I want to buy used Mercedes-Benz C-Class estate as a family car which I plan to own for 10 years or so.

I've been looking at lower mileage (<80k) older cars (pre-2006) for £5-8k because I thought quality issues were resolved by 2004-05. But friends warn me quality issues affect any pre-2007 Mercedes-Benz - especially for C-Class - and that I should go for higher mileage (>100k) on a newer model (2007 earliest, preferably 2008 or later). But typically these are more expensive (£11k+) so would require financing which I'd prefer not to have unless the quality difference really is major...

Some friends say I should go for BMW 3 series instead to avoid quality issues altogether and have cheaper parts if anything does go wrong.

I am confused! what would you advise?