C-Class (W203) 2001-2007, C160, C180, C200, C220, C230, C240, C270, C280, C300, C320, C230K, C350, Coupe

Car Reliability Survey results

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Old Sep 27, 2011 | 11:47 AM
  #26  
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We have updated results for the E-Class to include owner experiences through June 30, 2011.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2007: 62, about average

2006: 49, better than average

2005: 71, about average

2003: 130, about average, very small sample size

We'll have further updates in November and February. With more participants, we could provide more precise information and cover all model years.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Mercedes-Benz E-Class reliability ratings and comparisons
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Old Feb 12, 2012 | 01:15 PM
  #27  
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We have updated our reliability stats for the C-Class (on our redesigned site) to include owner experiences through September 30, 2011.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2007: 60, about average, small sample size

2006: 79, about average, small sample size

2005: 90, about average

2004: 102, about average, very small sample size

2003: 80, better than average, small sample size

2002: 79, better than average, small sample size

Quite consistent from year to year this time despite the often small sample sizes.

Thank you, once again, to everyone who has been helping. We'll have further updates later this month and in May. With more participants, we could provide more precise information and cover all model years.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Mercedes-Benz C-Class reliability ratings and comparisons
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Old Dec 28, 2012 | 11:52 AM
  #28  
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We have updated our reliability stats for the C-Class to include owner experiences through September 30, 2012.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2007: 49, about average, small sample size

2006: 92, worse than average, small sample size

2005: 53, about average

2004: 73, about average, very small sample size

2003: 78, about average, very small sample size

2002: 80, about average

Quite consistent from year to year this time despite the often small sample sizes.

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds," to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop.

With the 2008 the percentage with no repairs is about 73, while the percentage with 3+ repair trips is less than 1.

We'll have further updates in February and May. We'd love to provide more precise stats and cover more model years--just a matter of getting more owners involved!

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help:

Mercedes-Benz C-Class reliability ratings and comparisons
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Old Dec 28, 2012 | 07:13 PM
  #29  
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2001 C240
Thanks for the reliability updates on the C-Class. A rating of "about average" is not bad for a 10 year old W203. In the early years of ownership I had some electronic and one suspension bushing issue. Some paint peeling on the lower doors which I touched up with Rustoluem and touch up paint. But other than that my 2001 C240 is quite a solid car.
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Old Dec 29, 2012 | 12:06 PM
  #30  
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As the simplest car in the MB line, the C-Class is likely also the most reliable, as there are fewer things to go wrong. This is the case with many makes.
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Old Apr 19, 2013 | 12:50 PM
  #31  
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We have updated our reliability stats for the C-Class to include owner experiences through December 31, 2012.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2007: 37, low, small sample size

2006: 70, moderate, small sample size

2005: 62, moderate, small sample size

2004: 44, low, very small sample size

2003: 73, moderate, very small sample size

2002: 87, moderate

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds," to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop.

With the 2008 the percentage with no repairs is about 73, while the percentage with 3+ repair trips is less than 1.

Thank you, once again, everyone who has been helping. We'll have further updates in May and August. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help:

Mercedes-Benz C-Class reliability ratings and comparisons
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Old Jul 29, 2013 | 10:21 AM
  #32  
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We've updated our reliability stats for the C-Class to include owner experiences through March 31, 2013.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2007 C-Class: 36, low, small sample size
2006 C-Class: 34, low, small sample size
2005 C-Class: 61, moderate, small sample size
2004 C-Class: 61, low, very small sample size
2003 C-Class: 81, moderate, very small sample size
2002 C-Class: 80, moderate, small sample size

We'll have further updates in August and in November.

For the details, including the descriptions of reported repairs, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Mercedes-Benz C-Class reliability ratings and comparisons
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Old Oct 25, 2013 | 01:46 PM
  #33  
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We've updated our reliability stats for the C-Class to include owner experiences through June 30, 2013. (Another source is about 14 months behind.)

