I am thinking about buying a 2007 C230 with a little over 14k. Can someone give me some insight (or links to threads) as to what I am getting myself into? I tried doing a search, I have no idea what keywords to search for though. SORRY! I realize you guys see posts like this all the time, but as mentioned I could not find any when I searched and just probing around has left me with deadends of threads, like mine, that were never answered. My previous experience is most all with Honda vehicles so this is definitely going to be a change of pace for me. I just want to make sure I am not about to buy a headache or there are quarks about this particular model that might turn me off. From what I understand it is not the most powerful car out there, however that is not my concern. I am looking for a vehicle on the more luxo side this time.

Thank you all in advance!

 

I think 5 years from now you will come to the conclusion that a Honda is more reliable and less expensive to maintain but you probably already know that.

 

More expensive to maintain as in a little more expensive oil changes I can handle that (I drive about 5500 miles a year) so I am not too worried about that. If you are talking about more to it then that, please indulge.

Reliability well I am debatable about that too. My current honda (2007 Civic SI) has several service updates (not recalls, I think they are tsb's?) that my car would qualify for one being the transmission, another being the suspension, and yet another being the ignition. I have went to 2 different dealerships and they all came to the conclusion that my car is operating "within spec".

I hope that MB vehicles are not so problematic, for the price and the clout they carry I would think they would fare well, I am finding out my assumptions are wrong. HA.

My old honda (that rusted out the entire fuel line) on the other hand was probably my most trust worthy vehicle. I almost cried to have to let it go after 190k miles on it. Unfortunately (as just stated) it had a rusted fuel line and for myself to replace the line (as I do my own maint on my vehicles) it would have cost $300 just for the new line. I was unsure if I was going to have to replace the tank once I dropped it. The car simply was not worth putting the time and money it was going to take to fix it.

From the Honda forums I frequent it seems as though Hondas "reliability" and "quality" is slipping. I hope for their sake that they can come around real quickly or they are going to find themselves in a bad position like the big 3 are right now.

Again, thank you for the input. Its kinda discouraging to hear to be honest. I knew that some MB's had their flaws but I thought the more recent ones the reliability went up drastically. This is going to make my decision harder. Thank you for the feedback though.

Does anyone else have any sort of enlightenment to add to the conversation?

 

Mine is a 2000 C280 with the V6 with 140K, a 100K of which are mine. It drives beautifully and I can't comment on the newer models. Mercedes have a lot of electronic and electrical content and that has been the weak point. So far, I have been able to do all of the repair and maintenance myself, so my running cost has been very modest. If I had to go to the dealer for every little issue.....
By the way, my reference for reliabilty was my Suzuki Esteem, which was absolutely bulletproof.

 

I was in your situation earlier this year when I was looking for a car for my 17 yr old daughter. I enjoy car shopping and research even more. My wife has an R350 and we are very pleased with it. Someone in our family has owned an MB for the past 45 years. I was looking at several makes and models, from the C class, BMW 3 series, Honda’s, Nissan’s, and even Hyundai’s! Six months ago, we were at the local BMW dealer test driving a potential when a pretty red 2002 C230 K coupe pulled in…..the guy was trading it in on a new 6 series convertible.

The red coupe had 13,659 miles only, was owned by the kids father who had recently passed away, leaving the son with several vehicles to unload. Apparently he was not overly concerned with the bad deal the dealer gave him on the trade and it ended up being my gain. But only because I had done quite a bit of research on these cars, knowing what to look for and rough values. Some of the best information I found came from a local independent certified MB repair facility, master mechanic. These cars are no different than any other motorized vehicle, keep them clean inside and out, follow the maintenance schedule, fix little problems before they get worse, and you’ll have the best possible experience.

The compressors (spelled with a K in German) are prone to going out, but usually in the higher mileage range. My research found examples of compressor failure from anywhere in the 30K mile range all the way past 140K miles before it had to be replaced. There are other MB forums out there where you can search “compressor problems” and you’ll see what I mean.

