Mercedes Benz C320 vs Buick Skylark

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Mercedes Benz C320	Buick Skylark
Complaints on file	303	753
Model years covered	2001–2007	1981–2000
Worst model year	2001	1997
Best model year	2004	1998
Crashes reported	17	62
Fires reported	9	25
Injuries reported	8	44
Deaths reported	1	2
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Brakes
Share of complaints involving harm	11.6%	17.7%

Mercedes Benz C320 by year

117 102 38 23 19 2 2

01 02 03 04 05 06 07

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 74 24.4%

Seats 46 15.2%

Engine & Cooling 26 8.6%

Airbags 18 5.9%

Lights 17 5.6%

Fuel & Propulsion 16 5.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 14 4.6%

Transmission & Drivetrain 13 4.3%

Buick Skylark by year

5 3 1 27 11 10 17 18 37 46 48 54 95 119 116 111 34 1

81 82 83 84 85 86 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 00

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Brakes 123 16.3%

Electrical System 121 16.1%

Engine & Cooling 114 15.1%

Airbags 53 7.0%

Steering 43 5.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 41 5.4%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 41 5.4%

Seat Belts 32 4.2%