My youngest daughter and her husband sort of gave ($1,500) my wife and I her 1999 C280, with 115,000 miles on it, when she got a new car a few months ago. I researched this and another site for service to expect. I cleaned the Air Mass Sensor myself, bought a new set of tires ($400), had the headliner replaced and the leather seats resurfaced ($425), then took it to the dealership for an oil change (Mobil 1) and complete inspection ($100 after a $50 first time customer discount).

Based on what I observed and the dealer recommendations, I ordered the new lower front control arms (didn't want to try pressing bushings), lower ball joints, and front shocks (about $500 from Parts Geeks) with the intent of replacing them myself. When a local shop that a neighbor recommended for Mercedes vehicles, quoted $400 for the labor, including the alignment, I had them do the work.

After the above installation, I still had the sense that, on the freeway, I was over-steering very slightly and having to constantly adjust to stay in the center of my lane. I ordered and replaced the Steering Damper myself ($45) and it made all the difference in the world. The old one would slide about 2" before it offered any resistance. Now the steering is great.

So for close to $3,500, I now have a vehicle that I enjoy immensely. Having had four children, I have primarily driven underpowered minivans most of my life. To now have a vehicle that can take the ON ramp to the freeway and go from 20mph to 85mph in a heartbeat is very nice. As a more conservative driver, though, I'll keep it throttled back, but it's nice to know the capability is there if needed. Currently, the only other immediate item I plan to address is touching up a few areas (surface scrapes) on the bumpers and just enjoying the ride. My wife seems to share my enthusiasm.

My question for others, what do you enjoy most about your Mercedes? Looks? Ride? Power? Style? Prestige? Other?

My daughter has retained visitation rights though, since it was her baby for four years.

Thanks
Steven Jindra