Substance

I making my researchs on 2000 model C 43 AMG(w202) , 2003 model C 32 AMG (W203) and 1998 model Porsche 911 Carrera (993). I will end up buying one of them in the next 3 months. 2000 C43 is a very rare car (1500 C43s and only 22s are 2000 model with tiptronic) and I love the look and of course the V8 engine. 2003 C 32 seems to have better accelaration and memory seats, navigation, in dash cd player are really cool adventages over C 43. 2003 and 2004 better because of the clear xenon lights. I figured it would cost me the same money getting a 2002 or 2001 a couple thousand cheaper and installing the clear bi-xenons for 2000$. As for the Porsche 911 carrera. the performance is in between C 32 and c43. 993 chasis looks great(best porsche in my opinion). AWD is available if I go for Carrera 4 and even better perfornanc with Carrera S. Positive sides...There are many C-classes oit there( W202 and W 203) . a C 230 sport looks very close to a C 32 if you get the AMG wheels. Same for the C43. Only way to notice its an AMG is the badge at the back and the sound.(Its still cool tho, when you see guys who wants to race you and think its an old heavy benzy and shocked when you smoke them and they finaly notice its an AMG) BUt Porsches are very rare. Everyone knows any porsche is a perfornance car. negative sides. its older 1998 model the latest fot 993 chasis. 2 doors. almost no backseats. AND OF Course. the BIGGEST down side is its NOT a Mercedes. Its a wolkvagen at the end. Why so I want better performance than C43 and bother C32? COZ all my friends have fast cars such as Mustang Gt, NIssan 350Z etc..and they can all compete with C43 , they have the same 0-60 5,9sec. and I know a C43 can take them easly after 60 miles but who does 120 miles runs on a open higway anyways? I want to smoke them at the lights. A C32 with minor mod can easly do 4,7 or better. and leave most of the cars behind

I am waiting for you opinions.
thnx

knvs

porsche rare!?!? what are you smoking. I see dozen of porshces everyday. The build quality on the W202 is better then the W203, and if you're looking for more performance out of the C43, you can swap in a E55 motor and s/c it too. Trust me with a good driver, a C43 can smoke a 350Z or Mustang.

The 993 is better to drive, and more sporty, but if you need a practical car then one of the AMGs will do. If you don't need anything practical and can afford maintenance then I'd go for the 993.

C43AMG

I do. :v

kchristos

Hi, first there are lots of Porches out there, but not too many C43's. Before I bought mine, I saw only 1 C43 in South Florida since 1998 when I moved here.
About the options, the C43 might not have memory seats but it has orthopedic seats working with air pressure, I don't think that the C32's have them. Also, my opinion is that the seats in C43 look nicer and are made out of better quality leather.

I am planning to do a tune up for the car. Could the C43 owners give me some advice on recommended parts to use i.e. which brand of:

Spark Plugs, Air Filters, Mobil 1 engine oil (is 15W-50 recommended for hot climates or 0W-40?), Fuel Filter and finally transmission oil.

Thanks!

Substance

C43 is derivation of C -class mercedes..and there are thousands of C class w202 and w203 out on the streets. one could easly confiuse a C class mercedes to a C class AMG mercedes. That actually apply to all amg mbs. but a porsche is a porsche. all are performance cars. 993 carreras are also limited numbers. I have seen some figures of about 1200 carreras in 1998, about the same number carrera S , the turbos are more rare. to really know there are only 22 , 2000 model c43 amg in the US, you have to spend most of your time here on forums or on internet researching , not many does that. not many can tell its an amg when they see one on street either. now you guys gonna say you love to show off. of course i do. why would i pay 40k or more on car and not enjoy seeing impressed ppl. if i only wanted performanca but no impresion , i would go for a neon srt 8, its much quicker than all of these and only 20k brand new lol

ProjectC55

I have Magnacore wires,Green airfilters,denso iridium sparkplugs.I use Amsoil Euro synthetic 5W40 I believe it is.Stock fuel fiter and Amsoil ATF for the tranny.Amsoil gear oil for the diff.

