I have owned several W124 300E / E320 and one W210 E320 and am not impressed at all with the newer E class cars. I hear that the W211 is an electrical nightmare. This may well be my last Mercedes.
Anyway, what is the C class like. Can you please advise since my mother is looking for a new car and asked me to find her a Benz. Frankly, I am a little reluctant to recommend any....how is the C class? Thanks

 

c-class is not immune to problems. many members have problems, some do not. hopefully you are part of the latter. of course if you do not want any problems (especially if this is for your mother), maybe another brand will be better: lexus, sort of bmw, honda. but mb does turn heads.

 

The C is one of the more reliable MBs. If reliablity is your #1 concern though, look elsewhere.

 

if i would buy any new car right now ... it would def. be a Audi!!!

theyre the most reliable german cars atm and rarely have electronic problems. especially the A4 with that appearance package (or whatever it is) makes the car look awesome.

if it has to be mercedes ... i couldnt give you much advice, since i only had 1 mercedes (a c-class) up to now and dont know to much about the others. and like someone previously said ... some work just fine some get problems after time.

 

So far, my C-class sedan has been running like a honda (meaning trouble-free and no drama) for nearly 15k miles

i had 2 problems: they didn't assemble the rocker panel on the passenger side perfectly and the armrest finish peeled away at 10k miles. The dealer fixed both problems under warranty.

 

I've had mine for nearly 20k miles and haven't had any major problems. Had an alignment issue but that got fixed. Right now the power steering is making a buzzing noise, but the car goes in for service in a couple of weeks.
The C-Class just doesn't have as many electronics as the other models so i believe there just isn't as many issues.
The car is also built very strong and safe, which should be something to consider if this is a car for your mother.

 

LMAOROTF... have you had any audi's? I love them but I would NEVER recommend them as being "reliable." haha..... good one.

 

i personally never owned one.

but when you check statistics (especially the one from ADAC) audi is in #1 for the last 2 years concerning safety and reliability.

and i think we dont have to argue about that mercedes has dropped their quality over the last years

 

I've clocked 62,000 on my C and haven't had any issues. My 02 ML500 was also mostly problem free (only one) and I haven't had any issues with my 06 ML.

 

Well, all I can say is look elsewear if you want problem free running, the name MB now stands for, all possible anoying problems you can think of, and even ones you can't. But, a car is like a women, it's the funny little imperfections that keep a guy interested!

I love my MB and would not even consider any other brand.

 

Sigh....... never rely on statistics. Rely on personal experience. I can list a dozen people I know that love(d) their audi but hated the electrical problems. FYI... i bought my mb expecting bull**** issues but so far nothing.... 26K miles in 3 years.

If you want reliability... get a toyota (just not a sienna or the other sludge ridden motors) My very first toyota truck was an 87 and I put over 600K miles on it. My 2nd toyota was a 91 truck that I have put over 400K miles on. I still have this truck...... it sits on rims in my driveway, rarely driven now because I have a new truck. My new truck is a tacoma and I expect nothing less than 400K miles out of it. My parents left MB about 15 years ago and have stayed with toyota ever since. Number of problems for them: NONE. Get your mom and nice toyota ......

Just remember... it's like Chigga said...... most of us love our cars and wouldn't have it any other way... problems or not! :p :p

 

If you want a car with no problems, then Lexus is your answer. I don't own a Lexus because they are totally devoid of any personality or driving pleasure. They are a luxurious and trouble free transportation appliance. Driving enthusiasts need not apply. (OK, tirade finished).

Audis are a lot of fun and very nice. Most people find them to be higher maintenance than MB or BMW. Turbo engines are very sweet, but expensive to maintain.

BMW's are really nice. Reliability has been good lately. The new E90 3-series is very impressive in many ways. But, do you want this car after only a few months on the market? You might wish to wait a bit to make sure the bugs are worked out. All E90's have run-flat tires, which have both good and bad points.

MB seems to worked most of the problems out of the C Class. The W203 has been in production several years now. They are simpler than the E or S Class cars, so there is less to fail. You can gain greater reliability by not ordering unneeded options (navigation system, sunroof, automatic trans, etc.) My 2005 C230k has been a good car so far. My wife and I both really like it.

 

You should get her an ES330 or a GS300.

Lexus is the most reliable car. I've owned an IS300 driven it to 100k plus miles and no problems.

Right now i'm in the market for an 2006 Lexus IS250.

 

My mother had one AUDI A6 2.5TDI for 7 years and had no problems and now traded for a 04.5 sport wagon but my father all his life had MB traded last year for the new A6 3.0TDI for the same reason Brian McL is saying, too much problems!!!
BUT, my fathers Audi has a problem since its first days that Audi can't figure out what it is!!!!
When we start the car at cold starts the engine or somthing makes a vibrant metalic noise and the engine don't stays at same rpms when stopped!!!
And MMI (because its the first version) have some bugs, beside these problems the car run great and strong (very strong indeed!, my father don't have any concerns passing huge pottholes!!! He blowned 4 Pirellis P-zero till now!!! He was acostumated to his w208 with soft suspension and 16'' wheels, now very sport suspension and 18'' wheels, LOL )