£27K Mondeo - How Much For Similar Spec Mercedes ?

[wemorgan]

New car depreciation over 3yrs / 45k

Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi 140 Zetec 29ppm
Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi 163 Titanium X 36ppm

Mercedes C-Class C200 CDI BlueEfficiency Elegance 37ppm
Mercedes C-Class C220 CDI BlueEfficiency Sport 40ppm

So the Ford is £2-4k cheaper over the 3yr period. Those prices are based on list price.

 

[Pappilo]

I have a Insignia Elite on a short term agreement. It's a large car, in size comparable to the E class. It has electric heated leather seats with memmory, bluetooth, 19 inch alloys zenons, adaptive lights, auto dim inside and out, auto main beam, dab radio with ipod input. About the only place it loses is the engine is gruff when pressed. At cruise on the motorway it's a quiet car and pleasant place to be. Quality seems to be spot on. Insured price is £24k

Much as I like Mercs, when the fleets cars are this good, I wonder how long it will take the used buyers to consider them. Would I pay an extra £15k to get an MB badge? I'm not sure. Not at the moment certainly.

The place where MB should win is the dealers. If those standards start to drop then what would the difference be?

My E200 has all those options (as standard) except DAB radio and memory. It is auto as well and has a few more options plus the fact that it is a Merc and it cost only £6000 more than the Insignia. I dont know what the engine size of the Insignia is but I know I,ll gladly pay £6000 extra for the reliability and prestige of a Merc

 

[Aletank]

My E200 has all those options (as standard) except DAB radio and memory. It is auto as well and has a few more options plus the fact that it is a Merc and it cost only £6000 more than the Insignia. I dont know what the engine size of the Insignia is but I know I,ll gladly pay £6000 extra for the reliability and prestige of a Merc

Your brand new E200 cost £30k ? Not bad, especially if it's got all those toys

 

[Burger]

There is a school of thought that there's no such thing as a similar spec between a Ford and a Mercedes

 

[Deleted member 37751]

My E200 has all those options (as standard) except DAB radio and memory. It is auto as well and has a few more options plus the fact that it is a Merc and it cost only £6000 more than the Insignia. I dont know what the engine size of the Insignia is but I know I,ll gladly pay £6000 extra for the reliability and prestige of a Merc

This was my point earlier...
I think that if you had for example £30k to spend on a car that you were going to keep for say 5 years, would you, deep down, buy a Ford and have £2k spare?
I know the options lists can be long and expensive, but as a whole package, in my opinion, I really don't think you will go that far wrong with Mercedes for initial cost/ residuals/ longevity etc etc

 

[wemorgan]

Don't get me wrong, I like Mercedes cars. They offer many advantages, but by any metric I can see, they are not cheaper than a Ford. Over a 5yr period the difference between the two is nearer £5k in depreciation and £1k in servicing. An optimist would say that's only ~£3/day. But that's a lot of money in the mind of a fleet car manager.

 

[chord]

My E200 has all those options (as standard) except DAB radio and memory. It is auto as well and has a few more options plus the fact that it is a Merc and it cost only £6000 more than the Insignia. I dont know what the engine size of the Insignia is but I know I,ll gladly pay £6000 extra for the reliability and prestige of a Merc

Buying a Merc for the prestige I get, but for reliability? Not really.

 

[Bellow]

And Germanic engineering not made in Spain

Engineering and assembly are not the same.

Something properly engineered can be assembled anywhere.

 

[lxi]

How can something have "prestige" but poor reliability??

I honestly believe that the perceived prestige some owners get from driving a mercedes is perceived by them alone.

Other than those that live so far in the past they probably believe Britain still rules the Empire.

I've got a mercedes - love it, but if it had a Mitsubishi badge on the front I'd love it no less.

MB quality is run of the mill in the main.

 

[Bellow]

How can something have "prestige" but poor reliability??

.

Because the general public don't see them in the workshop being repaired??!!!

 

[Pappilo]

Your brand new E200 cost £30k ? Not bad, especially if it's got all those toys

Yep Yep. Had to drive 200 miles to get about £3000 off the list price.

The only option I got was metallic paint. Many people think it is a poverty spec but coming from a basic Pug 307, it was 'fully loaded' for me. Other toys that came as standard are:

Parktronic with parking guidance
Attention assist
Intelligent light system
Cruise control
Isofix
Steering wheel gearshift paddles
Auto wipers
Auto dimming mirrors

 

[hawk20]

I have a Insignia Elite on a short term agreement. It's a large car, in size comparable to the E class.

Fairer to compare with the C class IMO. The bit we all live in is the wheelbase. The Insignia is 2737 while the C class is a bit more at 2760. The E class is a heap more at 2874.

But I share your view that Ford and Vauxhall saloons are stunningly better than they used to be and in many ways the gap with MB and BMW is narrowing.

 

[Bellow]

But MB and BMW offer RWD something rare in the line-ups of the mainstream manufacturers if available at all.

 

[Colin_b]

There are thousands of Insignia & Mondeos around, extremely good spec. You would have to be lunatic to buy one new without a huge discount - 25% at least.

Less than a year old is the way to go with these...

Car Dealership

How would this compare with a similarly equipped C or E, which seem scarce at this age?

 

[martin_a]

Engineering and assembly are not the same.

Something properly engineered can be assembled anywhere.

Issue there is 'just in time production'

No way are parts shipped from Germany to be assembled cheaply. They are made down the road and provided an hour before they go on the car by the cheapest bidder.

The specification of the materials used might be higher (depending on quality control) but these are locally built motors.

The Mondeo is an excellent car. Remember a few years ago when Clarkson was telling people to get one rather than a 3 series? Ford know their market with this motor and exclusivity isn't it. Mass production, reps and reliability is.

The servicing will be cheaper as well.

That said, it doesn't mean that side by side, money out of the question you'd take an MB but to criticise just because it is a Mondeo is wrong. Vauxhall on the otherhand are playing catch up and have been for a while. The problems at GM have not helped them at all.

m.

 

[davidjpowell]

If we are talking excusivity, have a look at the best sellers in 2009

1. Ford Fiesta
2. Ford Focus
3. Vauxhall Corsa
4. Vauxhall Astra
5. Volkswagen Golf
6. Peugeot 207
7. Mini
8. BMW 3 Series
9. Vauxhall Insignia
10. Ford Mondeo ​

I am aware that certainly the higher spec Insignia's are harder to track down, and even the dealers are having to use factory orders to get demo's

​

 

[Dryce]

Less than a year old is the way to go with these...

Car Dealership

How would this compare with a similarly equipped C or E, which seem scarce at this age?

The reason for this is a lot of reasonably spec'ed Insignias and Mondeos end up in hire fleets. Fewer Cs and Es get pushed through this route when the models are new. But as the models get older then even MB may offload metal so that it comes back through their dealers after about a year. Loads of one year W211 E220s started appearing on forecourts about the time the W212 came out. They used to be base AG spec.

 

[Bellow]

Issue there is 'just in time production'

No way are parts shipped from Germany to be assembled cheaply. They are made down the road and provided an hour before they go on the car by the cheapest bidder.

The specification of the materials used might be higher (depending on quality control) but these are locally built motors.

.

JIT makes no difference - merely eliminates costly material logistics.

The engineering is at the design stage, and the design of the production line. All of it by the manufacturer.

How many bidders are there to manufacture, say, crankshafts? Or epicyclic gear trains? You make it sound like some Mexican and his son in law gave up shoeing horses and turned their hand to the above. Unlikely...