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1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG

I continue to be inspired to research cars I see on the street. I walked past a C43 the other day and was impressed by the many little changes that give it an air of muscularity not present in the C-class until recently. Add to that the fact that it was the first V8-powered C as well as the first Mercedes to be completely assembled at AMG after Daimler gained total ownership in 1998, and this is an unassuming but rather special Benz. The 4.3 liter’s 306hp is tame by today’s insane nuclear-proliferation style power wars, but when you realize that it’ll do 181 miles per hour when delimited, it becomes clear just how adequate that much power can be.

The C-class is often overlooked when it comes to AMG badassness, but reviewing the numbers for this car makes me think that a Buy-it-Now of less than $10k, and with just 74k miles, this is a good deal. It may not be the most stylish Benz, and obviously not the fastest compared to the insane modern-day equivalent, but I’m betting even M-Bs invasive traction control can’t stop the 4.3 from having some fun with rear tires. I’d be interested to hear if anyone knows of reliability problems with these, but I’m guessing the V8 is plenty robust, giving this C43 the potential for a lot of fun miles out of the AMG bargain bin.

-NR

5 Comments

  1. Thom Williams
    Thom Williams December 13, 2010

    Lencore has had this for over a year. I tried to negotiate the price for it and was treated Very poorly by them. The have some interesting stuff on their website.

  2. Joe
    Joe December 13, 2010

    Boughta C43 this spring and absolutely love it. Bought it for $10K out the door with only 55K miles. The one you listed I was going to check out, but was warned off by a three members of MB sites that it has issues with fluid leaks. Has to be some reason it been listed for so long.

    While not the sports car of an M3 or 911 of the same vintage, they are just as fast, more comfortable and about HALF the price. With only about 1500 made they are mostly unknown and also who doesn’t like a sleeper?

    Also love your site..so glad to find it.

    Joe

  3. Dan Crouch
    Dan Crouch December 18, 2010

    Thanks for all the heads-up comments on this one, and I appreciate the kudos Joe.

    dc

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