Overview & Reviews

The C280 is the lucky recipient of Mercedes' new V-type engine technology, receiving a 2.8-liter unit for the engine bay. BabySmart car seats, BrakeAssist and side airbags also debut on the C-Class this year.

• Attractive and solid, the smallest Mercedes is a good value in the near-luxury market.

• Initial hesitation when taking off from a standstill.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 53.00

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  Very satisfied after 9 years - 1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By Chuck - November 1 - 6:53 am

  We did purchase a I-Net bumper to bumper warranty for $2000 and thats helped. Id say weve almost even on that. Very few serious repairs. Did need a cat converter, a/c compressor and a few other minor things. Outside Mercedes warranty work, Id say we had $1600 of I-Net warranty over 6 years. We take very good care of the car and it only has 82,000 after 9 years

• 

  My Ride - Benz 280c 1998 - 1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By Noggi - May 10 - 10:00 am

  One service call in 4 years which was my fault - left lights on. Nice to drive, looks good, good mileage,zippy enough (its a six) unless you are a racer - Only bad is "check engine" light comes on intermittently (this means only check the air pollution system). Benz mechanics will say usually"tighten gas cap" or forget it etc - doesn`t mean much. This is a very good car - my 5th mercedes and I love them but concerned about coming years since they bought chrysler and are making some big changes in the Benz line.

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  one great car - 1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By tollerkoch - October 29 - 10:00 am

  I just bought this car last week on ebay and drove it from Miami to Santa Fe,NM. Everything you expect from a Benz and more. The ride is luxurious, quiet, and has plenty of power. Speaking of power, the interior is a living room, all leather and power everything. After testdriving about ten NEW cars from GM, VW, Nissan and Chrysler I can honestly say that none of the new ones was a match for this six year old car. I owned a beautiful 92 300CE Coupe, which was a total loss after I got rear ended, but this car has helped me to forget her.

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  poor electical sysyem - 1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By c matthis - October 25 - 2:00 am

  Two of the origional tires developed problems early on as the steel belts went out of allignment and the tire manufacturer refused to honor their warranty forcing the purchase of a complete set of new tires. No need to focus on the problems while the car was under warranty as Mercedes handled those well. Afterwards the electronics in the dash went haywire and caused some problems under the hood.Total cost to repair both was almost $1100. When I marveled that the dealership had these unusual parts in stock, I was told that this problem has become very common causing Mercedes to stock their dealerships with these parts for prompt repairs.

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  1998 Mercedes C230 - 1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By Glo - June 15 - 2:56 pm

  This car has had numerous problems that would not be expected from a car of this class from the time that I purchased it. The windshield wiper motor has gone out 3 times costing $900 to replace. The display screen for the temp control has been going in and out since Ive had the car. It was replaced with another one that did the same thing. The dealerships repair shop could not find the problem. The steering wheel is not properly aligned with the car. Problem could not be found once again. There is in a water leak in the trunk that cannot be resolved after numerous trips back to the dealers service dept. Overall this car has been a big disappointment for the money!

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  $0.10/mile car - 1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By StateStreet - September 24 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car with 50k miles on it and have driven it for the last 10 years and currently have 270k miles on it. I agree with most of the comments below and aside from replacing a transmission (that in all fairness, I beat on) and replacing wear items (breaks, belts, front end, tires, charcoal canister) the car has been outstanding. My goal is to put 1 million miles on it and the key is finding a good, independent mechanic that knows Mercedes and have him look it over once a year. Its good in the snow with 120 lbs of sand tubes in the trunk and good treads on the tires. Im in New England and dont even use snow tires with the extra weight.

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  Great but why latent design defects? - 1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By JPouchet - February 12 - 11:50 pm

  My first Mercedes and it has been a fine car. Our dealer is nothing but first class. I enjoy driving this car so much that I had to buy my wife her own new E 320 (2004) as nothing really compares to driving a MB. Considering the new 2006 ML 350 as a replacement but recent nagging latent design defects and poor support from MB USA are making me look at BMW. The steering wheel leather is falling apart, the headliner has pulled away from the C pillars, and the rear window regulators/motors have gone out several times. And this car is always garged, no one rides in the back, and is treated like a baby. It should hold up much better, like a Honda or Toyota.

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  Reliable and wont breakdown - 1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By JP - October 22 - 3:20 pm

  Ive had my C280 since Oct of 1997. Its the 98 model and its still running like a champ. As much as I want a new car, this one wont break down so I cant justify buying a new one. So thats making me think I want to buy another MB as my new car when its time. The only thing is its so boring inside, not too many bells and whistles. Since I got this car when I was barely 20, I was able to spice it up with some clear corner blinkers with 18" AMG monoblocks, but the redesign really needs to take into consideration mg the 20-30 something crowd who loves the 3 series Bimmers. sometimes I feel like an old lady driving this sedan, but honestly this car has always been reliable and a great buy! Safe!

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  Mercedes is likely the worst car company to deal with for a bad vehicle - 1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By marker513 - August 5 - 10:17 pm

  Ive owned my C230 for 14 years now, and the only reason I still own it is I couldnt sell it in good conscience with its flaws. The transmission was showing problems since new, but there were so many other problems that were more pressing when it was new (many pages in one visit) that I didnt notice that they left that one off. Then when it started to slip big time at 90K Mercedes refused to repair it. A mechanic at the dealership told me confidentially that it is a known problem. I complained to everyone, including the CEO of the entire company, and at every level in between, to no avail. This is my second that I bought new. Never again. Luckily this was not my only vehicle.

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  Still a nice car at 14 years old - 1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By bobaquino - October 2 - 10:20 am

  This is my first Benz, I bought it not long ago from old lady that passed away so truly it was the "Little old lady that drove it on Sunday" car. It had less than 68 K on it which was extremely low mileage for a 14 year old car, but unfortunately she took very poor care of the car bordering on car abuse. I have been going through it repairing what I can and getting all the service caught up, mostly by doing the work myself. The trick to owning one of these old Benzs is that you dont want to constantly pay somebody else to do the work, (no dealer) you need to be able to fix it yourself. Fortunately, the car is actually quite service friendly, though parts can be expensive.