After a our first MB family car

[Svet90]

Hello everybody! After many years of dreaming of owning a MB, finally i am on the market to get one! Currently driving a ford focus (not very exciting i know) which is quite small for our needs now as having a baby on the way. As a person who never had a MB would appreciate any opinion about space, practicality, economy and maintenance ( as it will be out of warranty purchase). Maybe should start with my budget which is about £20k . I have had an eye on a few models as a family car for us, which are, 15-17 plate CLS shooting brake, 16-17 plate E class or a 16 plate GLC (which i know is hard to find a decent one for 20k). I am not a big fan of the diesel engines just because of the rumors of how expensive they are for maintenance but please be free to prove me wrong . And i know all these models have mainly diesel engines so i would probably have to go down this road. I would consider other model as well.
Many thanks !

 

[Benzowner]

To a large extent, diesel or petrol would depend on annual mileage. If you tend to do 15k+ I would go for diesel if under 10k definitely petrol. Having said that, I only do about 7k per annum and I drive and have driven for some time, a diesel. I would personally go for an E Class estate, plenty of room for pram or pushchair.

 

[SmartAmg]

Welcome.

 

[BigJase88]

To a large extent, diesel or petrol would depend on annual mileage. If you tend to do 15k+ I would go for diesel if under 10k definitely petrol. Having said that, I only do about 7k per annum and I drive and have driven for some time, a diesel. I would personally go for an E Class estate, plenty of room for pram or pushchair.

Im 8-10k and i'm diesel. Just always preferred the torque of a diesel. Some newer small engined turbo petrols are a bit wheezy

 

[Svet90]

To a large extent, diesel or petrol would depend on annual mileage. If you tend to do 15k+ I would go for diesel if under 10k definitely petrol. Having said that, I only do about 7k per annum and I drive and have driven for some time, a diesel. I would personally go for an E Class estate, plenty of room for pram or pushchair.

Thank you! Well based on the last few years been doing between 7k-9k miles which is not even near enough for a diesel. Have you had any issues with your diesel due to the low annual mileage?

 

[BTB 500]

Hi & welcome. A C Class estate is definitely worth a look IMHO - the W205 version (2014-2021) is a great car. As above I would suggest petrol unless you're doing a *lot* of mileage; lots of C200s around but be aware that these switched from a 2 litre to a 1.5 turbo with hybrid assist around 2018 (when there was a facelift). We have a C300 which is a 2 litre turbo with no hybrid ... these are quick but rarer.

 

[Chrishazle]

We bought our 2008 S204 C220Cdi estate in March 2012 with 64k miles, we're second owner. Plenty of boot space for supermarket shop, pushchairs etc for grandkids, not as spacious as an E Estate but equally not as large to drive and park. Wife has seen ours alongside an E estate and said straight away that the E was too big for her.

As you're in Oxford you maybe have to think about their ULEZ-type plans as a reason to think petrol rather than diesel, as EU6 diesels come with adblue and the associated problems with NOx sensors etc., plenty on here about that!

Also be aware that MB changed a few things with the 2011 facelift of the W/S204 and subsequent models, like service interval, satnav and updates. Lots of research required!

Forum sponsor Mercland is a good source of decent MB's, and I think is not that far from you.

 

[MrGreedy]

I'd also consider a very well maintained older S/W212 E class (2012/2013), E350 ideally petrol, or even E350 diesel.
I have a very late 2011 (so 2012 model) that when cleaned up inside and out, has been in way better conditipn than a host of 2016/2017 cars I've recently been to look at for Mrs Greedy. Condition is key.

I say older with one eye on the diesel because this will mean you avoid AdBlue and Stop/Start, which are both systems that can go wrong with big bills. The other major issue with the V6 diesel is that £1000 needs to be spent on oil cooler seals around 10 years/100k. But there would be plenty saving of your £20k (half?) to stump up for this.

If you are dead set on £20k and 2015 or newer, avoid diesel as AdBlue is a reliability risk issue everywhere.

 

[BTB 500]

We bought our 2008 S204 C220Cdi estate in March 2012 with 64k miles, we're second owner. Plenty of boot space for supermarket shop, pushchairs etc for grandkids, not as spacious as an E Estate but equally not as large to drive and park. Wife has seen ours alongside an E estate and said straight away that the E was too big for her.

Yup the boot space in our current S205 is pretty generous. My mum is in a wheelchair and that fits easily, it takes cages for some of our dogs if required, and runs to Costco are no problem. We had a 2007 S203 before, and that was significantly smaller.

