Which do you think would perform better. Granted the 98+ C43 is a smaller car, but their is almost a 400 lbs difference. Wouldn't that make it more nimble then the 94+ E500. On the other hand, the 94-95 E500 was influenced alot by Porsche and is very performance oriented as well as the AMG C43. The C43 has the 5-speed auto while the E500 has the 4-speed. I like the 4-speed cause I can shift on my own, but I think there would be an advantage to having a 5-speed.

The C43 has some cheap touches in the interior while the E500 is a pure German interior that has the hand-made feel to it.

With some serious rubber on the E500, would the C43 be out performed? You can get 275s on the E500 without to much problem while the C can handle much wider then 255s. Would operating costs be more on the C43 or the E500.

They are both worth about the same in the current market, while the C43 could be found with less miles and it is a newer car. The E500 has the raw power and an original price of $80k. I haven't sold my car yet, but since we are considering the possibilities, I became more focused on the 2.

The only reason I ask is that people down the street from us just got an E55 (and his wife got an S500 last year) and wants to sell his C43 or the E500 (its kind of wierd living in a neighboorhood where a 190E and MLs are considered a common cars) and my dad likes them both. (I wish I were home to test drive them with him )

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Chirag (Charlie) Patel

- 99 Mercedes-Benx ML 430 V8 w/custom TV, Video, UHF, speaker system
- 93 190E 2.6 (4-sale) w/ an amp, equalizer, and CD-changer, integrated w. stock stereo for integrated cellular phone speaker system
- had a 93 190E m103 3.2, 5-speed trans,
- had a 88 300E 2.6
- had a 84 300TD w/275k+ miles
- 2001 C-Class - Maybe (if 190E sells)