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PLEASE HELP: BUYING ADVICE

3K views 25 replies 14 participants last post by  panzerbenzer 
#1 ·
Used C Class prices are so cheap that I am considering getting one for my 16 year old daughter. The theory is that it will be as safe and as reliable as a2 year old Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic. I am the happy owner of a '95 S500 and a '03 M320, was once the unhappy owner of a 2002 C230, and would be grateful for your thoughts on the following questions:

1. What years are best?

2. How much mileage is too much mileage?

3. What are the common problems on this model?

I very much appreciate your thoughts. Thank you.
 
#2 ·
well, i would recommend staying away from anything before 97. the models before this were prone to wiring harness issues, which can be alot of money to fix and the inline 6's were known for having head gasket leaks/failures which is also another pricey fix. the 97 and newer models also have the electronic transmission which in my opinion is better, but some would disagree. the c230's get better gas milage, but the c280's provide a more smooth engine in my opinion and come with more options. the 1999 and 2000 year c230's came with the compressor, which adds more hp, but can also just add to your complications with the car.

i would say any car over 100k miles will have some complications that are going to need fixed eventually, like motor mounts at some point, oxygen sensors at some point and of course a maf at some point, ect. However i would say anything under 200k miles if its been take care of will be a fine car.
 
#3 ·
1998-2000 will be the best years and have the updated bumpers, molding and side airbags (chime in if the side airbags appear before MY '98). Add lower control arms to the above list as things to look for that may need to be replaced if they haven't already.
 
#4 ·
Anything model years 1998-2000 more in particular a 1998 C230 sedan was quoted best reliability and mileage out of all them and its beleivable as its of less complexity.

Anything under 1997 (pre-update) are filled with engineering flaws such as head gaskets and disentigrating wire harness.
 
#8 ·
I agree with Marvin, this is not the safest chassis that MB has ever made. It performed acceptably on crash tests when it was new, but was by no means a strong performer then. If a two year old Civic or Corolla is a serious option, that's what I'd put my 16 year old in. The advancements in design as well as both passive and active safety systems would make a 2008 Corolla or Civic a much safer car, as well as far more reliable. Any W202 you buy is going to be 11 years old at minimum, and is going to be a variation of a car that went into service 18 years ago.
 
#10 ·
Guys i have a 1997 C230 and its fully loaded with the new year options on it...fully loaded with auto 5 speed trans and its rock solid also...:D

82,300 miles so far on the clock and the engine still looks like it just came out of the showroom floor.....:bowdown:

yes ive had to do a few things to it to make it a much better car than it was original but who doesnt to what they own to make it personalized for you
 

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#11 ·
Who'll be paying for the upkeep? She'll have to buy premium gas
everytime she fills it up and maintenance costs will be high.
Means that much less to spend at the GAP. I'd buy her a Honda.
She can get a MB when she's on her own. Besides, a 16 year old's gonna
attract a lot of resentement driving a MB, even if she didn't buy it.
 
#13 ·
Ehhh soo what. I drove my dads SL600 at 16 to school. I never got any crap for it. I put gas in it but when I got my first Mercedes(C280) I had to pay for services and gas. I didnt have to pay when something broke:D:D:D.....And good thing. My W202 was a POS.
 
#12 ·
A W202 is not the safest of cars on the road. For what you are spending on one of these little things you can buy a wonderfull W210 E320 and its lightyears ahead. Also these W202's dont age very well unless you have the AMG models(C36,C43). For her saftey and your own comfort please look into a W210 E Class. I dont know where your located but here is a nice W210 for $10,000 and has 78,000 miles on it. 2002 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E320, $10,485 - Cars.com
 
#14 ·
The W210 isnt safe eitheir. The body has SEVERE corrosion problems to the point where springs rip off the car potentially killing occupants if this happens while speeding down a freeway. This was bad enough of a problem that I watched the story a few years ago on Dateline NBC.
 
#16 ·
Faced with the same decission a year ago, I researched for over three months and finally decided on our '99 C230 with 90K miles. Have had the car for over a year now and have not regretted the decission (except for the snotty comments from our friends).

My first choice when looking was a used Camary or Accord. Wow, was I shocked at how much they were asking for cars with 150K plus miles. Bottom line, the closest car I could find in the same price range was a '02 Accord with 250K miles, and they wanted $1K more. Only similar cars in same price range were 8-12 year old Audi A4's and I did not find any that were in as good of condition as the car we got.

As far as safety, I didn't see any 8 to 12 year old Camary's, Accord's, Altima's or Subaru's with side air bags. To get that, then you need to compare with a used Acura, Infinity or Lexus. For a 16 year old driver, I worry more about side impact than front or rear as I live in a highly congested area and I don't let my daughter drive on the expressways.

Just my 2 cents, but one from someone who also had the same concerns as you when buying a car for my 16 year old daughter to drive.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I'm confused now.

I was also looking to buy a w202 but after hearing all these talks of how unsafe" this car is, I am thinking twice... But then again if you think about it, what car IS safe?!

After looking at this: Mercedes-Benz Crash-Test Results, Mercedes-Benz Safety Information, Mercedes-Benz Insurance Data, NHTSA, IIHS, NCAP, S Class, E Class, C Class, M Class, A Class, Smart, SL Class, SLK, CLK, 190E, 300E, 260E, 200E, SL300, SL500, 300SE, 300D

I am rather confused at who to believe...

Please enlighten me

I was thinking of buying a 95 W124 but I'm having a hard time finding those in my area (sf bay area) and i'm running into a load of 97' w202's (which is what I am looking at now since the W124's are so rare) But after doing some more research i'm thinking about a 96 w210 with the M104. has anyone had any problems with that year/model? it has good safety ratings (the e class)


I'm not looking to spend anymore than $5000 on one.

Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
#23 ·
1996 was the first year for the W210s. I don't own one but I would imagine that model year would have the most issues. 1998+ C Class models came with side airbags if safety is your concern. 202s are not rolling death traps, in their day 1994-2000 they performed as well or better in crash tests than their competition. By today's standards the crash test videos look awful when compaired to new models that cost much less new.
 
#24 ·
You need to narrow your search based on BUDGET and not some of the comments posted in this thread. Most of the comments made on safety were comparing a $5k to $7k car with $12k to $15k cars which are clearly not what you had in mind when you started this thread. As I stated before, and I believe "rjb190e" is stating in his last comments, the '98+ C Class has side air bags that NONE of the other cars in the $5k range will have, unless you go to a very high milage and beat up Lexus, Acura, Volvo or Infinity.

I do not believe for a minute that a well maintained C Class is not as safe as a 10 to 12 year old Honda, Toyota or Suburu as these were the cars I was looking at in comparrison. If I could have found a used Lexus, Acura or Infininity in good condition and not $3k to $5k higher, I guess I would have considered them.

Good Luck with your search.
 
#26 ·
Buy your daughter a 190 they are easy to fix and maintain get the 8 valve. the 202 104 have bad engineering where the upper timing cover leaks and known Head gasket problems . plus they are a PITA to work on compared to ther mercedes cars just for the simple timing cover problem Id stay away
 
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