I OWN A 1995 C280 MERCEDES, PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY MY DAUGHTER FOR 5 YEARS. THE CAR ALWAYS IDLED ROUGH, OCCASIONALLY BACKFIRES, LACKS OVERALL POWER. MY DAUGHTER HAD IT TO THE SHOP NUMEROUS TIMES AND THEY NEVER REALLY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM. TWO DAYS AGO I STARTED IT, HEARD A LOUD POP AND SAW SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE HOOD AND SMELLED ELECTRICAL WIRES BURNING. IT HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE NEAREST MERCEDES DEALER. THEY WANT A TOTAL OF $3300 TO REPAIR IT. THE ISSUE IS THE WIRING HARNESS. I HAVE READ HUNDREDS OF CONSUMER COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ISSUE. IN 1993-1995 C280 MODELS MERCEDES TRIED A NEW INSULATION COVERING ON THE WIRES AND IT DOES NOT HOLD UP. IN FACT, I HAVE SEEN THE RESULT IN NUMEROUS PICTURES OF THE CONDITION THE WIRES. THE INSULATION JUST DESINTERGRATES. I READ THAT UP UNTIL A FEW YEARS AGO MERCEDES WAS REPLACING THEM BUT THEN THEY JUST STOPPED. WHY ISN'T THIS AN OFFICIAL RECALL FAILURE. *TR