ellery

pick whatever will depreciate the least. I think the only factors you need to consider is exterior aesthetics & interior design. Both can be made fast, both can be made to handle like champs. Whatever you get, you'll have at least 2 years warranty (since you're considering an 04 c32).... by the time the 2 years are up, you'll probably be thinking of your next car anyways.

jgsx

Sure, if you have a huge budget. I think that it really depends on what you want to do with the car.

The C55 comes with a little more power stock, handles a little better, has a more unique exterior look, has an freshened up interior, has better seats and if equipped, has BiXenons and a significantly better Navigation system. The C55 also has a more aggressive exhaust note, especially when the resonator is removed.

The C32 is an older car, but the engine is much easier to mod. With just a pulley, you've got the performance of a C55. With a pulley and ECU, you've beaten it. Throw on some headers and the SL55 splitter (stage 2), and you've got a quick little car. You'll want to add BiXenons. The CD based COMMAND navigation is very dated.

The C55 can be modded too, and while the initial basic mods do give some significant gains, if you did the equivalent mods on a C32, the C32 would be much quicker.

You can supercharge your C55, but your powertrain warranty will be gone for sure. Supercharging a C55 is also very expensive. My C32 has stage 2, and neither of the dealers that I've taken my car to have noticed.

Either car would benefit from a Quaife LSD -- stock or modded.

So, if you don't plan on modding the car, the C55 is the clear winner. If you want to get serious bang for the buck, the C32 is the winner. If you want to build a superdooper fast C-class, and have a big budget, C55 wins.