A VERY SOLID CAR....FEELS & RUNS SAFE. MOST OF THE CONTROLS ARE
LAID OUT VERY WELL....GAS MILEAGE VERY GOOD....MAINTENANCE - LOW.
I HAVE JUST RETURNED THE CAR COMING OFF A 3 YEAR LEASE. THEY HAD
MADE A DENT IN THE HOOD WHEN REPLACING ALTERNATOR...AM STILL
CURIOUS TO SEE IF THEY ARE GOING TO HOLD ME PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE.
I WILL LET YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS IF "PUSH COMES TO SHOVE". I DID
NOT LEASE ANOTHER MERCEDES DUE TO PRICE INCREASE ON 2001 MODELS...
AND LEASING A 2000 MODEL WOULD BE LIKE DRIVING THE SAME CAR I HAD
FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS APPEARANCE-WISE. I UNDERSTAND THERE WAS SOME
CHANGES MECHANICALLY...BUT IT DID NOT CONVINCE ME ENOUGH.

HAD SOME PROBLEMS WITH THIS CAR RIGHT AT THE ONSET. WITHIN 1 WEEK
OF HAVING THE CAR THE TRANSMISSION WENT...THEY GLADLY REPLACED IT
AT NO COST. ALMOST 1 YEAR LATER...ALTERNATOR WENT...THEY REPLACED
IT AT NO COST. ASIDE FROM THAT....NO PROBLEMS AT ALL !

ON A LEASE...THIS CAR RAN $446.00 PER MONTH THRU MERCEDES BENZ
CREDIT CORP. THEY ARE A LITTLE STRICT IN KEEPING PAYMENTS TO
THE EXACT DATE....OTHERWISE I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS CAR HIGHLY.

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PRIOR TO THIS CAR..I HAD LEXUSES300 FOR 3 YEARS....NOT ONE SINGLE
PROBLEM.

-Nice Acceleration for a 4 banger
-Braking and handling
-Build quality
-Comfortable seats
-Roomy
-quiet

-The interior needs a bit more lavishing
-Lousy audio system, I mean LOUSSY for a lux car

$33K No because you could by some other Japanese cars with 6 cylinders and all the little gadgets that this car offers for about the same price. Everything in the Benz was great except the interior styling and the little ammenities it had to offer. I had few problems with it and the build quality is superb. The 4-banger was nice and quiet and had nice acceleration.

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BMW 5-Series. Overall its better than the 5-series except the interior styling. I really the interior styling of the C-Class.

Comfortable car. The speedy acceleration. The prestige of driving a mercedes.

Lots, mainly with the service, but also with the car.

I don't know why everyone says mercedes cars are realible. When I got this thing it broke. Luckly it was just after 3 days I got it, and it was under warrenty. Those idiot mercedes machanics didn't fix it right the first, or second time which pissed me off. Furthermore when I got the car back, it mysteryiously had 1000Km added to odometer! That really got me angry.

However, I'm sure that this didn't happen to all the mercedes cars, and I was probably unlucky to get a flawed one. To be fair I didn't have any problems with the car after the repairs. I still say the service sucked though.

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None

Nothing

This is the worst automobile I have ever owned. The supercharger on the car has never worked. The result is an oversized underpowered balloon. 2 trips to the shop and it still doesn't work. I am now on my third trip. The car is less than 2 months old. In addition, it left me stranded when it would not shift out of park. The worst thing: Mercedes-Benz personnel are of no help at all. They act as if you have done them a favor in buying the car. This is certainly the first and last Mercedes I will ever own.

$34,000 and I would not recommend this car or any Mercedes product for that matter.

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BMW, Mazda, Ford, Chevrolet

A refined interior matched only by the prestige that all of those g's buys with the three point embalem. A luxurious front interior that is world class, marred only by the tight back seat that limits passenger capacity. The trunk is a little small, but understandable and large enough to fit 2 or 3 golf bags.

Handling is numb. The control interface is very confusing. I looked at some of the buttons before I actually bought the car and I found picture on the buttons that looked like they were symbols for missile launcher, ejection seat, and tail light replacer. Very vague! Acceleration isn't up to matching up to the competition, and for the money I'm paying, I should get more power. If this car is to compete with BMW and Audi, it needs a more responsive drivetrain behind a more powerful engine.

Paid around 37K for my car, and it hasn't been worth it. I'm a 20 something driving enthusiast and have a need for speed, along with driving class and prestige. My analysis is that although riding in the front is cushy, riding in the back is harsh, and the Bimmer offers better back seat comfort, although the Audi is about just as tight as the Benz. BMW smokes the other two in performance in fun. My two cents is that anybody who wants some thrills best go for the BMW. If you can stretch the pocket book, go for the S4, or (dare I say) the new M3. Test drove the S4. What a blast!

