C-Class (W203) horror stories

[Culpano]

Hi,

I'm driving a 140 mile round trip tomorrow to test a 2003 C270 CDi Auto.
I've been scouring the web for articles on reliabilty and have come across tons of horror stories about complete unreliabilty for the C-Class and terrible dealer service. Are they really that bad ? I'm already having second thoughts about buying this model. I've driven a few now on 10 minute test drives and they seem great but I wouldn't want to own one if they are always in the shop getting fixed.

Regards,
Gary

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Anyone I know with the 270cdi engine has had major trouble. There are some problems with this engine, not sure but replacement turbos seem to be high on the list. Hate to be paying for one of those.

I would also be very curious as to how you are in a 2003 car.....was it traded in or taken back?? Strongly recommend a chat with previous owner, garage will tell you and give you contact details...if they refuse walk.

A man up the street from my office has a 2003 C class....he had an earlier one that was so troublesome they changed it for a new one with extramore trouble. These days he suffers extreme blood pressure when you mention cars to him.

Dealer service is not good, unless you know with absolute certainty that you are dealing with a good dealership avoid it like the pox....I feel sorry for anyone trying to deal with MB if they know nothing about cars.

 

[landover]

Buy a Landrover mate at least you know you will have problems.There is no way you won't. I have two mercs and three landrovers they all give problems.One merc is a Cclass the other is an Sclass it gives the least problems...................................Ithink i will be going for a 645BMW next.

 

[ColinP]

Had a C240 for three years (01 - 04).Only trouble in that period was a defective battery which MB changed under warranty. Changed it for a W209 CLK 270. Already had loads more problems, but fortunately dealership is good.
ColinP

 

[jakmeticklerpaper]

C Class

I have a '99 C220cdi, with just over 100k on the clock. Runs well, has never let me down, does around 40 mpg and is cheap to service (through an independent) Have just had small (well known) rear door rust problem fixed by MB under warranty and it has come back looking like new.
Yes, the dealers are crap but other than that, no complaints from me.
jak

 

[Culpano]

Bought it

Test drove it, loved the drive. Put deposit on it. Dealer is delivering it in two weeks or so.
The interior is so much better than the shabby 5 series I have tested. I must have driven about 5 or 6 530d's and the interiors and leather were poor quality. The Merc drove better in my opinion. Feels really solid. The dealer is fitting new black leather and parktronic f+r.
Oh and it miles better than 3 series to drive - don't believe all the BS you read in the press. I have driven both and the Merc is better in my opinion.

 

[andrew38]

Would your name be Tim by any chance?

Buy a Landrover mate at least you know you will have problems.There is no way you won't. I have two mercs and three landrovers they all give problems.One merc is a Cclass the other is an Sclass it gives the least problems...................................Ithink i will be going for a 645BMW next.

 

[MB partsman]

i worked for a BMW dealer for 6 months.... ppl there were gr8t....
cars were crap!
at the time <about 2-3 years ago> the old 3 series E36 were subject to a steering coloum recall.... for the 4th or 5th time!
that yucky beige dash made me wanna puke... and the i-drive....
yuk.... that goes wrong more often than a 211 :lol:
worst thing i found was BMW UK thought they were perfect, and had no room for improvement, at least DCUK and DCAG are trying to improve things

 

[landover]

Re: Would your name be Tim by any chance?

Buy a Landrover mate at least you know you will have problems.There is no way you won't. I have two mercs and three landrovers they all give problems.One merc is a Cclass the other is an Sclass it gives the least problems...................................Ithink i will be going for a 645BMW next.

[/quote

]No mate i am not a Tim . Why do you ask????????

 

[casman]

got a 220cdi - 2001, never had so many problems.
anti roll bushes - premature failure
glow plug failure
alternator cracked bearings
indicator issues - modification harness fitted

and it's only done 35K ! But anything but a merc !
By the way customer service is non-existent

 

[Andrew39]

Re: Would your name be Tim by any chance?

