Wondering about this Mercedes. Never owned one ??

[Mary B]

Thinking about trading up. Any opinions ??

[Justins00ss]

One of my clients has the new C400 sport coupe in blue. Very nice driving car.

[The Driver]

Great cars, overall you can`t go wrong. I think the Benz has been the least problematic out of all of the nordic brands (Bmw, Audi and Volvo, we have all of em). We have been through 7 mercedes, some yes have had issues but the C class is the daily driver of the bunch and it`s always been good to us. My only gripe is the with the new ones and how plastic`y they feel on the interior side. I drove a C43/C450 amg and it rode great but again the interior really turned me off. Overall though they are great cars, you can`t go wrong.

[dennis hiip]

I own 2 Mercedes and I can say that they`ve been good to me. But like all cars, they have their issues. Check out the Mercedes forums. There are several and much information there.

[Poorboy]

My cousin will only lease them .. says too much to repair and maintain ... we drove a C300 on Thursday and it was nice, quick and had lots of options ...

My daughter 2004 has had some very costly repairs not to mention the cost of brakes if you don`t do them yourself ...

The C class does not seem to get great reviews in keeping value compared to the E class ...

Good luck and don`t buy Black !! lol

[Accumulator]

Nice that they apparently continue to offer parts for them rather than leaving you high and dry after a while the way Audi does.

[Lonnie]

It is like anything, Mary B., as my father always said, "You want to run with the big dogs, you gotta pay like the big dogs."
There is no doubt that Mercedes-Benz is THE world-class leader in automobile excellence, but you will pay for that "excellence" in repair cost, insurance, and initial ownership purchase price (IE, Total Cost of Ownership). I would look at those costs and determine how long you will own the vehicle and how many miles you plan on driving it. An example is oil changes. M-B approved synthetic oil and filter to maintain an extended or subsequent-owner warranty may be twice the cost of what you are used to (I am guessing; you will need to verify that for yourself) Or cabin air ventilation filters (some thing you may not have on "other" cars). Even different or OEM-comparable tires may cost a small fortune when it comes time for replacement. ( I know this all too well , owning a 2003 Subaru Outback that OEM requires HR-rated tires and NO tire dealer will fit them with less-expensive SR-rated tires for liability reasons)
If you can afford all these costs, why wouldn`t you want to drive a vehicle recognized as "THE best or nothing."
A test drive will tell you IF it is worth it to you.
I have a friend who has owned a lot of different performance/luxury cars because he was a co-owner in a (very small) used car dealer. He happened to see a low-mileage lease-returned M-B 550SL at a local premium dealership. One drive convinced him it was worlds apart from previous vehicles he owned or drove. Yes, a lot more expensive than any previous purchase he made, BUT he got a good deal on it (he KNOWS what a good deal is being in the used-car business) and drove it for a few years before selling it recently (He NEVER gets attached to a vehicle because if he can sell it at a profit or break-even after driving it for a while, it`s GONE). He would rave about its quality and how it handled and drove, but "expressed his concern" about the cost of service required at the M-B dealership needed to keep it a certifiable M-B serviced vehicle for re-sale value. I just think it`s a verification of the quote from my father noted at the top of this post!

[Stokdgs]

Hello, Mary !
Hope you guys are all good !

Having detailed many including the AMG versions, there are probably no prettier German Cars than the Mercedes line..
They really do them up right especially in the more expensive versions..

They all have really great paintwork, and were the first I believe, to make ceramic based paint in response to Clients complaints about how the Black colors scratched so easily, which then prompted Menzerna of Germany to work with Mercedes to develop Compounds and Polishes that were able to correct that harder paint..

The AMG versions make incredible horsepower and in a straight line, are pretty darn impressive...

But like ALL German Cars, the maintenance is very expensive as has already been said in the above posts..

What I see that is the biggest turn off to me, is their resale value which for some reason, goes down faster it seems, than the other German marques..

It used to be, way before you were born, that only old guys drove them..

And the reason - only the old guys could afford them and the nutty high maintenance, or they just kept turning them in early enough to get another one, before the value dropped too much..

