Used 2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Consumer Reviews

My First Benz

Unbelievable!!! If you have never owned a Benz before, what a great place to start. A warning, however-- it is a drug from which you will never recover. Meaning-- you will never be able to go back! I LOVE THIS CAR!!!

C230 Sport Coupe

Very nice quality. Very good value for the 3 pointed star. Enging smooth and linear and fun to drive. Fit and finish like a 120K Mercedes! Very reliable. Shousld hold it's value nicely.

Fun to drive

This car is very fun and pratical. Lot's of look's and comments. I've owned the car for 2 months and no problems so far. Looked at the Audi A- 4 and VW Passat, Infiniti G-35. This is a better car by far than the others.

my first

Smaller than I would have preferred. But interior, engine size and overall styling leaves me satisfied. I'm 6'1" and the seating is just enough to keep me from squirming. I will easily opt for the E-class next time around. This car turns heads and is whisper quiet inside. I think I'm hooked on this truly superior automotive line.

Fun but what's up with the sound?

I really love my first Benz. It has a ton of power and great fuel efficiency. I absolutely love the sunroof; it feels like the whole world is open and you dont have to pay all the extra costs of a true convertible. I wish more of them came to the dealer with programable seats though. Leather is a must being that the cloth looks like it came straight from K mart. The key is fun and functional. My only big complaint is the stereo system. I used to drive a toyota echo, a super cheap car and the stereo system in there was ten times crisper and sweeter than this, and from what I hear the Bose is even worse.

Fun to drive and 30 mpg- no regrets!

I waited a year to write this to be sure it would be valid. This car has been a kick! I've got a 2300cc with the 6 speed, and have a blast driving it over the local mountain roads. I average 23 mpg city and over 30 on the highway - I can't imagine having this much fun and getting this mileage as well. It handles and accelerates like a pro (I've got the "wheel" package) and the sunroof is close enough to a convertible for me. It'll be a tough act to follow.

First Merdeces

I've always wanted this car and am not disappointed. It looks great in white. Have had it for three months and haven't had any problems with it. Makes my 30 minute freeway commute very comfortable. Accelerates well for passing and the ride is smooth and quiet. A few ergonomic issues with interior layout. After getting over the initial thrill of owning it I realize it's a starter-level luxury car, but it still makes me feel pretty fancy driving it. Love seeing the Mercedes star on the hood when I'm driving.

great car

this my first MB, and I like it very much.

new owner

Just got this car 2 weeks ago. Have put on 1200 miles so far. Very responsive, quick when needed, very stylish, great gas milage. Does need to improve cup holders,cruise control lever,and the front window always seem to fog up no matter what setting I put the ac controls on. Should be able to keep this car many years.

awesome car

this car is a 10. great value. chicks dig it. rides like a limo, handles like F1 race car. great gas mileage

Lemon Land -

This dog dont run. a/c was so bad it took the dealer four tries to find the problem deep in the system. Defective windhsield water bottle caused the cooling system to report as bad. A defective valve set the car into LIMP Home mode. $2,000 repair under warranty. Mercedes does stand behind their warranty but has no sympathy or extra effort for putting you thru the gauntlet. We're on our fourth replacement key. I would not recommend that you get involved with them. Better off with a more dependable car than going through warranty hell and trying to deal with the anonymous zone guy who won't speak directly with you.

My first Mercedes

Just got my C240 a few days ago and so far it's been a dream. I also looked at the Audi A4, the BMW 325i, and the Mercedes C320. Although you get more bang for your buck with the Audi (leather, better interior set up, more room in back passenger seats) I had my heart set on a Mercedes. I like the way this car handles and looks but feel like I should have gotten more for the money. I'm not dissapointed but for 33K - give me leather interior and a CD player standard, ya know what I mean?

thumbs up for this baby benz...

this baby benz (c240/w203) could pack more power but other than that it rides you to sleep. this car is for pure comfort and not made to go fast. i guess it's better that way because it does make necks turn as you drive by slowly...

Love our C320

This is a very fun car to drive. The engine purrs, the features are excellent, and our dealership experience was great.

Awesome

The 230k w/auto rocks. I get so many complements. I had both a bmw(which i sold within 2 months of having it b/c the reliability was awful) and an Infiniti G35 coupe (it looks nice on the outside, but the ride was awful, the interior was cheap, and it didn't even have a armrest). Finally, I decided to move to the MB family and it was the best decision.

