Due to some common long-term quality and reliability issues, the first generation Mercedes C-Class (known internally as the W202), does not hold a high opinion in the minds of many. Having never been all that common when new, especially compared to their BMW E36 3 Series rival and larger W210 E-Class sibling, W202s are virtually nonexistent on Massachusetts roads today, most having been either infected with electrical gremlins or rusted away. Seeing this beautifully maintained Brilliant Emerald Pearl 1995 C280 really stopped me dead in my tracks.
As a kid growing up when these were new, I never personally cared for them, finding the styling a bit too formal for such a small car, and especially disliking the triangular taillights that continued to the top of the rear deck. Having not seen any W202s in a long time, stumbling upon this C280 as I was coming out of Whole Foods ignited an instant attraction and change in heart from me. I guess you could say I got a little bit of a car crush on it.
not a fan of the 202. but i was a fan of the 124 esp convertible and 500.
A mini-S class in appearance and refinement, but disgracefully rusty for any make of car, never mind a Mercedes-Benz.
We would drive Mercedes cars like any other mark of car for three years as taxis and then sell them.
Unlike the i.e. French cars, the Mercedes cars had a general big problem with rust, which would attack them prior to the third year in service.
Spot on, when they first came out I was like awwwe a baby S-Class.
Then after seeing them next to the competition within it’s class. This model baby Benz lost the allure that say the 190e-class had. Also everyone I know that had one of these had major problems with them almost monthly.
I drove a lot in the turbo diesel estate wagon in the 1990’s as a taxi.
Well, you got the star on the hood and on the steering wheel.
You got a – very – fast car, but you also got a pretentious car, as it was not large enough for three adult passengers, not to mention the luggage they often bring with them to the airport.
Were the taxi services tied to MB, I don’t remember seeing BMW or Audi in such service in Europe. A few Peugeot, Volvo, and Chrysler 300.
When in Copenhagen in 2015 my airport taxi was an E class turbo diesel wagon. Plenty of room and the engine had a stop/start feature at stoplights. Did not think that could be combined with diesel engines
A Mercedes-Benz midsizer with a 4-cylinder diesel is the Mother of all Euro-taxis. It started with the W115 and then all subsequent generations W123, 124, 210, 211, 212 and the current W213.
Fierce competition these days though from the Skoda Superb. Very roomy inside, Superb bang for the buck.
Hard to tell the scale. Is that a Golf or Euro Passat size wagon?
More like a Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon.
Skoda Superb is basically a Passat with a stretched wheelbase if memory serves…
“Ain’t nothing superb, about a Passat, nothing.
The equivalent of automotive rubbish.”
Jeremy Clarkson
It’s built on VAG’s current MQB-platform, which can be used for pretty much anything.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modularer_Querbaukasten
Very well-regarded in Australia. I’m seeing a lot more Skodas these days.
W213 taxi
Cream!!! I thought the only Mercedes Benz colors you could buy these days was silver, platnum silver, tungsten silver, graphite silver, graphite silver pearl, platnum tungston, tungsten mica, platinum mica, white, white metallic, white pearl, black, black metallic and black pearl.
In Germany that very specific shade of cream can only be ordered in combination with a taxi roof sign.
See, that’s another reason (apart from financial!) why I could never have a Mercedes. Such a bland, drab, boring range of so-called colours. What’s the matter, don’t they have colour TV in Deutschland? 🙂
A Mercedes showroom must be a depressing place.
If all taxis are assigned the same special colour that aren’t used in retail, people also know what they get. A three year old Mercedes ex-taxi may look sound but may have several hundred thousand kilometres on it. The taxi colour makes it impossible for shady dealers to flog off the cars to unknowing buyers. Besides, the taxi colour yellow makes it very easy to distinguish taxis from other cars, which is extremely convenient when you’re on the lookout for one….
Do those new Benzes come with a free bottle of No-Doz… So you don’t fall asleep at the wheel, from being surrounded in such boring colors?
John C.
In the 1990’s I worked with Billund Airport as base.
There were three taxi operators. One with mixed cars, one with Peugeot cars only, and the one I drove for with Mercedes, Audi, and a VW bus.
