07 Mercedes Benz C-Class Build Quality & Reliability?

[jamesbond]

I actually have a 2001 C-240. I bought it as a Certified Pre-owned two years ago and i havent had one problem with it. I think buying used is the best idea with these low model cars as you can get them at a good value. It is underpowered but still a good everday driver that gets great gas mileage. If i want horsepower i will buy a pure sports car, i never liked the idea of a luxury sports car like the M3 or CLK500. I was actually contemplating trading it for the new BMW 3-coupe but i just cant get over how incredibly ugly the new beams are and I just cant get myself to spend over 40k on an everyday driver that im going to put lots of miles on. Good luck with your decision but i think there a good car if you buy them used.

 

[jet]

There's a reason why mb service writers call them c-heap classes.

 

[dirk diggler]

Originally Posted by briancl

Dirk always trying to peddle his wares... hehe

Putting the Saturn in this mix is like someone asking about shoes in the Men's Clothing forum and someone suggests Kenneth Cole. Some are a fine value for the masses and some are hideous, but you can always do better.

I think Saturn is the best brand GM has right now, but all of their good cars are still relatively new. Their success will be largely determined on how well these new cars do over the long term as Saturn tries to woo customers from many other segments and brands.

well, if you wanna go high-end, get a caddy. the CTS was tuned in Germany at Nurenberg (hope I spelled this right). Wifey has a 2006 Caddy STS and a 2004 Yukon. The V-8 on the caddy is dead on, although I am an suv guy and like the Escalade the best.

 

[ghulkhan]

the c class interior feels really cheap..so does the lexus IS, i think the only interiors esp the center console and dash areas that feel as if they are not "cheap" are from bmw..they just feel more solid and not "plastic-y" if that makes any sense to anyone

 

[briancl]

Originally Posted by ghulkhan

the c class interior feels really cheap..so does the lexus IS, i think the only interiors esp the center console and dash areas that feel as if they are not "cheap" are from bmw..they just feel more solid and not "plastic-y" if that makes any sense to anyone

I've been a bit disappointed with the interiors of the current line up of BMW's. They used to be so great, but now I think the Audi interiors are nicer and better laid out.

 

[ghulkhan]

Originally Posted by briancl

I've been a bit disappointed with the interiors of the current line up of BMW's. They used to be so great, but now I think the Audi interiors are nicer and better laid out.
yea i forgot to mention taht i was talking about all the old models of bmw like e46 ...like i have an e46 m3 with aluminum trim and it doesnt seem cheap at all...it seems solid unlike a LOT of other cars

 

[linux_pro]

Originally Posted by SieurDeLaSalle

Thank You Jon...
You are dead on regarding BMW.
For those same reasons I have a 335i Waiting for the next ship in Bremerhaven

I am now actually looking for a car as a "Daily Driver", I wanted to escape the "Boring" super reliability of: Honda, Toyota,etc.
"Lexus" can kiss my butt!

They act like they are doing you a favor if they "Let" you buy one...

A Camry XLE w/6 cyl approaches the $ of ES350, G35, & C-class.
G35--Looks too "Ethnic" and can't find one as I like ie. Black W/Wheat leather,African Rosewood. Just gorgeous but not one to be found.

ES350--Lexus has a "bad" attitude!

That leaves c-class...

I wanted to purchase two BMW's but wifey said,"We need at least one "Reliable" auto...

Back to the drawing board...

Keep the Suggestions coming...



Are you kidding? Lexus is doing you a favor by letting you buy one. And you should buy one, too. If you do, you are supporting a company that contributes more to the American economy than almost any other car company in the world. Not to mention that Lexus makes the best cars on the market.

My first was a 1996 Lexus ES-300, which I sold for $2500 more than I paid for it, after putting 15k miles on it in about 1.5 - 2 years. Never had a single mechanical issue, period. Never had a single problem of any kind. It just drove, and did so in a perfectly well-behaved manner (like every Lexus does). Also, it's worth mentioning that the car had 80k miles when I bought it, so I'm not talking about a "new" car here.

The second was a 2001 Lexus IS-300. I bought this car over a BMW 3-series because of research I did about reliability and cost of repairs. Yes, it can be expensive to fix a Lexus, but it's twice as much for a BMW. Also, I felt that the IS-300, being a Lexus, would do everything it was advertised to do, with a minimum of fuss and maximum of enjoyment. I was correct in this assumption. During the years I owned the IS-300, it never had a single mechanical problem, and the only time I was ever required to visit "the shop" was for routine maintenance.

Lexus is hands-down superior to any other luxury car, if what you are looking for is reliability and resale value. Period. No other company even comes close in build quality or reliability. No other company even makes that claim.