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2012 C-Class: 14, low
2010 C-Class: 51, moderate
2009 C-Class: 52, moderate
2008 C-Class: 39, low
2007 C-Class: 47, moderate, small sample size
2006 C-Class: 43, low, small sample size
2005 C-Class: 57, moderate, small sample size
2004 C-Class: 69, moderate, very small sample size
2003 C-Class: 59, low, small sample size
2002 C-Class: 89, moderate, small sample size

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds", to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop:

2012 C-Class: 92, < 1
2008 C-Class: 71, 7

We'll have further updates in November and February.

To view competitors' scores and descriptions of reported repairs, and to sign up to help:

Mercedes-Benz C-Class reliability ratings and comparisons
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Old Oct 25, 2013 | 03:56 PM
  #34  
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R129 SL500 & W140 S500
Damn. Nothing for 2001?
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Old Nov 18, 2013 | 11:34 AM
  #35  
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I wish we had a stat for the 2001, but not enough owners have been responding. Just a few short, so additional participants for the initial model year would be very helpful.

www.truedelta.com/join
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Old Nov 18, 2013 | 02:13 PM
  #36  
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W203 C200CDI
Added my 2001 C-class and made request to add C200 CDI. Maybe some others sign up so we can rate this
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Old Jan 7, 2014 | 09:32 AM
  #37  
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Thanks. I don't remember receiving this request. I've added it to the list of powertrains I need to add.

We've updated our reliability stats for the C-Class to include owner experiences through September 30, 2013.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2007 C-Class: 60, moderate, small sample size
2006 C-Class: 36, low, small sample size
2005 C-Class: 40, low, small sample size
2004 C-Class: 66, low, very small sample size
2003 C-Class: 50, low, small sample size
2002 C-Class: 89, moderate, small sample size

We'll have further updates in February and in May. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Mercedes-Benz C-Class reliability ratings and comparisons

Last edited by mkaresh; Jan 7, 2014 at 09:34 AM.
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Old Jan 7, 2014 | 10:56 AM
  #38  
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2002 C230 Kompressor
Originally Posted by mkaresh
Thanks. I don't remember receiving this request. I've added it to the list of powertrains I need to add.

We've updated our reliability stats for the C-Class to include owner experiences through September 30, 2013.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2007 C-Class: 60, moderate, small sample size
2006 C-Class: 36, low, small sample size
2005 C-Class: 40, low, small sample size
2004 C-Class: 66, low, very small sample size
2003 C-Class: 50, low, small sample size
2002 C-Class: 89, moderate, small sample size

We'll have further updates in February and in May. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Mercedes-Benz C-Class reliability ratings and comparisons

Damn 89 car repairs per 100 cars for 2002 c230k? omg that's pretty sad for reliability.
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Old Jan 7, 2014 | 01:45 PM
  #39  
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2007 c230
Originally Posted by netddos
Damn 89 car repairs per 100 cars for 2002 c230k? omg that's pretty sad for reliability.
Is that really bad for a 12 year old car? Less than one repair per car in a year?
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Old Jan 7, 2014 | 01:54 PM
  #40  
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Depends on how he's working the data.

There would be fewer 2002's on daily driver duty at this point, so miles per year would be less than the newer W203's, I'd guess. Hard to tell from the way he presents the data.

Still, 2002's have a fairly spotty repair/rust record, from any standpoint. All of you 2001 owners should be happy there's not enough data to post a result.
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Old Jan 30, 2014 | 11:49 AM
  #41  
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Sounds like we've got a glass half full / half empty situation here. One person shocked that the stat for the 2002 is nearly one per car, another surprised that it's not higher.

One thing to remember: this is all repairs, not just major ones.

In my personal experience a car starts seeming unreliable these days when it goes less than a year between repairs. This feels like "all the time."

tommy brings up a good point. The stats seem to stop getting worse for many models once the cars are about a decade old. Two factors are probably responsible. As tommy notes, people stop driving cars as often once they reach a certain age. On top of this, they probably start letting more small stuff slide instead of getting it fixed, and this stat measures things that are fixed.