All his cars were serviced at the authorized dealers.
The cars were in service three years before being sold. It all had to do with a certain car tax rule for taxis (which actually was changed quite recently). Selling the cars was a major factor in running a taxi service, as taxi and limousine cars could be registered with only 20% import tax.
After having driven around 185K miles – typically over a three year time – they could be sold as if the regular 180% import tax had been paid.
The major difference between Mercedes and Audi in service was that an Audi was $5.800 more expensive in service over the three years than a Mercedes.
I was so fortunate that my company would buy Mercedes with differential lock, which to me gave me a safer ride in snow with RWD, than Audi with FWD.
Once an Audi loses grip on the road, you are lost and will easily fly off the road, unless you are a indeed very good driver.
If a Mercedes with differential lock gets in trouble and the rear wheel skids, the lock sets in. If you release the pedal also a bit, you are quickly back on track and safe.
We had some really cold winters in the 1990’s with a lot of snow, during which we got to know the cars and their limits quite well.
And yes, we drove with winter tires every winter regardless of the weather forecast.
I later started my own limousine business with a Cadillac Fleetwood. It came with – what I was told was – Canadian White Wall winter tires.
It got me through anything. Never once was I stuck in snow drifts. The car would work its way straight through them.
Wow that import tax was high. In a country where most every car is imported, if only from next door Germany or Sweden? Wasn’t the common market/EU supposed to fix stuff like that.
Out of curiousity, if you remember, what percentage was the value of the taxis at 3 years and 185k? At three years and being diesels, they really are not used up yet.
On the Audis slipping off the road, they probably would suggest a Quattro.
John C
Well – all of our cars are imported, because if you manufacture your car yourself, you are taxed as if you imported it, if you want to register it and drive it.
It has killed a few initiatives over the past decades- 🙁
Our car registration tax is referred to 180%, but here is how it goes.
After a verdict in the EU around 1988, figures were changed and the level for 105% tax was raised, why it now goes like this:
The two tax steps: 105% and 180% on the price of the car before tax:
DKK 81.700 /$11,786 is taxed 105%
What is above this is taxed 180%
The graphic will show it in another way how you end up:
Blue is the car value from the factory.
Red is the import tax – 105% mixed with 180%
Green is the MOMS /VAT
Moms means VAT, which here is 25% on everything.
This goes for used cars as well, after taking 10% off the value before tax as a gesture, before calculation.
It has been a money making business to sell 3 year old Mercedes cars, even after the major renovation they would go through after the years in service.
Potential customers would come to a rural taxi service owner in advance even pointing out how they wanted their car equipped, and the taxi service owner would order it accordingly at the local Mercedes dealer.
He might even go and pick it up himself at the plant in Germany, all arranged by the local Mercedes dealer.
***
Because of EU regulations, you do not pay the 25% MOMS if you pick up a car already registrered and driving in another EU country.
But if you pick up your car outside the EU, – like I did in 2002 – it is a different story.
Car purchase price
added Local VAT
and shipping expenses
all toghether makes out the sum for taxation.
Ad 10% TAX to get the car legally into the EU (this is how you end up paying Danish 25% MOMS/VAT on an EU tax!)
Now you have the amount the car has cost you before registration tax.
Go through the sales ads and find a similar car from the same year and see how much is up for sale for. That can be difficult with rare cars.
Up untill the car is 35 years old, this is how it goes.
From the price in the sales ads, you make a reversed calculation with the 105% and the 180% and you end up with the amount which is what your registration tax will be based upon.
Add a penalty tax for low gas milage, which was introduced on old cars around 2008.
I paid $3,700 for a 1975 Continental Mark IV in 2002 with 93K miles.
No local VAT, as it was not registrered at the time of purchase.
$1,400 shipment to Bremerhaven in Germany on a roll-on ferry
$2,050 VAT to get it legally into Denmark.
SUM $7,150
Long story short with the registration tax
$8,355 – before the new gas milage tax law.
Total $15,505
***
When the electric cars really started comming, initially lead by Renault, our politicians must have been smoking something “illigally”, because they took off the registration tax completely on these cars.
