Buying advice!

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

ajs37

Active Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2003
Messages
130
Location
Bristol
Car
2016 B180 1.6
I am going to change my 1991 300E 24v saloon for something a little less extravagant, now I am semi-retired and don't do the mileage I used to.
After a good look around the usual places, I came to the conclusion that a C class saloon might be ok - something on an 03/04 plate - like a C180/200 - possibly Kompressor (I have about £10k to spend).
I want something that I can get into my drive (the 300E scrapes over the top of the slope in my drive) - my wife wants aircon, auto, 4 doors so we can carry her mother (bang goes the coupe!).

I would be interested to know what opinions / experiences people have had with the smaller engined C class regarding economy (I realise performance won't match my current car) - can anybody make sense of the new road tax laws (ie; how much would a C200 cost to tax?) - and what is the body / paint warranty situation on a 4/5 year old car?

All responses gratefully received!
Cheers
Andy
 
If your finances will permit, it will be worth the extra to buy a post April 2004 facelifted W203 C Class. Many improvements and bug fixes. Identified mainly by the CLEAR headlamp glass (not fluted/ribbed) and the twin dial instrument cluster. Better to buy a lower spec facelift model than a fully loaded pre-facelift model.
Thats about the best advice I can give.
Currently paying £210 a year road tax on my C200K.
Paintwork on post 2004 models is fine and the body is fully galvanised. Not one spot of the dreaded brown oxide despite a few stone chips.
My C200K returns about 32mpg around town and a bit over 40mpg on a coast run. The best mpg I ever had was 43mpg a few weeks ago after a round trip of about 250 miles. A C180K will be very similar. Dont be tempted by a C230K. Road tax is in the highest bracket and will be alot more.
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/specs/Detail.aspx?deriv=23397
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/road-tax/?deriv=23397

Also it may not be to your taste but take a look at an A-Class, we have been very pleasantly surprised with ours. we've got Auto, Aircon, e/windows all round, auto wipers/lights, cruise etc. One of the main advantages you may find in advancing years(;) ) is that getting in and out is really easy because of the height.

Thanks Ratz - didn't know that Parkers could be so helpful! I have looked at the A class (having driven a few as hire cars) and yes, they are a possibility, but not yet - although I'm semi-retired, I'm still only 56 - give it another 5 years though!

Cheers
andy
 
I can echo what verytalldave says. I had a '54' C180 and it is really not underpowered and a noticable advance over the non-facelift cars. Out of town mpg was always over 40 and the car has a very 'grown-up' feel to it without being stuffy. (We are of a similar age despite the way I act:eek: ) Estates should be coming in to your price range...what's not to like?:)
 
I am going to change my 1991 300E 24v saloon for something a little less extravagant, now I am semi-retired and don't do the mileage I used to.
After a good look around the usual places, I came to the conclusion that a C class saloon might be ok - something on an 03/04 plate - like a C180/200 - possibly Kompressor (I have about £10k to spend).
I want something that I can get into my drive (the 300E scrapes over the top of the slope in my drive) - my wife wants aircon, auto, 4 doors so we can carry her mother (bang goes the coupe!).

I would be interested to know what opinions / experiences people have had with the smaller engined C class regarding economy (I realise performance won't match my current car) - can anybody make sense of the new road tax laws (ie; how much would a C200 cost to tax?) - and what is the body / paint warranty situation on a 4/5 year old car?

All responses gratefully received!
Cheers
Andy

Hi Andy,

What would actually be cheaper still is to hold onto the car you've got purely because yours will have done the depreciation its going to do, and the car you will be buying still has to fall. Your in the CO2 safe zone, has you car even got a CO2 emissions listed?

If you want a newer car go for it, and a C180 will be fine, or I'd recommend a C220cdi or C270cdi which are more economical and in the case of the 270cdi a performance match for your 1991 300E.

I am saying this as now I am out of work (temporarily) I would have kept my old car as it was out of finance and apart from MOT/servicing/insurance/petrol/tax wasn't costing a great deal to run. Now I am on a finance deal with £300+ coming off me without fail every month, + all the other costs, the car I have now in terms of expedniture is costing me more.

Regards
 
Last edited:
Hi Andy,

What would actually be cheaper still is to hold onto the car you've got purely because yours will have done the depreciation its going to do

Yes - it is already worth sod all! Trouble is that it is also getting crinkly around the edges - and it failed to start last week for no apparent reason (20 miles from home) - it worked when the MB indy tried it the next day, and it has been working ever since (and didn't cost me a thing). However, when a car does that to me, I lose a bit of faith in it.

I have also spent a fortune on it over the last couple of years just keeping it on the road - if I was going to keep it, it would need much rust treatment and respraying - the cost would be phenomenal (we are not just talking wheel arches here!) - so it's got to go! Shame as it's a great car to drive.

