Used 2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C32 AMG Consumer Reviews
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MYC32NYC, 03/21/2003
2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C32 AMG Rwd 4dr Sedan (3.2L 6cyl S/C 5A)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
At first I had to get used to the power of this car. As I did I had lots of fun blowing away other non suspecting 2dr sports cars. it was quite fun and at the ligh they often ask me what it was and I would say c32 amg, they would look at me puzzled.....I guess this car was really meant for the enthusiasts.
Head & Shoulders above an M3
David1976, 02/20/2003
2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C32 AMG Rwd 4dr Sedan (3.2L 6cyl S/C 5A)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Incredible ride and handling. I also just smoked an M3 on the highway driving home.
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2003 C32 AMG Review
Suppatime, 02/21/2024
2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C32 AMG Rwd 4dr Sedan (3.2L 6cyl S/C 5A)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Let me start by saying I was the third owner of this vehicle, and there's an old saying that "there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes." That holds especially true when dealing with a low volume, early in the Mercedes-AMG merger category, despite the plethora of resources available during the Mercedes/Chrysler merger years. Let's start with the bad: within months of ownership, things started to go wrong. The LCD screen on the dashboard went out completely, not giving me visuals for the plethora of things going wrong with the electrics on the vehicle. Despite having 30+ computers in it that were all likely running Windows 98, everything continued to function and work just fine, except for the sunroof. The LCD replacement cost me $50 on eBay and I did it myself over an hour. Back on the road, back to enjoyment. The W203 chassis is the technical successor to the acclaimed W124 chassis that came before it, despite different model designations. And while several trim and engine options were available, from 2002-2004, AMG decided to experiment with new technology, taking the very plain 3.2L Mercedes V6 and reworking the top end of it to include a twin-screw supercharger that they somehow made nearly silent. The result? A V6 with balance, reliability and fuel economy, but when the pedal was pressed to the floor, a magnetic clutch engaged the supercharger forcing air and electronically, fuel into the engine to yeild 349 horsepower and roughly the same in torque. Out of sheer laziness, the AMG engineers opted for the beefy transmission in Mercedes/Chrysler's line-up that could handle the torque, the same 5-speed, speed shift unit available as result of the R&D intermixing with McLaren for the Mercedes McLaren SLR from years earlier. This car was a subtle rocket, devoid of tell-tale visual cues like quad exhaust, exaggerated wheel arches or spoilers like other AMGs are known for. Debadged as mine was, you couldn't tell this car apart from a C230 Kompressor until you hit the accelerator and the car whirred and growled to life. With its stubby nose and peanut-shaped headlights, it was the most effeminate of the Mercedes line-up, with a half-assed attempt at retro styling in the midst of the earliest craze, but somehow this machine held a monster within, and AMG gave it the matching suspension, brakes and software mapping to match. I had folks in Lamborginis and Porsches demand I pull over to ask me what the heck my car was during the Pandemic on spirited drives. But like all Mercedes from this era, the enthusiasts in R&D were neutered by the accountants who were hellbent on turning a profit for shareholders as much as they wanted to be known for saving the environment. And thus despite mechanical superiority over its rivals -- the Audi S4 and BMW M3 of the era -- the C32 vanished into obscurity, taking with it the host of issues stemming from a factory wire harness designed to biologically degrade over the years, It started 85% of the time, and every time it did, it was the most fun car I've ever driven. But those other 15% caused bigger and bigger headaches, ultimately culminating in the necessities to replace not one but four catalytic converters at 155,000 miles, and shortly thereafter, the speed shift transmission itself. I brought this car back to life for half a decade, spending thousands on repairs and maintenance, and I don't regret it. This car behaved exactly like I wanted a car to my whole life. But eventually she succumbed to water damage from a flood, and there was nothing more I could do. If you can find a clean example... this car succeeded the C43 AMG and proceeded the C55 AMG, both more notable than this machine. But from 2002 to 2004, Mercedes and AMG made this little monster, about 4,400 of them, and they will go down as one of the rarest Mercedes post AMG-merger, and they were better than the S4 and M3 they were designed to dominate.
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