They very soon regretted that, by the look of truck loads of Tesla cars entering the country, but they have not been able to reverse that tax freedom – YET.
When Tesla buyers were going into panic by the end of 2015, as they feared the cars would be taxed soon.
Truck loads of Tesla cars heading for Copenhagen.
I cannot fathom how anyone in your country can afford to drive with a tax structure like that. The price of the car you can finance, over years–but, unless it’s a very different system than here, you owe the tax as a lump sum all at once. So if you buy a $30k car, then you’re financing that $30k over however many years *plus* you owe another probably $50k, as a single payment, between registration tax and VAT?
It sounds as if the government decided that only the wealthy should drive. Granted, Americans are not exactly known as paragons of fiscal discipline, and I don’t run in wealthy circles, but I can’t think of many people who could afford that.
If you buy a car secondhand within the country, is the registration tax still as high?
Chris M
The registration tax is a done deal, the first time the car is registrered.
After that, the price of second hand cars follows the rythm of market prices in the country.
Registration tax is not to be mixed with annual taxes.
We used to pay annual tax according to the weight of the car, like they do in Germany according to the size of the engine.
This has changed now, so you now pay according to the gas milage, to benefit the cars with a good milage.
The minicars like the Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1 or the equivalent Peugeot cost very little in annual tax, and a Aston Martin Rapid cost DKK 12,000 a year. $1,750.
I had to chuckle at “Canadian White Wall winter tires.”
We Canadians now seek “European winter tires” for the best in winter traction. Actually from Scandinavian countries since they know winter like we know winter. I have a set on our 2003 530i. No problem getting around in deep snow or ice.
Well, it is always a challenge to find the best tires at a fair price.
I am sure the previsous owner got these, because the company wanted white wall tires for the company limousine also during the winter months.
It is amazing what the right tires will get you though.
Brendan is correct that these are not well remembered. The 190E had such a long run, it is surprising that this was just more of the same. I wonder if the car was already designed before MB saw the 92 328i.
MB started development in 1986. Pre-production prototypes hit the road in 1990. So, no, MB did not get a chance to address the E36 during it’s gestation.
The problem with the W202 was that it followed the W201 190, which was a beautiful looking car. This in comparison was pretty bland, and those tail lights never really worked for me either.
W202s seemed pretty common on streets in the UK when released, but I don’t see them that often anymore. I do see far more W201s and W124s, which may be an indicator of reliability, but may also be an indicator that an owner would prefer to spend some money and keep his W201/W124 on the road compared to a W202.
Interesting so many of us remember hating these taillights.
I was the exact same, I think it’s the way it looked so much like a contemporary W140 S-Class, except for the goofy taillights pulled all the way to the trunk lid.
Nowadays, in a world where it’s not uncommon for a car’s lights to almost touch the roof pillars (Look at the white Nissan Altima’s taillights next to it in the 2nd picture as an example), this looks almost formal in its restraint.
I worked at a small MB dealer when the c class replaced the much loved 190. What pile of built to a price crap it was. I felt sorry for well off North Londoners who fault they were buying quality but were getting less than a Hyundai . Now beaters with less than $1k price tags just like the 210 E class .
It is nice to see one of these again–and in fine shape too! I actually rather liked these when they were new. Yes, they were a bit formal in the MB tradition, and yes, the 190 was a hard act to follow. Still, this felt like a modern (for the time) update of the classic Mercedes virtues.
In 1994 when it was introduced, my wife and I cross-shopped this car with an E36 325is, Lexus ES300 and Acura Vigor, as we were looking to indulge in a “dream” car. We picked the E36, because it was the sportiest and still solid in the best German tradition, but the Benz definitely had its charms. My wife, who came from a family of Mercedes die-hards, really liked the C280–she probably would have picked it if I hadn’t swayed her to the BMW.
I think I agree more with your choice in the E36 🙂
Yeah, we LOVED that car, and it started us on our journey as BMW fanatics, having owned cars from the brand ever since. Ironically, we even converted some of my wife’s Mercedes loving family into BMW drivers as well.