Thanks for the heads up on the 220 / 270 CDI - hadn't looked at those - yet!
Cheers
andy
 
In my limited MB experience I would now buy from a MB dealer and not an independant. Local Merc dealer has 04/54 plate C180 Kompressor swith cloth not leather and reasonable mileage for around £9K. You get the warranty and preparation that an indie will generally not provide which is why I am pursuing the dealer who sold me mine describing it as 'excellent throughout'... I dont think so! :mad: Mercedes Direct is another option too of course.
 
Thanks Ratz - didn't know that Parkers could be so helpful! I have looked at the A class (having driven a few as hire cars) and yes, they are a possibility, but not yet - although I'm semi-retired, I'm still only 56 - give it another 5 years though!

Cheers
andy
My daughter and son in law have one and they are aged about 30 and about to have their first baby. Lots of young marrieds have them.
 
My daughter and son in law have one and they are aged about 30 and about to have their first baby. Lots of young marrieds have them.

thanks Hawk - I know a few young families who have them - but I ain't young - and neither are my sons! - as a friend of mine said (on a mug) "too old for disco, too young for bingo"!

Anyway - I have been out, looked at 200/220 CDIs and 180s, and I have bought a C180 Kompressor avantgarde saloon on an '06 plate for a very good price from a small (but reputable) dealer - still under warranty - 27k on the clock - very happy with that (don't get it until Monday) - now I have to sell the 300E 24v! (how many posts do you have to have to sell something on this forum?)

Big thanks to all for your advice - be assured that I took it all into account
Cheers
Andy
 
Quick decision! A man after my own heart :).

Enjoy your new car :cool:.
 
In my opinion..........petrol is SOOOOO much better than diesel. Much quieter and more refined. I hate the taxi noise when standing at traffic lights. Spoils the whole image.
Your 180K wont be be much different in performance or economy to my 200K. Congratulations. You have made a wise choice.
 
yep - I am looking forward to getting it thanks! I am a bit concerned with selling off the 300E - I have put an advert on the MB Owners site - haven't got enough posts to put it on here yet!
Cheers
andy
 
Yep good choice! It wasn't WhatCar's compact exec car of the year for two years without reason. Sameageme agrees with Verytalldave about the suitability of the petrol engine for this car. The 4 cylinder woodburner is frugal but does make taxi noises at standstill...which is why I moved on to the V6.
06 reg will give you a year of manufacturers warranty if there are any issues, but someone else will have taken the big depreciation hit.:)
 
......and the 5 cylinder "woodburner" ? Mine seems fine.
 
In my opinion..........petrol is SOOOOO much better than diesel. Much quieter and more refined. I hate the taxi noise when standing at traffic lights. Spoils the whole image.
Your 180K wont be be much different in performance or economy to my 200K. Congratulations. You have made a wise choice.

Congratulations to the OP for his purchase. I went looking for W203's and there were some good deals on the petrols and they cheaper to buy than the diesels.

The "taxi noise" is okay, I can cope, if you listen to radio etc when you drive you don't hear it but you reap the rewards a diesel car offers, i.e. torque and economy. The 270cdi doesn't do this so much and it will be absent with the 6 cylinder diesels.

......and the 5 cylinder "woodburner" ? Mine seems fine.

Thats probably the best of the diesel C classes. Welcome by the way. I was in an E270cdi and it was more refined than my 4 cylinder car, I wish I got one now :eek:
 
I love the diesel sound. Can't beat it. And all that low down torque: so much more relaxing to drive. My diesel A class does 40 miles per thousand revs. That is only 2,000 revs at 80 mph. Quiet, smooth refined cruising and over 50 mpg. Lovely grubly.

And most diesels now offer as much or often more performance than the petrols. The 3 litre diesel E class, for example offers the same acceleration and top speed as the 3.5 litre petrol engine.

Why do petrol owners feel the need to run down diesel? Fear they may be extinct?
 
......and the 5 cylinder "woodburner" ? Mine seems fine.

‘Woodburner’ : warm, ecological, now quite trendy and affectionate term for diesel power.
All the vehicles in the family are now ‘woodburners’ apart from the bike…oh and the Aga which is an oil burner.....:eek::confused:
 
And most diesels now offer as much or often more performance than the petrols. The 3 litre diesel E class, for example offers the same acceleration and top speed as the 3.5 litre petrol engine.

Why do petrol owners feel the need to run down diesel? Fear they may be extinct?

I do quite want one of those V6 diesels. I do admit though I preferred the engine sound of my old I6 BMW, wonderful tuneful in a way that my 4 cylinder diesel isn't, but the engine has plenty of other qualities, and sounds nice between 1k-2k revs where I try and keep it.

One of the best 4 cylinder diesels I was in was my pals new 1.6TDCi Ford Focus, and it sounded good all the way through its rev band, better than my pals W204 180K :eek:.

If you look on youtube and look at BMW 530, most of the vids are of the diesels, so diesel car owners are rightly proud of what fuels them.
 
Well - the new car should arrive tomorrow - I hope it does, because I have sold the 300E 24v for £750 - and that definitely goes tomorrow!
Sold it through Pistonheads - it went to the first person to look at it - no haggling involved either!
Cheers
Andy
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom