[s-cars] NAC: '06 C280 mini review

[Steve Powers]

Taka -

Mercedes does not make a manual tranny that I'm aware of - at least
none which come to our shores. That said, their autos are some of the
best I've encountered. Their 5 speed has undergone continuous
improvement throughout its life and the 7 speed is purportedly much
better than it was at introduction (my service manager told me to wait
back then).

The quality is good provided you are looking at a car 2-3 years into
production. ANY car/truck/motorcycle/airplane/etc. will have problems
during the first model year. You don't want one of those unless you
understand this. The other thing which likely skews the numbers is the
finickyness of MB owners. A rattle that would have been overlooked in
a Hyundai isn't (and maybe shouldn't) in a Benz.

Our own experience: we bought an ML430 in late October, 2001. It was
mere weeks after the terror attack and cars sales were non-existent.
We got a _screamin'_ deal on a demonstrator.

After a year and many visits to the dealer for things like rattles,
ECU failure, brake issues, heater core problems we had amassed a stack
of R.O.s like no other car I've owned. When the car wasn't in the shop
we loved it but it was calling home far too often. It was clear to me
that the dealer was great but the car wasn't up to snuff. Meanwhile,
we got to try many loaner cars: S-class, E-class, C-class.

I investigated our state's (WA) Lemon Law and then contacted the
dealership. I explained politely that I considered our vehicle to be a
lemon and that I was first wishing to explore what MBUSA would do for
us before we filed. I knew that if a negotiated deal could be done,
allowing MB to take back a vehicle without marking the title would be
in their best interest - a sure deal motivator.

Within 2 weeks we had the word that they were willing to give us an
equivalent 2003 model minus a mileage charge at rate then provided by
the Lemon Law. We got to choose our color plus the 2003 had new
features not offered in 2001 - a great deal all 'round. The delivery
was scheduled for 6 weeks because they had to 'steal' a black on black
ML500 from some New Jersey dealers order. (my wife was sure it was
Tony Soprano's)

Delivery was scheduled the week before Christmas, 2002. We got a call
the day after Thanksgiving. I thought our car had arrived but no, it
was the sales manager calling. Seems that MB had shipped their better
dealers some preview models with the 'Inspiration' package. It was
identical in spec to what we'd ordered plus power rear windows, sport
seats, and some other minor details. The car listed for $1500 more
than what our did and would we be interested in talking about a deal?
We looked, it was beautiful and we agreed to pay $400 more for it.

We've had it since and the quality has been everything we'd hoped it
would be. It's been into the shop maybe 3 times for warranty work:
cams, exhaust header, power steering hose. I've put new brakes/rotors
(drilled & slotted) plus Bilstein struts all around on it. It gets
right at 20 mpg on the road and is decently comfortable. The 5 L motor
actually gets better mileage than the 4.3 L motor. The transmission
(same one as ML 430) shifts better due to newer firmware.

I love our S6 but it will be hard to consider Audi for our next car
given their current reluctance to bring in diesels. It will be even
harder to consider another dealer other than our MB dealer due to
their outstanding service department. They have more than once picked
up the tab for us on things which otherwise were out of warranty - a
far cry from our Audi dealer which will ask to replace brake pads with
50% life left.

My $.02

Steve Powers


On 11/4/06, Taka Mizutani <t44tqtro at gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks for the review, Steve. One thing that really kills the MBZ lineup for
> me is the reliability- their recent cars have terrible reliability ratings.
>
> Also, the slushbox. I test drove an E500 4Matic with the sport package
> last year and I was very impressed with the car. The black on black combo
> that I tested was gorgeous- nice German interior, tons of power with the
> 5L V-8, smooth transmission, adjustable suspension, great brakes, etc.
>
> What killed it is the lack of a manual- a good manual transmission would
> seal the deal, I'd be looking for a clean preowned E500, IF they were
> reliable.
>
> Taka
>