2004 Mercedes-Benz C-Class consumer reviews

PRO's: Great ride. Good power (mid range is phenomenal 50-90 mph). Comfortable and quiet ride. CONS: cheap components (internal door pulls all broken, both rear springs broke, catalytic converter went at 40K) - these items are all xxx type items Benz should have paid for no questions asked. MB paid for the catalytic converter but since the other stuff broke right after 50K miles they would not entertain any warranty on the springs and door pulls (spring was definitely a mfg defect - when have you ever heard of 2 broken springs!! I never broke one in any of my prior vehicles.) The door pulls are poorly designed so I havent replaced them since they WILL BREAK AGAIN. Other cheap components: brake pads gone at 35K and they dusted like crazy - I replaced these cheapo pads with aftermarket pads - now much more life and no dusting!). This car has MB feel and comfort and safety(?) but VW components.

I didn't want a mini van- so this worked for me. I love the way it looked and the drive is very smooth. I even started a trend at the private school my children attend! lol. So here is the bad about the C320 wagon- my handles came off- ALL of them. The sunroof is a bit unpredictable. I had to replace the motor for the back windows-twice. I was shocked by the cheapness of some of the materials. This was my dream car...I will buy another benz- just not a the C-class

It indeed was an excellent car. I drove it from the original mileage of 599 to 53000. It was flexible for the sport minded man. I had a turbo c230 and it ran smoothly. I had only one problem with it and it was the transmission filter but other than that it was a good car. I would rate it between 1 - 5, an 4 stars.

Great Buy************************************ Sexy***************************************** You will get a lot of attention!*********************

I purchased a used 2004 C240 for my kids to drive to school. Having driven MB's over 50 times on my trips to Germany I had been impressed with the smooth performance and handling as well as the reputation for quality. The car had 58k miles on it and was spotless, obviously garage kept and according to carfax was local. Less than 10k per year, excellent condition, good buy right? Wrong. I have had it for 6 months, driven 6k miles and it has been in the shop 4 times for repair of a sensor, brakes, another sensor and a vacuum leak in the vapor recovery system. I have put over $2500 in repairs into it not counting maintenance. This is the most unreliable car that I have ever purchased period. Mercedes-Benz quality? I think not. Unless you are the person who I am going to sell this thing to, never ever spend (and spend) your money on a Benz. I am completely dissatisfied with this vehicle and will be trading it in on anything other than a Mercedes Benz. They say if you can't afford one don't buy a Benz. Well I can afford it and still won't buy another one.

This car is hands down, the best kept secret of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class series. Have no clue why it never became more popular in the US. 215 HP under the hood of a car roughly the size of a Honda Civic Coupe. Top Speed of 158mph(that's as fast as I could get it going). Sure, it looks cute on the outside but it packs a wicked sick punch. You can pick one of these up USED for under 13 grand with less than 50k on it??? And it's a Mercedes! Do not buy the C230. The C320 coupe is only a tad more expensive and can dust pretty much anything on the road under 50gs. Take yuppies in their 4 dr Beemers all the time. The 'claimed' 0-60 in 7secs on the C320 is a load of bull. I'm clocking 0-60 in 5.6 secs. Not sure if my car was an import or if some upgrades were made or if there is some malfunction and too much fuel is getting injected but I definitely took an Audi A5 3.2L the other day. Barely but I took him. I actually had the car inspected at the local Mercedes dealer and everything came back fine. I have a C320 Sport Coupe, Black paint, Black Leather Interior, fully loaded with sport package and Bose sound system, moon roof, climate control, rear view auto dimming, 16in alloy wheels, etc...Some people think the car is too cute! I dunno man...I used to rock a Corvette(yeah...the Corvette was much faster...but it was also a piece of junk) and chicks seem to dig the Benzo a lot more...i mean...if you're worried about that sort of thing. Otherwise, just a great car to own and jet around town in.

I thought this car was going to be a great purchase. However, when it crossed 40K miles, it seemed a lot like the 1964 Plymouth I had. Every week or so something was going wrong. It seemed like the dealer's extortion was $400 for the first day (minimum) and then $125 for each additional day until I screamed uncle and took it back. The last day I had it, I took it to a car wash before I traded it. I almost drowned in it the sun roof was leaking so badly. I let it dry out and traded it for a car from Japan. While Mercedes may be in my personal rear view, it does not look like it is at all in my future.

Have owned a C230 Kompressor for 6 years now. I order it from Germany because I wanted the stick shift. The manual transmission makes this car is much faster than the automatic. I love the way the exterior looks, especially with the xenon headlights and the black-on-gray coloring. Many people mistake it for the much-larger S-Class. And valets are amazed when they see a rare manual Mercedes. The sports suspension and sports seats make for very tight handling. The steering is perfectly weighted. I was surprized by how much "sport" MB trhu in: suspension, seats, steering wheel, rubber studded pedals, sports wheels, low-profile ZR tires, drilled rotors, 6-speeds, etc. This car has the perfect blend of sport and luxury. Based on all the reviews I read prior to purchasing, I expected reliability to be mediocre, but have been very surprized. NOTHING has broken on this car in 6 years. My only trips to the dealership have been for normal maintenance and wear & tear items (tires, brakes, etc.). This car has been more reliable than my Toyota! On top of all this, the car was not overly priced when I bought it new. I easily saved $5,000 off of a comparable BMW 3-series. Impressive all around. What would I change? The dashboard is not the most modern in the world (even 6 years ago). You can get an option of a folding rear seat, but it seems like that's a fairly easy feature to make standard. I just upgraded to a new Porsche Cayman S, but I find I still like driving the Merc around--it feels more sophisticated and elegant.

I routinely ride 400+ miles on the interstate and this car is both quiet and comfortable. The handling in sport mode is outstanding for the curves! The seats hold you in fairly well during fast driving. The exterior styling is sexy and has received numerous comments. Trunk space is good and the design for the spare tire and associated tools works well. Some of the electronics are rather innovative and helpful (locking doors with trunk open, auto lights/windshield wipers, dimming mirrors). The cons are the interior plastics; my cup holder broke within a few months, 1 driver side window switch broke, and the moonroof switch broke.

Great looking car that handles and drives like a luxury sedan should. Very reliable AWD, would not own one without it.