2016 C200 AMG Line 'new' car detail

[OldskoolRS]

Haven't updated this thread for ages. The C200 is having it's MOT today, so fingers crossed. Gave it a good wash yesterday evening once the sun dropped a bit as it was covered in flies from a recent long trip to Scotland and back.

I bought a replacement for my Ka. I decided to go for something a bit more quirky than a Mini. Partly because the Minis in my budget were the older models with the unreliable 'Prince' engine. Possibly out of the frying pan into the fire, but I went for an Alfa Mito Twin Air 105ps. Did my research on the known issues, found one with a full history and got the dealer to replace the Twin Air strainer before purchase when doing the oil change (they did...I checked ).

Put a brand new stop/start battery on it the first week I had it because it came up with a 'check power steering' error the first time my wife drove it. Didn't seem to be turning over as quickly as it should either and the general contentious was that they are fussy about batteries and the most likely cause. Reset codes after the new battery and all seems well now.

I fitted a new thermostat too due to slow warm up, plugs and air filter for good measure. Great little thing for zipping about locally in to preserve the C200 for longer trips and from parking dings. VED is £0 (until 2025) and it's averaging high 40s mpg same as the Ka, mid 50s on longer runs too, but a lot more fun to drive: Sounds like a manic lawnmower when it's opened up a bit.



Has the rare (for a Twin Air) leather interior too:





All my band gear fits in the boot and I now have the luxury(!) of a boot light for when I'm loading up (I'm easily pleased ):




Update on the MOT later...

 

[OldskoolRS]

The C200 passed it's MOT no bother yesterday. Must have been that extra wash I gave it.

 

[OldskoolRS]

Realised that it's a year tomorrow since we went to look at this car and ended up paying a deposit and collecting it a few days later. Still going well after passing it's MOT recently with no advisories. Pretty much permanently has a child seat in the back as we have my Grandson once a week (at least) and it's much easier getting him in and out compared to using the Ka (or now Mito). Mileage up to 34,500 now, so it's done 3,500 miles in our ownership, mostly longer trips so mpg has been averaging about 43mpg last time I checked.

Finally got a new number plate for it and used the original MB fixings, so it doesn't rattle when the boot is closed.

Still haven't done the AT oil and filter change, or changed the budget front tyres (plenty of tread, but would prefer matching Avon ZT7 to go with the rears). Still haven't changed the front brake disc and pads because there is plenty of life left in them given our low mileage. The other family cars have taken my time, but I hope to be able to spend a bit of time giving the C200 a full decontamination wash, though it doesn't seem to need another polish, then I'll seal it with something ceramic. Having said that; the AG spray ceramic has been pretty good anyway, so I might just use that up first.

A repeat photo, but it still looks exactly the same as this...it's a lovely car to cruise around in and make longer journeys in. Happy first birthday with us.

 

[DITTRICH]

42 mpg from a c200 petrol saloon is lowish for that engine. I have seen 62mpg on a long motorway run without even pumping up the tires (even the 50 miles to my Mum's in Sussex from London sees 50mpg plus). Mind you I tend to do 2 things - take off the auto start/stop all the time, and use Eco mode which really saves r=fuel on long downhill stretches. Also bear in mind that the computer mpg isn't the most accurate. Brimming the tank and calculating the mpg is far more reliable.

 

[OldskoolRS]

42 mpg from a c200 petrol saloon is lowish for that engine. I have seen 62mpg on a long motorway run without even pumping up the tires (even the 50 miles to my Mum's in Sussex from London sees 50mpg plus). Mind you I tend to do 2 things - take off the auto start/stop all the time, and use Eco mode which really saves r=fuel on long downhill stretches. Also bear in mind that the computer mpg isn't the most accurate. Brimming the tank and calculating the mpg is far more reliable.

It's my wife's car so no matter what I do when driving it, she can bring the average down quicker. I thought 46-47 mpg was fine on some longer runs I drove it on last year. I don't like Eco mode though as it takes the edge off performance...don't see the point having a car that feels sluggish and spoils the fun of the (rare) times I drive it. Our stop/start doesn't work anyway, except after very long trips like up to Scotland last month...then it stops working again once we got back home again and she was driving it maybe 10 miles at a time over to our daughter's house.

I got a fraction over 80mpg out of my old work C220d with the 9 speed auto on a couple of very steady 50mph runs due to a load of average cameras between my house and the office. It used to average about 58mpg, but it sounded like a concrete mixer and diesels aren't great for the shorter trips we thought we'd be doing when we first bought it last year: Initial plan was to just have one car between us, but having a small runabout proved useful. These days I prefer driving my Mito to the C200 sometimes as it's more fun, though on a longer trip I'd take the C200 of course.

