hello. im new to the mercedes world and i just got a couple questions about a '95 c280 im about to do a trade with.
im just wondering what are some of the main problems to look for and is the maintenance pretty easy to do it yourself? like oil changes?
the car has pretty high mileage about 215,xxx..but the exterior is as mint as can be!
the owner said everything's been maintained and it should last for many more miles.
are these c280 engines reliable? any mechanical issues i should look for?

any help would be greatly appreciated and i hope to join you guys in the luxury benz world..

 

215,xxx? and trade in??? I'm not too sure if you are doing a good chioce here. I would think twice before I get into the deal. I have a C240 that I got from the San Diego dealer. 0000 miles, after 3 years I started having problems, and just last year alown I paid over &800 for alarm sieret and fromt brake job. MD is expensive to maintain, specially if somthing goes wron with electronics. If you like MB, go for new one and this is just my one cent to offer.
thanks
ken

 

I have a 2000 C280 with only 59,000 miles(same as a 95 just a few things differnt) and I have to say that the W202 1994-2000 C Classes are not a good buy at all. I have very little miles on mine and I have had many many issues. Nothing big just little annoying things that make you just want to get rid of the car. Now you are looking at one with 215,000 Miles.WOW thats a lot. I have never owned a Mercedes with more then 170,000 on it. But my C280 is like you said "mint" and clean as can be but I still had stupd problems with it. And the worst part was after I bought it I had a friend buy a C240 TWO YEARS NEVER WITH THE SAME MILES FOR THE SAME PRICE AND IT HAS BEEN PROBLEM FREE. So my recomendation to you would be to stay away from that buy and look for something newer like an 1996-2002 E320. It is true Mercedes do last a very very long time(I Have cousin that ran one over 400,000 miles) but I had trouble with my C280 at 54,000 MILES. I dont even want to know what problems you could run into at 215,000 Miles

 

I've got a '94 c280 with 120k. For your '95 I would check the following:
1) condition of wiring under hood. Has the wiring harness already been changed? If not better plan on it.
2) Oil leak? The in-line six is known to need new head gaskets.
3) belt tensioner,vacuum leaks under dash, burned bulb mounts?

Plan on working on the car yourself-otherwise you'll go broke at the mechanic. Also plan on having some sort of back-up transportation while the car is non-functioning.

They are fabulous cars to drive, heavy and fast. And I'm hoping to get 250k out of mine.