2003 W203 '03 plate C270 Avantgarde SE, 49k miles for £14650

[kbhogalW126]

folks,

been offered the above (full black leather and auto) for £14650.

Am going to view it before I go to Mercedes in Sheffield to view the C180 they have there - they couldnt fit me in last night unfortunately.

Anyone got any views on the car/engine?

am I better with a 03 plate C270 avantgarde SE or the 02 plate C180 Avantgarde?

Both are auto, both have full leather, both seem to have the same spec.

Its an engine/economy/performance/running cost query i have now.

Thanks in advance,

KJ

 

[Alfie]

The 270 will be a lot more lively and economical. Avoid the 180 given the choice of the two. Resale value on the 270 will be a lot better too.

Good luck,

 

[R2D2]

You'll love either as they are both well equiped nice cars . C270 will be faster but may be more to insure - depends on your mileage/needs.

Have you tried Mercedes Direct to see if you can run to a 54 plate facelift model?

HTH

 

[Flash]

Have you tried Mercedes Direct to see if you can run to a 54 plate facelift model?

HTH

A C270 CDI is not available as a face lift model - when face lift was launched the C270 CDI was superceded with a C320 CDI!!! The C240 got phased out too and the C230K replaced it at the same time.

 

[Flash]

A pre face lift with bi xenons (not xenons) will look the business with nice alloys/sports suspension... I personally would go for a mid 2003 car.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

The 270 will be a lot more lively and economical. Avoid the 180 given the choice of the two. Resale value on the 270 will be a lot better too.

Good luck,

Agree with that. I would take a C270 over a C180. Don't forget to look at Tan's highly specced C220 CDI, he's just reduced his price too...

Answer to your question on the other thread, retrofitting the facelift lights is possible there are lots of how to articles on it.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Sounds reasonable to me.

The big thing in it's favour for me is that the C270 would have been the most powerful diesel at that time, possibly making it relatively more attractive come resale time, as the C180 will have been the smallest petrol engine.

Both sound nice though - a nice predicament to be in!!

 

[Rory]

A C270 CDI is not available as a face lift model - when face lift was launched the C270 CDI was superceded with a C320 CDI!!! The C240 got phased out too and the C230K replaced it at the same time.

Oh yes it was - I've got one!

Mine's an Oct 04 (54 reg) C270CDi.

The facelift was mid 2004.

The V6 C320CDi didn't appear until around mid 2005.

 

[kbhogalW126]

Nearly there!

Right!

We went to look at both the cars this morning.

Basically, i thought it was bet to buy the C180 from the main dealer even though i didnt get the trade in i wanted on the 206.

they discounted the A service which is due in 4000 miles and offered me a supaguard gold package for £180 down from £300.

Thrown in new mats and a 12 month MOT.

The old one doesnt expire for 6months so i think i might just get a certificate/voucher off them at the same time as i get the discount papers for the A service.

that way i dont need to get the car MOT'd for 18months!

My next question is this.

they discounted the GAP insurance from £599 to £371 but ive got a quote for about £180 throught the autotrader website.

I get a 12 month warranty and it has full MB history.

The C270 was serviced twice at MB then last at Nationwide auotcentre.

It had loads of wee scuffs and marks around it and I was put off by its little niggly bits.

The main dealer car was spotless.

Its Jasper Blue metallic and I know Mrs B wanted a silver car but i've promised her that if she doesnt like it she can drive the new saab when it arrives next month.

I tried to explain to her that when she is sitting in those grey leather seats with that sweet engine and the gorgeous 3 pointed star on the dash she will not give a monkeys about the colour.

Its a 1998cc engine but for her its powerful enough.

If anyone can advise on GAP i would appreciate it.

regards,

KJ

 

[Flash]

Oh yes it was - I've got one!

Mine's an Oct 04 (54 reg) C270CDi.

The facelift was mid 2004.

The V6 C320CDi didn't appear until around mid 2005.

Thats beause they had a few lumps floating around of the C270 CDI engine that they needed to get rid off BUT yes you are correct with your post and I am wrong...!

 

[Flash]

In driving terms/experience I could not notice much difference at all in peformance/acceleration between a C220 CDI and C270 CDI when I test drove one.

