C Class c200 or c280 advice

[ash1212002]

With a commute of 2 miles, the engine sizes becomes less relevant. I think with a commute that short, you'll be shocked at the economy you'll average from a small engine too, as you don't reap the economy benefits until up to temperature.

I guess the diesel would be definitely out of the question, would have considered the non dpf versions but I think the government is going to tax these heavily when the new tax rules come in to place

Because of the short journey to ensure I get the engine to temp would run it for 5 mins or so before driving off. Not sure what else I can do!

 

[RonFleet]

With a two mile commute, the fuel "economy" will probably struggle to achieve double figures, whatever the engine size IMHO.

 

[190]

I was under the impression the blue efficiency models had turbo chargers and the pre BE models had the kompressor?

The blue efficiency models of the W204 were introduced in late 2008 on kompressor engines. The turbo came in 2010. I'm not sure there ever was a C200 Blue efficiency though.


In my opinion 2 miles is effectively abusing any engine except perhaps an electric vehicle.
I have two regular 3.5 mile trips every week but use an air cooled motorcycle which warms up faster although oil temperatures are still low. During the few days of snow when the motorcycle wasn't practical I walked the 3.5 miles rather than using the car.

In MB speak or any other manufacturer come to that, short trips constitute severe operating conditions which stipulates more frequent oil changes. That would get expensive on the C280.

 

[st13phil]

In my opinion 2 miles is effectively abusing any engine except perhaps an electric vehicle.

I tend to agree, but lots of people do it.

People don't realise that a huge proportion of all engine wear occurs within the first few seconds after start. Add in the effects of the acidic condensate from combustion that doesn't get evaporated off in a cold engine and its the perfect way to shorten its life. More frequent oil changes will help, but it's far from ideal as a usage pattern. Oh, and extended periods of idling before setting off don't help either.

 

[ash1212002]

C280 8.5 litres oil capacity servicing this every 6 months will be too costly

C200 5.5 litres doesn't seem to bad, and would carry out the service myself

Choice of engines in light of my circumstances is limited. Or the option would be to buy a scooter lol Which aint going to happen!

 

[DoberMan]

I don't know what your personal circumstances are, but why are you even considering driving 2 miles to work?

It's a 30min walk or a 15 min bike ride. No car would benefit under those conditions.

Get the car you really want for the longer journeys and fun times and save on fuel by walking and getting fit(ter).

 

[ash1212002]

I don't know what your personal circumstances are, but why are you even considering driving 2 miles to work?

It's a 30min walk or a 15 min bike ride. No car would benefit under those conditions.

Get the car you really want for the longer journeys and fun times and save on fuel by walking and getting fit(ter).

I would walk but unfortunately getting to my place of work walking is not an ideal location. The car will be driven on the weekends and also for a long journey every month or so

 

[markjay]

You have to take that 'short cold-engine journeys' issue in perspective though. Engines don't just blow-up as result....

An engine that is used mostly for motorway cruising will be good for say 150,000 or 200,000 miles.

An engine used only for short journeys will reach the same amount of terminal wear in say just 50,000 or 75,000 miles, which would constitute very short service life for a modern engine by any measure.

But with 2 miles commune per day... say two ways.... 260 days a year... we are talking about around a 1,000 miles per year.

So the owner runs the car for 3 or 5 years, racks up some 3,000 or 5,000 wear-inducing miles, but the car still feels right.

And this is not a theoretical scenario.

My wife's car does mostly the school run, and apart from one trip to Paris last year, it rarely sees a motorway. And it covers around 1,000 miles per year (not withstanding the one-off trip to France).

Her previous car was 2005 Renault Scenic II which we sold on in 2013, aged 8 years, with 14,000 miles on the clock. I doubt it is still on the road, the value would be next to nothing at 13 years old.

Her current car is a 2010 Kia Soul with 24,000 miles on the clock. We will probably replace it next year, at which point it will have covered around 25,000 miles. It's value is already very very low.

My point is that these cars will be taken off the road long before the short-journeys engine wear will catch-up with them.

In short, I don't disagree that short journeys significantly increase engine wear, this is obvious, but in practical terms it is inconsequential and shouldn't be a cause for concern for the would-be owner.

So you can safely buy a car and use it for a number of years for short journeys, servicing it regularly, and it will serve you just fine.

 

[ash1212002]

Cheers markjay for the reassurance!

Now need to decide whether I go for the c200 or c280

Any advice would be appreciated, I intend to keep the car long term.

 

[MancMike]

Isn’t that how the thread started?

Get the 280. It’s a V6.

 

[ash1212002]

Isn’t that how the thread started?

Get the 280. It’s a V6.

Haha yeah it did, I've had a clk which had the 184 bhp engine which wasn't too bad, servicing costs every 6 months may prove too costly and also the mpg maybe alot worse in comparison to the c200

However if the right c280 fully loaded appears then i would be very tempted to bite the bullet!

 

[ash1212002]

Mercedes-Benz C Class 3.0 C280 Sport 7G-Tronic 4dr


What you think, appears to be fully loaded, shame a cat N

 

[MancMike]

Wow that is fully loaded, rare interior too, and some rare options like memory seats are pretty rare on the C class.

Is there no info about the Cat N?

 

[ash1212002]

Wow that is fully loaded, rare interior too, and some rare options like memory seats are pretty rare on the C class.

Is there no info about the Cat N?

Apparently it was front end damage, seller is claiming it has full merc sh and is waiting for merc to provide this to him.

Would have preferred black or the dark grey colour body work and an 58 to 59 plate year

Not sure whether the price point is reasonable in light of it being a cat N. I'm tempted, car is in Wembley however seller is not prepared to negotiate until i view the car. Which would be a bit of a trip for me and a waste if he is not willing to drop the price too much

 

[MancMike]

Given it’s options and mileage I’d expect it to be around £1.5k-£2k more without the Cat N.

If it was structural it’d be worse than cat N wouldn’t it?

 

[ash1212002]

Given it’s options and mileage I’d expect it to be around £1.5k-£2k more without the Cat N.

If it was structural it’d be worse than cat N wouldn’t it?

I would have thought so, cat N is minimum, he only has one key and probably unlikely that the gearbox oil change has been done. I had 5500 in mind

 

[Old spanners]

I would have thought so, cat N is minimum, he only has one key and probably unlikely that the gearbox oil change has been done. I had 5500 in mind

I'd be more concerned if the balancer shaft and timing chain was a problem.

 

[ash1212002]

At that mileage 41k would that still be an issue?

If I were to view the car anything i can look for or check to see if there is a problem with the balancer shaft and timing chain?

 

[Old spanners]

At that mileage 41k would that still be an issue?

If I were to view the car anything i can look for or check to see if there is a problem with the balancer shaft and timing chain?

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That shows how its done not complicated and if the dealers genuine he'll show you that.
Even if it's ok now doesn't mean it won't happen in another few thousand miles.
Check the engine number against the list of known problems.

 

[markjay]

Lovely lovely spec......View attachment WDD2040542A075216.pdf