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W203 trim levels and optional extras

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King03sh

Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2021
Messages
40
Location
Wiltshire
Car
Ford focus cmax
Hi guys,

As mentioned in my introduction post, I am looking to buy a w203, either a 1.8 kompressor or 2.1 cdi with manual box.

Looking at trim levels etc, im hoping to get the most well equipped model I can for my budget of £2000.

I am a little confused about the differences between sport edition and the optional sport pack.

Im looking at an 05 plate 180 komp sport edition that has full leather black interior, 3 spoke steering wheel, amg style body kit, and 17" 7 spoke alloys.

One of the others on my short list, a 200 cdi has full leather interior, 3 spoke steering wheel, much deeper seat bolsters and amg carpets with what look like standard 16" 5 spoke wheels and body kit.

Am I right in thinking the second car likely has the sport pack? Is this something that can be checked with the reg number rather than the vin?

Also I understand the sport pack and sport edition came with lower/stiffer suspension and upgraded brakes? One having cross drilled rotors and the other having improved calipers? Can anyone confirm which way around these came equipped?

I guess the nicest package possible would have been the sport edition with the sport pack options but it doesn't seem there are many about with that configuration if at all.

Any help much appreciated.
 
At that age and budget my priorities would be condition and history rather than spec. The 180K is prone to the well known timing chain issues so with luck you can find one that has already been sorted.
 
I've got the brochure (so it's specific to the estate) that goes with my car - mine is Oct 04, but the facelift came out in mid-2004 and were numbered (in the VIN) as 05 model year cars.

Sport.JPGAMG.JPG


These are pretty old cars now, but can look OK from the outside. Have a good look underneath - especially rear subframe and brake lines.
 
Last edited:
GP801 said:
At that age and budget my priorities would be condition and history rather than spec. The 180K is prone to the well known timing chain issues so with luck you can find one that has already been sorted.
Click to expand...
Condition is top of my list, im trying to find the best example locally I can, preferably at or very close to 100k there seem to be a few nice ones around all at varying trim levels. That aside im hoping to get one with the factory sport suspension as I would like the slight lowering without buying aftermarket parts. Anything else I can potentially keep my eyes peeled for on auction sites etc at a later date. Thanks for the heads up tho.
 
Rory said:
I've got the brochure (so it's specific to the estate) that goes with my car - mine is Oct 04, but the facelift came out in mid-2004 and were numbered (in the VIN) as 05 model year cars.

View attachment 108772View attachment 108773


These are pretty old cars now, but can look OK from the outside. Have a good look underneath - especially rear subframe and brake lines.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, I'd imagine there is somewhat of an overlap with the saloons so that should help a bit. Im a handy home mechanic so I have a good idea what im looking at and what to walk away from.
 
markjay said:

Page 44 onwards.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, I was about to say its been really helpful, but its caused me even more confusion ha ha... the car on top of my list is a sport edition... it has amg style bumpers and skirts, which would tally up with the amg sport package but it has the 7 spoke wheels that the brochure lists as 16" for the classic and elegance models?

They dont make keeping track of these options easy ehh!
 
That brochure doesn't show the SE package which was offered on UK cars - so mine is an Avantgarde SE. SE added things like metallic paint and folding mirrors and was about a grand, so decent value and commonly spec'd.

Then you could add Sports (few hunded quid) or AMG Sports (about 3 grand) on top.

Re ride height - Mine (I got it at 5mths old so didn't spec it) doesn't have either Sports pack, and it's on 16" wheels (Sports suspension was an option on its own, but only with 17" wheels) - however mine is very low, many people comment about how awkward it is to haul themselves out of it, and speed bumps etc need great care and it does ground sometimes.

I wouldn't read anything into the wheel style in the brochure as it's not specific to UK. MB changes wheel styles every 5 mins anyway.
 
Rory said:
That brochure doesn't show the SE package which was offered on UK cars - so mine is an Avantgarde SE. SE added things like metallic paint and folding mirrors and was abut a grand, so decent value and commonly spec'd.

Then you could add Sports (few hunded quid) or AMG Sports (about 3 grand) on top.

