maguzma

I brought my 2012 E350 Sport to San Diego MBZ dealership to fix my trunk spoiler (it was coming off). I also decided to get its first "A", service 600 miles early, as not to waste my time and mileage. Since they had to paint new spoiler and put on clear corners they gave me a loaner. It was a black coupe with:
- 237 Red Leather
- 318 Sport Leather Seating Package
- 739 Aluminum Trim
- 786 18" AMG twin 5-spoke alloy wheels
- 104 Deck spoiler
- 319 Lighting Package: Bi-Xenon headlights with active curve illumination and headlamp washing system, adaptive highbeam assist.
- 518 IPOD/MP3 Media Interface
- 1.8LTR Turbo 16V 4CYL direct injection 201HP/229 lb-ft torque 7 speed auto, 3-link independent strut with stabilizer bar and rear suspension multi-link independent stabilizer bar.

For a price of $42,785.00 (FOR A 4 CYLINDER! FOR THAT PRICE I WOULD BUY AN AUDI AND I HATE THEM)

Likes:
- My 2012 E350 Sport!
The C250:
- Color combination
- Sport Leather Seating
- More chicks check me and the car out than the E350 Sport (more dudes check the E350 out)
- Awesome front and rear light combination (LED/XENON lights especially LEDs around the head lights. Looks like the beginning of the 2014 E350 LED light configuration).
- Peppiness with the turbo (in sport mode the car moves!)
- Handling (not a beemer or Audi but holds up)
- Pano roof
- Looks cool but better if it was an E350 coupe
- AMG rims and 2.5 inch gap around the wheel wells

Dislikes:
- Its a C250!
- Too much plastic
- Less gas mileage as my E350
- Price
- Rough ride
- Radio
- Speakers
- No navigation, XM radio or SD card
- $35 bucks to rent (Infiniti is $15 and Lexus is free, depending on model)

It was funny because the guy at work who recently purchased a special C250 sport model (fully loaded with same color combination except it has a red pin stripe, each side of the car and on the rims, and the word sport painted on each side) and paid over $60K for it, I parked next to him and he felt a little bad because my car had the big white letters stating it was a loaner and his does not. Yes, his sticker reported the car was $62K and looks like a blinged out loaner.
Albeit, it is fully loaded (everything MBZ could add to it) but I could not see myself paying that kind of money for an entry level MBZ.

On the other side was another guy who parked his black Audi A5 coupe (2.0T) with about the same color combination and stuff in it, but paid much less, parked on the other side. Three black cars and the one that looked just as good was a loaner (he he he).

alsyli

I assume your friend got ripped off by the dealer b/c C250 coupe built w/ all available options and packages on mbusa.com (including the maximum amount for pre-paid service for 5 yrs/50000 mi but not includes accessories such as floor mats) comes to $58,000, not $62,000....

K-A

I honestly think the C Coupe looks like it could cost $18K. That hideously ungainly greenhouse with framed door (very unsexy on a Coupe to not have frame-less doors), the upright overly 3-box nature which isn't very sleek for a Coupe, etc. etc. I feel you could put an "Accord" badge on it and nobody would think twice.

I'm not the biggest "E Coupe" fan but I think it's in another styling league from the C Coupe, as it should be I guess, even though they are the same basic car (C Class chassis) and even though I don't think the E Coupe's interior is necessarily nicer.

I've driven some C Classes with the Turbo 4 and oddly enough to me that engine is extremely dog-ish and sluggish, no effortlessness, no fun, not spirited, just felt very lazy and underpowered and sounds terrible of course. I was actually surprised as the 3-Series 4-banger Turbo although not sounding any better has a lot more juice and aggression to it.

I do think the C204 C Class Sedan will go down as one of M-B's best Sedans though, even with the sorry excuse for an interior of the pre-facelift (facelift at least fixed that which is especially unfortunate to those who got a pre-facelift not expecting an entire interior makeover for a mere facelift). It's one of M-B's best modern designs I think.

