mis3

After 14 years of ownership, I am finally moving on. I just put a deposit on a new car and should take delivery next week.

I bought my 2004 CLK320 when new and I put 234K miles to it. The car is getting old and I can see that replacement parts are getting harder and harder to get. It has come to a point that it makes less and less sense to keep money to it.

Yidney

You sure got your money's worth. What are you buying?

insame1

What are you getting next?

mis3

I did get my money worth.

I am getting a 2018 Civic SI Coupe.

xsever

You definitely got your money out of it. I wish you had an extra garage spot to keep the car forever and enjoy it from time to time versus having it as a daily driver.

I am also preparing to change from my 2005 CLK 320 in a year's time maybe and moving up to a facelift W204.

Good luck with the new car and I'm definitely interested in a review and comparison with the CLK once you have the new one.

Godspeed!

insame1

That's quite a change. I tried to leave MB for a Cadillac ATS but that only lasted about 6 months.

blackduc1

Best of luck with the new car! I've read many positive articles on the SI; I'm sure it will be a fun daily driver!

I went from 20 years of MBZ to Lexus earlier this year, but I couldn't get used to the car, so I came back with my first CLK.

Rudeney

Yeah, my wife just bought a Cadillac XT5 (the new version of the XTS crossover). It rides well, and is nicely appointed, but it's not MBZ. In fact, her prior car, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, was a much more solid feeling vehicle. There are just so many things we keep finding about the Cadillac that are non-luxury, like having the same seat controls you get in a low-end Chevy, lots of hard plastic surfaces, small seats, etc. I think compared to a Ford Edge or Hyundai Sante Fe, it's very nice, but compared to an ML/GLE, GLC, BMW X5, or even a Jeep Grand Cherokee, its a bit lacking. Thankfully, it's just a 3-year lease. I tried to talk her into buying a gently used ML/GLE, but she would not go for it - she had to have a new car. And I'm not paying ridiculous delaer prices for a new MBZ - I'll only buy them used and let someone else take the 20%/year depreciation.

mis3

I did look at a new C300 4-matic coupe first and after all my discounts, the out-the-door price came up to be $76K CAN. The Civic SI I am getting is $34K. Mind you that Intelligent Drive package and all wheel drive are not available for the SI. The SI also does not have the engine stop/start and runflats tires which I hate.

Although I am not too crazy about the rear wing of the SI coupe, I think overall the SI is a good looking car. Honda is famous of its reliability and high resale value. Forgot to mention, it comes with only 6-speed manual transmission (same price for automatic transmission).

I know already that I will miss the solid feel of a MB but maybe I will get used to the nimble feel of the Civic. I will take delivery of the car next week. After a few hundred mile of break-in, I will certainly report here.

C280 Sport

I love those "I only drive new car people" Most of those people end being wrapped into a lease so really they do not even own it. My wife use to the be the same way until she realized the used or CPO MB cars are much better then driving a Mazda or Toyota. Now she is looking for a 2015 ML350 4M.

mis3

My biggest gripe of MB is the high maintenance cost. Worse for Canadians.

In Canada, the only place to buy OE parts is the dealership. They can charge whatever they want. Most parts cost maybe twice what US online stores charge. One extreme example is the w209 fuel filter (002-477-3001), Toronto dealership charges $140CAN while the US online stores charges $46US for the same genuine MB parts. Worse for me because I am not DIY person and the set rate for a job in the dealership (set by Mercedes Canada) has a lot of "build-in buffers".

xsever

Yeah I get you completely especially with the mileage on your car. When I still lived in Canada (2014) and had to replace the conductor plate on the CLK, it cost me $1,100 CAD at the stealership whereas here in Lebanon it's $300 tops since parts are on par with US prices and labour is dirt cheap relatively. It's a known fact that manufacturers make wayyyy more profit from parts and maintenance as opposed to the sale of the car.

Really looking forward to your review of the new car vs CLK one you've driven it enough.

mis3

So, you can share my pain. LOL Talking about conductor plate, the local price of the parts is $545CAN while US sells the same for $250US. These were the prices when I had to change it maybe 4 years ago. Another example was the water pump, Canadian price was $360CAN while the US price was $160US (both prices with core returned).

