update of my garage pix :)
 

I did changed my 04' Solar Yellow Matrix XR this afternoon with 03' MB C230 COupe. Here's why:
1) Offer I can't refuse....
2) I was goin to put a S/C on my Matrix to get more H/P (from 126 to168hp) but I saw the C230...really surprise of what the cost is!

So Here she is:

Wow, nice car. It will probably cost a lot more money to maintain, but will be a lot more fun to drive around - and that is what it is all about. :cheers:

Does this leave me as the only guy on the forum with the venerable Boxster/ Matrix combination?

yap...gonna cost more but fun to drive around :) :cheers:

Dude -

That is so sweet, how do you decide which to drive :confused:

didn't even think about that...hmmmmm :o i don't know...i guess which key would be in the kitchen counter :)

Congratulations !

You are now the proud owner of two GREAT cars !

Enjoy...

Nick

Are you getting a warranty? if not I might look into one for that bad boy. Last time I was at the Porsche dealer (which also services Merc, Aston, Maserati & Jag) getting service I sat in the waiting area for a few hours. Based on my eaves dropping into the service reps conversations with other customers I'd say the majority (by allot) of non-maintenance work was being done on Mercs. Didn't see the valet drop off one like yours though. Congrats great color choice.

Well in all fairness, (I don't know your dealer's stats, but) I would guess that around here there are more Mercedes than Porsches, Astons, Maseratis and Jags combined. Even if the Mercedes were very reliable, I would expect you to see mostly those guys in the waiting room.

Still, Mercedes has had more than their fair share of problems lately - it still wouldn't keep me away from the brand, but certainly it will be a bigger problem than a Toyota. I will be curious to see how it holds up as compared to the Boxster.

Hey isnt that supercharged? those are nice entry level merc benz. I dont think maintaince will be much more than your matrix...just change the oil and brake, you should be fine if you dont rag it out.

yeah I should have said the mercs had allot of non-maintenace work being done. On this particular day in question that garage was full of Porsches(particularly Cayennes) and Jags. Not as many as the Mercs but definitely well represented numbers, probably as much as 3(Merc):2(non Merc)

It only seems fair that the more you pay for your car, the better it should be, and therefore the less the maintenance should run you, but alas, this is not so...

whew..just got back from driving the car all over the place and spend at least an ahour and a half in the garage reading the manual...it has too many electronic gadget to tinker around :) not sure if it's a good thing or bad thing :D

yap, CJ..it's the S/C'ed engine type and yes, a very nice entry level, it's just too bad that they discontinued the supply here in US :rolleyes:

dang...i almost went with that combo too...looking at the pics i wish i did..

i went with an rsx instead. the footbrake drove me nuts...it's like the manual was an afterthought. and the lack of an in dash CD...

dude...before i decide to get the C230, the car that I was looking @ are WRX, Mazda 3, RSX and tthen a friend of mine convince me to test drive the C230...and then, BAM! went home with it the same day :D :D :D
woke up this morning and the next best thing that happen after seeing the sunrise is opening up my garage :D :dance:

update of the garage pix :)
 

So here's the pix of my garage after i pick her up yesterday :) :cheers: :dance:

Two nice cars
 

Hey congrats. I have a C230 as well and to tell you the truth I have never had a problem with it. The car runs so well and needs so little maintenance (compared to my BMW and A4). The cost of maintaining a Merc here in Vancouver Canada ain't too bad as dealer prices have become more respectable now. Still more than a Japanese import of course but not too bad. The only thing that I have ever had to do outside of scheduled oil changes was replace a broken trunk spring (I have the sedan) and replace the battery once. The xupercharger is fun although a bit rough when its cold.

unklekraker,

Can't beat the longevity of the Benz motor :)

( taken this afternoon )

Enjoy !

Nick

hey, nick...thanks for the pix! that tells me that i would enjoy my benz for a long tiiiiiiiiimmmmmme :dance: :cheers:

[QOUTE=angman] Still more than a Japanese import of course but not too bad.The xupercharger is fun although a bit rough when its cold.

-so true, a lil' bit more than a japanese but it's way too much fun to drive...just the "wow" factor alone is way up there (IMHO) not cold enough yet here to experience the roughness :)

Sweet!

Run that Mercedes daily and reserve the Boxster for the Highway 9 weekend Blitz !! :cheers:

i missed the blitz last weekend due to dentist appointment :o

SKYLINE DRIVE AND HWY 9 TO HWY 1....YEAH :dance: :D

aye, silver...if you still remember the area, here's one of the direction. just picture you and your car driving it: Hope this bring back memories :)

" proceed down Hwy 1 to Davenport for lunch.
After lunch we take more twisty roads ending up on Hwy 9 and Skyline Blvd (Hwy 35). "

We go up Woodside Road, through Woodside, and on up the hill to Skyline Blvd.

From there, we head down Hwy 84 (name now changed to La Honda Road). We'll stop at the San Gregorio General Store at Stage Road and Hwy 84 for a short break.

From San Gregorio, we go south on Stage Road to the little town of Pescadero (which is a veritable METROPOLIS compared to San Gregorio). Then we head east on Pescadero Road a short ways to Cloverdale Road, where we turn south (right) again. We follow Cloverdale road down to Gazos Creek Road, where we turn west (right).


We follow Gazos Creek Road to Highway 1 where we can take a break. There is gas here, so fuel up if you need. This point is about 25 miles from my office.

Then take a trip down 1 to Davenport, where we stop for lunch. After lunch, it's south on Highway 1 again to Bonny Doone Road, where we turn east (left). Don't turn right there, or you'll be surprised at the lack of floatation a set of air bags provide. ;-)

Up Bonny Doon Road to Smith Grade, right on Smith Grade to Empire Grade. North (left) on Empire Grade to Jamison Creek Road, down Jamison Creek Road to Highway 236. Right on Highway 236 to Highway 9 in Boulder Creek. Another short break in Boulder Creek (gas, if needed), then up Highway 9 (east) to Skyline, where we assemble at the little rest area there for a final meeting. After our meeting and bull session, the group breaks up and everyone is on their own. Hope you can find your way home from there!