Faults:

Gearbox failed last year due to oil leak that my local garage misdiagnosed as a diesel leak.

Broke telescopic aerial in drive-through car wash. Fixed by friend with a proprietary replacement.

Seems prone to many stone chips.

Lights in fascia display failed and are very difficult to reach for replacement.

Water ingressed into boot through poor seals, as others here have found.

General Comments:

Overall, before the gearbox went bang, it was no problem for 3 years. The manual box is difficult to come by second hand, and a helpful transmission expert had to cannibalize several to make a new one. This was costly.

The car is now fixed after a recent pheasant strike wrote off the radiator, grille and a headlight.

Overall, sturdy, good handling, simple to turn round due to its tight steering and rear wheel drive. Well built overall, and economical to run. The parts cost a lot, but scrap parts are quite easy to come by online.

Quite a cheap car now to pick up, and the diesels have loads of miles in that 5 cylinder unit. A turbo would be nice, as would a gearbox low oil level warning light!

Faults:

I brought the car with a high mileage so I knew there was a lot of work required. As a mechanic I knew what I had to do to get this car into shape; so I rebuilt the engine, replaced the gear box and put on new suspension. Now it drives like new .... and very fast. The 2.5 engine is one of the best I have ever worked on - strong and responsive. Cosworth and Mercedes did a very good job with this car.

General Comments:

The handling is tight - it lets you know who is in control; and with the power going throught the rear it's great around the track. It's nice inside too: the seats hold you in well and the steering is sharp. Where you turn the steering wheel there the car goes.

Faults:

The joint where the pipe from the mid box goes into the back box rots faster than any other part of the exhaust. The back box is hooked onto the car body by 2 thick rubber bands. When the pipe breaks the front of the back box falls, hits the grounds and goes behind. The back box eventually comes loose, but has twice taken the bumper with it. On the good side, the bumper has suvived bouncing down the road with little damage to show.

General Comments:

I bought this car at 3 years and having been stung once by the Mercedes servicing charges and a few times by 'independant Mercedes specialists'. I now use a good independant garage and the servicing for this car is now no more expensive than for any other car. Pattern exhausts etc are just as cheap as for any other European type.

Yes, Mercedes are wonderfully built, silent engine, turns on a sixpence, no squeaks or rattles, etc. To some extent I suspect the high original price makes this an inevitability though. The people who buy it are also more likely to have a garage and to be able to keep up the 6,000 mile service period.

The car is very relaxing to drive, and the auto gearbox has a 'standard' and an 'economy' setting, which makes it more resistant to gear changes. This works well. The seats could have more lower back support.

Fantastic for long journeys and when you hit 85 the car seems to breathe a sigh and relax.

Make sure you buy with electric windows and sunroof, auto gearbox, 2 litre, air con, and keep up the services. The car will keep its value much better.

One last point: It's worth it just for the single wiper - hypnotic! And you get a gunsight too.