guitarman

I can't decide between a 2000 C230 Kompressor or a new 2004/05 C230 Kompressor. If I got the 2000, I'd add the 3 yr. Starmark warranty. Is there any difference between the expected reliability of these two vehicles, or are they about the same. I'm looking for something that will give me lots of trouble free miles.

rescueswimmer

deffinitely, The older cars have a lot of electrical gremlins but your going to pay alot less and if you have a warranty they thats your call. Appartly the 04.5 and the 05 have alot of the bugs worked out.

MJ50

w202 vs w203.
of course, go wid w203!

theitalianjob

W203 for sure!!


BTW, what does 04.5 mean? MY04 or what...??

Incendiary

AFAIK, midway through MY2004. Cars will sometimes get released or refreshed midway through a model year.

rescueswimmer

I was just pointing out that there is model year 04 and model year 04 1/2 with the new wheels and and brakes. but techniclly speaking they are both model year 04

Mike T.

Consider also that the W202 C Class is not a particularly safe car.

Go to EuroNCAP.com and see for yourself. 2 out of 5 stars - a smart car is appreciably safer, as is almost everything else sold at this time....

The W203 C Class on the other hand acquits itself quite well in the EuroNCAP test - 4 or 5 stars, depending upon whether you consider a "seatbelt reminder" to be worth the extra star

rubensans

EuroNCAP.com ... This test is too manipulated... the brands paid for the stars that want. For example renault win each year the safest car in the world fer the new car that they done this year.

Search other test that are better.

Best Regards.

FrankW

EuroNCAP IMO isn't that great, sure they tested a lot of cars, but somehow their test sometimes seems to be tainted. To me, Insurance Institute of Highway Safety shows more detailed tests and results and explainations. Also considering traffic rules and regulation is different in Europe and in States the two will have differences, but sometimes the differences just seems too much and odd on the part of EuroNCAP.

guitarman

Thanks for the safety info. Actually, I'm more concerned about reliability. Consumer Reports says the W203 is very unreliable. What about the W202? Is the poor showing the result of a vocal minority, or does MB really build unreliable vehicles?

FrankW

Reliability is all about what your expectation is. Ever since the C-class's base price dropped to $25-26k for the C-coupe, a lot of the people that used to owning, say Mustangs for example are now buying the C-coupe instead of what they usually could afford (no offense to anyone). So they are now expecting a LOT more because they've bought a Mercedes-Benz, and when they found some minor electrical glitches for a typical new high tech cars they start to complaint (most likely those that actually took those Consumer Report or JD power surveys etc.).

For me, German cars has always been in the family since 1985 and for my dad who used to been an independent importer of German/Italian/American/Japanese cars into Taiwan. We pretty much know what to expect from all of these cars. So when some glitches come up, we get it fixed instead of sitting there taking surveys and complains or saying the only reason they bought the MB was for the free car wash and cookies.

to answer your question, NO, MB does not make unreliable cars. If you count 10 years from now, I can assure you that there will be more 2004 C-class running on the road then the 2004 IS300.

LarsCA

Wow, Consumer Reports... There should be a CR about CR, I'd love to rate them (it wouldn't be very high).

Personally I think CR is one of the most unprofessional BS opinionators out there. The scale 1-10 is ridicilous (anyone knowing anything about surveys will tell you that), a sportscar with stiff suspension and no trunk space gets low numbers for something it's supposed to have, and CRs "fact gathering" is questionable at best.

JD Power is a better source I think.

r_liebo

Others on this board can speak better to this issue, but my recollection is the W202 had fewer overall problems compared to the competition. MB really cut corners with the intro of the W203, particularly with suppliers of interior items/electronics. Here is where a lot of the problems are. The W202 was part of an older generation of MB that still stressed build quality, and there are differences across the model line in this area.

That being said, MB has addressed a lot of the problems in the W203 now. Also, remember that consumer reports compares reliability to other current competitive offerings -- not past models. While the W202 was certainly relatively more reliable than the competion when it was being produced, most manufacturers have improved quality steadily over the last several years. Part of the problem MB has is the competion gets better, but their quality hasn't. The W203 gets a bad rating not only b/c of its problems but also b/c of it's relative amount of problems compared to new competition, not compared to the W202.
Aldditionally, keep in mind that most W203 problems won't leave you stranded, they are just minor annoyances. Consumer reports doesn't factor this issue in -- to them a problem is a problem.

mbtech208

I disagree with everybody here. The W202 was a far more reliable car than the W203, and the C230 version of the 202 was the most reliable version. I'd take a 2000 C230 over any year 203 short of a C32 or C55.

Incendiary

I wonder if the 2005 203s' quality has improved. My dad is thinking of getting a 240 4matic, and I'm not sure whether I should recommend he get a 2004 or a 2005 model.

4sfed4

I have no comment on CR as a whole.

But, I will say that the problem areas they reported based on customer surveys were exactly the problems I have had.

I have also found our 2002 C320 wagon to have had needed more service visits than any other car we have ever owned, far and away. We really do like the car, but close to 10 service visits in less than 18,000 miles? It gets annoying after a while. It has also made the decision very clear as to the car's disposition after the 39 month lease is up!

TNblkc230wz

As for W203 reliability. I've had one repair to the right rear wheel well liner in the year I've owned my car. That makes it as reliable as my 2001 Chrysler TC.

The last the last three Japanese cars: 2000 V6 Accord, 2002 RSX-S, and 2003 350Z to be parked in my garage had either engine or transmission replacements by this time.

As for CR. I stopped reading that magazine in 1987 after I saw a Suzuki Samari with a competent driver complete and autocross course nearly as fast as I could in an Integra. CR rig the Suzuki with outrigers, got it to tip over, then publicly claimed it was unsafe.