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1627 messages, Last post on Jan 10, 2009 at 4:20 AM
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| abc, so far, our C230 is solid as an oak block, rattle free. Of course its only 2 weeks old, LOL. Time will tell. I'd believe they are building them very tight. Build quality is fantastic on the coupe. We did not get the sun roof. Prefer the safety and simplicity of a solid roof. I was surprised how the 2000 loaner C230K felt. It had only 24K on it. Might attribute it to the fact it had a sunroof, a source of noise intrusion, and junky Goodyear Eagle tires, which transmitted a lot of noise off of the pavement. If I owned that car, those tires would be HISTORY! | |
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I can go jjpeter one better. My C230 is almost 4 months old with 7,902 miles and never a single rattle other than some loose CD cases in the glove box. I do have the panorama roof and it is included in that "never rattled" category. Now, to be completely honest, there once was a faint squeak coming from the front passenger headrest. I applied a little leather conditioner to the back side and under the back cover piece. That squeak has not been heard from since. |
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| Look at it close. Without seeing it I bet they have enough room to wiggle out of any claim. Fair warning to those who buy product for the guarantee. That is what Sears has done for years with the DieHard - a cheaply built battery with an expensive guarantee. If MB could significantly improve the finish of the car by applying some liquid they would have done it. Borrow a copy of Automotive News (the dealer will have it) and look at the adds from all of the dealer installed products. Read the claims of "$25 product, 30 min. time and $100's of profit". Remember Poly Glycote (a similar product)? Eventually the state attorney generals shut them down when it became evident that they had no intention of honoring the guarantee. My suggestion: Keep your car out of the sun as much as possible and spend $75 every year to have it detailed. | |
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When it comes to car rattles, I go nuts. I can't stand any rattles, shimmies, or shakes. My C230 is so far as tight as they get. I have the sunroof, and frankly, don't hear a thing from it. This car feels like it was carved from a solid piece of steel. I agree with you about the ML. I considered one back in 98, when the 99's were coming in. I was not impressed with it at all. It kind of put me off on MB for a little while. The fact is that these ML's were a totally new product for MB, building them in the U.S. for the first time, and I think they compromised on MB quality initially. I have not driven one lately, so I don't know if they improved or not. As a side note, I was a quality control inspector for Honda in Marysville, Ohio back in the early 80's. We lived and breathed nothing but quality. I was trained to drive these new cars off the line, take them out to a test track with lots of bumps built in it, and try to create or find any rattles or sounds. Did I ever get picky about the personal cars I drive. My wife thinks I'm crazy when I can hear the most muffled rattle in a car and I've got to get rid of it. You won't be disappointed with the C230 as far as build quality goes. |
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Have posted pics of our Silver 2002 C230 Kompressor Coupe. Have a look... |
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| I test drove an automatic tonight and it seemed to have plenty of getup and go. I currently drive Tundra V8 pickup truck which has quite a lot of low end torque and I wasn't disapointed with the coupe. There might have been the slightest hint of a flat spot from a dead stop with the automatic but that was probably due to the supercharger not being spun up. I could feel the shorter wheel base and some choppiness over rough streets as noted in the Edmunds review. The car has a lot of features that you don't find on other cars. The cloth interior fabric seemed durable but the pattern is probably something you get use to over time. The seating and steering wheel are very adjustable. I hate to think about finding the perfect position for everything and then the wife changes it and I have to start over again. I think the electric seats with memory are a must have for anyone who shares the car with someone else but boy are they pricey; over $1000. It hard to believe that the electric seats aren't part of the premium package or the leather seat package. I like the versatility of the hatchback configuration with the folding seat backs. I really like the sunroof and I would have to have one. The lack of an in-dash CD seems way out of place in this price range; I think BMW includes a CD this year so so Benz can't be far behind. At speed on the freeway (65-75) the car was fairly quite and you didn't notice the choppyness of the suspension like I did on the city streets. I hit a few corners and the cars handling seem competent but I wasn't able to really push the car very hard. One thing I missed was a rear wiper for the hatch glass. With previous hatchbacks I have grown to appreciate the usefulness of a rear wiper. All in all I am interested in the car but have some others car I want to compare it with. | |
| MB says that the angle of the hatch is such that a wiper isn't necessary. After 2 months of ownership, I'd have to agree. I haven't had an instance where I've needed one yet. I agree with you about the cloth pattern - it's not the best-looking that I've ever seen, but it's a really tough fabric. Even though I really want leather, I'm having a tough time justifying it to myself, since the cloth will wear so much better. | |
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Dealer Permaplate is pure dealer profit, read the warranty fine print very carefully - there is LOTS of wiggle room. There is absolutely nothing that will keep your paint and interior looking good for years other than good old maintenance. The best way to keep your car looking new for a long time (if you don't do it yourself) is to take it to a good detailer once a year. The operative word is "good", the guy I take my cars to is a fanatic - he knows all the best products for nourishing the paint, rubber, vinyl, leather, etc, etc. He clay bars the paint when the car is new and gives it a coat of excellent wax (high end Zymol), then uses some increadable stuff on the rubber and seals, then something different on interior plastics and Hyde foods the leather - that's the major detail, he comes back in 6 months for a mini detail which is a good cleaning and wax and the preservative treatment. I invest about $250 a year in each of my vehicles with him and they stay absolutely new looking. I just got rid of an 8 year old Range Rover that looked like it had just been driven off the lot. Perfect paint and not a crack in the interior, just the drivers seat was very slightly worn with 170k miles on it, amazing. I replaced the Rover with an X5 about a month ago, the first thing I did was have him detail it. It looks so much better than when I drove it off the lot, much better than "new". Now back to the C230K - I've been in to my Mercedes dealer twice to test drive it - I really like this coupe. I'm looking for a weekend autocross car and think the C230K may be my next one. I've used an old 3 series BMW, a VW Golf and a really old 911 SC for this purpose in the past. Now comparing Golf GTI 1.8t, C230k and the upcomming Mini Cooper S. I'll be looking to the aftermarket to tweak the Mercedes a little - Brabus already has some stuff for the C230k. An underpully for the supercharger takes it from 197 HP to 220. Eibach springs to lower it about an inch, bilstein shocks and beefier swaybars and it will be good to go. It also needs some sort of short shift kit for the 6 speed. I think it will be an absolute blast to autocross. I want a white C230k with black cloth and the wheel package - that's it. |
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| Rickrover, in regard to increasing hp in C230, see my post here, #545, Wetterauer. I do not know how much is the Brabus thing, this one is $1,295; see more at http://www.chip-tuning.com. | |
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I noticed some comments about the extended warranty. Can someone post the cost and the duration of the extension? Thanks. |
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