But of course, there are legions of die-hard fans that you will find on the Mercedes Forums and a whole lot of those seeking info on how to repair lots of issues..

Like the BMW`s I have owned over the years, these Mercedes cars have certain maintenance inspections that have to be done if you want to keep them going and keep the warranty intact, etc..
Good luck with your research !
DanF

[Accumulator]

..What I see that is the biggest turn off to me, is their resale value which for some reason, goes down faster it seems, than the other German marques..

I sometimes feel like I`m in another dimension or something, but simply never consider resale value as I hope I`ll never have a reason to sell whatever I`m considering.

It used to be, way before you were born, that only old guys drove them..

And the reason - only the old guys could afford them and the nutty high maintenance, or they just kept turning them in early enough to get another one, before the value dropped too much..

IMO these days only old guys actually *own* them, everybody else leases or borrows.

Though the wealthiest oldster I know leases so she`ll never have to think about taking care of anything. Just pays the whole cost of the lease upfront with one check, likes how one check every two years basically takes care of the whole Car Ownership Thing...whole different experience compared to when she owned my high-maintenance `93 Audi. Guess that car killed her on the whole "thinking about the car", even though she still says she enjoyed it the most of any car ever.

[NLove]

Mary, I have a 2014 E350. I purchased it new 3.5 years ago and still really like it, usually by know I would want something different. As everyone else has said maintenance is expensive, but a little less expensive if I bundle\prepay multiple maintenance`s at once, I also purchased an extended warranty. I will also vouch for two of the dealers I have been to here in MN Sears and Feldmanns, there service is phenomenal and they have never washed my car like I have asked (plus I put signs up). I have only had a couple minor issues with my car, one time the computer got stuck on and drained the battery. Mercedes roadside assistance literally was at my house in 20 minutes and the guy said he was on call all night so if I needed anything to contact him directly. Just in case he brought a spare battery with him so he could replace it on the spot if the battery was bad. All of that was free of charge.

With all that said sometimes I wish I would have leased, smaller payment upfront, monthly payment is usually less (unless you buy the car outright), repairs are covered because you`re usually only leasing for a 2-3 years, maintenance is rolled in, you can do a lower mile lease, if you go over or start to get close you can trade in early since they really want to keep you as a customer and lastly a new vehicle every few years.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

[Mike lambert]

All and I mean all of my Mercedes clients have gone to Audi, they say better quality and more for the price. But they all have they’re issues. Just do your research.

[NLove]

Mike, I think we may have commented on a similar post a while back. I have seen the opposite from my friends, lots of issues with the Audi`s and they have gone to other cars some Mercedes and some non luxury brands. I have never personally owned an Audi so I can`t say from my own experience. However I do love the looks of some of them and have interest in and may consider purchasing the A7 or IS7 at some point in the future.

[jatleson]

Pick your flavor of European cars, they are all expensive to maintain, but they do seem to be put together better than others and there is something about the way they drive that puts them on a different level (the older ones at least, I`ve got other threads discussing the new stuff). I`m a BMW guy and my indy mechanic (awesome BTW, PM me for a name if you are in the North Chicago Burbs) prefers the way BMW does their electronics vs Audi. I never looked in Mercedes, the one rule my mom has about cars is no Mercedes, so I`ve always stuck to that. All that said, the new Mercedes are really nice looking cars.

[pwaug]

All and I mean all of my Mercedes clients have gone to Audi, they say better quality and more for the price. But they all have they’re issues. Just do your research.

I agree with Mike--do your research. If you`re going to spend that kind of money you might as well look into the other makes in that price range. When I was working I drove Audi`s and since retiring drive VW`s--everyone says both are unreliable and expensive to maintain, but I haven`t had any serious issues with any of them.

[Accumulator]

..everyone says [German vehicles] are unreliable and expensive to maintain, but I haven`t had any serious issues with any of them.

The vast majority of unreliable vehicles I`ve owned, unreliable = serious problems that can leave you stranded or have the vehicle in the shop for literally months, were Japanese models that are reputed to be reliable.