Faults:

Well, my brakes failed at 85mph, which was alarming; after jumping across a road, I limped it home.

Also the water pump has blown, so a new one of them has been fitted.

Naturally being a Mercedes, it has cost an arm and a leg. But apart from that, it has been great, just normal wear like rubber, that might be due to the way I drive it though.

General Comments:

This car is brilliant on the road, it is quite gutless, it is about as fast as a Zetec Mondeo 1.8. But it's the handling that's astonishing about this car, it is a Scooby baiter.

It is very comfortable inside, and well finished, especially with the sun roof. Because it's the Sportsline, it has been lowered by Mercedes and has a list of extras.

+ Wider track

+ Larger wheels 205-55-15

+ Trim around the car

+ Bucket seats

+ Sports gearknob

Faults:

Original battery failed after 8 years (!) of service.

Sun roof can stick occasionally when opened back (as opposed to tilt). This tends to be on hot days and I haven't bothered to fix it since the tilt works just fine.

Minor oil leak from gasket, which was rectified cheaply (£40 parts/labour).

Water leak from the cooling system, although this is just happening (Oct 2001) so I'm unsure as to the cause/cost to rectify.

General Comments:

In performance terms this car is excellent. It will comfortably cruise at 90mph down the motorway and pushes upto 100mph without any grumbles. It can easily keep pace with modern cars. It will equally potter at 65mph with the same road holding and balance in both cases. Fuel economy is MUCH better at 65mph though...

The body work and engine, etc., are in excellent condition. Prior to myself the car had one lady owner (hmm...), but I have kept it on a busy street for 3 years and have no corrosion/rust at all. As one other reviewer said "it's a tank". My local mechanic rates the engine and other technical bits as A1 and reckons I will easily get 200,000 out of it.

Dealer servicing is an extortionate rip-off. I had one service from a main dealer in Manchester and it cost me twice as much as a private specialist. They clearly only did the main items and, like most garages, ignored the "smaller" items that, cumulatively, can cause problems. Very poor.

In general, the car lacks some of the refinements that you get on other models or, nowadays, as standard on most cars, e.g. air conditioning. Overall, this is a quality car and will run and run with regular servicing. If you are an advocate of "banger-nomics" then this is a great car to go for. Current value: £3,000. Annual maintenance costs: £500.

Faults:

Catalytic convertor broke.

Timing chain went.

General Comments:

This car is a quality car, from a quality car manufacturer.

It has good build quality and there is no rust formed on it which is good if you look at other cars from different manufacturers from the same age.

The problem with Mercedes Benz is: They are targeted by theives and get broken into a lot. They also have the badge ripped of a lot. But other than this they are excellent cars.