My son has been trying to convince me to let him buy a 1998 c280 Sport. Now he drives a 92 Bronco that simply sucks way too much gas - 8 MPG in the city. We have a close family member that works for VW corporate so we can get VW parts at cost and a break on labor if it needs to go into a shop. So I have been leaning on him tobuy a VW Passat. He is a cautious driver but a little air headed so we want a safe car in case he pulles out in front of another car and gets hit. Our budget is about $7,000. We found a 1998 C280 Sport in mint looking condition with 125,000 miles. For about the same amount he could get something like a 2000 VW Passat with around 80,000 miles. I can do mechanical repairs like brake jobs, etc. So I am not concerned about the cost of routine maintenace and small repairs as we can do them ourself. But for electrical issues or bbiggerproblemsI'd have to take the car to a shop. I am wondering if it is silly to get a c280 with more miles compared to the Passat. In driving the cars the c280 sport felt more solid and sturdier than the Passat. Both rated well in the crash tests, but the c280 appeared to have less deformation to the passenger cage. So for safety I kind of side with the C280 but I am worried about reliability. Can c280 owners tell me if at 125K miles we are likelyto start to experience mechanical and electrical problems on a c280? Can you realistically drive one to 200K without significant mechanical problems assuming you do regular basic maintenance? Thanks for any input.

 

Hmmm...That is an interesting dilema. I just recently sold a 2001 Passat (wagon) wirh 84k on it (for$8k) to buy a 98 c230 with 47k(for $10k) The Passat was a great car and VERY safe.Mine had 8 airbags.Many people complain about them but with good care and synthetic oil (for the 1.8t) they are great. Now, with that being said, if the passat did not have synthetic oil, I would stay clear because major issues with the turbos and oil sludge. If it is the 6 cyl model then you will not have the sludging problem but they do tend to use oil. Passats are NOT cars you can simply drive and forget about. They do require careful care if you want to maintain them in good driving condition, although, they do not rust. Another issue is the Mass Air Flow meters that tend to go bad. Some of these are covered under an extended warranty (not the wagons). Also, with 80k you will be needing to do the control arm bushings soon as well as the serpentine belt (not a big deal but not exactlycheap). These are the only things I had to do on mine other than tires, brakes and a few vacumn lines. I loved mine but wanted to get away from the "wagon" stigma and I have always wanted a Benz. Now, a Benz with 125k is no big deal but with that mileage it will require work at some point soon depending how it was maintained. You might be better off trying to find much lower mileage (non sport) c230 for the same price. With a Mercedes, age makes not much difference but the c-class had better years than others. 98-00 were good years. Considering my c230 is in "new" condition and I have not had it too long, I cannot comment on how reliable it is over a long term. I know rust can be an issue if not properly cared for. I had a loose battery cable which was creating all sorts of electrical issues but that was easily fixed. Engine wise, my gut tells me the Benz will be more reliable over the long term as they arebulletproof. I guess it depends how long your son plans to keep it and how many miles he drives a year. Hope this helps. Good luck.
Jim
98' Benz c230 "Elegance" Silver, grey leather47k
03' BMW 325i, Silver, black leather 70k

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Hello Jim,

I saw a C230 today with 80K miles I really liked. I think it is a sport model but not sure. I think I will post in another thread a couple pictures to see what exactly is the C230 I saw today! I am inclinded to go with it over the Passat now. I heard the same thing today about being careful with the Passat 1.8 turbo motors from my VW contact. He said for some stupid reason VW did not specify to use synthetic oil in the Passat and there are issues with sludge / coke build up on cars running standard oil. He said the V6 was a safer bet when buying used and not knowing maintenace history. So you were right on with your comments. Going to post some photos of the mystery C230 I saw today to see if anyone can figure out what it is..

 

Yeh, I saw the pict you posted. Nice car. Looks like it has been somewhat modified. Might have been a standard C230 at one time with aftermarket add ons as well as c230 sport seats. Some of the sports did have the two tone leather. Looks to be in pretty good shape. It is definately lowered. Other than the add ons, it looks just like mine. I guess it is possible that the fenders were replaced with non sport ones but a quick carfax should tell you that. It is also possible that the car was a special order and came that way from the factory. Mine has the wood trim inside as well as the factory stereo and digital climate control (standard up to 99'). I also have the perforated leather seats and not the MB TEX. 80k is nothing for that car. Watch out for rust around the door mouldings. I use an air compressor to get all the water out when I wash mine. Sorry it took so long for me to respond.....good luck if you have already bought it. It should serve you well.
p.s. make sure the battery cables are TIGHT!

Jim

 

We drove the 230 and got a little spooked with it. Battery was dead and needed a jump start. A/C did not work. Windshield had crack coming out from edge with no damage to the windshield that made me wonder if there was some pressure on the windshield frame from something bent of the car. The lowered suspension also concerned me as when I put everything together I got the feeling the car was owned by someone real young that liked to drive it hard. I later did find out that was the case. We later found a 2000 C280 that we liked and got that instead. Coincidently it also had the 2 tone interior. Appears that was an option for the C sport models. Also came with wider AMG rims which my son really liked! Ride is not too harsh despite the 40 series tires. It does stick like glue to the road and the ESP is a very nice safety feature on that car, specially for a youthful driver.

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The car served us well for about a year until a SUV turned left in front of it. Only minor injures to humans but neither vehicle survived. RIP poor MB. Time to go shopping for another one.

2000 C280 Before:
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...7626801B9E.jpg

After:
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n.../c280crash.jpg

The SUV:
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...Smith/toyo.jpg








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