Sadly, my BMW passion is fading fast. Our 2013 535 Xdrive (liked but never loved) will be coming off warranty in the Spring, so it’ll be time to say goodbye (I learned the hard way never to keep a gizmo-laden German after the warranty expires). I’ve seen the details on the new 540 Xdrive, and uhhh, well… just looks like a bloated version of our current car, or a 3 Series that got over-inflated. Apparently, it will be ready to drive us and park us while we surf the web and play with gadgets and generally ignore the task of driving, which isn’t particularly compelling. Plus it has that awful “iPad tacked on top of the dash” look that I absolutely abhor. I’ll be curious to get your perspective on the new 5 when you get to see it in person.
Based on what I’ve seen so far, I kinda doubt that we’ll want another BMW–maybe my wife will get a new Mercedes after all these years, since they will finally be offering a 6-cylinder E400 sedan in the newest generation E Class. At least MB’s “iPad screen” looks more integrated in the E Class dash, and the car isn’t even pretending to be remotely sporty (which is good since apparently it isn’t). Also, though I never thought I’d hear these words come out of my mouth: I really like the look of the new Volvos. So who knows? But I do know that this time it won’t just be an automatic stop at the BMW dealer…
I certainly respect your thoughts and see where you’re coming from. The new E-Class and S90 are both very nice cars. Personally, I’m very excited about the new 2017 5 Series. Apart from the headlights, which I’m not wild about, I actually think it looks a bit slimmer and more athletic then the current F10 car. I really like the the taillight treatment and its profile view.
As for the “iPad” screen, I really wouldn’t say it’s all that iPad like or even floating. Note in the picture how it doesn’t extend above the bottom of the windshield level. I have the same design screen in my 228 and find it’s a really good location, as it doesn’t require you to move your head and take your eyes off the road for more than a split second being right in your field of vision. There are some much more iPad-like ones out there in cars like a lot of the new Mercedes.
I’ll really look forward to getting more of your thoughts when you see it in person, and when you get to drive it: that is the part I am most worried about… If it feels more disengaged than the current 5 Series (which is already too soft for a BMW purist like me), then I really will be disappointed. I’d love to think it will have some of the moves of a 2 Series in a larger package (the way the 5 used to be compared to the 3), but my fear is that it will be a shrunken 7 or shorter X5 in dynamics.
You’re right that certain MB and Audi models are really bad with the iPad look, and this is better, but I still wish it were more integrated in the design as on the current car.
Wasn’t this the model infamous for Mercedes-Benz cheapening their build standards?
I think that was the round light 96+ E-class.
I’ve heard mostly good things about these over the years, and I happen to think it’s the most handsome MB of the 90s.
No personal experience with these, except a few rides in a colleague’s and perhaps a taxi ride near Amsterdam. But I specifically remember an article in one of the British magazines, either Car or Evo, almost a eulogy, after the introduction of the next C-class, which described this one as the last quality Mercedes. Of course, that kind of statement is always made without the benefit of seeing into the future. Kind of like those Porsche 911 road tests, starting perhaps around 1970, which confidently stated that changes to the new model (tires, roll stiffness, suspension geometry, whatever) had finally eliminated any signs of the dreaded Porsche trailing-throttle oversteer. Until next year’s test.
That was Car, July 2000.
I quoted this exact piece in a previous W202 post, and was largely swiftly dismissed as being uniformed. Furthermore, UK’s JD Power Survey in 2001 covered 1998/early 99 registered cars. Out of 182 models that had appropriate data submitted to rank, the C class placed 11th out of all cars studied. Those results firmly backed up my hesitations to label the car as a lemon. 10+ years on, they may have been a crap shoot, but while they were still on the market, they were not an unreasonable or uninformed choice.
The goofy one that looked like it used leftover old VW Beetle headlights? Somehow I could never take Mercedes seriously after that.
It affected both the C and E Classes, but the contrast was more acute in the E Class.My son briefly had a gen2 E Class, and it was shockingly cheap. The interior was decidedly inferior in its materials than a Camry. Ughh. What a letdown after the beautifully-built W124.
