As I test drive a growing number of sport sedans, I keep going back to the C240. I really want one!

Although the last edition of Consumer Reports rates the C's repair record as "average", they keep updating the stats as they come in. (I subscribe to CR's electronic edition). I was very disappointed when I reviewed (again) their ratings, and found that they have changed the "average" rating (the little open circle) to "much worse than average" (the dreaded filled-in black circle). This indicates what they will print in their next auto edition. They have also removed their "recommended" check mark.

I'm still willing to take a chance, but my fear is that this rating will put the 'C' on Consumer Report's "used cars to avoid" list, and kill my resale value.

Only one category caused this rating -- "electrical" (no surprise).

My dealer indicates that suppliers who contributed to the early problems have been "fired" and replaced with new sources. What do you folks think? Does this sound truthful?

Please encourage me!

 

You may want to factor in how long you intend to own your car. The four year warranty does bring peace of mind if any problems show early. But, if you intend to run the car into ground or hang onto it for six or more years, you may want to re-think your buying decision.

Of course, if this is for a three year lease, go for it.

Let us know what you decide. Good luck.

 

You said you keep going back to the C240. Personally, I like what I like and don't care about "ratings". I'd rather drive a car I like and take the chances of something going wrong instead of driving a car that is "just ok" and not worry about failures.

 

nicely put. Same here!

 

I don't think resale value will be hurt much. A lot of people don't read those ratings, so that won't affect their decision. And dealers won't take that into account if you trade. They know the cars better than Consumer reports.

 

I usually keep cars for at least 10 years and as long as they will go. My daily driver is a 1989 Peugeot which has about 280,000 km on it. It'll push past 400,000 (250,000 miles), based on its present condition. So reasale value does not come into it for me. In 1988/89, CR crucified the 405 as being the devil's work or something like it. The car had its teething troubles, all rectified under warranty and it's been bulletproof ever since.

About the CR rating, there must be a rash of catastrophic electrical system meltdowns in the C Class for the one category "electrical" to move the overall rating down to "POS" from "average". I wonder at the severity of the judgment that you say they've applied to the C. I know that some of these cars have glitches, some worse, others minor. Ours has had two, but they are temporary nuisances (passenger window switch fell into door; BAS/ESP error). I think this is typical of those who have had problems with these cars, though there are some more serious problems that have been reported. I am not in the least concerned about this sort of issue, as I think the teething problems will be sorted out under the quite generous M-B warranty. Just like my 405

Regarding the matter or reliability statistics in general, I prefer the ADAC Pannenstatistik which measures actual breakdowns. Nuisances are one thing, breakdowns are the meat in the sandwich for me. The 2002 figures will be released in early 2003, but in the 2001 survey, the C Class was rated very highly. The W 203 had been released for two full model years in Europe at that time. We shall see if this continues...

 

We've had our '02 C240 for about 5 months and we have about 9K miles on it. We haven't had a single thing go wrong that made the car undriveable. We had the ESP/ABS warning that required a trip to the dealer to fix when we got around to it. We had warped front rotors early on that were replaced under warranty (did I cause them by spraying cold wash water on them while too hot? I'll never know). We once had a "visit workshop" warning. Dealer said it was probably a misfire. A couple of times the rear passenger side window's one-touch up didn't work (according to my wife). She also "complains" that she's heard the sunroof squeak a few times. So, most of these "nuisances" have been electrical. I can see someone in my shoes filling out a Consumer Reports survey and marking a poor grade for "electrical", but I think most vehicles will have a few "bugs".

 

Not to put you off as I love my car but I have had mine now 2 months, 6000 miles. After 6 weeks it has had a new complete auto transmission. MB checked a fault and replaced it, no nonsense.

 

Depends on if you need the car to be reliable. For me, I have a truck that I need to be reliable, but the coupe is just for fun. There are lots of cars in this class that are way better than "just ok", so that's not the real issue. The real issue is whether or not it "pushes your button" so to speak. Since I have had lots of British and Italian cars and bikes, I understand the emotional connection. I had a 12 cyl E-Type that I could just stand and look at. It was art to me. The fact that it ran (sometimes) and had that amazing V-12 sound was icing on the cake. My coupe has been in a bunch of times, and it is a long drive to the dealer. If your dealer is close by that helps. Just decide if you really need the reliability, and weigh it against the other factors.

 

All these are valid comments, but I must say I don't question either CU's data or their conclusions. Everyone in the business knows the ridiculous list of electrical problems associated with this car [and every other new MB introduced in the past 5 years]. Many of these issues have been addressed, some have been band-aided, and some are still outstanding.

I wish I could say for sure that D-Benz has "fired all of the guilty vendors". The Germans in general have a much less effective system for dealing with vendor problems than the Japanese, who react more quickly and get involved to help solve supplier problems before they get out of hand.

I also generally agree that resale is influenced by lots of factors, and if you keep the car long enough, no one will care. But I don't question CU, its data, or its methods. They are the only source out there right now with data that can be remotely called objective and statistically significant. The manufacturers themselves have the REAL scoop, but none of them are going to tell us about it.

In Germany, Daimler's ongoing struggles to get their reliability reputation back up to historic standards is old news, and considered common knowledge. They acknowledge they have work to do, though as usual, are doing it at a pace that would make Toyota or Honda blush with embarrassment. The German auto press have been crucifying them about this for many months.

Note, with all of this knowledge, we bought a Jan '02 production C240 because nothing out there combines the exact qualities I am looking for in a compact touring car quite like this one. But I did so with my eyes wide open. This is our 14th Mercedes, and the first one where I am literally holding my breath waiting for things to happen. Actually, they already have, but nothing serious enough to take back to the dealer. None of this has affected my enjoyment of the car, but there is no question that when it comes to electrical problems, the real world results are enough to drag it off of CU's recommended list. Theirs is a purely statistical approach, and I admire them for it.

 

I am overwhelmed by your quick and insightful responses!

I thank you all for the courtsey and information you have supplied to this first time poster. We're close to making a decision (balancing inventory vs. distance from dealer here in the Dallas area), and hope we'll be able to contribute to this forum in return.