Faults:

What an appalling heap of junk. My father bought this car new and it has had more go wrong with it than all his previous cars combined.

To start with - the gearbox had at least 3 separate leaks (all fixed under warranty).

It then sprouted another leak at the end of the warranty, necessitating a gearbox removal. Thankfully this was covered by Mercedes.

The fuel level gauge in the tank went.

ABS pump went.

Of course - this being a 1.8 - it needed a timing chain at 100k km due to a poor design by Mercedes, and also needed various seals at the same time - a further 1500 euro bill thank you very much.

It also had 2 drop links and 2 ball joints go as well.

General Comments:

This car was bought new and always serviced on time by Mercedes. It has had so much go wrong with it that it leads me to believe that the pre facelift W211 was a terribly built car with cheap parts used from the factory. I would advise everyone to steer clear of them, unless you have deep pockets and enjoy having an unreliable car.

Faults:

Gearbox - V. strange problem, don't know what it is, but the dealer is so bad and can't fix it, found an independent and is fixed.

Air conditioning coil told by the independent is leaking leading to a very hot summer.

Boot - Fail to close, lock failing.

Factory CD changer never worked properly.

Driver seats are wearing (leather discolouring and going yellow??) (only 50000 km).

Wood inserts at the back are coming out.

General Comments:

Used to own a W124 230E, which is good and only got rid of it because of the 100,000 km on the clock and the age.

This E280 is so comfortable, the cabin is so quiet.

Although much niggly bits, but engine is totally reliable, the performance is not great, but I like it this way, it can be quick if it wants to.

The elegance trim is best for a person like me, comfortable softer suspension, although a little scary when thrown into corners, thinking about changing to 17' AMG alloys, but may spoil the ride??

Not a good handler comparing to my 320i 2.2.

I have so much confident in this car that I am letting my newly passed son drive on this car, it is much easier to handle than my Range Rover and the speed is easier to control than the 320i.

Overall a well built car, almost as good as the 230E, but definitely better than other Merc at the same time. It seems Mercedes's cars get more beautiful with age. I now start to realise the nice lines, but there are too many of these in the world (esp. Hong Kong). For a person like me who drives Range Rover (rare in Hong Kong, most people drive the boring Land Cruiser and ML which imitate the Range Rover) the E280 seems to be a little not special.