I wonder if the cheapness set in over time on the w210… My dad had a 1997 E420 and I remember loving that car more than any other at the time. I didn’t notice any cheapness except for a very strangely engineered cup holder arm designed to pop up from the armrest. My dad only kept it two years and a bit but without any problems big or small to my recollection. My brother also later owned and E430, I think 1999, that he bought used with 20,000 miles. He kept it for 5 years or more, only putting about 60,000 miles on it. I drove it toward the end of his ownership and it still drove and felt wonderful, although LCD display on the radio was no longer legible.
I always thought the cheapening was considered an early 21st century matter.
Here’s the interior of a 15 year old W210-E430 Avantgarde. Not bad at all and I wouldn’t compare it with a W168 I mentioned below. Now THAT was cheapness…
Same 2001 Benz.
I had a friend with a W201 E430, and while I never drove it, I rode in it on several occasions. The interior didn’t feel cheap to me at all. Granted I’ve never ridden in a W124 (or W126, W201, etc) so I don’t have that comparison point, but it definitely didn’t suffer by comparison to any Camrys I’ve encountered.
It also had a very unusual, but striking, interior color scheme–the leather was two-tone charcoal and forest green. Not sure what interior package got her that, but it was a good look desipite seeming odd at first glance. (The exterior was champagne.)
The joke about the C-Class was that the “C” stood for…oh, never mind!
Those round headlights that go cloudy really make those Benzes look like beaters.
Spot on after the W124, the models that followed lost the allure and presence, build quality of the W124.
I chopped it up to the fact that sometimes when you make the best in it’s class. It’s difficult and sometimes impossible to repeat such a feat!
There were four “infamous” Mercedes-Benz models, which were all introduced somewhere around 1995.
The 1997 W168 A-Class, an utter joke of a car with a -sort of- Renault Twingo interior.
The 1993 W202 C-Class, see this article.
The 1995 W210 E-Class.
The 1997 W163 M-Class (the SUV).
Roughly from 1995 to 2005, Mercedes’ Dark Ages.
I just don’t agree on the w210. I’ve only driven North American V8 models so maybe a lesser model may have felt cheaper, but I found the W210 very much in line with the two W124’s we owned as well as the four W123’s we owned, and the one w115 we owned.
W210 – rust on the most peculiar places. Apart from that, especially the diesels still racked up the miles / kilometers like nothing else on the road.
A second cousin has a W163 M-Class 270 CDI. It looks king of rough, worn out. Yet way over 600,000 km on the odometer without troubles.
I enjoyed -driving- the S210 (290E) so much more than the S124.
The S124 and W124 are to me rigid boxes, whereas the w210 and W210 were like cruisers, a lot easier to steer in heavy crosswind.
The ones my boss bought all came with a nice quality interior.
He also tried having a 638 (230V) in his fleet and handed it over to me.
It was a nightmare. Not only had it technical and mechanical issues, the drivers seat (the leather seat version) was not levelled right,
You could not sit straight. The armrest on the door didn’t match the level of the armrest in the middle. On top of that the stick shift was in the dash, sending me straight to the chiropractor after four months behind the wheel. By then I could no longer lift my right arm.
If you drove with cruise control and wanted to brake, you would never step on the brake untill after having kicked the steering column first.
I hated that car.
It really was like Heaven to get the brand new W210 instead for work.
I’m with you on the crush. These were actually on my radar around 2001 or 2 , as I was shopping for a replacement for my aging Saab 9000 at the time. The styling is a bit conservative, but was representative of the “Good old Days” of boxy MB sedans. Ultimately I was dissuaded by the reviews I read, and went with a 9-3 5 door instead. I’m not sure in hindsight whether I dodged a bullet, as the 9-3 was far from trouble-free, but living in the snow belt at the time it its foul-weather prowess was a deciding factor. This example really is attractive, particularly in this color combo.
Starting with this generation, the bits got as generic as the shape of the car. Show anyone the headlamp and headlamp door off of a 190 or 300E and everyone will know the manufacturer. Same goes for the mirrors and door handles. The headlamps on the ’94 C-class could be from anything. The taillamps were unique but not very attractive.
I believe the C-class started with the inline-6 and then went to a V6 mid-cycle. Another step in the wrong direction.
The condition of the feature car is pretty incredible.
