It's the 'standard' waiting time here if you want something bespoke. That's why most people buy standard off-the-shelf shipments that have no special options. And, if you option your own car chances are resale values will be the same as that of standard optioned cars, unless you find a owner who appreciates your options. That sucks. But our car market is small that's why it's like that... Anyway, we waited 7 months for our QP, so that can soothe Mr. Mercedes's heart.

Ah I see... Okay. I can't wait to see your car in the metal.

lol thanks REE. Yes the sahara beige is gorgeous, but I'm already getting scared at the thought of keeping it clean. I was actually banging my head at the fact that over 80% of the dealer stock vehicles have plain black interiors. The elegance beige, grey, cognac and sahara beige are far more interesting. They just don't keep any in stock!

3 months isn't so bad. We waited for 1-11 months when we first ordered the CLK240. What MB Australia was doing was filling orders for 320's and 500's (because the margins are MUCH larger) and bumping the 240's down the list.

The resale value on optioned vehicles is no better here either, but if you keep the car for around 5 years, it lessens the pain.

Now I am very tempted to try the improved 200k engine for myself. How responsive is the engine? Has MB finally banished their age old tradition of having an accelerator made out of dough?

Very nice combo and options, in fact I will have the exact same options as yours (well maybe with the all glass roof) if I am ordering a C-class.

Yeah, the waiting times for new MB models are pretty long, I remember when the w211 was launched back in late 2002, we tried to place an order and we were told we have to wait for 7 months, and the car has no special options at all, I guess it is the same with your CLK.

LOL...not dough, maybe a sponge cake this time around! he he...no it felt just right. Not overly responsive to throttle inputs like some vehicles, but not lazy either. Go for a test drive!

I would also be tempted with the all glass roof, but it's an absolute NO for dad. The only reason the sunroof is there is because it makes more sense to get the vision pack then option the HK audio and Bi Xenons separately.

Somewhere (*searching*), I have a photo of the seat of a sahara beige interior. Well, I have found it!! But this is a car in a showroom, so you don't know how many people got into the car with their brand new jeans etc.

The circle on the upper left is a reflection of the mirror - so no dirt.



And here I played a little bit with the contrast…




But don't be afraid. I think, with a little bit of care, the seats will also look like brand new after 5 years.

And you can't get the Sahara Beige and Cognac interior with the Elegance Version here in germany!! If it is available in your country with the Elegance version, it would be awesome if you could share some photos!

LOL now you're REALLY scaring me. Why oh why does it have to look so good though. I wish the cognac was a few shades lighter. That would have been an alternative then. Or if the grey leather interior had the upper dash and door parts finished in black and not a darker shade of grey. I'm sure I've seen pictures like that, but it doesn't seem the cars in Australia can be specced that way.

Here we have:

Elegance -
Black/Black
Dark Grey/Grey
Savanah Beige/Cashmere Beige

Avantgarde -
Black/Cognac
Black/Black
Dark Grey/Grey
Black/Sahara beige

You really did tick the most essential options on the C-class!
Even the color is great, Tenorite Grey is one of the best colors available on a C-class in my opinion.
I don't know how tall you and your folks are but having Panoramic roof would decrease the front headroom. So if you're tall, you'd be better off with just a sunroof.
By the way, are you getting the 17" or 18" AMG wheels? You posted that it's the 17" AMG wheels but the picture in your post shows the 18" AMG wheels.

Anyway the Black/Beige interior is really nice but as with all light interiors, it does get dirty very quickly if it isn't going to be taken care off every once now and then.
In combination with lighter interiors, I prefer wood inlays over aluminum because it looks too cold and clinical otherwise in my humble opinion.
The Cognac Brown interior seems to be less vulnerable against light smudges.
My personal favorite.



The Dark Grey/Grey interior is great as well. I believe they made the upper part of the dashboard and the upper doortrim dark grey because otherwise the contrast would be too great if it was black combined with the lower part of the dash which is of a lighter grey color. I think it looks great as well, the only interior color which isn't 80% black that you were refering to earlier.
I have saved a few photos of the a Tenorite Grey C-class with Dark Grey/Grey interior a while ago because it was such stunning combination. It was on sale a few months ago and obviously sold already.










Aside of that there're a few small options that are in my opion worth considering:

Park distance control
Very useful in tight parking spaces and reversing especially if one don't know how far the boot or hood stretches. And sometimes you could hit something you can't visually see like a small pole, trailer hitch or a small kid playing.

Heated / Cooling seats
Nice for the winters and summers especially if it's leather.

Full electric seats
The full electric has memory function for like 3 persons.
Worth considering if the car will have multiple drivers with great length differences and driving positions (laid back or active).

Automatic trunk closer
Not really necessary but a nice addition if you don't want to get your hands dirty.

Black headliner/roof
Not really necessary but it does add some richness to the interior in my opinion.

The Park distance control is standard in all Australian C-class. The 18inch AMG wheels are only available with the AMG bodykit and dynamics handling pack.