My 1996 C280 died yesterday on the freeway and I could not get it to
turn back on. I got it towed and just let it sit over night. This
morning I went out and the car turned on on the first try. Now it is
turning on with no problem. Any idea why it turned off on my and why
it wouldn't turn on, and now turns on with no problem.

Fuel pump relay and OVP relay.

Sounds very similar to the intermittent behavior when the crankshaft
position sensor starts to fail.

Theguy wrote:
I just had this happen with my '96 C36. Believe it, or not, it turned
out to be the coil packs. Two of three went bad at the same time.

This lack of reliability, combined with the dealership quality, is why
I now drive a Lexus 430. It is a most unsatisfying car, but it has not
yet died and left me stranded with my thumb out the way the old E and
then S klass kars did. Great engineering, but they just tend to need
repairs every trip by the stealership.

mcbrue wrote:
Funny, I don't see that many 11 year old Lexus's on the road. I still
see tons of W202's, though.