B200 Turbo

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amolak

Active Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2003
Messages
275
Car
B200Turbo & V350
Hi, Looking to buy a B Class, is the B200 Turbo a good choice?
Are the Turbos/engines and Auto transmission reliable?

Appreciate any things to look out for.

Is 80k miles okay for a Turbo?

Cheers
 
Like you are doing already - do your research thoroughly.

I think there is one B200 turbo on here which has had mechanical issues and rust I believe.

Others have come on with auto transmission problems which I believe are CVT autos.

Of course there isn't a glut of those without problems posting up but my perception from this forum is B200s are not great vs. other Merc models.
 
thanks, how can I tell if it has a CVT box.
 
I'm pretty certain all B class autos are CVT - don't think they ever fitted a planetary auto/torque converter. I've only driven an auto B class for a short distance, but it seemed nice enough - didn't seem to rev its **** off all the time, there were some "steps" like a normal auto. The CVT auto was also fitted into the W169 A class IIRC.

Cheers,

Gaz
 
It's not as if it is CVT autos per se.

We had a 2004 Jazz from new for 8 years with CVT without issue.

Now have a 2012 Juke with CVT auto and so far without issue.

Nissan wont let you have a CVT diesel so could be the amount of torque being put through the MB box or could just be they skimped on it like they do with everything else.

Saying that, Audi have had numerous issues with their multitronic boxes which are also CVT (I think they dropped them in 2006) - again, could be torque.

When they work, they are always in the right 'gear' so they are actually quite efficient.
 
I had a CVT Audi , it was a nice car to drive always in the right gear , so instant torque .

Its a shame the transmission design on Audi is flawed , and caused the transmission to expire .
 
Looking at manual one this weekend.
Any things to look out for in particular please?
Cheers
 
Rust.

MB give a perforation guarantee. In other words, they guarantee the car will rust and they certainly deliver.

I just had to do the rear wheel arches on my galvanised E.

:rolleyes:
 
It's not as if it is CVT autos per se.

We had a 2004 Jazz from new for 8 years with CVT without issue.

Now have a 2012 Juke with CVT auto and so far without issue.

Nissan wont let you have a CVT diesel so could be the amount of torque being put through the MB box or could just be they skimped on it like they do with everything else.

Saying that, Audi have had numerous issues with their multitronic boxes which are also CVT (I think they dropped them in 2006) - again, could be torque.

When they work, they are always in the right 'gear' so they are actually quite efficient.

CVT died at 2 years 10 months @ 22k.

Not good.
 
The W245 (old shape) B Class has CVT transmission. I owned one for a couple of years and had no problems - but it only only 5 years old and with 45,000 miles on the clock when I sold it. No rust problems, though I did have a 2006 A Class that had problems with the door seams that was put right for free by MB. It's likely that B Classes of the same year could suffer similarly.
The new B Class (W246) has a dual clutch automatic transmission and is a very different beast in many ways.
 
The W245 (old shape) B Class has CVT transmission. I owned one for a couple of years and had no problems - but it only only 5 years old and with 45,000 miles on the clock when I sold it. No rust problems, though I did have a 2006 A Class that had problems with the door seams that was put right for free by MB. It's likely that B Classes of the same year could suffer similarly.
The new B Class (W246) has a dual clutch automatic transmission and is a very different beast in many ways.

I think the A and B Class rusting door seam issue was rectified with a revised design from 2008 onwards. I also think manual is a safer bet.
 
Better late than never but...
The B class door seams were revised and improved however I still have rust appearing on my 'new' doors. I have a B200 Turbo manual. Its a great car when everything is working. It has done 61,000 miles and I will list the faults with it.

All 4 doors replaced due to rust at 3-4 years old. One of the door is showing rust again! The boot lid also has rust but Mercedes wont fix it. I took to rubbing down the rust spots and sealing it myself, not a hard job, get it early and it'll be ok. Just do frequent checks.

The starter motor died at 30,000 miles. Not much you can do with that one but the dealership quotes vary massively. I had 10 hours from one! I believe this is worst case scenario as space is tight and if your mechanic has large hands they have to remove other parts to get to it. I took it to a local indi, who was (fortunately) a small guy who managed to get to it without moving anything else and in less than 2 hours.

The sports suspension isn't great. Doesn't particularly cope well with the UK roads. At 5 years old I have had to replace both front shocks, both front springs and the ARB. The ARB is a pig as they don't sell bushes separately (something I take exception to). I was lucky to find an indi who found a spare bush that he fitted and charged me £20 for. This stopped the knocking but 6 months later the other side played up. No replacement could be found and I was forced to buy a whole new arb from Mercedes at £100 plus 3 hours labour!

The strut boots have a tendency to come away and knock. Check them first as they are £20ish before spending money on diagnosis...which Mercedes have been terrible at and tried getting me to spend a lot of money unnecessarily. This is actually responsible for a lot of unnecessary suspension part replacements in a futile attempt to work out whats wrong.

My Harman Kardon system is pieced together with rubbish, thin wire (why on such an expensive item?). If one speaker stops working try 'wiggling' the connections...mine eventually work again...Mercedes wanted £100s to 'put it right'.

The mirrors can be set to fold in either manually or automatically when you lock the car...DONT DO IT. The wire to the indicator is thin and badly connected (sounds familiar). Folding the mirrors is a ticking time bomb. Just leave them alone.

My front right bearing has just gone (I believe) and is going in for a replacement next week.

My heater/blower motor has also packed up but I am struggling to work out how to locate it at the moment...I am certainly loathed to get the local dealer to look at it after the unnecessary money I have spent from their previous 'advice'.

...if anyone knows how to get to it I would be most grateful.

It sounds like a lot...and kinda is, but as mentioned, when it works it is a hoot. I usually get bored with cars and sell after 2 years but this one has stayed with me. Its practicality for a family combined with decent performance and economy is difficult to beat at the price they now go for.

Edit: Just to add the spark plugs are a nightmare. When yours need doing try and get a Mercedes dealership to do them and if they provide a quote for under £200 get it in writing. I was fortunate enough to get a quote for approx. £130 from Bradford Mercedes as they priced up a B200 (non Turbo). Later that day I receieved a phone call saying that they couldn't get to it and had to order specialist parts in from Germany. They had my car for a week, had to do allsorts under the bonnet and told me that they would have charged me £450+ had they known!
 
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Bit of a nightmarish read from MBTurbo. And there was me congratulating myself on choosing a car (W169 A Class - essentially the same car) with a supposed reputation for reliability.:doh:
 
Bit of a nightmarish read from MBTurbo. And there was me congratulating myself on choosing a car (W169 A Class - essentially the same car) with a supposed reputation for reliability.:doh:

My wife had a W168 and the timing chain slipped off a severely worn out cog at 35000 miles! car was immacluate but scrap!
 
Just need to add that my cv joint has just gone too. Days before I'm driving on holiday and no one can fix it in time. I would do it myself but Mercedes have put a unique 12 point bolt on it...so I can't.
 
Now my front left is squeaking intermittently at low speed, like it did before I changed my brake, only this time a different squeak. :crazy:
Can anyone think of an appropriate replacement with similar performance, economy and practicality per space for around £6000-£7000, as Im struggling at the moment to think of one.
 
Now my front left is squeaking intermittently at low speed, like it did before I changed my brake, only this time a different squeak. :crazy:
Can anyone think of an appropriate replacement with similar performance, economy and practicality per space for around £6000-£7000, as Im struggling at the moment to think of one.


Zafira VXR?
 

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