New Baby Sportz Benz Fun To Drive (FTD)

We just bought this car for my wife to drive. We looked at the usual suspects in this class; G35, IS350, 3 series, A4, S60, LT-S, etc..., what a great group of cars all of them. This car just stands out from the rest. It's not the quickest, or the best sport handling, or most luxurious (that's the C320), but the sum of it's parts seem to make it feel greater to drive thna all the rest or what gives it the FTD experience. Our's is the Obsidian Black w/Charcoal interior (the fastest of the C230 Sport Sedan),plus it has the looks over all the other sport compact sedans. Remember we just bought this car, so we hope, we still feel this way as time goes on.:-)

Great Little Benz

I was looking for an entry level luxury sedan and compared this with the new Saab 9-3, entry level Jaguar, and the an Acura. Although each had its charm and nice features I settled on the C230 sedan for its overall style and performance. I really like the aluminum trim and the thickly bolstered seats in the car. The car is somewhat compact but has enough leg room and the trunk is nicely sized. I wanted the manual but the salesperson talked me into the automatic- it does suck some of the fun out this rear wheel drive car but will probably be more convenient in the long term.

C240 4matic 2003 A wonderful car!

I love this car. The ride and handling are superb and the fuel economy is decent. I find the power is adequate (I'm coming from an Audi S4). I have only had it a week so I don't know how reliability will be. I am giving it a 10 for now (although the door open warning does not come on). I drove the 2003 Audi A4 Quattro and BMW 325XI and preferred the ride of the C240. All the cars seemed to handle very well.

Bavy Benz

I ordered this car in April of 2003, and it came in just a week ago.I love it, i odred it fully loaded with C!,C2,C4, auto., heated seat,CD, Zenon lights. i had no problems so far. Thsicar rides so solid and smooth, and is built very well. It stands out compared to the other cars on the road. Also the dealership emlpoyees are extremly nice and caring.

Has exceeded my expectations

After two months if ownership, have found very little to fault. In past 15 years have driven BMWs and Audis. Mercedes C230 sedan with Sports package outshines others in just about every category. Value, appearance, handling, build quality (so far), and features have convinced me that buying this car a no brainer.

The best car I've owned....

Absolutly the best car i have owned to date, i have had 18 others so far, looked at a4,g35,325's,jetta,accord,altima and many more, this car has the most complete package, the best 4 year value and the shinny MB star

What a Car!

I've had Lexus, BMW, Nissan, Lincoln, Corvettes, and wife currently drives a Jaguar X - Type. This C-230 Sport Sedan is the best car for the $$ spent of all. Fast, economical and fun to drive. Highly recommend it to others.

Do the research and rejoice

Purchased an 03' with 44,000mi. for $6000.00. Yes! 6k! Originally 40k! I did a total combined 48hrs of research on sites like this one lookn and readn prior to purchase. The c320 is fckn amazing! $40 to fill with premium @ QT last week.

2003 C32 AMG Review

Let me start by saying I was the third owner of this vehicle, and there's an old saying that "there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes." That holds especially true when dealing with a low volume, early in the Mercedes-AMG merger category, despite the plethora of resources available during the Mercedes/Chrysler merger years. Let's start with the bad: within months of ownership, things started to go wrong. The LCD screen on the dashboard went out completely, not giving me visuals for the plethora of things going wrong with the electrics on the vehicle. Despite having 30+ computers in it that were all likely running Windows 98, everything continued to function and work just fine, except for the sunroof. The LCD replacement cost me $50 on eBay and I did it myself over an hour. Back on the road, back to enjoyment. The W203 chassis is the technical successor to the acclaimed W124 chassis that came before it, despite different model designations. And while several trim and engine options were available, from 2002-2004, AMG decided to experiment with new technology, taking the very plain 3.2L Mercedes V6 and reworking the top end of it to include a twin-screw supercharger that they somehow made nearly silent. The result? A V6 with balance, reliability and fuel economy, but when the pedal was pressed to the floor, a magnetic clutch engaged the supercharger forcing air and electronically, fuel into the engine to yeild 349 horsepower and roughly the same in torque. Out of sheer laziness, the AMG engineers opted for the beefy transmission in Mercedes/Chrysler's line-up that could handle the torque, the same 5-speed, speed shift unit available as result of the R&D intermixing with McLaren for the Mercedes McLaren SLR from years earlier. This car was a subtle rocket, devoid of tell-tale visual cues like quad exhaust, exaggerated wheel arches or spoilers like other AMGs are known for. Debadged as mine was, you couldn't tell this car apart from a C230 Kompressor until you hit the accelerator and the car whirred and growled to life. With its stubby nose and peanut-shaped headlights, it was the most effeminate of the Mercedes line-up, with a half-assed attempt at retro styling in the midst of the earliest craze, but somehow this machine held a monster within, and AMG gave it the matching suspension, brakes and software mapping to match. I had folks in Lamborginis and Porsches demand I pull over to ask me what the heck my car was during the Pandemic on spirited drives. But like all Mercedes from this era, the enthusiasts in R&D were neutered by the accountants who were hellbent on turning a profit for shareholders as much as they wanted to be known for saving the environment. And thus despite mechanical superiority over its rivals -- the Audi S4 and BMW M3 of the era -- the C32 vanished into obscurity, taking with it the host of issues stemming from a factory wire harness designed to biologically degrade over the years, It started 85% of the time, and every time it did, it was the most fun car I've ever driven. But those other 15% caused bigger and bigger headaches, ultimately culminating in the necessities to replace not one but four catalytic converters at 155,000 miles, and shortly thereafter, the speed shift transmission itself. I brought this car back to life for half a decade, spending thousands on repairs and maintenance, and I don't regret it. This car behaved exactly like I wanted a car to my whole life. But eventually she succumbed to water damage from a flood, and there was nothing more I could do. If you can find a clean example... this car succeeded the C43 AMG and proceeded the C55 AMG, both more notable than this machine. But from 2002 to 2004, Mercedes and AMG made this little monster, about 4,400 of them, and they will go down as one of the rarest Mercedes post AMG-merger, and they were better than the S4 and M3 they were designed to dominate.

