Mercedes-Benz E-Class E230 (1996-1997)

Great looking. Economical. Slow off the mark – Nice looking car. I upgraded mine with 19" chrome wheels which looked great against a black car. Sound system also upgraded. Very smooth and quiet drive. Economical. Better than expected for a large car. Upsizing the wheels definitely worsened fuel consumption. I had to replace the MAF. 5 minute job. $NZ250 for the part. Brake pads $90 from repco. Straight forward fix.

Park light bulbs hard to source due to their offset prongs. $NZ25 each versus $NZ2.50 each for other vehicles.

Lost a key. Was going to be at least $500 through dealer. Instead I got a key cut for $60 and an alarm installed for $200. Cheaper option.

August 11th 2018 Update: Pleasure to drive - but not as reliable as Japanese cars

Purchased a mint example of a 1996 MB E230 in 2012 with 100K on the clock.. Had a pre-purchase inspection. Even the mechanic was impressed with its condition.

It was a pleasure to drive. Well insulated. Comfortable. But no guts. Severely under-powered for something that size.

Had a few electrical issues (not unexpected with Euro cars) where the battery would go flat on its own. This stopped after a few months, without having to change the battery.

Lost a key. MB were going to charge $500-750 to replace, plus keep the car for a week. I got around this by getting a key cut for $60 and getting an alarm installed for $120.

MAF sensor went. Bought the part online for about $250. Took less than 10 minutes to replace.

Window regulator mechanism broke. Bought the part for $150. About 1 hour to replace.