trout

I have been going back and forth between the c230ss and the 325i. I think that once i threw in 'the wife factor'...Im going with the benz. Im looking at a white base model sport sedan 6sp. The car ran fantastic and looks great. My goal is to make it a 7-10 yr car. I have been trading american cars every year for the last few yrs...they just have not felt like long term cars. So I narrowed down between the 325i and the c230 and it looks like the c230 wins. I am new to MB but from what I have read/heard they build quality solid cars. can you guys attest to that?...or am I nuts thinking that the c230 would be a good long-term car?
I listed my 03 ram quadcab hemi this weekend, I hope to sell it on my own rather than taking a big hit on trade-in. Most of my friends that I have asked say they would go for the bmw and that bmw quality is better and all that...but it seems like everyone around here has a 325i. Anyways, I hope Im making the right choice. I plan on heading back to the dealer as soon as my truck is sold and taking advantage of the MBusa winter dream event. 329/mo lease for 39 months...my goal would be to purchase the car after the lease (assuming that i still love the car). Any opinions, comments? Im all ears. Thanks y'all.

mick1

don't know about the reliability of the C230ss but I do see a lot of 10 year old mb driving on the road . i think i see more 10 year old mb than 10 year old bmw

OceanView

Go for the MB, you wont regret it.

I use to drive a BMW and it is a POS.
Lots of problems from the begining and their customer service is really horrible.

I don't see that many 10year old BMWs but I do see a lot of 10Yr old MBs.
By the way, the 3 series is changing next year so it would really suck to by that car just to see it change next year.

I have had my E class MB for 8 years now and I have over 153,000 miles on it. Pretty solid car, I think I can get another 100,000 miles on it if I want to.

Guest0001

Trout welcome to mbworld

MB will go years and years and will continue to be solid and mechanically reliable. No problems here. The problem will come from maintenance. Keeping a Mercedes(or any german auto) costs A LOT of money,(if your out of warranty) not only because of expensive parts that need to be replaced but because the electronic system constantly breaks with these cars.(can be VERY costly) Add to the fact dealer labor is about 100 dollars an hour doesnt help. So its going to come to your wallet. Definitely go for the 7 year 100,000 mile warranty and you will be fine though. After warranty is up, I would suggest you not keep it longer unless you have infinite amount of disposable money.

BMW quality is about the same or even below MB. I was recently on some bmw forums and have seen problems about subframe damage, cars stuck in reverse that need transmissions to be changed, interiors falling apart, M3 engine recalls etc.

Goodluck with your decision.

trout

Are you guys getting average insurance rates? ....new c230 compared most other new cars?

A funny side note...the sticker on my ram truck was higher than the sticker on the new mercedes.

Buellwinkle

It's funny, I'm the opposite, trade the MB's every 2 years or so, keep the more reliable and cheaper to fix American made cars at lot longer. I would never keep an MB (or any German car for that matter) beyond it's warranty, the repairs would be prohibitive. For example, on our 98 Mustang I can radiator for $150, an MB radiator would be a lot more, not to mention the labor to do it.

amdeutsch

Now, now, now. Admit it. You love the free milk and cookies you get at your MB stealer. Don't you go there at least once a week? Where ever will you find a domestic setup like that? (j/k)

Buellwinkle

Didn't say I didn't love the Merc, just not a car to keep too long like my American brands. Currently I have 1 German, 2 American and 3 Japanese (2 of which are bikes). The free maintenance, car washes and cookies certainly play a role in the decision, the $25K for a nice brand new sedan with leather and sunroof was not too shabby either. But take the Jaguar 2.5, not too shabby either, free maintenance but no free car wash/cookies, but I see those advertised now for $23K, less expensive than the MB. If they started doing free car washes I would probably make the switch. With Ford parts it has to be more reliable and cheaper to maintain. Tough choices out there.

FAMUBER

i recently purchased a 05 c230kss last weekend. now my entire family is on the same plan (dad mom sis bro and i) for 3 vehicles...03 Camry, 99 Civic, 05 C-class. the insurance for the 03 Camry is about 850ish while the 99 Civic is in the 900 range. now for the benz it only cost 612. hope that helps

trout

Hmmmm...you guys are scaring me now. I was under the impression that the MB was a well-made and reliable, quality car. According to some of yall its basically a fun to drive car that will fall apart much quicker than an american car??? Whats the deal?