Buy a Landrover mate at least you know you will have problems.There is no way you won't. I have two mercs and three landrovers they all give problems.One merc is a Cclass the other is an Sclass it gives the least problems...................................Ithink i will be going for a 645BMW next.

[/quote

]No mate i am not a Tim . Why do you ask????????http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v455/landrover90/Comic20Camel.jpg[/im
g][/quote]
I used to visit the Freelander sssh site and knew a Scot called Tim who had Hippos and Mercs,didnt mean to be nosey

 

[palfrem]

I had a 2002 C220 cdi estate for about 6 months and 16K miles. I bought it with 3K miles clocked from a Merc dealer, having chopped a really nice '99 C250 Sport

The problems - Auto gearbox that shifted like a learner on lesson #1 and into neutral at traffic lights like you'd rammed the brakes on.

Interior lights u/s, rear wiper u/s, drivers door window a bit moody, rattly interir trim and a few other niggles.

Was booking it in at the dealer that sold it to me for warranty repairs on the box, they wanted it for a wek to remove and strip the box by the way!!
when I spotted a fully (and I mean fully) loaded '51 E320 Cdi on the lot. A bit of haggling later and the 320 was mine. Bye-bye C220.

So, a few weks later and the new owner of the C220 turns up at my door (he bought the car from the same dealer) to ask if, as a new Merc owner, the gearbox was "normal" for Mercs. Guess what?, the box was as crappy as when I chopped it, the interir lights had not been fixed neither had the rear wiper.

So in one posting, C class reliability and dealer service.

As to the story of dealer performance and my E320, well that's another tale...........or pantomime

Cheers
Mike

 

[casman]

I am also considering a E320cdi, how is it ? Better or worse than the C220 ?

 

[p902]

I have a w202 c180, had planned to move on to a w203 c180 (2L)kompressor in a year or two. These posts with all these complaints on newer cars worry me. Looks like I might keep my w202 a lot longer.

 

[palfrem]

casman

My 2001 E320 Cdi Avantgarde is great. Comfy, quiet, solid, engine is unbelievable, gearbox seamless. Good stereo. Touch wood, no rust.

The acceleration is brutal, engine note pleasingly growly, the power comes on at sub 2000 rpm and just keeps delivering. It does smoke a bit under a heavy left foot, but that's diesel for you.

I drive 35K per year and it does around 40 mpg average with 45+ at a steady 80 on the Mways. Nursing it at 65 will return 48

Bags of room, huge boot and the switches, etc. are in a different league to the current C220. The doors shut with a proper "clunk".

Whoever bought it new had very deep pockets. Leather, COMAND + Phone prep, CD6, Parking Assist, Linguatronic (can't ever get it to understand me though!!!), Xenons, Headlamp wash, Heated memory seats, etc. etc. It even had a Snooper R6!

For such a barge the turning circle is very impressive and turn rounds on the drive are done in less turns than a Focus.

My partner is only 5 feet 1" and she has no trouble driving it at all.

My only gripes, yes it's silver and I prefer two wiper blades.

Miles ahead of current C220/270 and lots of good ones around at pretty good prices. Try one and buy well!

Mike

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Good post on the E320di but I cannot recommend them, only from the issue of ownership and reliability experience.

The driving experience is fantastic, there is little to compare them with but there is a huge reliability and rust issue. the rust is not out on the 2001 models yet, but it soon will be. I thought I was rust free but after reading so many posts and still not seeing any rust I believed I was in the clear. Eventually I decided to dig deep, boy, what a mess. All four doors attacked, rust underneath. Merc don't even reply, car was in last August, still heard nothing. I could list lots of other problems too. Like brake failure, pedal to the floor, no brakes. Twice. More posts on this here.

You will find some with cars that give no trouble but they are rare. I do a lot of driving and work on principle of keeping cars well maintained. But 6 vists to workshop in 6 months, [10k miles] is stretching it a bit far and is damn expensive. An LS 430 would be a lot cheaper to run than the E320 cdi going by my experiences. And it won't break down, the Merc will.