[adamsoccer]

So I get home today and my parents have takin a 1999 C-230 Kompresser home for a weekend test drive and after looking it over I think there going to get it. ITs at a local infiniti dealer and there asking 22800 and its got 27000 miles, They can also get another 4 years 100k mile warrenty for like 1700 i think. The car is black outside tan inside and is in perfict condidtion, after going over the car all afternoon I found one tiny ding less than the size of a dime in a rear door you can only seen from a certain angle when the light is right lol. So basicly its conditon is great as far as cosmentic and my parents took it for about 30min on the highway today at 80mph and it did fine. They drive a jeep grand cherokee and a mini van so they thought it was like a race car lol.

What do you guys think about the price for one with these miles and condition, I know jeeps inside and out but have no clue about this car so any help would be great. How are they on relability, ect...

I spent all day playing with all the little gaggets and such, man germany engenering is cool. All the lil toys seem easy to break but it will be her in town to work driver probbly like 30miles a day and mine when i get to borrow it

The one problem on it is that the display on the radio seems to be broken, We told the dealer and they said they would look at it when we bring it back monday, the radio works fine but the display stays blank no matter what we do? IS the lcd shot?, is this commen? any thoughts.

After the radio is gotten working by the dealer or the price is reduced ect... I would like to put a cd player in it. Nuthing speacal b/c 99% of the time it will be my moms books on tape and NPR, but when I have it id like to have a cd player. My understanding is that they are set up for a trunk changer and this one didnt have that option. I also asume that the benz changer is big $$$$. Will a chepo cd changer from Best Buy hook up to the benz head unit? What do people that want a cd player in there C-230 do if they didnt have the changer form the factory?

Thanx for any info or tips you can give about this car, If it all goes though im sure ill be back with tons of ?'s

Adam

 

[c280]

I've had enough experience with 99 c230 kompressor sedans to hopefully help you out a bit-

Lets knock these off one by one-

-22,800 [start price] with 27 thousand miles seems reasonable. My friend recently bought one [a few month ago] from a Mercedes dealer in southern CA with 47k miles for $21k, with a CD changer, black w/tan leather in immaculate condition.[this was a good deal at the time, perhaps better than most ppl can get, but it gives you an idea]

The trick is to make sure that you ask for more than you think you can get. If your parents already made the dealer know that they are interested enough to take it home for a weekend, it may be too late to play it "cool" ...but they should still try.

-The $1700 for warranty is standard and what i've heard countless times, so that seems okay as well. Just make sure its the most inclusive warranty they have. [nothing is truly bumper to bumper, but you want closest to that you can get]. Also, ask whether the 100k miles includes the 27k already put on it, just so you know for the future.

-The radio display concerns me. But they should fix that and you should make sure that its "on the due bill" before you sign on the dotted line.

- Now with the CD player. The CD hookup in the 99 c230 kompressors is fibre-optic [or at least ive been told that 3 times by a dealer] , so you cannot just pop in any old cheap cd unit/changer in the back. This is something that you have to have the dealer do. Some reputable stereo places may now have capability to do it, but if I were you I would stick to the dealer. As far as I know, the CD changers themselves from MB direct retail around 900-1000 dollars and if they sell it to you "at cost" should be something like 300-400 dollars. Ask the dealer if its "wired for CD changer" and if it is, "throw a cd changer in then". They should, because I've either had them throw one in or seen someone else request it [successfully] about 4-5 times now.

If they refuse and its important to you, then I would look at a proper MB dealer because I've either had or seen people have 3x as much things thrown in [good negotiators] to their car during a deal, namely better tires and/or rims from other cars on the lot, CD changers, etc.

That post was way too long, just had my morning pot of coffee. Sorry about that.

Good luck!

 

[adamsoccer]

Hey, Thanx for all the info. Ive been reading over this board today and am really glad I found it, its basicly the same format as the jeep boared I use to getr all my info for my moded jeep. Im sure ill be around here a whole lot.

This car is emacuate conditon and as far as options the things it dosnt have is power seat on the passenger side and the CD changer. Everything else avaliable is there.

They are going in tommorow and have decided to take it if the dealer fixes the radio to factory specs and Im going to tell them if the radio needs to be reaplced to tell them to tell the dealer they want the fiber optic CD changer included as well. Ive seen these as low as 400 of a website I found on this board and it looks like the only way to get a c player added other than a cheaper FM hookup on any old changer from a place liek best buy.

Im confident in this dealer to be able to do the work and get the parts needed, they arnt a benz dealer but they are a large infinti dealer but the majority of there lot is late model land rovers, benz, bmw, hummer, ect... Ive only heard good things about them. If it dosnt work out we do have a certified dealer in town which also carries VW and was rated one of the worst VW dealers in the southeat lol. But they have a older more miles worse condition C-230 that IS starmark certified.

Ill make sure to have them ask about the warrenty and the radio/changer deal monday when the bring it back to make a deal and ill post what the dealer says.

Thanx for the help so far.

Adam