Hello people,

I've been looking around for a 2005-up c-230 komp. sports sedan or coupe. I chose 2005+ as my target because of the upgrades made to the interior, and the beefier looking factory skirts on the sedan model.

Seeing as I am new to all things Mercedes it's all too easy to fall in love with these cars after just one test drive, but EVERY car has some issues so I thought I'd ask some REAL owners before I made a bad choice. Any advice on things I should be looking for or avoiding would be great. THANKS IN ADVANCE!

I am currently driving a 2003 Nissan Xterra which I love, but I can no longer justify the amount of money I have been spending on premium fuel. Prior to the Xterra I owned a 2003 Nissan Spec-V that I purchased brand new, it was an awesome car and I probably should have kept it but.....oh well.

Just in case you didn't know what a Spec-V was, here are a couple of pics of mine......





THANKS AGAIN FOR ANY ADVICE!

 

Mercedes requires premium fuel.

No way can Mercedes beat Nissan on a financial basis.

But, Mercedes is more joyful to own and drive than Nissan.

 

I would recommend you get a 2006/2007 due to those model years not having the supercharger. The supercharger will be very expensive to service once it starts acting up. As far as interior goes, the 2007 has the best looking interior. Furthermore, the 2007 C230 Sport has the best looking OEM wheels of any Mercedes-Benz IMO.

 

+1. It doesn't sound like a Mercedes is going to be the way to go based on the reasons you stated above. Maybe go with a nice TL or something.

 

I agree with Ryan, if your plan is to save a buck, stick with Nissan. I dont understand why people that go from cheap cars to Mercedes expect the cost of maintaining to be the same?

 

I'm going to assume that you've read the OP and that you've noticed my profile box that states that I am currently driving a SC Nissan Xterra SUV....NOT the 4 cyl. Spec-V in the pics.

I would have to think based on fuel costs alone that a 1.8 SC 4 cyl. found under the hood of a C-230 would be far more economical than the 3.3 SC 6 cyl. used to power my Xterra which is also a far heavier vehicle than any 230 ever built.

The purpose of me joining this forum was to get an idea of what issues (if any) are faced by REAL owners of the C-230, and to get some HELPFUL advice on finding the right Mercedes for me, not to get your opinion of what a "cheap car" is. Last time I checked the C-230 is the "cheap car" in the Mercedes-Benz line-up.

You mentioned in your previous post to go with a non-SCed 230, are problems with the SC unit in the 230 very common? and what would cause a supercharger to fail? Also, is there preventative maintenance that an owner can perform to avoid this from happening?

 

Welcome to the forum - it's always "helpful" :P

So do keep in mind that MB spec's premium fuel, so you won't see a difference there. I have a C 200 K Sport Coupe, and I've put about 8k miles on it, mostly in city traffic. This is pretty much the same 1.8L you are looking at I think.

In the city, I'm around 24 - 26 if it's moving at all. Stuck obviously drops that down to the 15-19 range. On the highway, I've rarely gotten below 36mpg keeping it at the speed limit (70 here). Pushing it over 70 I usually still see respectable mid to low 30's.

Over the last 1.3k miles since I reset, the car is saying average of 24.8 mpg - and almost all of that is London driving (so traffic, traffic, more traffic, and speed cameras).

Maintenance is no more expensive that any other car - MB requires Mobile 1 synthetic, so it's a bit more expensive, but last longer as well. I don't do enough miles, so "time" is usually the factor in my changes. If you go to the dealer for service, you pay the usual dealer markup. Here in the UK, you also get coffee, cakes, a loaner, and a nice car wash.

I've had zero problems with the car, other than a bit of weirdness with the climate control when I first picked it up. Dealer managed to get it sorted with no problems.

I'm not sure what the "superchargers cause problems" comments are all about - this was my second C class (both w203's), both with the 1.8L petrol / supercharger. I've never had a bit of problems with the engine, and I did about 25k miles all over Europe in the first one. I've always kept the service up to date, and mostly used the dealerships - helps on the resale value here in Europe to have a nice, full, dealer stamped Service Booklet. This was obviously a big factor in my decision to get another one when I moved to the UK. I actually considered bringing my LHD over, but that got way too complicated.

I've not purchased an "out of warranty" MB - first C was new, second was a CPO'd car, same with the SLK. I consider it cheap insurance, as the bits and bobs for these cars can get really expensive if they do go wrong. As mentioned before, I've yet to have needed this coverage.

The car is very comfortable, and I like the interior fit and trim. It's a great long distance car, even though we've not been driving nearly as much here in the UK. The Sport Coupe version (the 3 door hatch) works great for the wife and I, and we can comfortably fit 2 adults in the back - getting 'em in and out is more complicated, but it's manageable.

 

Ah - and while I hate double posts, the one big difference between the two I've owned was the Panoramic roof. Highly recommended, the wife loves it. It's not a convertible by any stretch - a fact she reminds me of every time we are in the SLK - but it's really a nice addition.

Wifey also wanted me to point out that we don't dog the car out, or really drive it that hard at all, and the "mods" I've done all have to do with adding iPods. Whilst the car is not anywhere in the class of the SLK, it runs up quite nicely with the Kompressor - I've never felt like it was underpowered for the driving I do.

That said, I do drive the SLK a heck of a lot harder, and so far, no problems at all.

