RonNSoCal

Our family hauler was a 2019 Kia Stinger GT2, a really great car with no issues, but the mileage was up to 65K and I was feeling the itch for something newer with less miles. Prior to the Stinger, my wife drove a black E350 sedan which she loved, but totaled after 10 years with 100K miles on the odometer. While looking at car guru I stumbled across a 2021 black C class sedan with only 5K miles and a clean Carfax for under $30K at a Subaru dealer in the South Bay area. So for under $13K out the door, we traded for the Mercedes. Wife seems very happy and I feel good about having a nice low mileage family car, even though I swore I would never buy another black car. The good part is that it coincides with my wife's birthday which is in 4 days and fulfills one of her dreams, to once again have a black Mercedes Benz sedan. I thought we would be good to go with this car, having owned a 2010 E350 and also having a 2016 SL400, but I am struggling to get up to speed with the new car due to the technology. And while this car is a base model with no added packages, you would think it would be simple, but I have a lot to learn. I guess I will be spending a lot of time trying to make sense of the manual over the next few weeks. Thankfully, I am retired.

Streamliner

Wishing you & your wife many thousands of safe, pleasant miles in her new car.

RonNSoCal

We are on our first mini-trip in the C300 and the gas mileage is great as is the comfort. We are at the Pechanga Resort, one of my wife's favorites, and are about to head over to Journey's End , the restaurant that is part of the golf complex. This place is a hidden gem for great food for breakfast or lunch for those of us who are foodies/casino goers/golfers in SoCal.

eddieo45

Best of luck with the new car; I'm confident you'll be very happy with it. My wife moved up to the E-Class W211 (2007) after driving the W202 and W203 C-Classes. I never liked the W212 E (or W204 C for that matter) but when the W205 C300 came out and looked like a mini-S-Class I bought a 2015 new, my first new car purchase in decades at the time. It compared nicely to the W211 size-wise so it felt like a natural upgrade. We joked at the time that because it was black on black, as her previous W211 and W203 had been, that her elderly mother didn't actually realize she had gotten a new car (good thing, lest she want us to buy her one too!) My wife was happy in that C300 for 7 years and over 70,000 miles, and I remember during that time feeling like it was the state of the art with features and technology, and with that 2.0 liter turbo 4 was actually a rocket! (my daily driver at the time was a CLK550 and I was blown away by her car's acceleration. Your W206 has that same performance and S-Class styling with the added benefit of Apple Car play (if it's not wireless there's an available dongle that will convert it. I'd guess even as a "basic model" you'll have ambient lighting and some other fun features.

I too am done with black cars, something I realized only shortly after buying my black SL. From now on I think I only want white cars!

Streamliner

Yes. For me, it has pretty much come down to white & silver. Both are very easy to keep clean, compared to black.

JettaRed

iTrader: (1)

Really? 241hp (C300) vs 382hp (CLK550)?

RonNSoCal

Our 2021 is a W205, I believe. It has a few decent standard goodies, including Apple Car Play, but does not have distronic cruise control nor navigation, so will be using Apple Car Play with Apple maps for nav., assuming I can figure it out. I had it working yesterday morning but when I tried to use it later I just got a map that did not move with the car. ??? Oh well, at least I know it can do the job.

ThatsMyDawg

When the map does not move while in motion just tap the center on icon. (that’s not what its called) It's an arrow and when you tap it the map should jump to the current position and once again follow you.

JettaRed

iTrader: (1)

99.9% of the time I use either Apple Maps, Waze, or Google Maps, even though I do have the traffic service through Sirius for the built in Mercedes navigation. Those options, as well as audio books, other music services (e.g., iHeart), messaging, etc. are functions of CarPlay or Android Audio, not your Mercedes. Check YouTube for demonstrations on how to configure and use CarPlay.

eddieo45

Yeah, I can't explain it; maybe the all-wheel drive, maybe Sport+ mode, maybe just because it was brand new?? All I can say is that when I took delivery of it and drove in on Boston's serpentine Storrow Drive in those first minutes of ownership the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I never selected Sport+ again, lol.
​​​​​​​MBWorld says it's a W206:

JettaRed

iTrader: (1)

Probably a combination of the 9-speed tranny and Sport+ mode. However, the acceleration you felt is short-lived as you move out of the optimal torque curve. I experienced the same thing with loaners I've been provided, so maybe under city traffic or back road twisties (i.e., speeds under 40 mph) the car feels more nimble. I even have that with my C350. But on the highway, the SL400 (tuned) really finds its place. (I do have @BenzNinja 's tranny "tune" which adds Agility/Sport+ and accelerator pedal tweaks, so I know what you mean by a highly responsive motor.)

RonNSoCal

Interestingly, while I have navigation working on the C300 using my old iphone, I have failed to get it to work with Carol's new iPhone 15. I am beginning to suspect that the cable I am using could be at fault and have ordered a new cable from Amazon. The only cable with the correct end plugs I could find around the house is a charging cable from a hand warmer. It does charge her phone, but does not connect to apple car play when connected to the port in the car. I will know if this is the problem on Sunday when the new cable arrives.

JettaRed

iTrader: (1)

Sure. As you are probably aware, there are low grade charging cables and high grade data cables (which also charge). Make sure you order a genuine Apple cable or one that states it's data grade quality.

MB2timer

Journey’s End must be a popular name for a restaurant. When I was in high school I worked at a Journey’s End in Smyrna Georgia. I don’t know if it is still there, but if it is, it would be a great destination for a road trip in a freshly bought used, black Mercedes.

RonNSoCal

The new cable arrived last night and this morning when I plugged the phone into the port, CarPlay activated for me. I feel a lot better now knowing what the problem was and that it was neither the car nor the phone that was at fault. Now I am looking for a dongle or similar device that will allow us to use CarPlay wirelessly. Amazon has several that about 70 to 80% who buy them find to work well. I figure if I can find out which work best with Mercedes, I will be in business.

RonNSoCal

The Journey's End restaurant in Temecula is at the end of the golf course which is called Journey.

JettaRed

iTrader: (1)

I have the Road Top add-on unit which allows me to connect wired or wirelessly. Honestly, I'm just as happy plugging it in to my phone. The wireless stuff can be temperamental at times, especially after an iOS update.

eddieo45

I get ads for dongles like THIS on Facebook all the time; considering one for my wife's GLC.