Should I buy another. Review on Mercedes Benz C180

My dad has recently purchased a merc and it is the C180 and I just thought I would write an opinion on how quality it is!

The leather interior that it contains is top notch and really comfortable!! I mean lasting a 12hr journey in it was easy! The CD player which comes standard with it is brilliant! Its a 5 CD change! The car drives so smootly its unbelievable!

Its spaceous and has alot of leg room! It has good boot space and I would advise everyone to try to get a ride in 1!! The only negative thing about the car is its price range although it is worth every penny of the price!

I now have an Nreg Merc C180 I bought privately but not before an unfortunate run in with an outfit called Merecedes Direct.

Since I want a certain amount of reassurance, I had been visiting Mercedes ' UK site's used car section which usually links directly to the dealer.

However, occasionally, you get linked to Mercedes Benz Direct which is some kind of subsidiary of Mercedes UK. If you want to know the price, you need to register and give your phone number.

One Friday, they rang me twice and went on about the 100s of cars that have just come on the market@ their Hemel Hemstead branch and could I get there that day?

On the second occasion, since I didn’t want to waste my time,I gave them my budget and exact details of the car I wanted ie Elegance/auto and Cruise with a max budget of 8K and mileage under 80K. They said that they had 2 P reg cars that fitted that description and of others too many to mention.

Since I was going to Leeds that evening on the M1, I thought I'd drop in. When I got there, they had never heard about either of these cars and couldn't really offer me any alternatives within my budget either! They didn’t even try to say 'Oh they have just gone Sir!

When I complained, they directed me to their Kingston branch and the fool that I am, agreed to see a P reg car they had offered for 7 grand .

When I got to see the car, there was condensation between the windscreen beading,cigarette marks on the interior and one of the small indicator lights on the side panels was actually loose!-This is a car that was supposed to have some kind of multi point check by Merc. Also, the boot was covered in bird droppings (not fresh either).

When I tried to tell the salesman why I was not interested, his attitude was 'well what can you expect from an older car?'' and ''Great, we have another buyer waiting anyway''!

May be I have been unlucky but

moral of the story: going from my experience with them, keep well clear of Mercedes Direct. They are nothing more than glorified Arthur Daileys. They probably deal with the dogs that main dealers can't sell and as for their checks, I think they probably don't do all of them and deal with any probs as and when they arise.

If you want a Merc, my advice is go to a main dealer (which means only newer expensive cars- and no guarantee of good service given my experience with their affiliate) or buy privately with a thorough check.

There is absolutely no advantage in putting up with the surly staff or relying on the so-called peace of mind you could possibly get from Mercedes Benz Direct.

By the way, I am still waiting for a response to my original woes about Mercedes Benz Direct Hemel Hempsted which I sent to DaimlerChyrsler UK 6

weeks ago so that should give you an indication on their thoughts on customer Service!