mickey13

whats funny is i think that C43 AMG (W202) owners are probably some of the most knowledgeable people on MB and AMG around.

while C43 AMG (W205) owners are probably some of the least knowledgeable people in MB and AMG.

and what i say about W205 owners isnt a universal statement, probably 95%

and what i say about W202 owners is almost a universal statement, like 99%

kind of ironic and funny but still

i think MB dropped the ball on the 20 year anniversary of the C43 AMG, (the first AMG with a V8) they should have developed a special edition 4.3 V8 twin turbo with all the bells and whistles and made 100 or less. would have been a true salute back to their origins. i guess we can wait 30 more years and see if they get it right next time

brad_c43

I really feel like AMG dropped the ball on the 50th anniversary to be honest

nkctb7

I really think that Daimler Chrysler dropped the ball when they merged AMG and Mercedes. They could've purchased both and kept them entirely separate. Regardless, I can only imagine the boardroom when they announced another C43. How anyone could applaud the re use of a name as historic as the C43 is incomprehensible! They could have at the least, called it the C43-2. What's next? A 6 cylinder Hammer!

brad_c43

They could have avoided all these problems by making a c45/e45 etc... but they had to bring back the 43 name, i really dont understand why they did this

Dziner82

it is interesting that they brought back '43';
for one- "43" is not the most appealing number, not as aesthetically nice as '55' for example, or 45 as mentioned by brad, not to mention they had already started "45" with the CLA, so why not just run with it??
two - since they went back to it they had to of course understand what the original C43 was, so it was important enough to them to go back to it as a number to be used on all models, but i feel like overall MB doent really care about the original C43 all that much.

nkctb7 - I dont think MB thinks of the original C43 as historic all that much. i mean lets be honest, globally it was only what? 2500 cars? and really hardly anyone knows about it, its not like it changed the game in the larger sense or anything. if they would have built more and built them longer then maybe it would have gotten a nice prestige to it similar to say a Buick Grand national.

but lets be honest people who choose to buy a w202 C43 are gonna be pretty hardcore fans. and people who buy new mercedes really dont care about anything but the car as a status symbol. this is nothing new, its why there is HUGE depreciation on MB vehicles, and why the older ones fall off the cliff - 98% of people with money dont want to put that money into keeping and OLDER mercedes in good shape - they would rather use that money to have a NEW mercedes. and then half the used ones then go to people that cant keep up with the cost of maintenance and those go to sh*t, and the remaining HALF is basically all of us on these boards with the older models :-)

DRBC43AMG

Let's wait and see what the new 43 will look like in 20 years time, if they will still exist.

brad_c43

I can't remember where I heard it, if it was here or the private lounge but I thought the c43 is going away after 2018?

PeterUbers

i would venture to believe that anyone caring about a 20 year old car is part of a cult following, a knowledgeable mechanic that can maintain a car like this and repair it, in the market for a sub $10,000 car, etc

2017 c43 owners are dropping $60,000 for a new car... most don't give a crap about doing the repairs themselves they care more about dealers fixing a b pillar rattle ....

the vast majority of new 2017 owners will not own this car past the warranty

Sulaco

If MB ever really cared about the w202 the C43 would not have existed. They would have all been C55's.

They have always treated C class customers as second class citizens. There was no way they were going to let the C class AMG be faster than all the other AMG cars, so they used a smaller, weaker version of the same engine. They actually spent money to get AMG to develop a smaller, weaker version of the engine because they didn't want C class sales to take away from E and S class sales.

Had they realized much sooner how dumb that idea was, history would recall the w202 AMG very differently. A w202 C55 is as fast (or faster) than the E39 M5, because the M5 weighed 500-700 lbs more but had the same torque output. And in those days the entire automotive press was flipping out about the M5 being "world's fastest four door car EVER" and "the first 4 door supercar." What if the w202 had all come with the 5.4L engine, and not just really rare special-orders to uber rich customers willing to pay an extra $30k

DRBC43AMG

Interesting theory

brad_c43

I agree with him, Mercedes seems to be all about money. We've been using the same dealership since the 70's but now we go to indy mechanics after they tried to charge my mom $800 for an oil change on her gl450.

m a x i m u s

I agree that AMG never should've named the 205 the C43. Such sacrilege. I mean, come on, there are so many other numbers they could have used.

guhvies

To the W202 C43 AMG driver that I had a spirited run from Eden Park to Bromley yesterday evening, salute! Pity we had buses and slow pokes in front of us.

benzslo

C43 w202 owners are definitely not the most knowledgeable, I read this forum and can attest LOL. Not to make fun because nobody is born with the knowledge but there is more bad info here than good.

DRBC43AMG

Well, guess we are not all professionals...

E55Greasemonkey

whoops

E55Greasemonkey

whoops

Benzrider17

it’s the e43 they stopped making replaced by the e53 haven’t heard about c43 production going away but they should they not even real AMGs

silverc4s

My early love of Mercedes cars faded when the Chrysler era began. I sidestepped into the Porsche world for a few decades, but as I grew older and wanted a fine touring sedan again my memories drifted back to the early AMG era, and I found myself looking into the W202 C36 and C43 cars in 2017 or so. Almost bought a C36 on BAT, then found a beautifully cared for C43 and got on a plane with a check in hand and drove it home about 500 miles.
I still love the car as much as that first day we met, and I have learned a lot about these special cars in the years since. I see it as one of the last best efforts before two bad things happened:
1. The Chrysler misadventure that cheapened the design and execution of all Mercedes cars for all time.
2. The purchase by MB of AMG, swiftly converting the result to badge engineering on every model they make.

So, I will be driving mine as long as gasoline remains on sale.

PS. I have a nearly 50 year old 911 also, but I drive the C43 more these days.