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Deleted member 126969
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I know I’ll never buy another!I’m done with the Germans, it was a pleasure to meet you here guys, all the best.
seekay
Active Member
Before I bought the C350e, my other candidate was Lexus, especially the IS 300h. So I started looking their stock again and found a beautiful F Sport model with a very bargain deal. It drives beautifully, very smooth, the way as the hybrid system operates is night and day, compare to the BMW’s or Mercedes’ hybrids. It’s not a plug-in but still very economical, my record so far is 64 mpg with a very careful and forward planned driving to work, the average is 45-50 at the moment, but still getting used to so I’m sure this will improve.
The whole car seems much more premium, quieter, the gearbox gives a very linear feeling of acceleration, so smooth. There is nothing wrong with this E-CVT. Sometimes I miss a little bit the AirMatic’s comfort but the handling, cornering and stability is far better. The C350e has a bit better bhp/Nm figures and the acceleration is also more aggressive but the IS 300h still feels quick and powerful enough for me, I really love it.
The customer care was a very pleasant experience, there was nothing similar at BMW and Mercedes. The manufacturer warranty also gives an extra peace of mind... If the car gets serviced by the main dealer, the HV battery and hybrid components get an extra year warranty for up to 15 years and unlimited mileage...and the same applies to the whole cars’ warranty as well, serviced by Lexus dealer and get an extra year warranty for up to 10 years/100k miles. Link
I’m truly impressed.
raspy
Active Member
@seekay Glad you are enjoying the change.
I've had Lexus cars before and for a private used car purchase and looking at running costs/reliability/customer experience perspective, it's definitely a superior proposition to anything from the Germans. Having said that, my experience of 3 different MB dealers for sales and servicing, customer experience has been just as wonderful as the Lexus dealers I used in the past.
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Deleted member 126969
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I looked long and hard at an IS300h but just couldn’t like some of the interior design. Most of it was fine, but there were one or two really jarring things like the digital clock from the 80’s. Clearly aimed squarely at the US market.
Kind if wish I’d opted for one now…or rather, I’d stuck with my old shed a few more years and waited for an EV I would have been prepared to afford. If the missus hadn’t been so put off by the size, I could have talked myself into a Tesla S I reckon,
Kind if wish I’d opted for one now…or rather, I’d stuck with my old shed a few more years and waited for an EV I would have been prepared to afford. If the missus hadn’t been so put off by the size, I could have talked myself into a Tesla S I reckon,
MikeInWimbledon
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2014
- Messages
- 13,229
- Car
- (Ex S211 E500, W212 E500, C216, S212 E500, W211 E500 5.5, W221 S500, S211 E500, SL500, S500, E55)
“Some say” the Tesla S has its own design, reliability and maintenance issues.
“All we know” is that you need to be doing a LOT of miles e year to cost justify the very high annual depreciation, and funding, cost per annum.
For someone doing your annual mileage the cost per mile of a Tesla S would be insane.
(with apologies to Top Gear for borrowing one of their old tropes)
raspy
Active Member
@MikeInWimbledon My friend got a brand new Tesla Model S 75D as a company car in 2017. In 4 years of use, the only spend has been on a set of new wiper blades! He used to have a 3 series (which was trouble free) and his Tesla has been trouble free too.
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Deleted member 126969
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Given my annual mileage, a decent pair of walking shoes would be pushing credulity as far as budget goes!!! 
I try not to think about it too much, but the C has lost £25k since I bought it. Expensive motoring, particularly given I despise the bloody thing.
I try not to think about it too much, but the C has lost £25k since I bought it. Expensive motoring, particularly given I despise the bloody thing.
raspy
Active Member
@Chris-S used car prices have gone up significantly this year. My 2015 C350e has gone up by 2 grand! Some believe that used car prices (for all brands) may keep rising for a few more months. A good year to be selling a car.Given my annual mileage, a decent pair of walking shoes would be pushing credulity as far as budget goes!!!
I try not to think about it too much, but the C has lost £25k since I bought it. Expensive motoring, particularly given I despise the bloody thing.
MikeInWimbledon
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2014
- Messages
- 13,229
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- (Ex S211 E500, W212 E500, C216, S212 E500, W211 E500 5.5, W221 S500, S211 E500, SL500, S500, E55)
He’s been lucky. The Tesla S comes top in most of the reliability studies in the States and U.K. as the most unreliable car in the market.
Used Tesla Model S Review - 2014-present Reliability, Common Problems
Tesla worst for reliability in American driver survey
£40,000 worth of depreciation against a £74,000 car is still a lot of depreciation, even if it’s packaged in a lease deal and saving maybe £14k on petrol.
at a net cost of over £10k a year excluding funding, it makes Chris’ car look like an absolute bargain.
But,as a 2017 Ipad on wheels, the Tesla S is unparalleled.
