Used Car of the Day: 1996 Mercedes-Benz C280

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Today we bring you a rust-free 1996 Mercedes-Benz C280.


The seller says it's all stock except for a front sway bar and it has always been garaged -- apparently it's "like showroom" in terms of quality.

Well, almost -- the head gasket is leaking. So the car runs but would need to be towed until that can be addressed, since coolant is leaking too quickly. There are also some minor dents and dings.

Our New York-based seller is asking just $2,000 and the miles are a tick under 100K.

Click here to see it.

[Images: Seller]

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Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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2 of 22 comments
  • Ras815 Ras815 on Apr 16, 2024

    "Showroom quality"? Which showroom would that be - a rural small-town used car lot?

  • Cprescott Cprescott on Apr 16, 2024

    Remember the days when German automakers built reliable cars? Now you'd be lucky to get 40k miles out of them before the gremlins had babies.

  • Dave M. I'm sorry to see any storied name go away. The lifespan of the Malibu has fit perfectly in my lifetime years-wise. Some of the highlights include the first and second generations, the '78 revamp (very clean design), and the 2005 generation. Ford, GM and Mopar gave this segment away by allowing Toyota and Honda a foot in the door and then always having to play catch-up. How hard is it to make a truly competitive sedan at a profit? Obviously, Japan Inc. figured it out.I've driven a few rentals these past years; the Malibu got the job done but honestly the Passat and Altima were my rental preferences.
  • Kcflyer actually yes. It's a shame that a product this uncompetitive can still outsell GM's entire EV offerings. Those products have had billions thrown at them. Imagine how nice the new Malibu, Impala, SS, and Lacrosse would be with that kind of commitment.
  • 3SpeedAutomatic Nope....
  • Bd2 Looking forward to flooding the rental lots with Hyundai and Kia models, this is just one obstacle now eliminated.
  • Kcflyer keep the color. lose the stupid front design. make it reliable, at least as reliable as a base 911. Then and only then is it somewhat worthy of that price.
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