Ashkan's C43

if you don't want to do the motor swap there are plenty of cheaper mods you could do to the 4.3 motor, evosport makes pullies, kleeman makes heads and lsd, evosport also has highflow cats, could make a custom ram air intake, free up some weight, cams, rods, you could also update options, comand, tv, multi function steering wheel and cluster, with enough money, (i have no idea about cost but I could guess 500) steve, mbenznl, europimp, or whatever you like to call him could add it for you, if it was in the 210 there has to be a way for it to be in the w202, there are plenty of suspension upgrades so you could out beat the two cars on a track, the c43 is a real mercedes, heated seats in the back could be added, but then again many many mods can be done to the c32 as well as porsche, the porsche for sure will be a header turner, because at least for me, unless its an amg or g wagon or something very cool, I will look at any porsche over a c240, not sure if I helped at all, but those are my thoughts on the matter, in the end, I would get a c43 or the porsche, and the c43 is bad *** and rare, and can be modded to hell, plus very could resources in the ways of forums

C43AMG

Go get your Dodge Neon SRT , tell me where and when to meet you , and bring your wallet. :v

ProjectC55

You afi be care ful what ya ask for mi Breda! A fast car dat when modded! Bare truble a com to you! Like you said"Simma down"!

C43AMG

He better mod it , and while he's at it he can fill his trunk with milk crates to take it home with when he's done.

VAamg

Just my two cents, but that is the fun of the AMG is that 98% have no clue it has a throaty v8 ready to tear up a road. The majority of people out there are not car people like anyone looking at these cars, and I know plenty of people that couldn't tell you difference between a $150,000 911 turbo and a porsche boxster. If you are looking to impress the ladies, any will work, if you want to impress car people, you see FAR FEWER AMGs (especially the C43) than any porsh. Plus as mentioned, with the AMG you really have two avenues to go, you can mod it up and make it fast as hell, or you can use it as a nice, quick, fun car. I have put a kick *** stereo in mine, plan to dress up the interior a little bit, and just have fun with the stock set up as far as performance.

Let us know what you decide.

!!!!!NJ Drive

...gotta love the AMGs with the stealthy body colored badges or completely debadged

SNSMBZ W124

the boxster is simply a pile of sh*t. i wish porsche would stop making it. excuse me... i mean audi.

Jons95c36amg

What about the C36 AMG? Even more rare. They made less than 900 from 95-97. Just as fast as the C43 but a whole lot cheaper. I did race a C43 from 0-120 he got me by only a car. Amazing since it has only a I6 268hp vs c43 302hp same lbs. It was a steal for what I payed for the C36.

E4///Turbo

As someone that has driven all 3 cars 993, C43, C32...The C32 would be the first rubbed off the list as it feels the cheapest but real world test feels the Fastest 0-60....I have owned a few 911's and they have all been great and as someone that does not need a backseat and live life out with a 2 seater,I still prefer all around as my only car for example the Benz C43, not if you had any other sedan or other car I would to haul groceries or other stuff that you do not want ruining the near perfect leather in the 993 or C43...

Years back I was torn between a 79 Porsche 930 or C36, not being able to find either on my budget I settled for the W124 euro Cab-I feel like this car is the exact middle of my intended choices just without the Hp.

C32 C43 993

C43 all day everyday.......Good luck but you have an easy decision they are all nice cars period

AMGJared

Thread is from 12-08-2005 guys haha.

DarthCY

I haven't driven a C32 or a 911. However I have a 951 and love the car, but I wouldn't drive it every day. It sits too low and would hat to put all that wear and tear on it. It sees about 2-3K miles a year.

The C43 is great for everyday duty. The Seats are very comfortable and supportive. The trunk is large and the seats fold down. Back seat room is not large, but standard for this size of car.

