C250 cgi blue efficiency petrol

[ash1212002]

The C250 CGI definitely made it into the 2011 Facelift. But MB kept reducing their petrol offering in the UK and by 2013 the only petrol engine available on the C-Class was the 1.6L Turbocharged found on the C180.

While the C250 CGI has impressive bhp, I would keep looking for a C350, because the C250 CGI had the 1.8L M271 engine which is prone to timing gear failure.

(The issue was finally resolved in 2013 when the M274 engine replaced the problematic M271 engine)

The C350 will have the M272 engine, which does not have any special issues (the balancer shafts were sorted by 2007).

Either engine is a rare find, the c350 engine more so. I've been looking for several months whatever comes first, providing its a good spec and within my budget I will purchase otherwise i could be waiting forever!

 

[markjay]

Either engine is a rare find, the c350 engine more so. I've been looking for several months whatever comes first, providing its a good spec and within my budget I will purchase otherwise i could be waiting forever!

In this case I suggest that the M271-equipped car will have to be with full history (dealer or specialist), and low mileage. The camshaft sprockets just don't age well on these engines.....

PS - or a car that had the modified timing gear already fitted to it.

 

[markjay]

I do know where you're coming from though... for some time I have been looking for an early facelift C250 CGI (200 bhp) myself.

However I delayed the decision and by the time I was ready to buy it was too late, as the cars started to disappear and those few cars I could still find, no longer had low mileage.

So I ended-up buying the car I have now, which is equipped with the only petrol engine available for the model year (2013), 1.6L Turbocharged.

On the plus side, the 1.6L is a different engine (M274) so does not suffer from premature timing gear failure (as the M271 did).

My previous car was a 2006 W203 C180 which I owned for 9 years, and while it had the M271 engine (1.8L Supercharged but with relatively low output of 143 bhp), the car didnt get much use and I sold it with only 60,000 miles on the clock, so I wasn't too worried about the timing gear failing under my ownership.

 

[ash1212002]

Currently I have an 09 year CLK 200 petrol 184 bhp, really like the car but having to get rid as looking for a 5 door due to expanding family

The m271 engine was this a problem with the early engines or throughout the years they were available?

As these are rare, would sourcing parts become an issue?

 

[190]

I think it was throughout the years that the M271 was available.

It's not as if MB were unaware of the problem. There are even specific M271 oil tests and limits within the MB229.5 oil spec: M271 Timing chain wear (elongation) % and M271 Timing chain wear (single chain link). I presume that means the correct specification of oil is critical to a reasonable life from the chain. It would be useful to know what else is helpful. Chains in general wear more with excessive revs and with abrupt changes of revs so perhaps modestly driven engines will last longer.

 

[markjay]

My understanding is that the camshaft sprocket wheels on the M271 DOHC engine wear prematurely, allowing the stretched chain to jump a tooth ot two. A modified (hardened) aftermarket sproket wheel set resolves the issue. The problem is cost... two sprocket wheels, chain and tentioner, plus labour - £1,500-£2,000 from a specialist. And that's if the issue is caught in time, i.e. before any valve or piston damage occurs.

On the early supercharged engines, the timing gear failure occured typically at at around the 100,000 mile mark.

On later cars, MB tried to resolve the issue by marking changes to the timing chain teeth, resulting in less frequent failure but at a much earlier stage - as early as 30,000-40,000 miles.

In short, MB never quite sorted-out the M271 timing gear issue.

But - if you find a keeper - you could spend the money to have the timing gear replaced pre-emptivley with the modified parts and not have to worry about it any more.

 

[ash1212002]

Cheers for all the input and advice and whatever I end up getting I will definitely report back

 

[Deleted member 65149]

The C350 will have the M272 engine, which does not have any special issues (the balancer shafts were sorted by 2007).

The facelift (post 2011) C350cgi has the M276 engine, which is a totally different beast. The M276 has a 60 degree design that obviates the need for the troublesome balance shaft. It’s also direct injection, which results in higher bhp (306), better fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions with resultant lower VED (currently £195). The old cynic in me suspects that MBUK dropped it from the C-class after only a year or so because it was such a good engine they wouldn’t be making much money on post warranty repairs! Well, I can hope can’t I?

As for the options spec on mine, which I selected from new, it’s quite comprehensive. In no particular order:

Dynamic Handling Pack (electronically tightens suspension and modifies throttle response). It’s great on the rare occasion that I want some “enthusiastic” driving, but as I mostly have passengers those occasions are now few and far between.

Comfort ventilated front seats - in other words heated seats that have lots of holes in the leather to allow air to be blown onto your bum and back. Don’t need the cool airflow much in this country, but this year with the longer hotter summer they’ve been lovely. What I didn’t realise until I took delivery is that they’re not an option with the standard sports seats on the Sport model car, so mine are standard seats. Having a bit more thickness and give to the upholstery than sports seats means they’re more comfortable on long journeys. Just not quite so good when throwing the car around.

