Seeking input on M-B C Class

"Pearson Hurst" (phurst)
12/16/2016 at 11:16 • Filed to: None

My daughter is 6 months away from turning 16, and my wife and I are considering getting her a car. We both work, so our cars won’t be available to her, and she goes to a specialty high school for the performing arts, which means her day starts by getting on the bus at 6:45 in the morning and not returning home until 5:30 at night. If she had a car, she could start her mornings later AND take her brother to school, making our lives easier as well. She’s a good kid, with good grades, shes responsible(ish) and has a good set of friends. There’s no reason to not get her a car, the question is, WHAT car.

I’ve been looking around, and been pretty underwhelmed with the options in my price range. Both cars in our household are financed, so I’m not really looking to take on a 3rd car payment, so I’m relegated to paying a few thousand in cash for something, and there aren’t a ton of options for something safe and reliable, which are my primary concerns.

Enter my mother. She’s retiring at the end of the year, and will treat herself to a new car when she does. She has offered to sell me her current car (an ‘04 C320 Wagon) for half of the KBB value. It’s got low miles, and has been meticulously dealer maintained. That certainly puts it in the affordable category, and it has 4 and 5 star crash ratings, so it seems pretty safe. What I’m looking for is input from someone who has had/has one, or general C Class input for something of this vintage. Pros, cons, common issues, things to look out for, other things I should be considering for a couple grand, things I should have checked out before I let her loose in it, that sort of thing. Any input/advice would be most greatly appreciated.

DISCUSSION (21)

Nibby > Pearson Hurst
12/16/2016 at 11:21

My parents had leased a 2002 C240 back then and it was always at the dealer for electrical issues, lights going out, etc. Terrible in rain/snow but they had the RWD one

Pearson Hurst > Nibby
12/16/2016 at 11:23

Well, THAT’S not encouraging...

E90M3 > Pearson Hurst
12/16/2016 at 11:27

I had a 1997 Explorer as my first car, my sister drove that for 2 years then got a 2002 Explorer of her own. Once they got all the sensors figured out, the 4.0L SOHC V6 is pretty reliable, and they’re not too expensive to fix. Explorers are plentiful and cheap. That said, take the Benz. If it’s too much to maintain, sell it and you should recoup most of the money, then get something else.

bob and john > Pearson Hurst
12/16/2016 at 11:31

Ehhhh. merc as a first car. RWD as first car too. Beware of the snow.

Its not a bad car. I’ve heard of lemons, but if your mom kept then its probably fine.

Teach your kid the virtues of car maintenance, as that is not something to be skimped on with a older German machine.

I personally liked them.

If you want safe and reliable, the Volvo S40 (2001-2003) has dropped to STUPID cheap $, and ours went to 550K km before the water pump eat itself and warped the head after mom drove it for 4 hours without the pump working. FWD too, so nice in snow.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Pearson Hurst
12/16/2016 at 11:33

They can be a tiny bit finicky, but not nearly as bad as some stuff. In the situation you described, I say go for it.

Land_Yacht_225 > Pearson Hurst
12/16/2016 at 11:35

The simpler a Daimler-Chrysler era Mercedes is, the less stressful your ownership experience will be. And it’s a C-Class! Really, not a lot can go wrong. Most Benzes of the era will leak some oil, but not much else. You’re way ahead if your mother has been having all the preventative maintence done. The best way to buy any car is to get it from someone you know who has been maintaing it properly. And that 3.2 V6 is a brilliant engine, especially since its successor had balance shaft issues. Just be aware that when it comes time to do the 100,000 mile service, it has 12 spark plugs. Mechanically, there isnt much to go wrong. The only thing these are really known for is the cheap interior, things can break easily if you arent gentle so...you know...tell your daughter not to manhandle the power seat controls and you’ll be fine.

And good on you for considering a Mercedes as a first car. I know too many people who could afford a NEW C-class for their kid but won’t out of some twisted principal that your first car must be soul crushing.

Pearson Hurst > bob and john
12/16/2016 at 11:35

Mom reports this one has been relatively problem free, so I’m guessing it isn’t a complete basket case or anything, and we get peraps one day of snow every other year, so not much of an issue there. I suppose she could get in some trouble in the wet with RWD, but my first car was RWD and I didn’t wrap it around anything despite power sliding every corner when the streets were wet :)

bob and john > Pearson Hurst
12/16/2016 at 11:39

if she can handle, thats fine. but too many times I see: oh i can handle it, i’ll be fine” and it turns out they cant.