The reason Mercedes created the C-class was to compete with Lexus. Lexus completely hijacked the luxury market with the LS-400 and almost put Mercedes out of business in the early 90's. So, Mercedes invented a cheaper product (the C-class), hoping to generate greater sales volume by appealing to a consumer market that couldn't afford the Lexus products. It could be argued that the move saved the company (last time I checked, the C-class accounted for like 70% of their sales), but many critics feel it may have had an irreparably negative effect on the Mercedes reputation. As noted here, Mercedes has become known recently for their crappy build quality and inflated price. It's the same thing that happened to Cadillac in the 70's, a company that still has not fully recovered from its change in reputation from one of quality to one of garbage.

If I'm spending a penny more than $20k on a luxury car, there are precious few that will ever be given much consideration over a Lexus. The Lexus is an investment, unlike most other luxury cars (which are guaranteed to depreciate faster than Enron stock). There are a few exceptions to that (the BMW 3-series), but not many.

Granted, a Lexus is not the prettiest luxury car out there, most are pretty ugly and pretty basic when you compare them to other luxury cars in the same category. But what they claim to do, they will do better than anyone else out there, and you will never have to take that Lexus into a repair shop. And if you end up not liking it, just put it on craiglist for the same price you paid, and it will sell in a few days at most.

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by linux_pro

Are you kidding? Lexus is doing you a favor by letting you buy one. And you should buy one, too. If you do, you are supporting a company that contributes more to the American economy than almost any other car company in the world. Not to mention that Lexus makes the best cars on the market.

My first was a 1996 Lexus ES-300, which I sold for $2500 more than I paid for it, after putting 15k miles on it in about 1.5 - 2 years. Never had a single mechanical issue, period. Never had a single problem of any kind. It just drove, and did so in a perfectly well-behaved manner (like every Lexus does). Also, it's worth mentioning that the car had 80k miles when I bought it, so I'm not talking about a "new" car here.

The second was a 2001 Lexus IS-300. I bought this car over a BMW 3-series because of research I did about reliability and cost of repairs. Yes, it can be expensive to fix a Lexus, but it's twice as much for a BMW. Also, I felt that the IS-300, being a Lexus, would do everything it was advertised to do, with a minimum of fuss and maximum of enjoyment. I was correct in this assumption. During the years I owned the IS-300, it never had a single mechanical problem, and the only time I was ever required to visit "the shop" was for routine maintenance.

Lexus is hands-down superior to any other luxury car, if what you are looking for is reliability and resale value. Period. No other company even comes close in build quality or reliability. No other company even makes that claim.

The reason Mercedes created the C-class was to compete with Lexus. Lexus completely hijacked the luxury market with the LS-400 and almost put Mercedes out of business in the early 90's. So, Mercedes invented a cheaper product (the C-class), hoping to generate greater sales volume by appealing to a consumer market that couldn't afford the Lexus products. It could be argued that the move saved the company (last time I checked, the C-class accounted for like 70% of their sales), but many critics feel it may have had an irreparably negative effect on the Mercedes reputation. As noted here, Mercedes has become known recently for their crappy build quality and inflated price. It's the same thing that happened to Cadillac in the 70's, a company that still has not fully recovered from its change in reputation from one of quality to one of garbage.

If I'm spending a penny more than $20k on a luxury car, there are precious few that will ever be given much consideration over a Lexus. The Lexus is an investment, unlike most other luxury cars (which are guaranteed to depreciate faster than Enron stock). There are a few exceptions to that (the BMW 3-series), but not many.

Granted, a Lexus is not the prettiest luxury car out there, most are pretty ugly and pretty basic when you compare them to other luxury cars in the same category. But what they claim to do, they will do better than anyone else out there, and you will never have to take that Lexus into a repair shop. And if you end up not liking it, just put it on craiglist for the same price you paid, and it will sell in a few days at most.

Heey, welcome back!

 

[Pink22m]

If I'm spending a penny more than $20k on a luxury car, there are precious few that will ever be given much consideration over a Lexus. The Lexus is an investment, unlike most other luxury cars (which are guaranteed to depreciate faster than Enron stock). There are a few exceptions to that (the BMW 3-series), but not many.

Cars aren't investments. Period.

 

[linux_pro]

Are you kidding? Cars are expensive! They are the second largest purchase that most consumers will make outside of buying a home. If I'm putting $30k into a vehicle, I am choosing to invest my capital in this vehicle and should be aware of the associated risks, potential returns and peripheral expenses. Why should I throw capital away? If I invest $30k in a series of escalating CDs with rates of 3% - 5%, than that $30k will be worth closer to $40-50k after 5 years, and that return is guaranteed. And that is an extremely conservative investment. There are other options with much greater return potential. It's like putting $20,000 into a fireplace, lighting it on fire, and walking out of the room saying, "I haven't lost a dime today."

