Any new(er) car owners out there?
 

123's, 124's, 126's, 140's. Any 215's, 220's, 230's? Anyone?

C230
 

Just purchased 03 C230, why?

Just curious. Lots of questions on older stuff, but not much talk about new stuff. Good luck with your new baby.

If I were to buy a new Mercedes, I would buy the C230. I really like the 2003 C-class sedans.

Newer Benz
 

This is my first. Outstanding choice. Handles great, looks great, fun to drive. Auto with touch shift is neat. Poor visibility out of rear. Plastic at rear lets headlights in, needs tint. Will probably get another in a couple of years or so.

I have '00 E430 since April 2000. The car had several broken things replaced undr warranty: Oxygen sensor twice, passenger sunvisor mirror's cover twice, compartment's door below radio twice, allignment twice. The car has only 34k miles but front brake pad had been replaced twice and a set of tires. In about 1 month it will need the folowing:
A service (paid by MB)
Front pads (paid by me)
Front rotors (paid by me)
Rear pads (paid by me)
Tires (paid by me):o

almost new owner
 

I bought my Euro C180 last year around April. The car, however, is 8 years old, so its an old car. Having some fun and spending money beyond my means sorting out all the problems the last owner left unrepaired. Most already done by now except for a few nagging ones which do not affect driving. Still worried about the noisy and lack of power engine being only1799cc. I have driven other C180s of the same period and they have more go in them. Could this be the harness or other tuning problems The mechanical noise and front whining noise gets me. Possibly its normal like everything else. Possibly it needs a new timing chain or guides, new bearings. The belt is new. I compared this with the 1998 C200 and that engine is miles ahead in quietness and smoothness. Then its only 1998cc, too. Even the auto box changes a lot smoother without those jerks and gets away with lots more power. What can you say about this? Perhaps my 191,000kms engine and auto box has had its day? Expert opinions required.

FWIW, MB says the reason for the clear panel is to assist in backing due to the high rear deck.

Gilly

HTN 430, You must do alot of city type driving. I have a 98, 430 with 52K and just did oxygen sensor (warrentied), front pads once so far (rotor still original), rear pads still original. Never had wheel alignment, had dealer check alignment and tires which were fine. Tires don t last very long with sport package type performance tires (20-25K miles). Had to have a few leaks corrected, AC compresor bearings, sunroof, all under warrenty.Even so, still love the car. Bought extended warrenty and will keep it a little longer. I thought by buying a MB I wouldn t have expected all these things to go wrong but I m learning to adjust.

Hi Mark, my wife is the main driver of this car. I only drive it on the weekend. She accelerates and brakes hard, we live on a hill, that is another reason that why front pads last on average only 12k miles. From 2000 on, all E430s have high performance 234/45-17 tires, they do not last very long but the performance they provided is worth it. Brake pads and rotors are not too expensive, but I hate brake dust and the current front pad is ATE and it is so dusty, the front wheels are black after 1 week driving while the rear wheels are still clean, I am ordering PBR Deluxe front pad since many on this forum had good experience with Axxis/PBR and they recommended it for low dust. I am thinking about Sumitomo HTR+ for ride confort and low noise, also it has tread life rating at 360 and I hope that it will last more than 20k miles.
I still love the car today as much as the first day I bought it. It is expensive to maintain the high performance car like E430, but buy parts online save me a lot of money, also by fixing and maintain car at an indy shop save me some money too, compares with astronomical price charged by MB dealer.
Have a nice weekend.