This might be my riding background, but I always er on the side of caution when picking a machine for someone who I dont know.

Pearson Hurst > bob and john
12/16/2016 at 11:43

She’s been great when practicing, but so was I while my parents were in the car with me, not so much afterwards. I’m probably lucky to be alive, all the stupid shit I did in cars.

bob and john > Pearson Hurst
12/16/2016 at 11:44

hehe. you should see the stupid shit I have done with bikes.

man...my poor mother would have a heart attack if she knew 1/5 of the stuff I do.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Land_Yacht_225
12/16/2016 at 11:45

This is the philosophy adopted by most of Oppo. When I got my car there was a lot of thinly veiled “Your parents must be morons.” I’m against kids getting fast cars as there first ride because of safety, but not necessarily nice ones.

Rico > Land_Yacht_225
12/16/2016 at 11:46

My first car was a 2014 C300 that I leased and don’t regret it one bit. It has SPOILED me for other cars though. So solid and comfortable.

Sam > Pearson Hurst
12/16/2016 at 11:50

Have you considered a Lexus? LS430 would easily be in the same range as a C Class, but they’re freaking tanks.

Chariotoflove > bob and john
12/16/2016 at 12:00

My first thought was to say Volvo as well, but it sounds like he’s already decided, barring any convincing reasons not to do the Merc.

Land_Yacht_225 > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
12/16/2016 at 12:01

And every time they start spouting off I hold my tongue because I don’t have kids so I shouldn’t talk, but it is infuriating. You know what the real “best first car” is? A W140 S320. It’s too heavy to move with that gutless straight 6, and there isn’t a thing on this planet that will be able to hit it hard enough to damage the fragile teenagers inside.

But its a Mercedes so no no no, can’t let the kids think they’re big shots...

jasmits > Pearson Hurst
12/16/2016 at 12:06

I was going to say M-B as a first car might not be the best choice but the family connection makes it make some sense.

My first car, purchased the summer of 2011 (damn, already 5 years ago) was a 2004.5 Volvo S40 2.4i(non-turbo, fwd, automatic). Still the nicest car to date that I’ve owned. In retrospect I think my parents wanted me to have all the modern safety features for the lowest amount of money, so a 6 year old entry-level Volvo made sense. Honestly, the Volvo made a pretty perfect first car. It was nice, but not too nice, nowhere near enough power to get me in trouble without being slow and comfortable but not an unnecessarily luxurious car for a 16 year old. Finally, the handling was good enough to satisfy the budding car enthusiast in me, at least for a few years till I had saved some money of my own to find something more fun that’s actually mine(E36 Compact). Took me a bit to get to my point but I look them up every so often on craigslist for nostalgia’s sake and prices really aren’t bad at all for a 2005 or so S40, probably worth a look.

Funktheduck > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
12/16/2016 at 12:06

I think the idea is most new drivers are likely to mess up the car so don’t waste money. New drivers definitely shouldn’t have fast cars regardless of niceness.

Pearson Hurst > Sam
12/16/2016 at 12:41

Same range as a half price C Class (2k)?

Sam > Pearson Hurst
12/16/2016 at 12:47

Wow, I didn’t know the depreciation was so hard. The 430 is out, but you could find a good LS400 for $2k with enough digging.

But honestly, knowing the price, I’d go with the 2k C Class. That price gives a nice buffer for eventualities.

Pearson Hurst > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
12/16/2016 at 13:04

I just want her to be safe and have a reliable car, whatever that turns out to be, but yeah, I’m not against having a relatively nice first car. You can have the soul crushing experience when you have to BUY your first car :) In inherited my moms Jaguar when I got my license (nice, but INCREDIBLY unreliable), so I can relate, and then had my soul crushed when I actually bought my first car (Bronco II). I turned out mostly OK, and so will she.

smobgirl > Funktheduck
12/16/2016 at 14:56

My first car was a $200 pile of crap but it was more technologically advanced than anything my parents have ever owned, even now. Honestly probably a nicer interior than anything I’ve owned either. Nice has a lot of different meanings!