Luxury automatic climate control that provides an even greater degree of settings front and rear for heat and air flow style. We rarely touch it now because it’s set to how we like it and it does it all itself.

COMAND multimedia that does everything I want very well, including traffic alerts that don’t need an annual fee. At just shy of £2k it was ridiculously expensive, but I wouldn’t be without it now.

Harman Kardon 12 speaker surround system. A lovely sound but probably under-utilised now that we have a young daughter!

Panoramic roof - not so much valued for its open air facility as for the large glass area that takes away from the claustrophobic black headlining that Mercedes insist on with their sports models.

Split-folding rear seats. £250 well spent.

Memory package giving full electric control of the front seats, door mirrors and steering with three memory settings. Essential with my wife and I both using the car and 8” difference in our heights.

The Magnetite black metallic paintwork and Alpaca grey leather were also extra cost options. Options are of course always personal preferences.

I’m not aware of any issues that need to be looked out for over and above what you need to check with any car. Although it’s worth checking that the gearbox oil has been changed - by now it will have been needed no matter what the mileage.

 

[ash1212002]

Sounds like the perfect spec you have there!

How is it like on tyres? I've read somewhere it goes through tyres on the c350 and expect to replace them at 4k!

The COMAND multimedia is that not the factory Becker nav unit? Or is it two different things?

Dynamic Handling Pack, is this seperate to the Sport (which does the same thing?) and comfort, manual button which I believe is factory standard?

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Sounds like the perfect spec you have there!

How is it like on tyres? I've read somewhere it goes through tyres on the c350 and expect to replace them at 4k!

The COMAND multimedia is that not the factory Becker nav unit? Or is it two different things?

Dynamic Handling Pack, is this seperate to the Sport (which does the same thing?) and comfort, manual button which I believe is factory standard?

If you’re one of those fools who go out at night showing off to your mates doing donuts then yes the tyres would probably only last 4K - but if you are one of those you’re unlikely to have a Mercedes! My first set of tyres lasted 24,000 miles and I always change tyres well before they’re anywhere near the legal limit.

COMAND isn’t the cheaper (but still adequate) Becker sat nav unit. In addition to sat nav, COMAND has lots of other features including online capability, voice control and music storage. If you’re not bothered about these, I understand that people are very happy with their Beckers. But when buying used, the expensive COMAND is unlikely to add to the price but is well worth having if it’s available.

The Dynamic Handling Pack is completely different to the standard sport stuff that doesn’t change the suspension. The £500 optional extra is mainly about providing switchable firmer damping for an even sportierdrive than the standard Sport suspension.

 

[Bobclive2]

I have a C-Class amg style coupe cgi 180, 156 bhp, on hills it could do with a little more power, other than that the car is OK, you can`t remap the 1.8 cgi engine as the ECU is locked, I also have an SLK 200 with a Blue Spark tuning box making 210bhp, the box really does make a difference.

 

[ash1212002]

If you’re one of those fools who go out at night showing off to your mates doing donuts then yes the tyres would probably only last 4K - but if you are one of those you’re unlikely to have a Mercedes! My first set of tyres lasted 24,000 miles and I always change tyres well before they’re anywhere near the legal limit.

COMAND isn’t the cheaper (but still adequate) Becker sat nav unit. In addition to sat nav, COMAND has lots of other features including online capability, voice control and music storage. If you’re not bothered about these, I understand that people are very happy with their Beckers. But when buying used, the expensive COMAND is unlikely to add to the price but is well worth having if it’s available.

The Dynamic Handling Pack is completely different to the standard sport stuff that doesn’t change the suspension. The £500 optional extra is mainly about providing switchable firmer damping for an even sportierdrive than the standard Sport suspension.

Thanks for your input, its been useful!

Here's hoping a c350 pops up soon with a good spec

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Thanks for your input, its been useful!

Here's hoping a c350 pops up soon with a good spec

Good luck. I think that any C350 will have a good spec. It’s unlikely that anyone ordering one from new would be the type to penny pinch on options. Those with a lower budget would have gone for a less expensive model.

 

[aybracers]

Regarding 204 face lift petrols I have lots of price lists from this era and the only ones that list the 350 petrol engine are September and December 2011. By the time of the June 2012 price list it had disappeared. This coincided with the renaming of the models within the range. From the facelift in early 2011 through to approx April 2012 the models were SE,Elegance and Sport. The 350 petrol was only available as a Sport model. By the June 2012 price list they had changed to SE, AMG Sport and AMG Sport Plus and the 350 petrol had disappeared.
Last year I was looking fo a 250CGI petrol but wanted an Elegance model - it was only made for a year. I did find one and I am very happy with the engine. Note that the 250CGI engine model was available from the facelift through 2012 and most of 2013. It had gone by the time of the December 2013 price list and the only petrol model (Apart from C63) was the newer 274 1.6 litre but labelled as C180.
The later (Post facelift) 271 Evo engines fitted in the C250CGI had modified timing gears and seem to be OK as long as they have had regular oil changes with the correct spec 229.5 oil.

