The 1997 C280 is a great vehicle.

The one you describe is worth about $4,000. To help you figure out if you want to get into the Mercedes world, pay a knowledgeable Mercedes technician to inspect the car in question and make a list of repairs you can expect over the next few years. It will look like this:

Head gasket - $1,500
Tranny - $1,500
Exhaust - $1,500
ACC - $1,500
Suspension - $1,500

Make those investments, and you've got yourself a rock solid, if somewhat staid, driver. You could reasonably expect to have her on the road for decades.

While it won't deliver nearly the fuel economy, I personally like the M104 over the M111 (and even the M112).

If you’re not into maintaining it yourself, expect annual upkeep costs (above and beyond the items lists above) of approximately $1,000.

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Michael

1988 300 SL (5 Speed)
1994 E320 Wagon
1997 C230

1. 9 k + sounds a little pricey to me, unless you see all the service records.
2. I would pay a qualified M-B tech the $ 100.00 or so, and get an experts opinion on the car.
3. As with any 9 year old car, put a little money aside every month for possible " surprises ".

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2007 C 230 Sport.

That price is way too high IMHO. I am guessing that is from a "used car lot". They probably paid very little for it from an auction. I would also suspect that odometer reading without Carfax to back it up. I would hold out for one from a private party. Then you will get records and a much better deal. Also, the 98's seem a bit more reliable from what I have seen here. Especially in the transmission area. If you want good fuel economy and don't need lots of power then you could look at the C230 also.

Mike

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

Hello Douglas:

I definitely agree with manny & mpoli - asking price is way too high for a car like that with NO records.

If you're really interested, you might also want to consider spending about $100.00 and have what's called a "pre-purchase inspection" done. An MB indy or dealership can perform this for you, and they will let you know all of the potential problem spots they find. This will give you a very good idea as to how much repairs may cost, and it may also give you some leverage in negotiating the price.

Let me say that I purchased my '00 C230k with 47k, and have had virtually no problems at all. The key to keeping these beauties running like a top is maintenance. If you decide to purchase, I would have all the fluids changed, have the transmission serviced (the general consensus on this form is that the 722.6 transmission is not "filled for life"), and go from there. Most likely, suspension issues should be a few years down the road.

Another possibility to find out a little more about the car is to ask a Mercedes dealership to do a Master Vehicle Inquiry on the VIN. Some dealerships will do this, print out the report and give it to you, no problem. Others will not be so nice about it.

Let me say that the C-class MB's are very well-built. I absolutely love my C230k. With the M104, yours is even more refined than my 4 cylinder M111 (some refer to it as a lawnmower ... what do they know!!! ) If you do a search on the C280, you'll find that many users have posted many positive comments.

Best of luck to you, and let us know if you go ahead with the purchase!

Take care,
Michael

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+AMDG+
2005 W203
Running as fast as I can to stay behind!!

Thank you very, very much for your input. You have provided the insight that I could not have not gotten without significant time and effort. Since the used car dealer will not budge on price, I will continue looking around. My wife really likes the car and is not happy that I am holding out on the purchase. She does not appreciate the maintenance side of vehicles at all. And since she is "hard" on cars, this car is not a good choice for us right now.