Right now I am split between these two.

2003 Certified GS300
the car has 23k miles
(warranty until 03/07 or 45,000 miles)

and

1999 C43
the car has 31k miles
(warranty until 11/06 or 100,000 miles)


which one would you chose?
this will be my daily driver

 

Take the GS. The Mercedes, IMO, can beat it only in crash safety. But the GS has far better build quality, better refinement, fewer miles on it, cheaper parts and service, generally less arrogant dealerships, is Certifed as a used car by the factory, will probably be cheaper to insure, and IMO you will be far better off with it in the long run.

The in-line six in the GS300, by the way, is a real gem. Smooth, quiet, versatile, and just about bulletproof if given even an ounce of care. Its only weak point is mileage that is not much better than the 4.3L V8 in the GS430.

 

I love the way you write......LOL

 

C43 is a rare car, but it is an old, old design versus the GS. I would go for the GS personally unless they offer you the AMG for under 20K...or significatnly cheaper than the GS. You can get a C32 for low 30's...

 

Why the LOL then? I'm not sure I follow you.

I usually try to write...at least in CAR CHAT......in a way that passes on automotive information, not necessarily to sound like a Toastmaster.

 

NO.....Im serious....
.....You cant see my expression in a forum. Thats why I had the golfer (all fairway)

LOL was just because, everytime you give a breakdown, its very well written. And I wish I had the experience with the cars to give a comparison.

Who needs Car and Driver..........we have you.

 

well, i think another thing the c43 on top is it's faster than the gs3.

but other than that, i would get the gs too....

 

I think the previous generation C class is ugly too . . .

 

I read C&D each month.....along with Road and Track, AUTOMOBILE, and AUTOWEEK, though I rely on the annual Consumer Reports New Car issue for their excellent auto reliability charts.

Car and Driver is an excellent magazine. It is my favorite of the so-called " enthusiast " mags and usually the first one I look at each month ....though you can have Brock Yates.

You'll notice I didn't mention Motor Trend. Though once in a while I'll thumb through it if it has something interesting, I pretty much tossed them out 20 years ago.

Now, King7.....what's YOUR pick between the GS and C43? That's what Goldark's question was, and what he is waiting to hear.

 

It's significantly faster...but if your looking for that just get a GS4. To get to any real divide between AMG and the GS you need to go for the 5.5l NA or any of the S/C models...but that will cost you $$$

Go with the GS...if you start wanting more power slap a S/C or turbo on it and be happy! Other than that, wait till '07 as it is starting to look like a good year for performance cars.

 

If you can, go for a GS4.

 

oh of course, but a comparable 03 gs430 with 23k miles, he will be paying A LOT MORE than the gs300 , and probably way more than the c43 too, hehe