CEB

Let's look at your "dislikes" carefully and somewhat objectively

Dislikes:
- Its a C250! If you were in Europe and driving a 180 you'd list this on the positive side. Oddly enough you listed "peppiness" as a positive. Isn't this prejudice a little because you are an "E" driver?
- Too much plastic Most reviewers would agree.
- Less gas mileage as my E350 Maybe you drove the loaner much harder than your own car?
- Price Lots of rebates available and you blew your credibility on price when you cited what the "guy at work" paid for his.
- Rough ride You did say it had the sport package, right?
- Radio
- Speakers
- No navigation, XM radio or SD card Aren't the radio, speakers, nav and so forth part of an option package that your loaner didn't have? You could say the same about any E without the P1 package
- $35 bucks to rent (Infiniti is $15 and Lexus is free, depending on model) And this is the reason I responded. Herein lies the problem with all European manufacturers - they don't know how to treat the customer properly. My current <$35k Acura always gets a loaner for service. It is always an Acura and I don't need to make an appointment. My dealer has 150 cars in his loaner fleet (according to his ads) which is probably more than all the loaners combined for the local BMW, MB and Audi dealers.

I get coffee, sodas and snacks at the Acura dealer. My old BMW dealer would graciously sell me a $4 cup of coffee and if I wanted a cookie that would be another $2. I'd get a loaner but it would invariably be an Enterprise loaner. I drove for two months in a Mini. My old Audi dealer (with my $60+k S6) would give me a stale donut and luke warm coffee and a ride to Metro for my $150 oil change while the adjoining Lexus dealer would have a free coffee bar with made to order lattes, fresh pastries and a Lexus loaner when I dropped my mom's $40k RX off for a $50 oil change. My brother-in-law took his Jag to the dealer for service and drove out with a VW (Jetta) loaner.

Oh, my 335 was at the dealer three times for catastrophic failures before I hit my first oil change at 17k miles. My Acura has been at the dealer for three oil changes and I'm coming up to my 4th oil change at about 30k miles.

The dealer experience is vital. When will the Europeans learn?

neverlose

I've had my E350 in for service twice. Once for a "B" and then a few days ago to get the BT Audio software upgrade. Both times I got a C250 sedan. I honestly liked it significantly more than I thought I would. Both were 2013 one with the AMG sport package you describe above. The AMG sport package added a lot to the style of the car and was my preference of the two. Both of them seemed peppy enough at low speeds. I immediately put them into sport mode, and it took a short delay for that turbo to kick in once you hit the throttle but once it did it felt like it has some pull to it in city traffic. My main issue is just how small the interior is and the fit/finish of interior materials. That's to be expected though, this is the entry level mercedes. If the quality of materials/amenities was consistent with my E I think I'd be upset. Granted I only drive them a day each so not a long time to get familiar with the car, but I wasn't overly disappointed. Next time I take it in for service I'd like to try a C350. I'm curious to see how powerful it feels.

instantfob

Loaners at Beverly Hills MBZ are free under warranty. They recently phased out Enterprise Rent a Car and replaced them with all Mercedes/Smart fleet for respective customers.

I just wish the C250 1.8T engine is more tuner friendly. The downpipe is so restrictive that you can't play around with the ECU to get more boost / power easily. These C's are all over the place now when they only cost only $300 w/ tax to lease with basic drive offs.

Anyone tried the new plug and play navigation in these C's?

thenew3

I've had the unfortunate opportunity to drive 4 loaners in the last 2 weeks (I've only had my 2013 E350 for one month, and already its spent 2 weeks in the shop, don't get me started).

During those two weeks I was given the following loaners: (the dealer left window sticker in the car for you to see what options it has etc)
2013 C250 Sedan ($48k sticker, 200 miles on it)
2013 C250 Sedan ($39k sticker, 10k miles on it)
2012 ML350 ($59k sticker, 10k miles on it)
2012 GLK350 ($40k sticker, 10k milese on it)

I really like the two C250's the engine was very peppy for being only 201hp. both drove well but rode a bit harsh (sport pkg). The first C250 was a brand new car that had just been added to the loaner fleet and was very well equipped.

Didn't like the ML350 or GLK350, not a big SUV/CUV/Mini-van fan.

Dealer gives free loaners (by appt only) for in-warranty repairs and service only if service advisor approves it, otherwise its $30/day.

I don't like how they give it to you with 7/8 gas but mark full on the slip and if you return at 7/8 they charge you $20 for gas.

They also only have luke warm coffee and water in the waiting lounge.