 

[Londonscottish]

Regarding 204 face lift petrols I have lots of price lists from this era and the only ones that list the 350 petrol engine are September and December 2011. By the time of the June 2012 price list it had disappeared. This coincided with the renaming of the models within the range. From the facelift in early 2011 through to approx April 2012 the models were SE,Elegance and Sport. The 350 petrol was only available as a Sport model. By the June 2012 price list they had changed to SE, AMG Sport and AMG Sport Plus and the 350 petrol had disappeared.
Last year I was looking fo a 250CGI petrol but wanted an Elegance model - it was only made for a year. I did find one and I am very happy with the engine. Note that the 250CGI engine model was available from the facelift through 2012 and most of 2013. It had gone by the time of the December 2013 price list and the only petrol model (Apart from C63) was the newer 274 1.6 litre but labelled as C180.
The later (Post facelift) 271 Evo engines fitted in the C250CGI had modified timing gears and seem to be OK as long as they have had regular oil changes with the correct spec 229.5 oil.

It's really odd. MB UK seemed to decide at some point in 2011/12 that if you wanted a petrol it had to (a) produce less that 200 bhp or (b) more than 500 bhp. Anything else was banned.

Presumably it was some spreadsheet-type person making the final analysis and decision. I bet that same person drove a diesel company car (for BIK reasons) and simply couldn't compute that anyone could possibly buy a car that wasn't going to "win" in a BIK contest or in a Fuelly shootout.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

It's really odd. MB UK seemed to decide at some point in 2011/12 that if you wanted a petrol it had to (a) produce less that 200 bhp or (b) more than 500 bhp. Anything else was banned.

Presumably it was some spreadsheet-type person making the final analysis and decision. I bet that same person drove a diesel company car (for BIK reasons) and simply couldn't compute that anyone could possibly buy a car that wasn't going to "win" in a BIK contest or in a Fuelly shootout.

I'd like to think that it was a market driven decision, if the 3.0ltr cars had been popular then I guess that they would have made them.

 

[ash1212002]

Regarding 204 face lift petrols I have lots of price lists from this era and the only ones that list the 350 petrol engine are September and December 2011. By the time of the June 2012 price list it had disappeared. This coincided with the renaming of the models within the range. From the facelift in early 2011 through to approx April 2012 the models were SE,Elegance and Sport. The 350 petrol was only available as a Sport model. By the June 2012 price list they had changed to SE, AMG Sport and AMG Sport Plus and the 350 petrol had disappeared.
Last year I was looking fo a 250CGI petrol but wanted an Elegance model - it was only made for a year. I did find one and I am very happy with the engine. Note that the 250CGI engine model was available from the facelift through 2012 and most of 2013. It had gone by the time of the December 2013 price list and the only petrol model (Apart from C63) was the newer 274 1.6 litre but labelled as C180.
The later (Post facelift) 271 Evo engines fitted in the C250CGI had modified timing gears and seem to be OK as long as they have had regular oil changes with the correct spec 229.5 oil.

You wonder why MB bothered to only have the C350 petrol engine for such a short period! 4 months!

I guess it'll either be a 2011 or 2012 plate that these are available in!

All the drama about petrols pollution etc and the promoting of diesels by our government must have also played a part

Is there any way to determine how many c350 petrol saloons are on the road? The Howmanyleft site doesnt seem to provide this information as i may seriously need to reconsider and look for something else, as these will only perhaps be put on for sale once in a blue moon!

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I guess it'll either be a 2011 or 2012 plate that these are available in.

Is there any way to determine how many c350 petrol saloons are on the road? The Howmanyleft site doesnt seem to provide this information as i may seriously need to reconsider and look for something else, as these will only perhaps be put on for sale once in a blue moon!

Mine is on a 2012 plate.

With so many variants on what MB call their cars, it’s not easy to be certain of the numbers. Going by what mine’s called on the V5, Howmanyleft says there are about 50. But what it doesn’t tell you is the breakdown between saloons and estates. I THINK the coupes might have had AMG within in their title from the start of the facelift models so not included in this group. Unfortunately it could be a long wait for that blue moon.

 

[Londonscottish]

I'd like to think that it was a market driven decision, if the 3.0ltr cars had been popular then I guess that they would have made them.

Presumably it was bean counters not wanting to carry parts for a relatively unpopular config. I say "relatively" because if you do a search on Autotrader for 3.0 petrol 5 Series from 2010 to 2012 there are 27 of them.

So there was obviously a slow but steady demand for premium large-ish petrols. It's just that anyone looking for an MB at the time would have had to have bought a BM, Jag, Audi or Lexus.

New & Used Cars for Sale - Auto Trader UK

 

[Londonscottish]

Plenty of 3.0 XF's too from 2010 to 2012.

New & Used Cars for Sale - Auto Trader UK