Mike Duncan

Ok, so unless someone can convince me otherwise before Friday, I will be doing a direct swap of my 2003 C32 with all the trims with 1403000km for a 2004 C230k Coupe which is fully specked (facelift interior) with DVD sat-nav and 14 speaker system with 109000km Electric memory seats, Zenon lights etc etc.. My reason is running costs

Comments and views apprecieated

Marine Blue

Personally I would miss the power, handling and looks of the C32. Some times you have to pay to play. If you want lower running costs with those options I would be looking at a used Japanese/Korean luxury car.

WaveyKat

swap out the engine too :-)

ScottW911

That sounds like a great deal............


...for the other guy.


Your costs can't be that much lower on a 110k C230. Sounds nuts to me.


Edit: Does your C32 really have 1.4 million kilometers on the dial? That's about 870,000 miles?

ghiaguy

I really cannot figure that any potential savings would amount this being worthwhile. Also, factor in the C32's value will hold while the standard Benz continues to drop... and the power, please don't forget about those extra horses!!!

W203Ramos

are you on crack?

kustom2k1

C230k Coupe, I wouldn't even consider it.

speed7

Your cost of maintenance is going to be the same. The only "benefit" you're getting is better MPG.. AMG cars share sooo much of the regular crap with the other cars its really not that much different compared to any other C class in regards to maintenance.

I'd keep the C32..

Capn

maverik259

where do you get 14 speakers from? do the speakers have speakers? lol

AKnight55

If this thread isn't enough to convince you otherwise, then I dont know what is.

ghiaguy

Seriously - Its almost Friday - whats the decision??

pointman

Running costs? lol. C32 is cheap to own.

pointman

Meh. Get the 230. Bye.

ghiaguy

Yeah, the C32 would be just fine on gas. My C55 gets a crap 14.6 mpg on my daily commute with the V8 and I don't worry about it- The car is worth it What do people get around town in a C32? has to be a lot better.

Things don't break any more than on the tamer Cs, I would imagine you have taken care of a lot of maintenance on your AMG and can plot a cost effective schedule for the future. The 230 is a new can o worms

pointman

I get the same as you. I'm a 32 owner.

Mike Duncan

Ok. I did the swap. So the c32 I owned, although powerful had some inherent expensive issues. Shocks were on their way out as well as all springs. Had a slight miss so fuel injectors needed attention. Tires were of 3 different brands and the wrong sizes. Front passenger side bumper and fender area needed attention as well as requiring a new bonnet due to many bad repair jobs. Although the car looked nice from far, it needed a ton of cash to sort out.

The C230 I swapped is higher specked inside than the C32 and was of the evolution nature. Absolutely mint and original with everything barring the pdc (minor) working. Has LCD DVD player/satnav and all the rest of the toys.

On a recent 1200km trip, at an average of 130kph the fuel index came up as 7.8/100 for the trip. The same trip not so long ago in the other car was about 10.5 so that's a considerable saving and the trip took just as long so the benefit of the additional power was negligible.

Yes there is no power in comparison at all, but it's not always about power especially when you can never use it legally. I still had the C230 at a respectable 245kph so it's no sloutch.

Granted, the C32 has more presence, is more powerful and possibly even more comfortable but in this case I believe I got a better deal overall.

I can always sell the c230 if I really want to and probably easier than the C32 which not everyone wants or can afford to run. I do miss it however.

I drove a mint C55 the other day, but at almost twice the price of a C32 I can't justify the price if owning a powerful car is the objective.

General maintenance is less than half the price including consumables like brake pads, disks, springs, tie rod ends, spark plugs etc etc so owning a C32 requires deep pockets which I currently don't have, but mabe in the future again. Next time though a mint condition one.