The V8 not only makes really cool sounds and pulls really hard from around 2500-6000 rpm. It still has good low end torque, but really comes into its own between 2500-3000 rpm. Also the handling is great for a 4 door sedan. Not up to Porsche levels, but outstanding compared to most 4 doors. The downside is no manual transmission and the auto has a bad habit of not always kicking down well. That and it hesitates a fraction of a second when you hammer on it. Though supposedly this can be taken care of with a chip. Another bad point is that it is very civilized so you don't realize how fast you are going sometimes. You don't always hear or feel the tire spin and can climb into the 80s before you realize it.

Best part of the car though is that it looks like a regular C Class with sweet wheels. Most people won't even know what an AMG badge means. Pulled up to a Lexus LS400 the other day and smoked him to 80 mph. Wasn't even funny. Thought he was going to pick on a poor Mercedes and ended up seeing my bumper by several car lengths. This may be a personal preference though. Very few people will mess with my 951. People that are actually fast anyway. Honduh civics with fart cans don't count.

Even if your friends have Mustang GTs and 350Zs they aren't an AMG Mercedes-Benz. They may be simlar 0-60 they are miles apart in build quality and coolness. Plus if you really want performance get a blower or 5.5L engine and absolutely kick their a$$.

SDR

I'm gonna have to remember that one. The other funny description I heard was a coffee can full of bees. Not sure what it is about a new muffler that makes a Civic owner suddenly think he/she has a fast car.

Slater126

Well, there's a pretty major price difference between a C43 and a C32. Despite the rarity of the C43, it's probably about $5-6k cheaper than a C32. But if you're looking for a car that they made in such small numbers, you're going to have a tough time finding one in good shape for a decent price. Most C43s I saw have over 75k miles on them by now. If you must have a 2000, that's going to narrow your pool considerably.

C32s are still rare but not so rare that you can't find them in mint condition with low miles. Plus, you can still get them as a CPO car with a warranty (a big deal with expensive German makes). The C32 will be much faster than a C43 and in my opinion looks better (sorry guys, I know this is a W202 Board but that's how I feel). You're right in that the C32 looks pretty much like a standard W203 C-Class with the Sport Package though, honestly, as a C32 owner, I don't mind this. Fine by me. I don't need to scream "I'm fast!" to the rest of the world.

The 993 911 is a great car. The last of the air cooled 911s. Unfortunately, I'd be terrified of maintenance costs. The newest ones are approaching 10 years old, and these are not cheap cars to maintain. I also think a C32 will be a little quicker than a standard Carerra 2 or 4. Of course, this is negated by the fact that you can get a manual transmission -- a huge advantage in my mind.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the 3 honestly, I guess it just depends on how much you want to spend and how much maintenance risk you want to take on.

AMGJared

You'll love this guys, I'm dying over here.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xn5ZE39LGtk

C43AMG

That's nothing on a AMG motor.

SDR

WTF was that supposed to be? I kept expecting them to break into a tune.

Jim Brady

I've owned all three of the cars you discribe. The 98 911 if its a C2S is a rare car and will hold its value beyond the MB's. BTW, its not a VW and a great car if you want to do track events. Expect expensive parts and labor. That said, if its a regular 993 C2, its a sports car, and you will be come weary driving it everyday.
My C43 was lacking something until, I installed the european amg suspension what a difference. That made the car. The C32, more powerful and upgradeable, a better everyday car with nav and seats. Each has its own merits. I'd go with the C43 but upgrade the suspension.

Jons95c36amg

My C36 has almost 90k miles and it still does mid 5s 0-60 high 13s in the 1/4. I think its just breaking in! AMG

bzliteyear

all those are nice cars, but i've heard many mechanical issues on the c32's and that's why they're so cheap in the used car markets. imho, the c43 is the way to go as the porsche may not be that practical for daily driving/comfort. as for your friends who drive the mustang/350z's, that's just a totally different crowd. perhaps they're all younger, but most of the time my favorite driver is my 12 year old e320 cabriolet...i drive the speed limit with the wind blowing...great for living "in the moment" and truly enjoying life.