Most things on a Mercedes that are made from metal and use stuff like gears and bearing are well made, even now. What breaks? Well, on the 2001-2007 C320, there are 16 little doors inside the dash that control the flow of the air by the automated HVAC system. They are not well made and require the dismantling of the entire dash to repair. The HVAC electronic control units break. The computers that control the combined functions of the power seat, windows and a bunch of other stuff are interlinked and fry each other. Big bills are the result.
Engines are super-strong and though I'm not familiar with the newer alloy block versions, the iron block engines last virtually forever. Gas or diesel, only a lack of maintenance has them fail. BUT, some of the stuff attached to the engine is electronic, and therefore, shite. The Air Mass Meter is now a service item, not a part that actually lasts. Crank Position Sensors are contantly failing. On many years of cars, the electronic throttle (drive by wire) system is shite. Parts for that cost more than some cars I've owned.
Bodies are usually among the best made, but MB makes their goofs there. My 98 C230 has not been babied (though maintained very well) and sees bad winter roads. Rust? Not a speck. BUT, many W210 (1996-2002 E-Class) cars have rust problems. Those same E-Class cars also have a defect where the front suspension mounts rust away, meaning the suspension just falls off the car at some point. Scary!! However, except for some models, MB's bodies are long lasting and super-solid.
The list of things that has gone wrong on our C230 is small and none mechanical in nature. However, the list of things that our 1998 E300 made was looooong and frustating. And to my dismay, the interior was actually less durable than our C-Class! In the E, the dash cracked, the driver's seat mounting frame broke and the rear power windows broke. Cripes. The engine electronics were total shite and the car lived at the dealership. How could two cars so disimilar in their reliability be built by the same company? Shocking.
My wife HATED that E300. Warranty covered everything of course, but the hassle of arranging to have if fixed constantly wore her down.
The other day I was in D.M. Mercedes picking up an oil filter and while I was at the parts counter, she was having a look at the newest E320 CDI (the replacement for her car) and the saleman asked her if she was interested. Her:
"Are you kidding? I need a car that runs everyday, so I have a Subaru..."
What do you say to that? He got the message.