On the site we post the average odometer reading, but we haven't tried to calculate and report the number of miles driven in the past year. This might be something we should start doing, if the data permit it.
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Old Jan 30, 2014 | 12:45 PM
  #42  
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R129 SL500 & W140 S500
Lol nothing on 2001?
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Old Feb 19, 2014 | 12:24 PM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by azn.ttr
Lol nothing on 2001?
No, like last time we were a couple of responses short of the minimum.

To help fix this (if you're not signed up already):

http://www.truedelta.com/join
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Old Apr 2, 2014 | 11:53 AM
  #44  
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We've updated our reliability stats for the C-Class to include owner experiences through December 31, 2013.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2007 C-Class: 61, moderate, small sample size
2006 C-Class: 39, low, small sample size
2005 C-Class: 11, low, very small sample size
2004 C-Class: 99, high, very small sample size
2003 C-Class: 56, low, very small sample size
2002 C-Class: 44, low, very small sample size

We'll have further updates in May and in August. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be.

To see the repairs behind these stats, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Mercedes-Benz C-Class reliability ratings and comparisons
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Old Jul 3, 2014 | 03:48 PM
  #45  
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Our reliability stats for the C-Class now include owner experiences through March 31, 2014, making them nearly a year ahead of other sources.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2007 C-Class: 47, low, small sample size
2006 C-Class: 50, low, small sample size
2005 C-Class: 18, low, small sample size
2003 C-Class: 108, moderate, very small sample size
2002 C-Class: 88, moderate, very small sample size
2001 C-Class: 47, low, very small sample size

Thank you, once again, everyone who has been helping. Next update in August.

For a deeper dive, including the stats for other cars and repair descriptions, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Mercedes-Benz C-Class reliability ratings and comparisons
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Old Oct 6, 2014 | 12:56 PM
  #46  
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We've updated our reliability stats for the C-Class to include owner experiences through June 30, 2014 (making them about 14 months ahead of some others).

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2007 C-Class: 42, low, small sample size
2006 C-Class: 57, moderate, small sample size
2005 C-Class: 51, low, small sample size
2003 C-Class: 89, moderate, very small sample size
2002 C-Class: 98, moderate, small sample size
2001 C-Class: 54, low, very small sample size

Next updates in November and in February. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be.

For repair descriptions, the stats of other cars, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Mercedes-Benz C-Class reliability ratings and comparisons
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Old Oct 7, 2014 | 10:13 AM
  #47  
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2002 C230 Coupe
Reliability is a strange word to apply to my car -- rescue dog would be more appropriate. 2002 C230k coupe, bought for low book with lots of stupid malfunctions, like remote didn't work because of missing fuse for the receiver, parking brake didn't work because cable was disconnected....
New to MB, and getting this guy up has been a hobby.
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Old Nov 16, 2014 | 02:53 PM
  #48  
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Sounds like previous owners had been letting things slide. I'd rather buy the car after you've had it for a while
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Old Dec 29, 2014 | 09:37 AM
  #49  
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We've updated our reliability stats for the C-Class to include owner experiences through September 30, 2014.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2007 C-Class: 16, low, small sample size
2006 C-Class: 48, low, small sample size
2005 C-Class: 64, moderate, small sample size
2004 C-Class: 113, high, very small sample size
2003 C-Class: 77, moderate, very small sample size
2002 C-Class: 103, moderate, small sample size
2001 C-Class: 58, low, very small sample size

Additional participants would be very helpful. (I'd love to be able to drop the sample size disclaimers.)

To view the repairs behind these numbers, check the stats for other cars, and sign up to help improve this information (next update in February):

Mercedes-Benz C-Class reliability ratings and comparisons
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Old Mar 13, 2015 | 11:40 PM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by cvx
Added my 2001 C-class and made request to add C200 CDI. Maybe some others sign up so we can rate this
It's been a long time, I know. But I've added the C200 CDI powertrains (manual and auto) to the database for the C203. It looks like there was a slight power bump in 2003.5.
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