 

[Skd884]

Avoid diesel unless you favour huge bills!


life too short to worry about mpg

 

[BfgSLKMan]

Agree with the mileage petrol/diesel arguement but would add. My wife's 220d does about 6000 miles per year. Her trip to work is about 5 miles each way but she does a longer monthly trip to family about 50 miles away or 3 or 4 times a year to our other house in the South of Germany. She generally always gets 50+mpg, compared to a work colleague with a 200 petrol who struggles to better 30 to 35 (even on a long journey). I know there are lots of issues with short diesel journies and clogged DPF but I think MB have the right engineering with the (very) close coupled SCR/DPF on the 654 engine. Before we bought her car I spoke with a number of taxi drivers where i live who drive 220d and they were getting no issues after 200,000 km+. That was good enough for us to go with diesel for hers rather than 300 petrol which at the time was the lowest petrol engine choice for her cab.

Adblue consumption on both cars is about 1litre per 1000km (600miles), Estate has 23 litre tank, Cab/Coupe 13 litre tank.
Easy to get 55mpg with little restraint in my estate, nearer 60 mpg when I am UK is easily possible with effort.
Mechanically zero faults on both cars (hers 35k miles, mine 75k miles).

We did look at the GLC but it was very cramped in comparison to the E Class Estate and (personally) we both prefer the integrated dashboard/nav map, rather than it being plonked on the top of the dash as is the case with C class derivatives (less the latest model). Unless you need an SUV then the E Estate is a much nicer proposition (other than it being 4.95m long which means it struggles in any UK supermarket car park).

 

[BigJase88]

If a CLA shooting brake is big enough for you there are plenty in that price range. Diesel 2.1's also avoid the dreaded AdBlue in this size of car

 

[BTB 500]

Unless you need an SUV then the E Estate is a much nicer proposition (other than it being 4.95m long which means it struggles in any UK supermarket car park).

To put that into perspective, it's only an inch and a half shorter than our 'Long' Vito!

 

[Benzowner]

Thank you! Well based on the last few years been doing between 7k-9k miles which is not even near enough for a diesel. Have you had any issues with your diesel due to the low annual mileage?

Over the last few years I have had E300 turbo diesel estate, little or no issues other than rust, it was a W210 , an S class 320 petrol no issues, a W245 B Class 2 litre diesel, no issues and now drive a Nissan Qashqai 1.6 diesel which I have had a new turbo fitted. Altogether covered with those cars about 300k miles. All cars had service every year regardless of mileage covered except the E300 estate which worked on the old system of telling me when the service was due and sometimes did 20k miles between services. Obviously with all above had to change wear and tear items, brakes, pads etc.

 

[Chrishazle]

Posted today from Mercland, lovely V6 3.5L diesel C estate with lots of toys - and a lot less than £20k!!

2013 MERCEDES-BENZ C CLASS 2013 (13) MERCEDES BENZ C350 CDI BLUEEFFICIENCY AMG SPORT 5DR AUTO | Classifieds - Traders Cars

Mercedes C350 3.0 CDI Sport BlueEfficiency Estate Automatic Diesel Vehicle Specs: General • Registered 15th March 2013 - 13 Reg • Two Owners From New - Last Owner Since July 2015 • 80,520 Miles only with Full Service History (see below) • 3.0 Litre V6 Turbo Diesel Engine - 265...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

 

[Chrishazle]

Another option just landed at Mercland!

2013 MERCEDES-BENZ CLS 2013 (63 MERCEDES BENZ CLS 350 CDI BLUEEFFICIENCY 5DR TIP AUTO | Classifieds - Traders Cars

Mercedes CLS350 CDI BlueEfficiency Estate Automatic Vehicle Specs: General • Registered 10th September 2013 - 63 Reg • Three Owners From New - Sold By Us to Last Owner • 65,885 Miles only with Full Mercedes Dealer Service History (see below) • 3.0 Litre Turbo Diesel Engine - 261...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

 

[ChrisHGTV]

The E Estate is an absolute weapon of practicality, whatever flavour you go for. And although large-ish the turning circle is tiny (compared to say a Mondeo) so surprisingly easy to maneuver. I looked at the C and it is actually quite small i thought.

 

[Chrishazle]

Yet another Mercland option - Euro 6 no less!

2017 MERCEDES-BENZ C CLASS 2017 (17) MERCEDES BENZ C220D SE EXECUTIVE EDITION 5DR 9G-TRONIC | Classifieds - Traders Cars

Mercedes C220d 2.1 SE Executive Edition Bluetec Estate Automatic Diesel Vehicle Specs: General • Registered 23rd May 2017 - 17 Reg • Two Owners From New - Last Owner Since September 2018 • 27,003 Miles only with Full Main Dealer Service History (see below) • 2.1 Litre Turbo...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

 

[ALFAitalia]

Not looked at Mercland before....they like dervs...A LOT....34 cars....only two petrol engined ones!!

 

[Smart320]

There are relatively few petrol engined models around as diesels were the ones in demand until last year. I would recommend Mercland , had a good ML from them in the past