The previous MB dealer I used to go to in Houston TX had a huge lounge with free soda, water, coffee, espresso machine, snacks, video games, tv, free internet. The one here in central CA is a dark tiny room in the corner of the service dept. Its so poorly marked, you wouldn't know its a waiting lounge unless someone pointed it out to you.

Depending on how MBUSA resolves the issue we're having with our current vehicle, wife is interested in getting a C250 sedan to replace her car. If MBUSA does not come through, then it will be a 320i, 328i or A4

mbuster25

I had C300 4matic loaners, both 2012 and 2013. The 2013 has considerably more pep/power than 2012, and felt faster than my 2010 E350.

I found the information displayed within the speedometer to be bright and colorful, but thought that in certain situations, the speedometer (numerals and tick marks) were not bright enough and/or not providing enough contrast. When I was driving around on a sunny day wearing sunglasses, it is exacerbated. I therefore left the car displaying the digital speedometer.

CEB

MBUSA has a good reputation amongst lemon lawyers for doing the right thing. Depend on the issue, you may want to talk to lemon lawyer after MB says "no" the first time.

maguzma

Too snobby and as such customers are the same. Plus in Europe MBZ's are the Fords. Even the garbage trucks are Mercs.

Arrie

Had a new 2013 C250 as a loaner. What a joke that engine is. Unless my loaner had a problem or someting it had the most serious turbo lag you can imagine...

K-A

Seriously! I'm baffled that some of you guys are saying it has "pep"?

I've driven 3 C250's and I thought it was one of the slowest things I've driven, comparable to my old N/A 4 cylinder Malibu. And this was when I had my pre-2012 E350 which is slagged here as a "dog" itself (but which I always though felt decent enough for smooth operation).

The M-B 4-banger has no ***** IMO, almost painful to accelerate as it seems to refuse to give you what you want, at least low end torque wise (which is what's most important to me). I didn't do many WOT runs in it except for when I had to, to get it moving in enough of a hurry.

maguzma

During my business trip the only good car in National's parking lot was the new 2013 Malibu LTZ. Not only did suck gas but it was not as fast as the C250 coupe in sport mode. Do not get me wrong, the 2013 Malibu is a good looking car and I liked the electronic accessories but it was slow and sucked gas. In fact I only used it a day and when I had to fill the tank (yes a day and approx 250 miles) it sucked up over 3/4 tank or 60 bucks. The C250 coupe loaner had 1/2 tank when I picked it up and after 260 miles it still has a 1/3 of a tank. when I filled it up (current gas prices of $4.20 a gallon vice $3.56 with the malibu) it cost me $50 bucks for more gas. Plus the C250 was faster in sport mode than the Chevy. Do not get me wrong, the new Malibu looks great but sucked gas like I drink water.

RSIKR

I have always received a free loaner from my dealer, usually a C300 or GLK. No charge ever whether it is warranty or maintenance work. One of the shop foremen patrols the customer drive and he is a master tech that can answer any question and if there is a problem with the car it is fixed. He does not use the word no. Coffee, water, bagels and snacks in the customer lounge, no charge. Free car washes of course, Monday to Saturday. It is a family owned dealership not a conglomerate. It shares the location with their Porsche dealership. Always a few free food, drink and music events throughout the year. Do you want to inspect something under your car ask the foreman, they will put it on a rack for you. Two service clinics a year when you can inspect your car with a tech including a catered lunch.

No complaints. I would buy from them again.

alsyli

Next time you drive a C250, wait until the engine warms up and then put the transmission into "S" mode. And then ignore the fact that the 4-cyl isn't as smooth or refined as a 6-cylinder (although I actually like the exhaust note better than the old C300).

It's not quite a night and day difference btw "S" and "E" mode, but there's *significantly* less turbo lag and less of the "ohmigod, MOVE!" feeling. I'd actually leave my car in "S" mode all the time, except I'm worried that it probably uses up significantly more gas (although I haven't tracked this myself).

As for the original topic, W.I. Simonson in Santa Monica allows you to get a free loaner if you're coming in on a weekday. I'd love it if they allowed you to get an ML350, though! I'm actually curious as to how the car drives (and how difficult it might be to maneuver since I tend to driver smaller cars), but I have no interest in getting one myself....