Mercedes Benz C Class 200K Elegance

The Mercedes Benz C Class 200K Elegance looks good and to date is reliable Fuel consumption variable. Build quality questionable, squeaks rattles and other in determinable sounds are present. Sticker shows South African build which had I known before I would not have bought. Sadly I have been in less "prestige marques" such as a Mondeo, Vauxhall and Toyota and have had an equally good driving experience. Mercedes pick up your game you have become part of the dross. Boot space abysmal.

This was my 3rd mercedes, but soon after taking ownership of my 200k Mercedes Benz C Class 200K Elegance I started to notice the extremely noisy engine, rattles, vibration at speed etc etc...the list goes on. It has taken 8 months to eventually sort the main issues out - and it's still not right, and will probably take another 8 months!!

However, I have now given up and cannot be bothered with the continual hastle with the dealer.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise this new model is not a true Mercedes, no better than any Ford or Vauxhall (no offence to Ford or Vauxhall), they have really cut corners on the quality front.

Plus...don't be fooled by the "rock solid" residuals from the salesman. I paid £19k not even a year ago, even trading in for a new Mercedes, £13k is all they will offer and non franchised dealers are even less. I think it's time to get out of the Merceded circle!

I took delivery of my first Mercedes, a C200K Elegance Executive Car, in March 2001 after 10 years of BMW 3 series ownership (they were getting bland internally and BMW now have that awful techno-brutal styling, although great to drive). I had to wait some 6 months for delivery but that was short compared to the 18 months for the Z3 I traded in! I chose a manual (in black, as every other one was silver). It's a lovely car to drive and look at but within first year paint was flaking on the bonnet and the door window pillar trims were corroding. The local Mercedes garage tried to say the paint problems were due to stone chips (less than 3000 miles on the clock) despite being in rediculous places but eventually agreed a respray after independent expert inspection. With only 5000 miles up, a knocking noise delevoped in the front suspension. Mechanics diagnosed a known fault in the new 'C' and fitted a new set of re-designed bushes. I was disappointed when the mechanic told me that they only did this if customers noticed and complained - with my BMWs I often got bits replaced without asking during servicing if a known fault existed. With the first disappointing year behind me, I have had no other problems and really love the car. So much so that I take delivery of a new C180 Avantgarde soon. I no longer see the point in the C200 version as the C180 now has 143 BHP and a Kompressor fitted. The performance difference is neglibile and you get group 12 instead of 14 insurance. There is a new tougher paint finish now and I've finally succumbed to an auto box to avoid the handbrake issue. I chose an Advantgarde because Mercedes have gone back to fitting hideously ugly alloys to the Elegance models.