 

I like doing as much maintenance myself as possible and I have always used Mobile-1 synthetic in all my cars when performing oil changes, and I generally try to use only the best products I can when maintaining my vehicles.

It's nice to hear that you have not experienced any major problems especially when it comes to the supercharger, and that you and your wife are very happy with your 230 coupe.

I find that many times on these types of forums one tends to hear more from people that are or have been experiencing problems with their car, hence the reason for them to search the forum for advice.

Would it be fair to say that the c-230 komp. is a fairly reliable vehicle assuming that the owner is diligent when it comes to regular and preventative maintenance?

 

I think the C230K is a good choice for you, sporty and a bit agressive but economical when handle appropriately. You'll get undoubted better mileage than your X-tera and since you're comfortable in doing your maintenance then a lot of the maintenance cost associated with European cars dissipates quite readily.

For example a $600 dealer service maintenance B (that's how much my local dealer charges) but done by yourself, easily way less than $100

The 2005+ C class from my personal experience and reading the boards seems to be a pretty reliable car, it ain't Japanese but it's pretty good. I'd search the forums, there are tons of threads on C230K's. I wouldn't get one with too high mileage and get a warranty...even little stuff gets quite expensive on these cars. My 07 has been pretty much perfect since day one.

 

its mostly electrical problems rather then mechanical. For example bad seat control modules and such. Thats the only real problem i've had.

 

Is there anyone or evidence tells the problems of our supercharger?
I do not see many people have problem of the supercharger.

 

I have an '05 c230 and it is has been a problematic car. I have had numerous electrical problems and a couple of minor mechanical problems. I have not had any supercharger problems. The only problem would be dealing with the supercharger lag time. I have about 70k miles on the car. I would think that used is sometimes better than new on these cars. Someone else will have taken care of all the problems that the car has had. It has taken about 2 1/2 years and I think I have finally worked out all the problems with the car. It has not been to the shop in about 4 months and this is a record for this car.

The mileage is pretty good. I get about 28 - 30 MPG in mostly highway driving.

I am torn on the warranty issue. Some people have had no problems with their cars and some like me had have several problems. I lean towards not getting a warranty since they are so expensive. I would look into CPO since that adds a year and 100k in max mileage to the warranty.

The surprising thing is is that I would probably buy this car again even with all the problems since it has such a good look to it. It is smooth and quiet on the road, also.

Good Luck.

 

the GT-R own you in every statement you made. probably the G35/37 too.

btw, my friend's 07 C230 has ZERO problems except the bolts broke and his mono-S went flying.

 

Well, if you plan to do most of the maintenance yourself, then it may not be such a bad idea. I've had my '02 since 06 and have had zero problems except having to change the battery. I'm almost at 100k miles now. I've had no problems with the ML either except for the CPS and having to get a new CD changer and we've had that for over 4 years now. I can relate to the xterra because my dad has a frontier and it's gas mileage is not too favorable. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

 

I agree. There's something special about a Mercedes. Then again, you have to be willing to pay for it.

Nissan and Infiniti do make some nice cars though. I had a new 2001 Sentra, and it was a great car. Well made, no problems, and it drove pretty well.

 

Thanks for all the feed back guys.

I'm well aware of all the other options that are out there for me in the used car market, but there's always been something about the c-230 that captured my attention and admiration. For the amount of money I'm willing to spend on a nice used 230 I could very easily purchase a Japanese car brand new, but I will admit that the idea of having the 3-pointed star on the hood guiding the way holds a certain level of prestige in my mind.....even if it is just a c-230.

Although I have taken a couple of 230s out on test drives in recent weeks and loved the feeling of being behind the wheel of one, I am one VERY picky S.O.B when it comes to my cars. That being said, I will continue my search to find a nice used coupe, or sports sedan that measures up to my standards and if successful I can then become an official member of this board.

If anyone has more helpful info. on 05+ coupe or ss for me please post up. THANKS AGAIN!

 

Just remember that if you go with the coupe, you won't have the star on the hood.

 

hehe, true about the 2006+ having the better interior.

i have over 80k miles on my car and supercharger still strong, plus its sounds lovely.

 

I have to agree with everyone that say it is a joy to drive and own. I am new to the MB scene also; I bought mine a couple of months ago. I drive it a lot - about 50-60 miles a day and it is great. I was initially worried about the maintenance costs but I have been working on cars for some time and most of the maintenance that is done at the dealers for bookoo bucks can be done at home. They are just like any other cars if you have some mechanic knowledge. Obviously they do require special tools for special parts but overall the cars are very mechanically sound. I have friends that own early w203s with high miles and no problem and one of my buddies has a w202 c230K with over 200k miles on it and the supercharger is fine. I say get one. I love my c240 but I will put the AMG body kit on it for sure.

 

I found this 2005 c230 6spd. coupe at a local vw/audi dealership.....



.....it's got 76,xxx kms. on the clock which is kinda high for 05 imo, but it drove VERY smoothly and quietly, and everything worked. It only had one previous owner, and it looked to me to have been serviced at Mercedes-Benz regularly. Asking price is $18,500 on sale. What do you guys think?

 

if it fits your budget and you like it I don't see why not. what is the price range of the other C that you have looked at? since you are in Canada we can't really comment on the price unless you have something else to compare it with.

 

Pleae read these threads prior to starting anymore new threads
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w203/228853-must-read-all-w203-owners-posters.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w203/108681-aftermarket-oem-modifications-diy-faq-s.html