I recently purchased a one owner 02' C240 with 17k on the clock. I've had it now for about two months and have had numerous intermittenproblems, mostly electrical. About two weeks ago, the fuel guage took a crap. It stayed on the zero with no low fuel light or visit filling station and the range was blank. I took it to the onlyMB dealership in town and $980 later (ouch)I had a working fuel guage. As per the invoice,they replaced both sending units in the tank.Now, barely 1000 miles later, it quit again. I've had problems with the rear shade, not working 80% of the time as well as a transmission that decides at random to switch from "S" to "W" by itself,usually about once a week or so. Also a few days ago when rolling up the front passenger window, it stopped about half way up and then dropped down an inch or so while holding down the switch.It did this 2-3 times trying to roll it up. I also had to remove one of the heat shields under the drive shaftto trim off a small piece of insulation that was rubbing on the driveshaft, causing a very annoying buzzing sound in the cabin.All this @ 22K miles. I am curious to know, is there an difference between a C240 made in Germany and a C240 made in brazil? Are these problems normal? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks,
Roger


02' C240
92' Jaguar XJS V12

 

sorry to here the problems, but yes there is a difference if you car is made in brazil you are prone to have electrical problems and just more problem the whole way around. if its you first benz its a hard way to learn if you trust benz again in the near future make sure to check inside of the drive side door to make sure it was made in germany. Sorry bro.

 

Very sorry to hear about the problems. The C240's are usually very good. To help you lower your cost try and find a local shop to work on your car. Where are you located?

 

C240's made in Brazil are made by cheap Brazillian labor, C240's made in Germany are made by cheap Turkish labor, either way MB's are not realiable and electrical problems seem to top the list. The new C's are made in South Africa, probably with cheap labor from their local area. If you want a more reliable car you need one made by U.S. workers. American cars consistantly top MB in JD Powers long term reliability surveys.

 

Hold on Hold on. Yes the c240's made in Brazil are known for electrical issues. And the new C's are not great. The 2000 C280 I have now with with just 70,000 miles is not the greatest car either. I have owned Mercedes my whole life and I have never had a bad one. I have had one in witch I wished I did not buy(2000 C280 Sport) I regret buying it. I have also ran Mercedes 300SD to 170,000 miles with issues at all. I have an 1987 420SEL with 111,000 miles. NO ISSUES.( have owned it since 33,000 miles) My first Mercedes was a 1980 300TD. Ran it to no lie 200,000 miles and sold it and the guy ran it to over 400,000. Mercedes are a great car if well taken care off and serviced properly like anycar. This guy must of just got a bad one. As far as my worste car it was an American car.(1995 GMC Jimmy SLT) I bought it new. BIG BIG mistake. Thank god I had a warrenty. you name it, it went wrong on it. Long term reliability? Not in any American car I owned. Most I have ever ran an American car was just over 100,000 miles and usually its the transmission that goes on it.

 

Haha, you've been one of the lucky ones, here's my history starting with my first one

1984 190D - taken back under the lemon, primarily because of design defect where throttle linkage kept falling off

1984 190D - replacement car needed transmission, radio and horn in its first week. Lasted a long time but not without mucho TLC

1984 300D - got this used, ran well, needed a few things during the year I had itbut overall it was average for an MB

1986 260E - parents said my problem was I bought "cheap MB", there's caught on fire while on freeway in San Diego.

2002 C230 - disaster city, was in the dealer 17 times the first year. Problem after problem, couldn't wait to get rid of it. By third year it was relatively stable.

2004.5 C230 - the only MB I've ever owned that's been as reliable as my American cars.

1998 SLK230 - bought used, one problem after another, MAF, turn signal module ($800 part), head gastket, oil leaks, typical MB that's been kept past it's expiration date (4 yrs/50K miles).

Don't even get me started on American cars, wouldn't know what to say, they just run and run and run. Our highest mileage car is a 1998 Mustang convertible, flawless car, just maintenance. We just picked up our 8th vehicle in our stable, a 1994 Ford Tempo, runs great, will be my kid's college car. My first ever French made car, my 2008 Smart has been pretty good but what can I say after only 2 months. If I keep it away from my MB dealer's service techs I'll be OK.

This doesn't mean MB's are not great cars as I would certainly miss the free pastries and car washes at my dealer if I replaced them but as you can tell, poor reliability hasn't stopped me yet but I love the challange.

 

It all goes back to what I always say."IF YOU GET A BAD ONE, YOU GET A BAD ONE" It can happen with ANY CAR. A friend of mine just bought his son a 2 year old Honda Civic coupe. ALL black insid and out, a real nice looking car for a Honda. it had about 30,000 miles on it.(Nothing for any car) After about 4 weeks of ownership and over $2,000 in repairs it seems to be ok now last I heard. I had an American car run me a while also. My old work truck that ran up to 130,000 miles before the first issues. unfortuatly the repair would of been so much that it was as much a the car was worth. got rid of it in a heartbeat.