New to mercedeses. Which one is the best bang for the buck?

[paradox96]

So a friend of mine is looking for a mercedes. he has a fetish for mercedes.

price range is up to 7000$.
Basically these are the priorities:
1) reliability. no know issues with engine or transmission.
2) hawt and sexy
3) mpg is more than 20mpg.
Which engine in C or E class sedans is most well known for quality or "legendary" if you will?

I heard C class is most affordable. E is a little expensive.

He needs mid-size to full size sedan.

Right now we want to look at
1)
C230 supercharged
year 1999
mileage 120
one owner.
price 4500$

2)
C280
year 1999
mileage 106
sportspackage
price = 6000$

3)
E320
year 1998
milage 94K
price 7000$

I don't know much about mercedes supercharges. but I know audi turbos go
bad pretty often on their 2.0 engine.
is this the case with Benz?

thanks.

[FL_C63AMG]

some models have "compressor"... it's a Turbo...
for example E320 compressor look online.. you will find it...

[asianml]

Originally Posted by FL_C63AMG

some models have "compressor"... it's a Turbo...
for example E320 compressor look online.. you will find it...

Wrong. Kompressor indicates it has a supercharger, not a turbocharger. An E320 Kompressor does not exist.

[JOE55]

^^Thats right.

[kyle21nluvnit]

Yes Kompressor is a supercharger and the one in the c230 is not a good choice for reliability, there was however a supercharger v6 available in AMG c classes and that is a very good choice. If you can find a good C or E with the 112 or 113 engine they had very few problems other than valve cover leaks which any joe blow should be able to do in his driveway. Try to find a 722.6 transmission with touch shift as they tend to have a slightly fewer problems. A very good choice for fun, reliabilty and cost I think the the C43 or C32 AMG but dont expect great gas mileage.

[kyle21nluvnit]

oh by the way the E32 Kompressor did exist but only in europe I think, I dont think it was available in the US.

[cyberdrakon]

There was an E32 AMG (W210) at one time, but it was not supercharged. It was UK only (for right hand drive) before the E55 was available for the UK. It was using pretty much the same engine that was in the W124 E32.

[FL_C63AMG]

I said for example of the 320 compressor.., sorry that i am wrong with turbo(compressor)...

[T-88]

paradox96:

Some food for thought:

In Europe, I've seen more E-Class Mercs used for taxi service than C-Class models. (Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.) I think that speaks volumes for the E-Class's amount of passenger space and the overall toughness and reliability of that chassis.

And there are some 'experts' (such as consumer advocate and car guru Phil Edmonston - Canada's equivalent to Ralph Nader) who believe the E-Class is Mercedes' 'best' platform.

FWIW.

Cheers from Canada.

Tim

[Jomzo]

What's the difference bewteen a supercharger and a turbocharger?