2005 Mercedes-Benz C-Class c230 1.8 kompressor from North America

Summary:

Totally Competent

Faults:

Slow leak of power steering fluid. Fixed under warranty.

Brittle plastic radio antenna broke off... My fault. Replaced under warranty.

General Comments:

Overall good car, muscular lines, but smooth also. Not much to say really, I wanted a BMW 3er, but couldn't/wouldn't justify the $5000 premium over the price of my Merc. Dead reliable so far, great dealer experience, expensive oil changes. EVERYONE thinks that I spent at least $45k on the car which is not necessarily a good thing. The one thing i'd like is a bit more power and/or better shifting from the tranny, but that's what you get for choosing the auto. I am very picky when it comes to cars and I am not disappointed.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 20th July, 2007

29th Nov 2008, 23:32

How much is maintenance? Like oil changes and services they do?

2005 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C32 AMG 3.2 litre 6? from North America

Summary:

Fast

Faults:

I have to admit that I do not own this vehicle, I merely transported it for an acqaintance of mine. That being said, I cannot comment on any faults of the car.

General Comments:

This car is a lot faster than it looks. It has more power than you would ever realistically need. I believe it had somewhere around 349 horsepower? After turning off the traction control, I left a 40 foot tire tread mark on the road, and saw nothing, but smoke in my rear view mirror, it's THAT powerful.

Handling was crisp, it went right where you wanted it to go.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 14th May, 2006

7th Jul 2007, 11:28

This car runs on a 4.3L v8, not 3.2 V6 --- the V6 engine is a piece of ***** that is made here in America and not Stuttgart and is put into E320 and M320, which is why those cars have deplorable reliability.

10th Sep 2007, 04:04

I think you will find that this car "IS" a 3.2v6 supercharged.

Hence the '32' designation, the engine is also custom built by AMG so does not suffer the same problems as the normal v6's.

You need to do some research before spouting off utter nonsense like this.

16th Dec 2007, 03:49

Great car, but there was no C32 in 2005. That would have been the C55 with the V8.

In reply to 10th Sep 2007, 04:04

5th Jan 2012, 12:24

I agree that the AMG C32 seems to be a wonderful car, but could you please comment about the radiator leaking into the transmission or some other reliability problems?

In reply to 7th Jul 2007, 11:28

20th May 2012, 16:05

The 4.3 litre V8 that you are referring to was the W202 C43 AMG; the previous C Class.

2005 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C230 Kompressor SS 1.8 DOHC Supercharged from North America

Summary:

I love this car!!

Faults:

Nothing!

General Comments:

I've had this car for a little over a year now. I LOVE it. This Sports Sedan package is black, with black leather interior and gets lot's of attention. Great wheels. Superb performance! It really seems to love the open freeway, as if it wants to go back to the autobahns of Germany. Just went 127 MPH the other day on open (cop free) freeway! It rides like it's on rails. The breaking is deadly, stops on a dime if needed. Precision turning, great handling in extreme circumstances. Only drawback here in Michigan is the high performance tires become almost useless in over an inch of snow on the road. Almost dangerous to drive in snow. You have to stay at home, or be careful. But on rainy or dry roads, watch out! This car is truly fun to drive!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th May, 2006

17th Jul 2007, 16:46

Read the gentleman's review again. He rated the car 3/10 for running costs, not for reliability.

2005 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 230 from North America

Faults:

Did not handle well in rainy/snowy conditions, even when in "control" mode. Minor rain/snow caused the car to fish tail, even at 25 mph.

General Comments:

Great spring and summer car. However, when it rains or snows, this car is not reliable. Very hard to handle, and control mode does not make the car any safer in snowy conditions. If you live in California, great, this would be a nice car, but where it pours and snows, don't even consider it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 24th November, 2005

25th Nov 2005, 13:23

I don't think this car's any worse than any other large rear-wheel drive car in this respect.

17th Jul 2007, 16:52

Most C Class cars come with Michelin MXV4 tires mounted. These tires are notoriously bad in the snow or the wet. I found that if you put snow tires on the rear when it snows, the car behaves much better and safer.

18th Sep 2007, 14:04

With snow tires I have no problems in the snow or ice. In the winter I take this car to the ski hill at least twice a week, sometimes in whiteout snow storms.

10th Dec 2007, 19:35

I have problem with the door grab handle. It's broke. I thought this car suppose to be more tough than other cars, but I was wrong. I am very dissapointed. I barely drove this car for 50K miles, and the handle broke.

9th Oct 2008, 17:53

Seems like broken handle is a problem on this car.. not a usual fault for Mercedes.

1st May 2009, 20:33

Stop pulling the door handles hard enough to move the car and maybe they won't break.

In reply to 18th Sep 2007, 14:04

24th Jun 2012, 06:13

My C200 had the insider door puller (not the handle that opens the actual door) broken. It was fixed before I drove away with it from the car dealer of course. After 12 months it's still fine, and nothing is falling off. Seems like a good build to me. A door puller or handle should be a relatively simple fix anyways.