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1997 BMW 328iS, and 1998 Audi A4 2.8. In terms of class and name prestige, the Benz crushes the Audi, and overtakes the Bimmer. But the ultimate driving machine will kick its taillights, and even the Quattro version of the 2.8 can smoke the Benz.

Build Quality, Refined Driving Experiance.

I would prefer firmer suspension, should have gone for the sport package.

I must admit that I really enjoyed my 190E 2.6, until some idiot rear ended it. I had 145K miles on it with no breakdowns or real trouble in 8 years of driving. Got the Maxima, it was okay and never had any trouble but after owning a Mercedes I just could not stand driving "Just another plastic car" so it had to go after 3 years.

Overall the C280 is a much better car than the 190E, compared to the Maxima it feels a lot more solid and gives the impression of driving a well built safe car, a real plus with my significant other.

After 3 years of driving I have had no problems with the car. The dealer has always treated me with respect and courtesy whenever I take my car in for a service. The service costs are a little higher than you average Q-Lube but they drive me to work and pick me up while the service is being done and always clean the car in and out.

I added the CD player myself. MB unit was a little pricy! The MB unit is an Alpine Changer so all you need is the addapter harness. Wth the right harness it plugs in and can be controlled just like the MB unit.

The car has plenty of power and driving at 80+ on the highways is effortless.

Cornering and control is just what you would expect from a smallish relatively high powered sedan. You have to push it pretty hard to get into trouble but it gives you plenty or warning befor you are in trouble.

The Bose sound system is pretty good for a car stereo and the speed sensitive volume works so well you don't notice it.

My only complaint is road noise, this car is very quiet but compared to the bigger MB it lets in a bit more noise from the outside.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a real Benz on budget.

I would probably score this a 4 but there seems to be some low scores here so I will give it a 5.

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1995 Maxima, 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.6

It's a classic Mercedes. The overall feel is that of reliability & refinement. Also, it gives you the MB status at the lowest price possible for an MB. Cornering is okay after adding a set of BFGoodrich 225/50 ZR-16 Comp T/A's with O.Z. Forza rims.

Rear seat are kind of cramped. Electrical problems especially with the tail lights. The acceleration is not all that great. Rear wheel drive during the winter season is troublesome.

$45,000 Cdn. I would recommend this car because of its overall reliability. If you can modify it a bit with some parts from AMG, Lorinser, or Carlsson it would definitly look & perform better.

-Fit and finish
-Ride/handling/suspension
-Standard features
-Sports package features

-Back seats are a little cramp for adults
-4 cylinder engine is a....well....4 cylinder engine. You need to work with the auto/5 speed shifter to get the performance out of the car.
-With the standard stability management system, taking turns too fast will cause the system to kick in and require you to work the engine/transmission to exit the turn with some ummp.

Close to $34K. Added the sport package and moonroof/passenger electric seat/60/40 split rear package.
I believe the sports package is a good deal for the amount of features you get for the price. I believe the moonroof/etc package is overpriced.
I added the 6 changer cd after, but had to haggle with the dealer over a period of 3 weeks to get him to give me a decent price given they messed up on the trade in.
As far as the car itself, no major complaints, it has the MB quality and mystique. But along with that comes the MB sales model: "MB has taken the profit out of the car and so we have a no haggle price" Basically, you pay MSRP. I managed to pay alittle less than that because I went to my Credit Union's carstore who has a relationship with them. If that is the case, then why the "fixed price"? Buyer beware!
Now that I have experience the MB pricing model, will I recommend the car? If you like the quality, mystique, prestige, yes. If you want 4 wheels to get around, no, there are better options with better all around value.

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Audi A4, BMW 32x, Nissan Maxima,

Great engine, acceleration and handling. Hi quality interior. Stealth like looks for the power. Although styling could be out dated but it is more steardy than new E class and CLK. A top Mercedes mechanic told me the same.

Styling could have been more updated but I guess that's why
Mercedes is redesigning C class.

The new ones are around 54K but dealers sometimes want as much as 60K. This is perhaps a bit too high but I think the AMG name will help the vehicle hava a higher resale.

I recommend the car to car enthusiasts.

Vault-like body structure, sporty character, good handling, good power range, 3 star reputation and latest automobile technologies

Reliability, high price, low gas mileage,

I have had this car for about 2-1/2 years and it has been such a mixed experience for me. I like the car for its sporty character and overall build quality, but I also had many quality problem with this car. I took my car to shop more than 10 times during 2 year period to fix problems like engine warning light (2 times), wheel alignment and other electrical problems. The latest problem is very weird and disturbing. The car will open all the doors, windows and sunroof by itslef while in parking. The dealer tried to fix the problem three times and they don't have a clue what the source of the problem is. Pitty, it could been a real fine automobile if without those flaws. I'm very disappointed with Mercedes and I would never buy it again.

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Audi A4, BMW 328