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£4000 reliable mercedes?

This seems like a nice car. It's had only one MOT fail
Very good spec and lovely colour combination

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I think the big issue is that with a £4k purchase you can get lucky or you can end up with a money pit.

To an extent you can reduce the risk of landing a money pit by limiting your choice to makes and models that have a (justified) reputation for reliability and longevity and giving any potential purchase a good once-over - to include running a jaundiced eye over its maintenance history - before handing over your cash. But even the most experienced can still occasionally find they've bought a pup.

The old adage that there's no such thing as a cheap Mercedes-Benz is, I'm sorry to say, a truism. By the time you get to one at £4k, unless you're very lucky it will be leggy, likely to have been built during the period that the brand's quality was at its nadir, probably rusty, and likely needing money spent on the boring things like suspension bushes and other things that are expensive to fix so don't get done by owners that like the idea of owning a Merc but who don't have the funds to maintain it properly.
 
Gollom said:
Even though it's in Scotland, still think this is worth at least some consideration? IMHO it pretty much ticks all your boxes and he has had it a while now so may be open to an offer. Might be someone not too far away from Dundee on this forum who could go kick the tyres etc.? In terms of getting it to you, he says that he would work on delivery so maybe he'd meet in Glasgow (81 miles from Dundee) so you could get the train up?

(Actually, I am retired so if necessary I am happy to collect and drop it to you. I get a third off on train fares too! LOL)
Click to expand...

G, Many thanks for the kind offer but I have a feeling that car was sold pretty cheap (like 2-3k or something) becasue I remember sending it to a friend some months ago as he was looking for a cheap merc. So the mark up this trader is trying to get is very steep, and it's way off my £4k(ish) budget! But I agree it could make someone a very good car.

Cheers, P
 
Sam87 said:
This seems like a nice car. It's had only one MOT fail
Very good spec and lovely colour combination

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Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!
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Click to expand...

That looks gorgeous. If it was <20 miles away I'd be on my way this afternoon.

But alas this one is too far for me. Besides, I've leant my lesson with traders: for cars under about £10k basically they're all pathological liars. (Apologies to any honest traders on here but this is 'my truth', as Megan would say 😂)

Anyway, this thread was more of an exercise to find a few models to keep an eye out for rather than to immediately buy something (I need it in the next 3 months so no rush) and it has been very useful, thanks all very much indeed :thumb:.

Basically I think the W211 4 pot diesel sounds plausible if I am happy to risk a few gremlins. But being sensible I think it will be Honda Accord, CRV, Toyota Auris, Avensis, Lexus Something, and maybe one or two other Jap/Korean cars if low mileage.
 
Sam87 said:
This seems like a nice car. It's had only one MOT fail
Very good spec and lovely colour combination

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!
www.autotrader.co.uk www.autotrader.co.uk
Click to expand...
Wow , that does look nice !
 
philnewmerc said:
Really really nice. Bet something's wrong with it 😅
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I know it's very subjective and i have questionable taste (my last car was sao paulo lime), but I couldn't do that paint colour.

I'm also not stupid enough to forget for £4k ish, other things are way more important than the colour and it does look a well cared for example.
 
philnewmerc said:
philnewmerc said:
Really really nice. Bet something's wrong with it 😅
Click to expand...

Really really nice. Bet something's wrong with it 😅
Click to expand...
The fault is immediately visible: the colour. That's the reason for the price.

With that ownership profile and colour, probably a bargain.

But the dealer's probably taking £2k out of the purchase price.

Screenshot 2024-04-06 at 09.40.12.png
 
philnewmerc said:
I like the colour. Do others think this is an odd one?
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So do I, but the UK likes black, silver and grey (preferably with black interiors) so many buyers would simply look away.
 
philnewmerc said:
Perfect car 💥 I'll look out for another in the coming weeks. (Hatfield is 4 1/2 hr away)

Cheers 👍
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Motivated seller, 10% price drop within a week of listing it.... But needs an MoT now.

Geriatric first owner until last year, by the look of it, then 10k with the 2nd owner who's flipping it.

If it's as described, worth a train ride.

But no one goes broke by delaying spending money.

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

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www.autotrader.co.uk www.autotrader.co.uk

Screenshot 2024-04-06 at 10.24.35.png
 
0-60mph 10.6 seconds
Click to expand...

That’s going to be a painful carriage in 2024.

Would the fuel economy on a 2.0 petrol Honda automatic justify the £4300 purchase price though also?

Car looks tidy though! :)
 
buccal said:
Just ran an insurance quote for a laugh, weirdly high for some reason!

(Good find Mike)
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Maybe regularly stolen for parts or cat theft (?)

Otherwise has to be representative of the general risk profile for the sorts of people who buy and drive these things (most likely reason!)
 
Will said:
Maybe regularly stolen for parts or cat theft (?)

Otherwise has to be representative of the general risk profile for the sorts of people who buy and drive these things (most likely reason!
Click to expand...
I’m sure your right!

Quotes generally seem all over the place. I was cheaper to insure a 10k Impreza WRX than a 2006 Honda Accord 🤣
 
Sam87 said:
This seems like a nice car. It's had only one MOT fail
Very good spec and lovely colour combination

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!
www.autotrader.co.uk www.autotrader.co.uk
Click to expand...
They are excellent cars. The one in the ad is very similar to mine except that my car has covered 180,000 miles and the last MOT was advisory free 👍
 
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