Went to my local dealership today and seen a Pewter C55. I wonder if someone cancelled their order. It was just sitting outside. I Checked out the rear decklid spoiler looks good , the 18inch wheels look good too. The front seems a little longer, of course the car was locked.

Sticker Price 66k almost 5k markup on the sticker. I will stick with my C32, very minor differences in appearance, I'm sure the car performs well. I just can't justify the sticker price.

which dealership was that at?

Mb Sacramento

there was a brilliant silver c55 at Beshoff Mercedes in san jose

The C32's were "order only" in most places for most of 2002 and 2003. I guess the word is out on the quality. I definitely would NOT have bought one if I had test driven it. Don't get me wrong, it is a good/great car, but I definitely expected more from a mercedes.

what did you expect that didn't meet your expectations?

Although there are alot of good, without a test drive you cannot get a feel for the way the car performs, responds and drives. I test drove the C240 and C320, and I was assured that the C32 was a totally differnt beast.

I definitely do not like the transmission as my wifes' 4Runner shifts crisper under normal driving. I do alot of slow city driving (nature of where I live and work) and the car has learned (thinks) that I drive like a grandpa (I have no choice 75% of the time) and when I actually give-her, it does not downshift. If I give it 90% throttle, it still does not downshift most times, if I floor it, it downshifts and gives me too much power and I look like an idiot in some situations. There is no in-between as this is what it has learned from my driving. The dealer zapped the memory once, and it was better for a few days. There have been other transmission issues, and some have been taken care of by the dealer. The car has been at the dealer 3 times and has under 8000 miles.

Other negatives include:
- Bose stereo (In Canada it was an option and I ordered it because there were no dealers that had a car with it for a test-listen)
- Suspension not as performance oriented as I would have thought

Overall, I would have thought it would be more responsive and have more driver feel than it does.

Once again, there are alot of positives, including the leather quality, seats, power when you "stomp" on it and just overall a well rounded blend of luxury and performance, but, If I had a chance to test drive one, I would not have bought it.

Seen the car yesterday, was sold today. I guess the car is hott!!!

Mr. VancouverC32:

Based on your posting... if you had to do it all over again and/or you would have test driven the C32 prior (thus not purchased it) which car you would have chosen to buy?... (that is if you have one in mind)

Wiedermann

Mr. Wiedermann:
It was impossible to test drive any AMG products as there were 6-9 month waiting lists at that time. They did not allow test drives of customers new cars coming in either. If I had a chance for a test drive, I would have held off buying at that time until a product that met my expectations came on the market, likely either the new Audi or an M3 Cabriolet (subject to test drive of course).

Dealership received another C55 it looks sick!!!! MARS RED very nice, dam wish I had my digital Camera. RED looks really good on the C55.

Black C55 at House of Imports down in Orange County in LA. I just came back from dropping my car off for service. $59+k MSRP. The silver one I saw couple weeks ago was already gone. I dunno what's the markup and don't care either. They also have 1 CL65, 1 SL600, and 2 S55 there. They want $200k for the CL65 MSRP at $180k.

Went back to the dealership today Mars RED C55 was sold. Hott Item..