Re ride height - Mine (I got it at 5mths old so didn't spec it) doesn't have either Sports pack, and it's on 16" wheels (Sports suspension was an option on its own, but only with 17" wheels) - however mine is very low, many people comment about how awkward it is to haul themselves out of it, and speed bumps etc need great care and it does ground sometimes.
Click to expand...
Thats whats causing me confusion, I cant find any info on the SE... iv seen several avantguard SE for sale and been to view a very nice one (walked away cuz it was £2.5k and some bugger cut holes badly in the front cup holder to run usb cables to the arm rest cubby. The main one im considering has Sport Edition badges on the rub strips infront the drivers door, all the other trim kit id expect including the amg bumpers and skirts but the wheels are 7 spoke which this brochure says are 16"... I have no idea about the exhausts and brakes untill I go to view it.

I thought the sport suspension was part of the sport and amg sport packages?

Are there any key points I can look out for to see if the car is an "amg sport replica" rather than a genuine sport edition?
 
Sports suspension is part of the packages, or you could spec it on its own, as long as you also spec'd 17" wheels.

Mine just says Avantgarde on the rubbing strips - I don't recall seeing Sports Edition badging but I haven't studied them in a geeky kind of way. IIRC it did used to be an issue that it wasn't easy to tell if the car had the SE package. I'm not sure SE is the smae as Sports Edition - there's nothing sporty about what you get with the SE package, it's more of an 'executive' thing.
 

Rory said:
That brochure doesn't show the SE package which was offered on UK cars - so mine is an Avantgarde SE. SE added things like metallic paint and folding mirrors and was about a grand, so decent value and commonly spec'd.

Then you could add Sports (few hunded quid) or AMG Sports (about 3 grand) on top.

Re ride height - Mine (I got it at 5mths old so didn't spec it) doesn't have either Sports pack, and it's on 16" wheels (Sports suspension was an option on its own, but only with 17" wheels) - however mine is very low, many people comment about how awkward it is to haul themselves out of it, and speed bumps etc need great care and it does ground sometimes.

I wouldn't read anything into the wheel style in the brochure as it's not specific to UK. MB changes wheel styles every 5 mins anyway.
Click to expand...
I apologise @Rory I misread the bit where you said yours was not spec'd with the sport pack... that makes more sense to me now...

Hopefully this one has the sport package... I would assume so unless the bumpers and such have been retrofitted... 4k in factory upgrades seems like a pretty nice package to get my hands on at this price :-)

Im not overly fussed about the wheels as ill likely be replacing them with slightly larger amg wheels off a w204 anyway.
Im more concerned about which brakes and suspension are behind them. I dont fancy a 4hr round trip to view it, just to find its not what I thought it was.
 
King03sh said:
Im not overly fussed about the wheels as ill likely be replacing them with slightly larger amg wheels off a w204 anyway.
Click to expand...

I have it in mind that the bolt diameter on the W204 is different.
 
Rory said:
Sports suspension is part of the packages, or you could spec it on its own, as long as you also spec'd 17" wheels.

Mine just says Avantgarde on the rubbing strips - I don't recall seeing Sports Edition badging but I haven't studied them in a geeky kind of way. IIRC it did used to be an issue that it wasn't easy to tell if the car had the SE package. I'm not sure SE is the smae as Sports Edition - there's nothing sporty about what you get with the SE package, it's more of an 'executive' thing.
Click to expand...
IMG_20210212_220604.png
It does look quite low, heres the badges on the rub strip, the interior is definitely a sport pack. Im gunna have to just take the plunge, go look and see what the suspension and brakes look like.
 
You are looking for a coupe then, not a saloon?

Keep in mind that the Coupe and the Convertible had different trim levels to the Estate and Saloon.

So don't compare what you see on the saloon to what you see on the Coupe. Avangarde on a coupe and Avangarde on a saloon will have different options as standard

You need to find a 2005 brochure for the Coupe.
 
markjay said:
You are looking for a coupe then, not a saloon?

Keep in mind that the Coupe and the Convertible had different trim levels to the Estate and Saloon.

So don't compare what you see on the saloon to what you see on the Coupe. Avangarde on a coupe and Avangarde on a saloon will have different options as standard

You need to find a 2005 brochure for the Coupe.
Click to expand...
No thats what I meant, im after a saloon as iv got young kids to ship about everywhere ha ha.

I did find a brochure for 06 sport saloons but it only covers the c230 and higher models, no mention of the c180
 
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