My Wife is considering the 2001 C 240. Anything out of the ordinary to report?
Thanks!
ARI

NEWS FLASH
 

2001 C 240: Wife takes Joy Ride!! :)

I took delivery of mine in early October. The cars have been out in Germany since about April or May. I drove one in Germany in June and fell in love.

I came back from another European trip about Sept. 20 and went straight from the airport to the dealer. By not being picky about colors and such I was able to end up with my Six speed C240 about a week and a half later. Long story, but I have not been driving it all the time. But I have managed to put 5K miles on it including a trip to Gatlinburg, TN from Texas.

The engine family has been out several years and there are no problems that have yet to show up.

There are only two complaints that I've had with my car. One of them repairable and one not without taking the risk of them causing some other problem in the door.

The door when slammed, and this was on the demonstrator as well as my car, makes a rattling noise. The good news if you shut the door gently, it closes well and you don't hear the noise. It doesn't hurt anything, it just doesn't sound like an MB door closing. I will not allow anyone to take it apart, because I'm afraid they'll cause more problems than they will fix.

The second problem is a software bug that has to do with the SOS system. The tech that I use is an old friend of mine and he called me to tell me has the software patch and is ready to install it, I just haven't gotten by there yet.

As far as I can tell so far, this is a great car. I was excited about it, because MBUSA finally decided to sell me a manual transmission car again.

If you're interested, I have several posts about the car, the comparison of it to my stick shift 300E, and an engine review posted in the featured cars section.

Enjoy your new C240,

Larry,
Thank you for the input. I would ask you to send me the post directly, but that would be selfish to our fellow MBZ owners. Would you mind posting them up here?
Thanks!
By the way, I am glad to hear that your daughter's car is up and running again.
ARI

Dear CJ:

I am a current owner of a 2001 C240.

Yes, my door does the same rattling sound when it shut, as also described by Larry. Also, there are a few intermittent squeaks and rattles in the interior. It's nothing major, but it's just annoying sometimes.

Otherwise, it is a great car. The steering is very accurate and the handling is very neutral. Also, as expected, the car does have the typical Mercedes "glue to the road" sensation when traveling at high speeds. Wind noise is almost absent at speed up to 120 km/h. The car is quiet, as road and tyre noise is minimal.

Because of the weight of the car, don't expect the 168hp 2.6l engine to pull very briskly from standstill. But I have no complaint about the power, since I am not crazy about how fast can the car goes from 0-60mph. The power of the engine is more than adequate for me. Furthermore, my car comes equipped with the 5 speed automatic transmission. The transmission shifts smoothly, as expected from a Mercedes.

If you think the C240 is for you, I suggest that you take a closer look at it. It is more expensive than a BMW 325i and an Audi A4, but in my opinion, the C240 is a better car overall. Furthermore, nothing beats the prestige of the three pointed star.

Johf
2001 C240
Desert Silver
Java interior
5,800km

The suspension is a BMW 3-series clone and has rack & pinion steering. The interior is somewhat plastic & the the press has chewed MB a bit on that, possibly some of the rattles. BUT it is nice that the car has a REAL std. trans. And the car looks like like a million!!

First of all CJ you can view my posts on this site by going to SHOP TALK, FEATURED CARS.

Secondly, maybe I'm just lucky, although I don't think so, but my car has absolutely NO rattles except the closing of the door. Except for that this MB is like every other that I've ever owned. It feels like it's cast out of one piece. ZERO rattles.

I don't remember ever disagreeing with MBDoc, he's ALWAYS right on the money, and this is only an opinion call. But, except for some of the knobs instead of buttons, such as the seat memory and climate control knobs, I see absolutely NOTHING chincy about the interior.

The only other criticism I can offer is I believe there is too much suspension travel. I expect to put the Sport suspension springs and shocks later on. Even if I would've had time to order a car, I would not have ordered a Sport because of the chincy looking checkered aluminum trim in place of the wood. But I would very much like to have the shorter suspension travel.

Good luck,