Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car. I've just done a lot of maintenance.

General Comments:

First, I absolutely love this car. I got this car because I was tired of driving my HD Truck. So, for a 10 year old 3 owner luxury car I had my expectations set. It had its issues when I got it, mostly cosmetic and easily and cheaply fixed. There is a small clunk from the front driver end (likely the sway bar). Now that I have fixed the cosmetic issues and got it looking right, I get many compliments, kind of funny for a 10 year old car. It runs good, thank god one of the previous owners took care of it, not likely the previous. It gets like 16 MPG on town and 27 on the highway. It’s quick not fast, the transmission is slow like the car magazines say, but it’s nothing to complain about at all. I’ve taken it on a 2200 mile trip recently and there were no issues.

Everything works as it should. The stereo with auxiliary cord sounds so quiet it’s annoying. This model didn’t come with the Harmon Kardon sound system. My ML550 has it and it’s amazing. But the radio is quite loud and nothing to balk about. Seat heaters are nice and hot, wipers are deliberate, steering is precise and it goes around corners unlike your ordinary front wheel drive sedan.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

In this case, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The car may not be the best at any one thing, but it has a very good combination of features and quality that, I think, compare favorably with other similarly priced cars.

It is quiet, with very good handling, good ride, generally well thought out controls. The 12 month/13,000 mile service interval is great. (I just had it in for the B service.)

I like the voice control, auto-dimming mirrors, and automatic wipers.

I haven't had a chance to use it in the snow yet (I live near Portland, OR), but it handles extremely well on wet or dry pavement.

I have no complaints about the interior materials, and nothing has broken yet.

I wish the fuel mileage was better and that it didn't need premium fuel. I get about 21 mpg in combined driving.

Faults:

I find the quality to be poor for a car with the 3 pointed star.

1- Interior plastics are cheaply made and assembled as noise levels increase everyday.

2- The passenger door handle does not close properly and is always in the open position.

3- The drivers seatbelt retracter does not retract.

4- The ambient lighting works half the time. dimming no longer works.

5- The fuel gauge is about as accurate as the weatherman. I must now keep tank above 1/4 mark.

6- The tranmission gear shifter is so loose it feels like a Hyundai.

7- The transmission slips at times. Usually it is very smooth shifting but around town, it lacks logic. It never shifts when you expect it.

8- The trunk needs a powerful slam to close. Latch, not properly assembled.

9- The traction control lights just came on last week and I have yet to have it repaired. And the list goes on.

General Comments:

I had a 2005 Infiniti G35 which I turned in when the lease was up. Overall a very good car. At first the Mercedes C 300 impressed me with its style and seeming quality. On par with the Infiniti. I drove it around and found the smaller engine sufficient enough to get around but not even close to the engine of the G35. The salesman talked me into the smaller engine because he claimed it was much better on gas than the C350. Back then premium gas (which the MB requires) was $3.30/gal so efficiency was a concern. The options look nice but are expensive if you're not careful. I upgraded to the bigger AMG wheels which made the car look stunning but ride quality suffers a bit. Handling got better as did braking performance. The seats all around are excellent. The nav system takes time to get used but its OK. Not the most logical but it does the job.

Again, I find the quality to be very poor for a car of this caliber. My list of items that have failed is longer in one year and 19k miles than all the problems I had with my Infiniti G35 for 3 years and 60k miles.

The worst part though, is the fuel economy- I average 15 MPG combined city/highway. It's appaling and worse than any other car I have owned including a 1984 Mercedes. It also should be noted, the C300 drinks oil at an alarming rate, or roughly 1 qt of oil per 2k miles.

Overall I can't recommend this car to anyone. There were several people I have talked to about their 2008 C classes and all had similar problems. For the price I paid it's expensive- I could have gotten a Cadillac CTS for less money and its rated a much better car. I already test drove it on saturday and found it to be a superior car to this. I never thought I would say this about Cadillac but it is better designed and engineered than my Mercedes C class. Plus the Cadillac supposedly gets better gas mileage (owners reporting 21 MPG average), it has a lot more power (307 HP vs 228 HP) and interior space in a slightly larger exterior dimensional package. This week, I'm selling my Mercedes on eBay and will buy the CTS. Good luck.

My Summary-

Pros- Sleek body turns heads with optional 19 inch sport rims, excellent seats, good brakes don't fade on highway, smooth cruiser at 100+ MPH.

Cons- Fuel mileage is terrible, interior quality is terrible, reliability is terrible, slow compared to other luxury cars, looks sporty but drives like a 1980's Yugo.

Faults:

The sensor for the washer fluid was defective.

The folding mirrors makes a loud squeaking noise when folding both in and out, even after they have been lubricated by the dealer.

Yellow spots appearing in paint.

General Comments:

Car is beautiful and stands out everywhere I go with it.

The car lacks acceleration.

Handling is good, generally.

Brakes are amazing.

Seemed to have cheapened out on the wood-grain.

High speed cruising is a joy.

Ride is a bit rough.