the c230 is ****.. i dont think anyone really thinks any infinti is more refined than a mercedes... id say only audi gives mercedes a run for their money in that category.

 

mercedes benz makes cars to segment the market into gaining higher profits. The same build quality, materials and such is not the same when comparing C to and E or S. Your bound to get problems with the C, the C is going to be slower and more problematic its built for those who want to say "I have a mercedes" Mercedes can't grab a hold of makin great v12's either. every 600 made so far has been the most problematic to leave mercedes' line. Yet, the AMG line has been quite reliable. Thats why you hear alotta MB enthusiasts say don't get a 600 get a 55 instead. Mercedes needs to stop segmenting themselves at times and actually condense their line of cars so they can put more focus in and start makin great cars again like they use to. I have a w126 86' 560 SEL, 226,000 miles. same motor, same transmission.I hope i can say for the new S.

 

you realize that the E and the CLK are on the same price bracket... the only difference is in their AMG models where they SC'ed the E and kept the CLK all engine, also the CLK is lighter then the E. My pops paid 78k for his AMG when he bought it, same price the E55 AMG goes for...

 

i know what u mean.. i've heard horror stories from the 600's and also heard great reviews from people that own them... also you need to keep in mind that AMG engines are hand built

 

sad thing is that most ppl will always overlook the G compared to the c230, it happens to me all the time at work... the only person that really appreciate the G/infiniti at work its my boss which btw just called me to let me know she has just bought a new M45 cant wait to test that!!

 

Let me share a little story with all of you.

I spent 6 months researching the right sports car for me back when I purchased my G two and a half years ago. I knew what I wanted and it was the G. Soounds straightforward, right?

Not really... When I was driving to the dealership to make the deal, I passed by a Merc dealer. I stopped in for the heck of it and 4 hours later I drove out with a C230 - this was on a Friday.

By Saturday night, I was crying (and I don't cry about much). The car was a day old and already I was having electrical problems and some build quality issues. By Monday morning, I was convinced to take the thing back and get a refund. Fortunately, I got the refund before they processed the paperwork and my bank check.

When I was done, I went straight over to the Infiniti dealer and got the G and did not look back. The C230 is not a real Mercedes in my opinion.

 

^^ Agree w/ bcubed.
Merc. overall is on a much higher class than nissan/infiniti...no one should argue that. however, C class is a pile of crap. they created it to compete with bmw 3 series and thinking they can grab a piece of the entry level lux sedan pie, which it didnt even come close. nothing can really touch bmw in that catergory (3 series), but infiniti and lexus have come somewhat close with their G and IS. Merc, on the other hand, just built a cheap piece of **** and called it the C-class.
the real Mercs are the E class and above (clk is pretty nice too). they should focus on what they are good at and let others take care of the entry level lux cars.

 

you guys are silly. its harder to build a better low end car than high end car. the c class is every bit a real mercedes. saying that the c class isnt a real merc is like saying the M isnt a real nissan, just because its on one end of the spectrum doesnt mean that its any less of a car than any of their other cars. reality is, they arent good at offering features per dollar, and the lower you price your products, the more it hurts.

so sure, cars like the SL, SLR are amazing, but when you look at it on a dollar for dollar basis, Nissan is extremely competitive. german supremacy is all but a myth now.

the G outsells the C class, even in its final days of production. The ES almost sells as many cars as the 3 series here inthe US. combined, the ES and TL outsell the 3 series and C classes put together.

if you adjust the picture for sporting cars only, things look better for the germans, but even then the G35 coupe outsold (and outperformed) ALL 3 series coupes, Ms excluded.

what really seems to be going on is that people want to beleive that mercedes is inherantly a superior brand, and write off the C class as an exception because it shows more of the true story.

dont get me wrong, M-B (and BMW for that matter) make fantastic cars, but the Japanese are very competitive. German cars are not inherantly superior.