well i have joined the ranks and have a baby on the way (due on 07-05-07). I had no plans of getting rid of the z because we have another car until this came along. a girl at work just bought a 06 MB c280 fully loaded. she really loves my car. we were talking about if i was going to sell or trade it and i told her not really. she said she would love to swap with me. jokingly i said okay. she got all excited. her car has about 14000 miles and mine is 06 base with 9800 miles. think this is a good trade? or should i just keep it. need input.

 

It's time to trade one baby for another. The Z is not child-seat friendly!

 

C32 Ftw!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I agree - perhaps one of your friends have an older kid you can trade with?

 

My mom has that car, and its not as horrible as her old C240 was. Go to the dealership and just drive the hell out of one and see if it works for you. I drove it for like a week straight when she was out of town (and it started to snow here, its AWD) and its a car that I would mind having if I had to have 4 doors on my daily driver. However, I would also look into the Acura TL Type-S that should be out in 2007. Also the beemers, maxima, G35 coupe has a backseat or the sedan and the lexus I350

Is this the only kid you plan on having? Casue there could be some room to secure a child seat if you take out the spare tire.

 

my gf had a c280 and i will never buy a mercedes because of it. everyone i know who owns a mercedes has problems with it all the time but her c280 was a bigger money pit than anyone i know. they're so hightech that there's just too much to go wrong, and everything is reeeaaaally expensive

 

 

Mercedes had a few years (2000-2005 I think?) that were absolute crap quality. It's been getting better, but some of those C's were just garbage.

You have until July. Run the Blue Book on the MB, find out how much you would be willing to sell your Z for, trade with the chick at work, sell the MB and buy a 330xi. BMWFTW.

 

C280, two thumbs way down!

 

I'm not a big M fan myself. Apart from the snooty badge, they have a well-deserved reputation for spotty reliability. Not that I wouldn't mind a nice SL55 AMG or perhaps the SLR McClaren.

Most non-Z cars will give you... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZs. It's like my wife's Lexus, which is a gorgeous vehicle but totally BORING to drive. You sit in the seat, push the gas pedal and turn the wheel. That's all.

 

yeah i have a 1995 C280, and that car is perfect. I've never done anything other than changing the oil. 0 problems 11 years and counting....

 

G35

 

Get the rare c36 amg. I just picked up a 95 c36 with 87k miles yesterday and its damn fast for only 268hp. I was going to get the c32 supercharged but it has issues. My c36 has a clean record and it was a bargain. I raced a 06 350z auto and beat him a couple of cars! I still have my Z but I'm really impressed with the amg performance!

 

how about an evo?

 

Ditto. The C280 is overpriced and underpowered. To top it off, you get subpar reliability. Their reliability records used to be a little worse, but some model years have aged relatively "ok".

Most of the C-Class is just such a joke that I can't believe anyone bothers buying them. I just shake my head when I see C230 "Kompressors" and C240s (they had whopping 168 hp V6 engines when I had my 255 hp Maxima) running around.

 

Some of the ratings issues with Mercedes is the buyers not the cars. I am not one to say that lightly as I really like C.R. for doing that survey. But I sold Mercedes during the 05-06 years (great job BTW, really good money). We had long time buyers come in and complain about the stupidist things. For instance I would have buyers regularly come in and complain about the radio. They would swear it was broken and that the dealer wouldn't replace it. Then after talking with them they were most upset about the AM performance and the supid WB button that is useless (I think it was Weather Band or Wide Band can't remember). I know these buyers killed Mercedes on its survey. My father has a 05 C230. He swears the transmission has a "hitch" spot in it. I have driven a TON of C230's and his is no different then any other C230. It's normal. I can say that over and over and over but he does not want to believe me. I know what he is feeling. He is feeling the torque converter lock up. But he is convinced a Mercedes should not feel anything like that ( can barely feel anything btw when he says he feels it). Climate Control is another perfect example. Most people don't have a clue how to use the damn thing. So they knock it regularly. It took me hours to figure out how to program every asspect of the on board computer. Then I had to show 80% of the other sales force as the one guy who knew everything was a snob and would not help anyone. Mercedes are "over" blessed with electronics. It kills them because the more you have the more likely something is going to break. They do have their fair share of issues but I don't think it's as bad as people looking at that survey would be led to believe. My father has had zero issues with his car (an 05). I know some have issues. Every maker has them, Mercedes more then many but it's about the same as BMW, VW, AUDI, and the rest from what I have seen. In the end after 5 years the Mercedes will still feel tight and run you till 200K if you know how to maintian them.

 

do it only if you really wanted the C280, it's a good trade off.

 

thanks for the help guys. i've decided not to trade. i know i would really regret that trade. i drove the car and it is boring. i've got another 5 months to save up and plan on selling my bikes (01 cbr 600f4i and 02 gsxr 600 if anyone is interested). gonna look at the mazdaspeed6 or maybe a legacy gt when the time comes.