There are numerous consumer publications available that will help in some cases but can be overwhelming and confusing. JD Power, Consumer Reports (local library), Edmonds.com, Car and Driver.com, just to name a few. If you’re looking for the greatest probability that your car purchase will be trouble free, buy a Lexus (I drive a 98 LS400 – best car I’ve ever owned!), but even Lexus owners have issues with their cars, look at some of their forums for an example! Toyota, Honda, Nissan and several domestics are all high on reliability. But don’t confuse reliability with cost of ownership, although reliability is a calculation factor used to come up with cost of ownership, it’s all a bit suspicious. There are several websites you can go to that will give you cost of ownership figures, just remember they are only estimations, but provide some value.

Bottom line is, all newer vehicles are expensive to repair and maintain properly! Most people who brag on their trouble free cars simply got lucky, it does not mean that if you buy one like they have you’ll have the same luck. Go and check out/drive similar but much older models of what you’re considering. If you do that with 7 or 10 different cars you’ll gain a sense of how well they hold up under various conditions (amazing how poorly some people treat their cars!), in some cases you’ll have to ignore the cosmetics if possible, what you’re after is the drivability and engine performance. Most German cars hold up well mechanically, regardless how poorly they are maintained.

If you decide to buy an MB – any model – expect to pay more than average for dealer visits. Find yourself a well known independent MB repair shop, whose hourly rates are less than the dealer’s, put $2,000 into a money market account for repairs (avoid expensive warranties) and you’ll be set. The same can be said for BMW, Jaguar, Cadillac, Lincoln, Acura, Lexus, etc….

Also, the Germans build solid, very well engineered, sexy performance cars designed to do better than 125 mph on the Autobahn, and provide occupants with the safest environment possible. Lots of technology and safety features goes into the performance capabilities even though we never get the opportunity to legally drive these cars at those speeds in the US. Safety was a key consideration for me when purchasing the little coupe for my daughter, the C class is loaded with safety features.

Hope this helps a little, lots to think about, in the end if you like the car, it feels right, looks great and you can afford it, then buy it and enjoy!

RB.

 

Wow, thank you all for the info. 100% all good feedback and information I have received so far.

The dealership is going to let me take the car home on monday and keep it for a few days to drive it around and check out the ins and outs. Hopefully I will be able to tell by driving characteristics if it was molested or well taken care of. It has decently low miles on it (although those miles could have been very hard).

I will definitely let you all know what came of it. Wednesday will be d-day for me. I might just be posting some pics up here if I get it. As mentioned above, its a beautiful car and the Germans just seem to make their cars like they do their Tiger Tanks... tough. We will see. Again, thank you all for the feedback!

 

I have a 2003 C230 sport coupe, 175000 Km, the works works wonderfully and I really like how it drives and performs, but I can tell you the maintenance is a killer, regular stuff is ok, but anyhing else, like suspension stuff, alternator etc is huge cost, Now my A/C is gone and I am told that is several thousands to repair.

The 07 is a V6 I believe, that should not be a problem it is everything else that costs big time.

I tell people it is the best car I ever owned when it works, but for repairs it is the worst car I ever owned.

I will not buy another!

Good luck

Cheers,

Trygve

 

So maybe I should have the mods change the title to my thread... what makes Mercs so nice to own. It seems like there is some sort of consensus telling me there are issues with these cars and when they arise they are big $$ to fix. Where does this appreciation and passion come in for these cars. I think if I had repetitive issues with a car I would tire of it very quickly (as I have tired of hearing all the issues with my car, hence why I am selling it) and not praise but discourage from buying it.

Such a big part of me just wants to own a german car, its just hard for me to be looking away from getting one. I just want to own one for the experience I guess. All this input and real-world is definitely making this a hard, but very informative decision.

 

... well son of a gun. I guess my decision to get that car just became a little easier. I just checked my missed calls for the day and the dealership called me. I had an erie feeling and went online to check their inventory. They sold the car. Hmm. ha. Well, I have a little situation now. My car is going bye bye tomorrow so now I am going to be carless. Oh boy.

 

That news is too bad, keep looking you will find another one.

I did say in my reply that I just love my car, how it drives, performance, handling and mileage.

The repairs are just nuts that's all.

An alternator replaced and installed complete for $1,100. as an example.

So don't take us all wrong, the cars are tight and wonderful to drive. Just be prepared for any repairs.

Good luck in your search if you continue!

Cheers,

Trygve