However, there is is considerable noticeable difference between a C180K and C200K. My courtesy car earlier during the week was a C180K (but C180K was still a nice engine and felt perfectly adequate). C180s are the ones to avoid!!!

 

[Rory]

Thats beause they had a few lumps floating around of the C270 CDI engine that they needed to get rid off ...

That's not what happened - the V6 didn't appear on any model until early 2005.

I bought mine used in Apr 2005 so I was well aware the V6 was coming. I'd actually settled on a C220CDi but that had sold and I was cut a very good deal on an otherwise identical C270. I'd had a C220CDi for a few days as a demo, and the 270 is altogther more effortless, while at the same time being capable (in the right conditions) of showing 50MPG on the trip computer - the EU4 V6's don't do that!

All things being equal I'd obviously prefer the new V6 diesel, but as there's no C280CDI, the V6 in the C class is a big step up in price.

 

[kbhogalW126]

I needed to sort something out this week and the C180 was a lovely car.

Had it been for myself I would have gone for a C270 or a C320 petrol.

Mrs B doesnt drive hard and I took the C180 on the motorway for a fair stretch and i feel that its adequate enough for her.

The spec is nice and the price is ok.

I do need advice on GAP though if anyone can help

 

[Piff]

I needed to sort something out this week and the C180 was a lovely car.

Had it been for myself I would have gone for a C270 or a C320 petrol.

Mrs B doesnt drive hard and I took the C180 on the motorway for a fair stretch and i feel that its adequate enough for her.

The spec is nice and the price is ok.

I do need advice on GAP though if anyone can help

Why do you want gap insurance?

 

[kbhogalW126]

I'm concerned that if the car gets nicked/written off i will have to pay up for the shortfall.

 

[Rory]

I'm concerned that if the car gets nicked/written off i will have to pay up for the shortfall.

I guess the thinking is that ocne the car gets to be a few yrs old, it should depreciate more slowly, so the gap won't be very big.

If you're going to go for it, then I imagine they all do the same, so why not get the cheapest?

I've never had GAP myself, but I do wonder what would happen if the GAP provider and your insurer had a serious disagreement about the cars write off value?

 

[kbhogalW126]

im thinking that a 12k c class will only depreciate by about 1k a year.

so, in theory, im thinking that it should be worth about 7-8k in 4 years time.

in that case would it be sensible to take out gap of about 5-7k just in case?

 

[Rory]

im thinking that a 12k c class will only depreciate by about 1k a year.

so, in theory, im thinking that it should be worth about 7-8k in 4 years time.

in that case would it be sensible to take out gap of about 5-7k just in case?

Ah, that's GAP Plus you're talking about, where you get the invoice price back. It's normally limited to 3 yrs though (maybe there are longer periods available?).

I guess the test with these kinds of insurances, is: Could you afford to fund the shortfall yourself? Or would you be prepared to to accept having to buy a cheaper car?
It doesn't really seem to make sense on older car, as it's depreciating slowly anyway (which you have to live with), and GAP Plus is only useful if the car is written off. A newer car loses much bigger chunks of its value every year and would likely have a much bigger difference in write-off and replacement costs.
You're buying peace of mind really, so that you could replace your car with a newer one if anything happened to it.

I was offered GAP Plus on my Merc, but I didn't get it because if the worst happened, I'd be prepared to drive a Mondeo if I had to.

 

[Aletank]

im thinking that a 12k c class will only depreciate by about 1k a year.

so, in theory, im thinking that it should be worth about 7-8k in 4 years time.

in that case would it be sensible to take out gap of about 5-7k just in case?

I paid 12k for my 3 year old 50k mile 1 owner fsh C-class 4 years ago now with 78k mile I'd say its worth about 4k, so thats more like 2k a year depreciation

 

[Flash]

im thinking that a 12k c class will only depreciate by about 1k a year.

so, in theory, im thinking that it should be worth about 7-8k in 4 years time.

in that case would it be sensible to take out gap of about 5-7k just in case?

Your figures are far too optimistic...!

Thw W204 is going to be launched soon and will hit the residual value of the W203s even more and is a very pretty looking car. It wont be long now before the W203 will start to look outdated once the W204 is out (as with any other new model when a new replacement is launched).