LeifW

I was in the same boat you're in. I had a BMW 318ti Club Sport. Great car with very nimble handling. When my new daughter was born, I didn't feel it provided enough rear crash safety (it's a hatchback). I sold the car and started looking at the 330i and the C-Class. I test drove the 330i performance package, but the suspension was to stiff for my wife (my daughter was bounced around pretty good as well). When the redesigned C-CLass came out, I was sold. With BMW, in order to get nice sport package, you have to get the more expensive 330i. With the C-Class, the sport package is the same regardless whether it's a C230 or C320. The car was sporty enough for me and comfortable enough for my wife. The insurance was reasonable as well. I imagine reliability will be about the same between BMW and Mercedes. The only issue I've had was a leaking transmission. This is a well known issue with the 2005 (search this forum for more info). Mercedes has a fix for it. It took my dealer a 1/2 hour to fix and so far everything has been fine.

Leif W.

trout

I really liked the car, I was just under the impression that is was a car that would last a long time compared to its american counterparts...that was my reason for looking in the first place. Perhaps i should start exploring the asian route. ?

Im seeking a long term car.

tommy

Yeah, the words "Mercedes-Benz" and "long term car" currently are opposites, sadly. I would look elsewhere, honestly. Good luck, whatever you decide.

trout

We'll see. I might check out the lexus es330 and is300. I kinda had my heart set on the mercedes and only spending 329/mo for it. My wife's rx300 seems pretty well built, so i will give lexus a look. Any other carmakers out there that make a nice car that will last well beyond 100k miles or longer than 7 or so years?

trout

so is that the consenus? MB cars are not well built, long lasting cars?

Saprissa

how many times did the McLaren Mercedes blow up in one year ???

KIMI wasn't too happy with MB reliability in 2004 !

Guest0001

trout most newer cars are not designed to go past anything after a warranty period. You can go with japanese makes, but be aware that they will become loose and start to rattle. Though they wont have electronic issues for the most part.

f00b4r

Don't let the advertising fool you, most likely your payments will end up much higher than $329 a month. Also, it seems that you are looking for a long term car so purchasing rather than leasing would be a better option for you.

trout

I already got the tier1 approval and the deal is set at 329/mo.

I was going to purchase after lease is finished, at that point i can buy ot for around 20k. Of course this was before I realized that they are not quality built cars. Now Im not sure what I'll get. either the benz or lexus.

mick1

hehe. my goal is to get to page 47 of the maintenance booklet

f00b4r

Good that you qualified for the highest credit tier, also keep in mind any option other than sunroof and cd changer that is on your car will make it go higher. Also each dealer has a different contribution amount that will effect those numbers. Good luck.

davis449

If I were you, trout, I would go for a different car. IMHO Mercedes quality and level of service have gone to ****. People can say what they want but if you read the words printed in the warranty booklet, owners manual, and maintenance booklet of my 1995 Mercedes and look at the hit or miss service with MB dealers you will probably come to the same conclusion I did. It is absolutely unacceptable to be hit or miss in a company like Mercedes who built their reputation on quality of build and service, not to mention the total *** kissing you got just for owning one back in the days and it didn't matter which model you bought. My previous dealer was very nice to my face, but they couldn't fix anything. Now my dealer here in San Antonio is very nice and very good at troubleshooting and fixing problems. It's a bunch of crap. However, I will not dispute the BEAUTIFUL cars that Mercedes makes nowadays. I saw a C 230K w/Sport package on it the other day down at Sunset Station on my way to see Damage Plan and it stopped my heart. They are quite impressive looking machines and their draw is undeniable, but I wouldn't go near one, esecially if you're looking for a 7-10 year car because those days are over. I would look at a Lexus like you previously mentioned.

eddie269

sorry to bring an old thread from the grave, but I am/was in the same situation as Trout was back then. (Hey Trout, if you read this, give us an update on what you decided on)

I recently graduated from college and will be getting a job that pays pretty decent. With this, I was looking to purchase my very first car on my own. My parents were nice enough to supply me with a vehicle for all these years so now I want to do this on my own. So immediately my eyes landed on the Acura TL, Audi A4, and the C230 SS.

After debating, I realized I fell in love with the C230's looks and luxurious interior and thats how I ended up on this board. And to my surprise, the reliability of these cars weren't what I thought they were. All these stories and "lemon law" incidents and "service dept sucking" and "how MB isn't the same company it was 10 yrs ago" etc just took me by surprise.

My uncles used to all own Benz back in the early 90's and I always loved riding in their leather seats. But now, I am scared sh*tless of making my first huge purchase and reading all of these stories. *sigh*