The US online store I was referring to was a dealership as well which sells OE MB parts online. Another issue is these online stores do not ship to Canada!

xsever

Yeah it's as if MB placed an embargo on Canada!

mis3

Adding to the fact that the replacement parts are getting sparce (again, my sources are limited to Canadian dealerships). This is my daily commute so there is really not much choice for me.

I test drove the car twic. The first time was so so, probably because I did not drive a manual for many years. The 2nd time I drove the car, the car was great. It helped when the salesman kept asking me to take sharp corners and floored the gas pedal. It reminded me of my previous car; 1999 Honda Prelude, The amazing part is maximum torque of 192 comes at early as 2100-5000 RPM. Also, the clutches of these modern cars are so light. With LSD and electronic adjustable dampers, it is a great little package.

I am sure I will miss the class, elegancy and drivability, When I feel this way, I will think of the price difference $42K CAN.

xsever

I'm still surprised you got a manual. No traffic at all during your commute? Manual would definitely drive me crazy in traffic.

mis3

I live in Toronto and bad traffic here. Waht’s worse is I work far away. Fortunately, the clutches of the new cars are extremely light. I will see when I try the work commute.

I like to get a fun car for now. The next car is probably a self-driving car.

aleks001

You wanna see rip of prices come to Australia mate, make's even you Canadians look affordable. I called for the two plastic side covers of the dash. $10 in the US. So $20-$30 for both sides depending where you go. In Australia, wait for it, brace yourself $400 fking dollars. On average here the dealership will charge about $500-$600 to do just the front brake pads, this doesn't include new rotors. MB Australia/Asia Pacific is one of the most greedy and money hungry organisations that I have ever seen in my life.

FYI, I do all my own work and order parts from the US, hence how I can afford any cars. Ends up costing me less than a civic

xsever

Oh Dear Lord! $400! Are they gold plated or what? You guys must be filthy rich in Australia!

aleks001

Nah, filthy stupid more like it lol People here finance the sh***t out of everything and have become so retarted that most wouldn't even know how to top of up the windscreen washer fluid. On top of that people here live pay cheque to pay cheque, they are just lucky they live in a good country where they can pretty much always find work, especially if they're not picky.

It's not just MB as well ,everyone here is a massive rip off, even someone like honda will want $800 for a radiator.

insame1

TIL: Australians get pay cheques while Americans get pay checks.

aleks001

Not to start an argument but we all know america doesnt speak proper english :p its the only country i believe that has its own variants of words in the english language and since your media is so powerful many people here spell the american way hahah im alo no spelling **** and constantly make mistakes so lets not get anything started

Also pretty much no one here gets pay cheques anymore its all directly deposited as it probably is in the us but its weird saying, living from bank deposit to bank deposit hahah

insame1

You right. It seems every English speaking country has their own version. I honestly didn't know people used that spelling and found it interesting.

mis3

I think (at least) the maintenance cost of a Honda is lower than a MB.

Before I bought the w209, my daily commute was a Honda Prelude (1999, the last generation). I broke the side mirror and the dealership charged me $350CAN to replace it (parts and labour). This was 15-16 years ago.

Then 12 years ago, someone broke the side mirror of my w209. Parts alone costed me $1,000CAN. . The Mirror glass alone was $270CAN.

Both side mirrors are heated and controlled from inside the car.

aleks001

It's not cheaper actually, I have found that the Japanese have the misconception that it is cheaper, because there cars are more reliable and require less parts a person thinks they are cheaper to own, which is true I guess, but call up Honda and get a quote for a radiator, brake pads etc and then call up MB I promise you they wont be far off. The only difference is the Japanese have learnt to build a car that can withstand years of abuse without major headaches, while the EUROS just can't seem to get it right to save their lives. In saying that I know people who have had terrible and expensive issues with both Toyota and Honda, so it really depends, but normally they are a lot more reliable and seem to wear better then the European cars. BMW to this day still can't keep oil in the engine for longer than 60,000 Miles and they still have plenty of models that love to have a bit of a drink.