Faults:

Bush went on wishbone, £8 bush cost £300.

Springs broke on front.

Discs and pads horrendously expensive.

ECU needs resetting often as forgets things.

Rust on wheel arches constant problem.

General Comments:

Performance is awesome, beats 911's - most of the time.

When driven sensibly, it returns up to 36mpg on a long run.

Nothing compares for the money, performance and economy, in a class that Jaguars can only dream of.

Expensive to maintain, but ultimately very worth it.

Quality inside, but certainly not as well built as the previous E class.

Last of the good looking Mercedes saloon cars?

This was once the fastest production saloon car in the world.

Faults:

Nothing serious. Brakes squeak, headlamp bulb burned out.

General Comments:

When the time came to by a new car to replace my old 1995 E200 with 150000 miles on the clock it was a choice between Lexus and Mercedes. On past experience I chose an E240 Elegance with 30000 miles on the clock. Unfortunately as they say in the movies things ain't what they used to be. On the whole everything works, but there is a noticeable deterioration in the build quality compared to my old Merc.

The leather seats on long journeys become very uncomfortable, the driver seats leather stretched and looks old and tatty. The cloth covering on the bottom of the doors and various other bits is poor quality. The Blaupunkt sound system is a joke compared to Pioneer or Kenwood.

The paintwork some places especially on the plastic parts is wafer thin. Trying to "T Cut" out a small scratch I was through to the base after a few seconds of rubbing.

My biggest gripe is the automatic gearbox. It is one of the worst gearboxes I have ever experienced in some 40 years of driving a collection of different makes of cars. Lazy, noisy, unpredictable gear changes up or down.

I wonder how long Mercedes is going to try and live on the past glories of legendary build quality and reliability.

My honest opinion is that it's now no better than any run of the mill car at half the price. My next car will be a Lexus.

Faults:

I have had two faults with the car.

1. The air conditioning fan motor died and was replaced under warranty within 30 minutes.

2. Blown headlamp bulb which was replaced by the dealer for £1.49 (not under warranty).

General Comments:

I will try and give an honest review of the car so here goes.

The interior is a well screwed together, solid and quality package. There are no rattles or squeaks of any kind, nor would I expect any. In Avantgarde trim the wood is a dark maple, which may not be to everybody's taste and certainly the comments I get are mixed. My wife finds the seats a little uncomfortable, but I find them very comfy, so I would recommend a long test-drive if you are thinking about one.

The suspension is firm, but not overly-firm and it makes a reassuring dull thud if it hits a pothole. The car handles well and hides its proportions well (tyres are expensive at about £130 each).

My car is an E240 and provides more than enough grunt to do anything I ask of it, but the 200 seemed a little rougher and slower.

I have a couple of niggles with the car:

1. The rear load cover lifts up to provide access to the boot, but does not lower and can completely obscure rear vision.

2. The rear wiper tends to smear which is annoying.

That's it! I am sure owners of some makes would love to have just two trivial niggles so it's not that bad.

The dealers always treat you like a Mercedes-Benz customer and make you feel privileged to own a beautiful car.

I hope this helps if you are thinking about a Mercedes E class.