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Deleted member 126969
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I’ve seen a few things on used prices going up. Probably daft, but have decided to stick with the C350e until it is beyond repair then scrap it. Theory being that as it does so little work, that will be quite a long time. I’ve already written off the entire purchase cost in my head anyway.
The thing about Lexus seems to be servicing is a decent price and a discount on older cars,it seems that the warranty on the battery pack is honoured if you have full Lexus service history and pay for the battery check every 10,000 miles, the battery is covered for 150,000 miles,and Lexus changed a GS450H battery at 140,000 miles no argument,I am sorry but you get the feeling that MB would have come up with a excuse not to fit that battery.
I agree second hand prices are going up,I was looking at a well spec W221 that had a couple of known faults that the buyer would have to put right,cost to put right about £600 I was about to go look at it when the dealer added £1000 to the price that was 3 weeks ago and he is still looking at it.
seekay
Active Member
At Lexus/Toyota there is no mileage limit for the battery and hybrid components. With the annual hybrid checks you’ve got 15 years cover. And the car also has 10 years/100k miles warranty for no additional cost if it is serviced by the main dealer each year. I don’t think MB will ever have big enough balls to offer something similar.
MikeInWimbledon
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2014
- Messages
- 13,229
- Car
- (Ex S211 E500, W212 E500, C216, S212 E500, W211 E500 5.5, W221 S500, S211 E500, SL500, S500, E55)
Regardless of warranty cover, the key thing about Toyota and Honda is the wretched things are insanely reliable, so you don’t get the faults in the first place.
But, and it’s a big but, the issue is European taste. Toyota and Honda sell well globally, but not in Europe. It’s part design, part distribution, part chauvinism, and part European car journalism.
I’ve been very tempted by the GS, LS, ES, Accord and Civic regularly over the last three decades, yet I’ve only ever owned a GS300, which I found too bland when it was actually sat on the driveway.
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Deleted member 126969
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Apropos of not much, based on some recent runs, I’m still getting 13 miles from 100% to 10% charge in the nice weather. Almost 5 years in, but very few miles at current reading of 9024m
Had the OTA software update tother day too, the emergency comms one.
Had the OTA software update tother day too, the emergency comms one.
In-line electricity meters are available cheaply on eBay. See my earlier post (some time in April/May) for data from my calculations
A while back I mentioned a "collision prevention assist plus inoperative" problem but forgot to report back to the forum. After I'd poked and prodded everything the car went to MB who said that a black box had stopped communicating. The manufacturer's maintenance system advised that it was necessary to update the software in this device - this solved the problem. From looking around the web it seems that this is a fairly frequent problem/solution.
The update wasn't expensive (by MB standards) but it doesn't feel reasonable to be charged for correcting something that must have been wrong when the car was designed and manufactured. Hardware wears out and/or breaks but software doesn't. If the communication problem required a software update then the earlier software must have contained a fault. Does anyone know of any relevant precedents?
The update wasn't expensive (by MB standards) but it doesn't feel reasonable to be charged for correcting something that must have been wrong when the car was designed and manufactured. Hardware wears out and/or breaks but software doesn't. If the communication problem required a software update then the earlier software must have contained a fault. Does anyone know of any relevant precedents?
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Deleted member 126969
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When I had the Jeep, it went in for a recall to prevent it dropping into drive from park (under very rare conditions). A consequence of this software update caused an issue whereby the transfer gearbox would throw a fault and become inoperative. The official fix was to fit a new, updated, transfer gearbox at significant cost to the owner. Apparently it was caused by changes to tolerances in switch positions within the gearbox (I think). Thankfully, the fault only happened if the battery went flat, and you could persuade it to go away by doing a little routine of removing a fuse, driving a short distance then putting the fuse back. How the hell this got figured out I have no clue…but the point was, Jeep fixed one problem that only happened on very very rare occasions, but caused another fault that would always get triggered if the battery was disconnected or flat, and if you didn't know about the workaround, costs thousands to sort.
So yes, plenty of precedent, but in support of manufacturers getting away with this sort of thing. Messing up then making us pay to fix the fallout.
So yes, plenty of precedent, but in support of manufacturers getting away with this sort of thing. Messing up then making us pay to fix the fallout.
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Hi Mate! Did you fixed it ? How much does it cost the hinge? I saw that you said £56...thats mb dealer price? Someone ripped off my flap and left it there..i m thinking to glue it but if is only £50ish the hinge..i might fix it myself. ThanksBeware of the charge flap opening even when you did not open it.
At a ballpit in Coventry I open the car, the boot, walking back to the drivers car and snap it ripped clean off as was somehow open. Now there is no chargepoint at the ballpit but they had their camera's switched off (for child protection). So I have no way to prove to Mercedes that I did not open it. Now the dealer may be lucky to just change the hinge but that's still £56 and labour is £250 as bumper comes off.