Next year, a step in the right direction:
M256 – 3.0 liter gasoline inline-6
OM656 – 2.9 liter diesel inline-6
I can’t wait! I heard about it only a couple of months ago and I thought it was just a rumor.
“Starting with this generation, the bits got as generic as the shape of the car.”
The GM-ization of Mercedes?
Compare the tail lights of this MB to the white car sitting next to it then tell me they’re still overwrought. They look fine to me.
Brendan will probably know better than I would, but I think that license plate number means that the current owner has had for a long time. I think it was the first or second letter-number pattern that MA used after they switched from green plates.
Those plates were issued in the late 90’s. I had some in the same numbering convention that were issued in ’97.
The “number-number-number-number__letter-letter” combination is no longer issued however they were issuing them into the ’00s. My mom received her “5233 XO” plates in 2002. Granted, 2002 is some time ago now. Damn, now I’m feeling old.
The current owner is not the original, as evidenced by the Rietzel Porsche-Audi rear plate frame. Rietzel was bought out a few years back. FYI, it’s now Audi and Porsche of Norwell – same location but newly constructed buildings. And it happens to be right up the road from South Shore BMW-MINI where I work.
Something just tells me that this pampered car is driven by a well-to-do little old lady. Just a hunch.
I found these rather underwhelming when new; they seemed to have the classic Mercedes shape but with many of the fine details melted. Very much a miniature W140 S-class, but less distinctive even, and a letdown compared to the finely chseled 190E.
Time has softened my views a bit, but still not one of my favorites. The C-class generation that followed this one also hasn’t aged particularly well, but for different reasons.
Ah the biodegradable Mercedes, I remember seeing these before they rotted away like a 70s Datsun. I didn’t at all mind the design though, these had the true Mercedes look by my definition, and really the triangular taillights biggest fault was that they seemed to become way too influential throughout the industry soon after, and everything had them until around 5 years ago!
There is ONE benefit to the 90’s cheapening of the Three-Pointed Star…
Ms. Morris, if you please. “80’s Mercedes.”
Engineered like no other Country star in the world.
I had recently been thinking about how many times Mercedes-Benzes are mentioned in Country music lyrics. And that was before I heard “80s Mercedes.” In fact, I’d been thinking about writing an article on that topic for CC, but just never got the time or motivation to pull the stuff together.
Some random lyrics excerpts that come to mind (from back 20-30 years ago, but there are more recent examples):
● John Anderson’s “Black Sheep”: “He’s got a big long Mercedes-Benz and a house overlooking the town…”
● John Conlee “Common Man”: I’ll take a Chevrolet just any day, so give your daddy back his Mercedes-Benz”
● Clay Walker’s “Chain of Love”: “Her Mercedes had a flat and he could see that she was frightened…”
● Chris LeDoux’s “Dallas Days and Ft. Worth Nights”: “He fights traffic in his Mercedes to put on his cowboy boots, then he climbs aboard his pickup truck and bails on out of the chute”
● …and then there’s songs like Hank Jr’s “Blue Lady in a Red Mercedes”
I could go on, but my point is that there’s been a long (and somewhat surprising) history between Country music and Mercedes-Benzes, more so than any other foreign make, and probably more so than any other vehicle besides pickup trucks and Cadillacs. I can’t think of too many Country songs that mention BMWs or Audis, after all…
Mercedes-Benz and Country music, a perfect match.
(Photo courtesy of N. van der Boom)
I can’t help but thinking of the prominent placement of Cadillacs in Dallas 30–25 years ago.
My first car was a ’97 C280 Sport. Final year of the W202 with the Inline 6. Added 17″ wheels from a newer W210 E420 or E430 (looking back we should have lowered the car a little). It had around 120k and was an extremely solid cruiser and a bit tighter thanks to the sport package suspension. I wouldn’t call it particularly quick from a stop but on the highway this thing would haul.
In my opinion Mercedes quality went downhill quickly starting with the W210 E Class, the first gen ML, and most models in the early 2000’s including the next gen C-Class W203.
“absence makes the heart grow fonder” I’m getting that way for my 2007 Audi A3, but I wanted to buy a new car before I moved to California and I needed to have some miles on it so it could be brought in as a used car.
