Engine misfiring at idle; this was due to a torn gasket and clogged up manifold, which were fixed for $70.
A/c compressor was leaking; replaced for $700 as it had to be ordered from N.Z.
Indicator lights were faulty, so my mechanic replaced the fuse, $5.
I found a mechanic who was a real expert at fixing my car with reasonable price. It's been 9 months now and there are no other complaints.
My previous Honda was a beautiful car; very reliable, but I had to trade it because it was outdated.
My Mercedes is a 1998 model, and the previous owner never drove it much, which explains its low mileage.
My car is very comfortable with leather seats, ABS, CD, electric front seats and 8 speaker system.
The engine is smooth, with a smooth transmission, which can be selected for economy mode or power mode.
There is no rust or rattle, and the build quality is excellent.
The car can cruise around at lazy engine revs, but if you are really in a hurry, press the gas pedal to the floor and it can embarrass some of the bigger engined cars.
On the highway the engine is so smooth; the pulling power is sensational compared to my previous VTEC Accord. Once the rev goes past 4000, the Merc feels light; like riding on rails.
The fuel consumptions is pretty good with 10L/100Km in the city, and lower on the highway.
The space is quite adequate for a sedan of its class.
The turning circle of the steering is amazing, you can squeeze in tight spaces with ease.
The car may not be as technologically advanced as compared to a Lexus, but it's a Mercedes, and every time I get behind the wheel, I'm struck with awe and amazement at the build quality and engineering put into this car. When you close the door, you contemplate the century of engineering in this vehicle. They say that these cars could reach 1 million Km. These cars were engineered like no other car in the world.
I totally agree that mercedes are engineered like no other car in the world although the 4 cylinder engines can sometimes feel underpowered. The 2liter motor can be very torqy at high revs, but you really need to work it. The build quality from mercedes is very high for that era, I'm not pretty sure if the latest models have the same standard of quality?
When I purchased my C200 Elegance in 2004 with 50,000km I thought I was getting a good reliable German car (Excellent build quality). But unfortunately this has not been the case, the car has now covered 155,000km and in the past 3 years I have spent over $27,500AUD on maintenance including a new gearbox at 90,000km at a cost of $7,000AUD which completely stopped working with no drive at all while I was 12km up a dirt road in central Australia, this was just after a service at my local Mercedes Dealer who took no responsibility for the problem. It's a little cheaper to run now that I go to a local mechanic, but my last bill still came in at $4,000AUD. Although having said that I do drive the car extremely hard so I expected the maintenance costs to be high, but not this high. I also had a 1976 240D and the engine ceased on the highway just after an expensive service too go the indestructible diesel not! Other than the maintenance problems and the cost, it is one of the nicest car's I have owned to drive and performs effortlessly on the highway, but the accelerator spends its whole time to the floor hence why my kick down button is broken.
Sometimes its not the car, its the mechanic that rips us off. When I purchased my Mercedes last year the gear box was always stuck on 2nd gear.I took it to the dealer and they said I need to change the whole gear box at $10000.Luckily I had a 2nd opinion and took it to another mechanic who reprogrammed the gear box system using a laptop and now it has been faultless.So I suggest that you choose your mechanic carefully before you purchase any part or service your vehicle because these vehicles are beautiful to own and drive.
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