The reason I said that Lexus autos are investments is that every one I've owned, I've sold for more than I paid. That is definitely an investment, and one that earned real returns.

So, I disagree. I think cars ARE investments, it's just that we live in a society where we are taught to view products as credit consumers, and as such, are rarely aware of the actual costs of things. For instance, most people can tell you what their car payment is. Some could tell you how much they pay every month when you include all the peripheral expenses (gas, maint., insurance, parking, etc). But how many could tell you the potential return if they were to reduce their auto expenses by 50% and invest that money elsewhere during the lifespan of the loan?

Every time you spend money it is an investment. The important question is, what return is that investment going to earn?

 

[redtree00]

The reason Mercedes created the C-class was to compete with Lexus. Lexus completely hijacked the luxury market with the LS-400 and almost put Mercedes out of business in the early 90's. So, Mercedes invented a cheaper product (the C-class), hoping to generate greater sales volume by appealing to a consumer market that couldn't afford the Lexus products. It could be argued that the move saved the company

The C class evolved from the 190.
The 190 series was released in the early 80's, predating Lexus by several years.

As for the C class being for people that couldn't afford Lexus. The cheapest Lexus the ES250 was much less expensive than any MB.

 

[LSeca]

Originally Posted by briancl

I've been a bit disappointed with the interiors of the current line up of BMW's. They used to be so great, but now I think the Audi interiors are nicer and better laid out.

I think the new BMW interiors are the best designs they have ever had (currently on my 7th Beamer since the mid 90s). The lay-out and materials are excellent and clean....kinda like very nice Scandanavian (sp?) furniture.

I just bought a new 335i sedan as a daily driver and leave the M3 for fun and a little track use.

As to Lexus, I wouldn't even consider one. The sporty IS series looks ok, but it def leaves something to be desired. I am a little over 6" tall and the interior seems like it is 9/10 of a car...everything too small. The controls, steering, shifting and everything else does not seem to be as precise as a BMW to me.

I think all cars are waaay over priced for what you get, so you better just get what you want from the begining.

Let us know what you have decided.

 

[studio253]

I had a 99 C class and it was a total *************. All sorts of electrical issues. I sold it a while back. I've still got an '86 560 SEL with 160K miles and have had no problems what so ever. All power options work great and the thing still rides like a lazyboy

I don't recommend any MBs that are off of warranty unless you are an enthusiast and do most service work yourself or you have very deep pockets.

 

[LabelKing]

As Billie Jo Spears sang," They don't made cars like they used to".

 

[jamesbond]

Originally Posted by linux_pro

Are you kidding? Cars are expensive! They are the second largest purchase that most consumers will make outside of buying a home. If I'm putting $30k into a vehicle, I am choosing to invest my capital in this vehicle and should be aware of the associated risks, potential returns and peripheral expenses. Why should I throw capital away? If I invest $30k in a series of escalating CDs with rates of 3% - 5%, than that $30k will be worth closer to $40-50k after 5 years, and that return is guaranteed. And that is an extremely conservative investment. There are other options with much greater return potential. It's like putting $20,000 into a fireplace, lighting it on fire, and walking out of the room saying, "I haven't lost a dime today."

The reason I said that Lexus autos are investments is that every one I've owned, I've sold for more than I paid. That is definitely an investment, and one that earned real returns.

So, I disagree. I think cars ARE investments, it's just that we live in a society where we are taught to view products as credit consumers, and as such, are rarely aware of the actual costs of things. For instance, most people can tell you what their car payment is. Some could tell you how much they pay every month when you include all the peripheral expenses (gas, maint., insurance, parking, etc). But how many could tell you the potential return if they were to reduce their auto expenses by 50% and invest that money elsewhere during the lifespan of the loan?

Every time you spend money it is an investment. The important question is, what return is that investment going to earn?

You may be one of the very few who have made money on every car you bought. I seriously doubt if you buy a new lexus off the lot and go to re-sell it 30k miles later that it will be worth more then you paid, maybe you are the exception. Anything you buy that you have to spend money on everymonth is NOT a investment, that includes the house you live in. If it doesnt produce income/cashflow right when you buy it or shortly after then it is a liability. Most Ferrari owners dont make profits when they resell and Ferraris depreciate less then any other car i know. However i do agree with you that lexus makes a great car. Back when i used to valet park cars (and believe me i drove them all) Lexus was my favorite car to drive, it was such a smooth ride and the IS300's are fast as hell if there in manual. When it came time for me to plunk down cash on a luxury car i just couldnt bring myself to terms with spending the same amount of money for a Lexus (what i think is little more then a glorified Toyota) as an MB.