I am getting ready to replace my 1996 Honda Accord with 324,000 miles on it. It has been a great car, but now I can afford something a little nicer. Do any of you know much about the Mercedes C250? It drives really well, but I have heard there are reliability issues with Mercedes and that maintenance and repairs are expensive. Thanks for any input.

I think that repairs and even routine maintenance costs are quite high for BMW and Mercedes cars. The top Japanese autos on the other hand seem to be much better. My Lexus ES330 has been exceptionally good in that regard.
Peter.

quote:

Originally posted by Dale:
I am getting ready to replace my 1996 Honda Accord with 324,000 miles on it. It has been a great car, but now I can afford something a little nicer. Do any of you know much about the Mercedes C250? It drives really well, but I have heard there are reliability issues with Mercedes and that maintenance and repairs are expensive. Thanks for any input.

We have two MB's in the family. Both 2004. An E-500 sedan and an E-320 wagon. Love the ride, the 4Matic is beyond amazing on our snow and ice covered roads.

Down side is the maintenance and repair costs. Haven't needed many repairs but the scheduled maintenance is quite expensive.

Never had a C-series but I believe they are somewhat less expensive and less "appointed" than the E series just as the S series is another step above the E.

Another positive is that you will likely walk away from an accident in a MB.

And if you don't do the scheduled maintanance on BMW and M-B ,bad things can happen .These are precision cars !

I've owned German cars for many years. This includes 3 Benzes, 2 Porsches and 3 VW's. The best sedan I've ever owned was a diesel "S" car about twenty years ago. I drove it to AZ a couple of times and found it the best long-trip car I ever owned.

The downside is the cost of maintenance and you are dealing with Krauts. (Don't sue please, I'm mostly Kraut.) You VILL do the scheduled maintenance or lose your warranty. Our current real car is a VW station wagon with a turbo diesel. Build quality is excellent, it handles great and it really is fun to drive. When I behave I get more than 40 mpg's.

Our fun car, driven only in nice weather, is an elderly 944 Porsche that I've had for about twelve years. Five years ago I also had a 911 but, liking the 944 much better, got rid of it. Go ahead and freak out, 911 guys. This car is much more comfortable, has room for luggage and all my equipment for rifle matches and is a lot less noisy. The maintenance costs are much lower. My heater and A/C work really well, not the case with the 911.

My 944 is in quite pristine shape and, evey year, we enter it in a sportscar show held up at Torch Lake (Northern Michigan). It's put on by a Britsh sportscar club. Every year I smile, knowing I'm gonna get home when it's over and, if it's hot, the A/C works. Not always the case with Brit cars. (Google "Sir John Lucas, Prince of Darkness.)

German cars are an excellent driving experience. You just have to grit your teeth and pay for their scheduled maintenance.

The maintenance is always what scares me away from germany cars or 5k in one-off tools to work on them. The cost of a diesel injector pump for a VW is also cold sweat worthy.

quote:

"Sir John Lucas, Prince of Darkness.)

Ouch! That hurt!!!
Peter.

Hey Dale.
My Wife's C250 just hit 50,000 miles and so far, so good. My advice is to stop folks who drive one and find out who the best MB dealer is. Some are top shelf, some barely worth a hoot. Most will give you a low-miles free loaner of work is expected to take more than 2 hours.
When it comes to battery replacement, they will send someone to your door or wherever you are and install a new one for like $200-$250.
Free roadside assistance goes along with ANY MB, no matter how old.

Drove the C series, and the E series - bought a Lexus 350. Zero problems, free first service.

How's the sound system in the Lexus? I never sat in one.
I was going to buy a 128i ragtop when they first came out in 2008 but the BMW sound was way sub-par to MB.

Custombolt - I'm half deaf so the sound system isn't my purview.

It's good, but not as good as the one in my old Buick Lucerne.

My E class, bought new 5 years ago, is the best car I ever had.

Wise choice Andre.
What engine is in your E?
350 petrol?

You can have maintenance done at an independent shop. The dealer is usually twice what an indy shop charges. Required maintenance is a must for warranty. Its only once a year, so not so bad.
Warranty repairs are done at the dealer at no charge.
Nice lookin E Class Andre.

My E class is a 220 CDI (= turbo diesel), it runs on fuel. Full service (quite extended !) is linked to dealer maintenance. So far, it got one annual maintenance (annually, I drive 18.000 km/11.200 Mi). Maintenance cost is reasonable and substantially lower than what I was charged for my former Volvo S80.

Andre,
I would have wagered yours is a diesel car. I hear they are quite common across the pond. Here in the states the only CDI models that I've seen on dealer lots are the occasional ML or station wagon.
Dale,
A C300 or C350 is also a good choice. Those engines are more quiet and have more power from a dead stop than the 4T in the C250.
Using the S (sport) mode in the C250 will get rid of most of that 'lag'. But, the car starts up in standard C mode.

I had the enviable job of testing diplomatic cars for an American embassy in order to source a pair of new diplomatic cars to drive around senior military officials: secdef, 7th fleet, and so on.

Anyway, I drove every Euro import mid to large sized luxury sedan available in Australia in 2013.

I believe with none of my own bias I ranked them as such:

1. Audi
2. BMW
3. Benz
4. Porche
5. Volvo

The Audi was the cheapest, best appointed, had the nicest fit and finish and cheapest service.

The BMW dealership and Audi dealership were co-owned and had exceptional customer service, but the Audi was slightly nicer


The Benz was wonderful, but kind of a "German taxi-cab" in comparison to the same money and same size car as Audi or Benz. The drive was probably superior, and the customer service of the MB place sucked. In the end I went with the Audi and Beamer, because they were flashier and larger for the same money.

Porche, the dealer was a mad wanker, the car was super expensive, but it was like driving around in a 20 year old German supermodel, who only wanted to screw and would let you screw her friends.

Volvo sucked, everything about the car was 10th rate except price. The customer service was mad-shitty, and we had been getting boned by Volvo the entire time I was in Australia on our previous Volvos. So a new Volvo meant more of a BS contract.

In America, I'd pick Benz. Audi and BMW are well known to suck the pocket book right out of an owner in maintenance cost, Volvo has the same problems with over priced everything, and the Porche is very cool, very fast, and very expensive but for what?

I heard rumors about some real time consuming issues with BMW's and more so with Audi's and I've also talked to a few folks who had no issues up past the warranty period. Sounds like the luck of the draw. Volvo? In a word, boring.

quote:

Originally posted by Andre Mertens:
My E class, bought new 5 years ago, is the best car I ever had.

André,

You have impeccable taste. Mine is only 5 months old however.



It also has a 9 speed automatic transmission and some sort of particle filter where the spare tire should be. Best car I've ever had.

If only they still put real wood in them like the ones in the early 90's. The Wife's.