Earlier this year I got to drive this ’07 A3 a customer traded in back to my dealer from Rhode Island. Fun little car, especially as it was a 6-speed manual.
Mine was a 2007 S-line, maunal and chipped. Not only that but reliable too.
In the MD/VA/DC area, these were everywhere when new but have seemed to have disappeared due to fact they were total POS cars. If the rust did not kill them the electrical issues did. In fact the only old Benzes that are still around in great amounts are W123 and W124.
I wonder how many of the folks that bought C Class cars bought Lexus or Acura vehicles after that and never looked back. Of course that can be said about the C280’s rival the BMW 3 series. The 3 Series was a yuppie dream in the 1980’s and lots were sold but you never see them anymore. By contrast there are plenty of Volvo 240 and Toyota Corollas of the same era still driving around.
I still tend to see a respectable amount of late-1980s/early-1990s Mercedes and BMWs around. It depends on the geographical area and demographic makeup.
This is true. However I live in the DC area where several of the counties are in the top 20 wealthiest counties in the USA (my own county (Howard County MD) is in the top five. There is also the counties that make up Northern VA and Montgomery County.
All these counties are in the top 20 richest counties and all of thme house highly educated and highly skilled professionals and all of them were and still are ground zero for BMW and Benz products. However other then W123, W124 and the occasional 560SL, most of the German luxury cars are less then 10 years old. By contrast it seems like my area is ground zero for 1990’s Lexus LS and ES. Now a great many of these older Benzes and Bimmers succumbed to rust and corrosion due to the fact that Maryland and VA are rock salt happy or had electrical issues which if there are still large numbers of pre 2000 Lexus vehicles driving around in this area and which survived the same elements, points to very shoddy build quality.
In my own circle of friends, 5 years ago most of them owned a Benz or a Bimmer. Now most own Lexus, Acura or Honda CR-V. Most of them their first German luxury was their last. One of my friends was looking to replace her aging 2002 Camry last year and asked me about buying a BMW. I told her she would be more happy if she bought a Lexus and she listened to my advice and bought a 2015 Lexus RX350 and loves the thing.
A few letters away from being a true CC Effect, but last night I walked by a parked W124 E Class, which honestly looked as nice as when it drove off the showroom floor. True it was dark, but it was under pretty bright streetlights downtown, and it was truly eye-catching. And not a car I would have looked at twice 20 years ago.
Brendan, I totally agree with you. The W202 and, to a lesser extent, the W210 cars have been growing on me lately. Their shortcomings are well-known, but they have a lot of Benz virtues nonetheless. And, they didn’t suffer from the disappointing powertrains many W201s had, as the automatics weren’t nearly as lazy and multivalve heads were standard. My ideal W202 would be a C230 compressor, in standard, non-sport trim.
It would have a torquey four (I generally prefer four-bangers), and would have that tradition Benz feel with hard seats, long travel suspension, and chassis tuning hell-bent on stability. It’s one of the most enduring “flavors” of automobile.
I wonder how hard it would be to swap that powertrain into a W201.
I still see these in and around Sarasota where the rust doesn’t seem to be much of a problem. Mostly, they’re beaters for the sub $1500, just need an A-B car set.
A few years back I was thinking about getting a part time weekend night gig delivering pizzas. I did it in college and really missed getting paid to cruise around town and listening to the radio, a better way to spend time than Netflix marathons IMO.
I almost bought one of these for $600 for the occasion. In the end I decided to keep looking after seeing their abysmal crash tests on youtube. Ultimately decided not to do the pizza thing and fix up/sell old cars instead.
Was this generation car afflicted with the bio-degradable wire insulation problem or was that a few years later? For those of us who buy older cars and use them as daily-drivers, it’s good to know what to watch out for.
Ah, rust. Do you know that? It blew my mind when I first saw this car several years ago.
These are somewhat still common down here. I have always liked the tail lamps and Mitsubishi copied the idea in their mid 90’s early 00’s Lancer.
The W210 OTOH… Saw one on a hoist and was unimpressed. Underwhelming and cheap. Specially compared to a Volvo of similar vintage.