 

[DITTRICH]

It's my wife's car so no matter what I do when driving it, she can bring the average down quicker. I thought 46-47 mpg was fine on some longer runs I drove it on last year. I don't like Eco mode though as it takes the edge off performance...don't see the point having a car that feels sluggish and spoils the fun of the (rare) times I drive it. Our stop/start doesn't work anyway, except after very long trips like up to Scotland last month...then it stops working again once we got back home again and she was driving it maybe 10 miles at a time over to our daughter's house.

I got a fraction over 80mpg out of my old work C220d with the 9 speed auto on a couple of very steady 50mph runs due to a load of average cameras between my house and the office. It used to average about 58mpg, but it sounded like a concrete mixer and diesels aren't great for the shorter trips we thought we'd be doing when we first bought it last year: Initial plan was to just have one car between us, but having a small runabout proved useful. These days I prefer driving my Mito to the C200 sometimes as it's more fun, though on a longer trip I'd take the C200 of course.

I understand where you are coming from. In my c230k days, I used to love seeing my 35mpg fall to about 27mpg on the Autobahn on my annual trip to Eastern Europe. After some personal events, I now travel much more sedately - the days of pressing on quickly are over for me. Your diesel figures are impressive as the extra urban figure is about 74 mpg, and your attention to keeping your car nice and clean is great. I only manage around 1 panel per week as it takes time to clean/dry/tar remover/clay/polish and I go after every little spot on mine (when I do it).

 

[OldskoolRS]

I'm the same...I tend to drive more sedately these days. I just don't drive trying to extract the last mpg from it since we only do about 3,500 miles a year in it, so 42 verses (say) 46mpg doesn't cost a huge amount more. Even if I did my wife wouldn't and she puts the petrol in it...Her last car had an average of 14mpg just before we took it to trade it in. Only a 250 (Petrol) SLK, but she did lots of 3-4 mile trips when her Mum was alive and as I said, she isn't one to drive with much mechanical sympathy.

 

[OldskoolRS]

A slight 'oops' moment last month while reversing off our drive resulted in this:



I had a quick try with some wet and dry to see how bad the damage was and reckoned it wasn't worth losing my wife's no claims discount over as she'd initially intended...

A light skim of filler to start with after tapping the arch lip back in line:



Primed and then wet sanded to blend the edges of the primer:



Base coated, just using aerosol, overspray was cleaned off the tyre later...



Today I mixed some base coat with clear and blended further out, then finished with a larger area again with purely clear coat:



Not bad for a drive way job using mostly aerosols. I'll leave it a week or two, then machine polish the clear coat into a better shine. I did a similar job recently on a darker blue Ford Ka that I was tidying up to sell and that turned out well once polished up, so hopefully this will too.

Hoping to give the rest of the car a decent wash as it hasn't had one in ages due to the above mentioned Ka, my son's Fiesta and an Alfa Mito I bought to replace the Ka...

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

A slight 'oops' moment last month while reversing off our drive resulted in this:

View attachment 147393

I had a quick try with some wet and dry to see how bad the damage was and reckoned it wasn't worth losing my wife's no claims discount over as she'd initially intended...

A light skim of filler to start with after tapping the arch lip back in line:

View attachment 147394

Primed and then wet sanded to blend the edges of the primer:

View attachment 147395

Base coated, just using aerosol, overspray was cleaned off the tyre later...

View attachment 147396

Today I mixed some base coat with clear and blended further out, then finished with a larger area again with purely clear coat:

View attachment 147397

Not bad for a drive way job using mostly aerosols. I'll leave it a week or two, then machine polish the clear coat into a better shine. I did a similar job recently on a darker blue Ford Ka that I was tidying up to sell and that turned out well once polished up, so hopefully this will too.

Hoping to give the rest of the car a decent wash as it hasn't had one in ages due to the above mentioned Ka, my son's Fiesta and an Alfa Mito I bought to replace the Ka...

Very impressive handy work.

 

[OldskoolRS]

Finally got round to giving the resprayed wing a machine polish as the 1k clear tends to dry a bit dull. It's come out quite well, considering it was done on the drive.




The rest of the car needs a good clean and polish, but the MOT is due tomorrow and I've been struggling with an EML problem. Replaced the 02 sensor that has an error, but the EML comes back on again after a few drives. Hoping it stays off long enough to pass tomorrow and I can carry on sorting it at my leisure. I've done an oil & filter change, plus spark plugs recently and all the usual checks.

Wondering if my plan to DIY service might bite me if we decide to get rid of of it sooner? Had expected to keep it until 10-12 years old, so FMBSH wouldn't be expected by most buyers at that age. Might be more of a requirement at 8 years old, so will see what happens. Had thought that low mileage use and taking care meant it would last us a long time, but this EML problem is putting me off.

 

[merc estate]

Nice Job