Bought A Lemon

Bought (2002) car June 22nd-crappy right from start. Returned for bad air flow sensor-first week. Car died in in parking lot had it towed in-second week. Dealer kept car 34days. Called lawyer-third week. Car has been parked for 4 months. If you buy a c240 you will need a good lawyer.

WOW!

Superior handling, very powerful for a 4-cylinder - great accelleration for a car this heavy, great selection of amenities, Classic styling, feels tight and quiet.

PERFECT 10 (Forget the BMW's)

Don't buy this CAR! I love it soooo much that when I see another one it just drives me crazy. Fast, confident, sure footed, amazing design and is by far the best Car on the road. I spent Four months test driving everything in it's class. I was careful about buying my car. Soon it was clear. Nothing else even came close. (Not even the BMW 5 series)

why buy anything else

This vehicle makes driving a pleasure. It is almost as if the car is driving itself and I am just along for the ride. Only complaint is sluggish engine at times, but Compressor overcomes that problem. I was really surprised by fuel economy which was better than I expected. Everyone who can afford a Benz should have one.

All in one for me

I have had the car for a little over three months, so this is clearly not a long term review. My review in terms of rating 1-10 are conservative, because a new car is always going to be rated a ten in things like reliability, but how do you know after three months. Aside from that, I think this is a great car. The group this car is classified in is a 5 speed manual, but mine is a auto/tipronic awd c320 sport. I didnt want a japense car, because they are too light when S hits the fan. Its a bit expensive, but I think they should raise the price more. This is a mercedes, reflect that in its pricing even more with the sport versions.

My Overall Opinion of the C320 Wagon

Overall this car is very satisfactory for me however I feel that I sacrificed alot of room from my previous SUV. Also I am not as pleased with my overall service interaction at this point of owning the vehicle.I purchased this car orginally from a good friend who unfortunately is no longer at the dealership so I believe the exceptional service I received was short lived. I have to say that I will be going back to a SUV in about a year and also my previous vehicle make which was a Lexus because they continue great service throughout my entire ownership of the car.

Economic Magnificence

I could not believe that a working man could own a Benz w/5 year, 50K mile all inclusive plan for the same price as a moderate class GM or other American car. The car is flawless, gets 30+ MPG and is a blast when using the tap shifter with the rev limiter. Winding roads are fun. It has that classic Mercedes feel on the road. I have driven it 45K miles and have had it serviced by the dealer. It has cost me nothing except brake pads and I replaced them myself. There's not a shake, rattle or roll in the car. I smile every time I get to drive it.I have owned a new Lincoln, Chrysler, Volkswagon, Chevy's and my Benz beats them all. I bought a twin Benz in 2003 for my wife. Bravo! Mercedes

Pocket Rocket Wagon

This is not your grandpa's benz. It's fast, smooth and precise. Transmission is like butter. Engine pulls strong with plenty of torque in the right places - sorry beemer peter. Pleasant sporting note out of the exhaust - that does not sound throathy but growns with assurance. Interiors is spacious and seats are german firm and supportive. Cars feels very solid and safe (air bags everywhere). Stops on a dime without squatting or diving. Pleasure to drive on long trips.

2003 C240