2005 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C200 Kompressor Sport 1.8 petrol from South Africa

Summary:

Excellent car and worth every penny

Faults:

Nothing worth mentioning. Replaced brake and driving globes. Replaced wiper blades. Replaced bonnet struts.

General Comments:

I bought this car from a good friend who owned the car from new. When my C240 was hijacked I asked him to consider me when selling the C200. It was maintained by the MB dealer throughout the time he had it. I used to own a different luxury German car and it gave me a lot of trouble, so I decided to buy a Mercedes Benz and I have never been happier with this brand. Excellent car with good performance considering the engine size. Very good fuel consumption considering the weight of the car. Extremely comfortable, except on bad roads. The car has stiffer suspension than the standard model, but it makes the car feel very stable at speed. I would recommend the C200 if it can be established that the car was properly maintained. I will not be replacing it any time soon. It still runs like a new car and I have no reason to look for anything else.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st December, 2022

1st Jan 2023, 14:47

Local taxi driver where I live has one of these with 400K miles on it! Still runs very well.

2005 Mercedes-Benz C-Class AMG C55 5.4 V8 from North America

Summary:

Complete package

Faults:

Alternator, coolant hose.

General Comments:

Well, this is one of the best overall, most underrated cars of all time. It is a classic hot rod, biggest engine in the smallest package. Comfortable, fast, subtle, practical. I have drag raced, auto crossed, and driven 1,000 miles in a day in comfort while getting over 20 mpg. No rare parts, but a really rare car. Even those prices have started to go through the roof, I will hang on to it. Only weakness, it needs limited slip.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd February, 2022

2005 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C240 4Matic 2.6 V6 from North America

Summary:

A small, poorly built excuse for a Mercedes! Get an E Class or S Class

Faults:

Everything inside the car has broke. You name it.

General Comments:

I got this car in 2008 and I wanted to trade it a year later after ownership. It started to rattle like crazy all of a sudden! Interior quality is so cheap and poorly assembled! My parents told me to keep it because it will be reliable. OK, so it's cheap to upkeep and is never in the shop. So are many other cars!

This car is small, slow, and the interior has busted on me! The sunroof shade broke, the door handles broke, the gauge cluster plastic broke, the A/C vents click so I yanked them out and glued them, but they make more noise! The front defrosters are way too loud. The rear sunshade broke! The wood trim (plastic) clicks and creaks all over, and needed to be glued down. The center radio speaker clicks all the time. God forbid you use the heater in this car, because the whole inside expands and contracts, making so much noise that even when the radio is on you can still hear it! What an awful car!

And the size is a joke! I am 6'0 tall. How in the hell can 4 people fit into this clown car? My 911 was more comfortable and drove nicer.

The steering sucks! I don't know what I am more annoyed at! My car how it is a piece of crap or the fact that I listened to my parents and was dumb enough to keep it... Now it's worthless and I might as well just drive it until it gets old or I get lucky enough to total it!

It's easy for other people to tell you it's a good car when they drive around in a real Mercedes (S600, CL65). Drive this car and you will hate it!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th November, 2014

18th Nov 2014, 21:21

A C-Class is a Mercedes in name only. C-Class = Cheap Class. It's for people that just want to say - "I drive a Mercedes", not for people who really know Mercedes. It's a farce. However it is a clever business decision for Mercedes to offer an entry level car. I'm sure the C-Class is the best selling model, and I'm quite sure they make a good profit off every one of these sold and serviced at the dealer.

In reply to 18th Nov 2014, 21:21

19th Nov 2014, 18:37

Didn't use to be - the Mercedes 190 series was very much a mid-size (they didn't use the word E-Class then) or S-Class car scaled down. It was just as over-engineered as the bigger cars, but easier to park on the road as most Europeans do. But these smaller cars (including the 3-Series BMW) have been built to a cost recently. Heck, even the late 1990s E-class. The E36 1992-1998 BMW 3-series was also a shrunken 5-Series. Just shut the door and it feels like the window glass was concreted into the door. But now, the most recently-superseded E90, shut the door and drive it; if you were blindfolded you can't tell you're in a BMW. But the 5-Series still has doors for example that shut solid.

In reply to 18th Nov 2014, 21:21

20th Nov 2014, 13:13

You should count yourself lucky in the USA, as the C-Class isn't entry level over here, because we have an A-Class and B-Class too!

In reply to 18th Nov 2014, 21:21

25th Nov 2014, 06:47

Mercedes has a very similar quality for all of their cars. The S Classes are more luxurious, not more reliable or durable. I have a C Class with 550,000km and not a single story as this guy reports. I also have an A Class with 298,000km and not a single problem.

And to the person with the C240, I think your car might have been mistreated before it was yours; these are very durable cars.

In reply to 19th Nov 2014, 18:37

19th Mar 2017, 23:17

The 190 was not a E class, it was a predecessor of the C class.