Heaven to drive, but an unreliable money pit...

I own a 2006 Mercedes Benz CLS 320 CDi which, I’m delighted to say, is a joy to drive.

Unfortunately it is not a joy to maintain.

I bought my lovely car because I thought Mercedes’ had a reputation for quality, reliability and longevity.

However, since April 2012 I have had to pay out £2,500 for parts which have failed, and the labour to fit them. This is over and above the cost of servicing and £1000 per set of tyres.

The failures include a driver’s door handle, 2 glow plugs, a steering joint, an oxygen sensor, and a major transmission control valve assembly, whose failure led to the car’s inability to change gear properly. It is a matter of luck that this fault did not put me or other road users in severe danger, and that my diligence enabled me to stop the car before it caused over speeding of the engine with resulting mechanical failure.

The car has done less than 54,000 miles. Let me repeat that - 54,000 miles! Never have I owned a car that failed so soon!

In addition to the technical failures, I found that the cost of getting the wheels aligned went beyond mere money – Eventually, I made a successful compensation claim from Merc HQ because of the appalling treatment I had had from incompetent, complacent, greedy Mercedes-Benz Colindale.

All in all, I am well disgusted with just about every aspect of Mercedes-Benz.

I have now agreed a part exchange for a toyota GT86. t will be a wrench to get rid of such a lovely car - I am just not prepared to drive a money pit any longer. Jesus Christ, MB! How can you live with yourselves?