the deal fell through within the 4 day law I would get the car . Well i found out the deal did not go through and the car was not offered back to me but to someone else who paid a bit more.

I'm glad you found something wrong with it as I was kicking myself for not ******ing it earlier. I think i found my C32 anyways, just waiting for the bank......