Martin
Active Member
I have owned an early W202 for 7 years (1993 L Reg C220 Sport auto, petrol, silver, air con,facelift alloys & bumpers) which is still very reliable and rust free at 150K miles, does 2000 mile round trips to Italy/France or Spain every year.
My brother is offering me his 1 owner from new early W203 (2001 X Reg C200K Avantgarde 98K miles, auto, petrol, silver,with light colour leather interior, air con and sunroof, zenons) trade in price offered at a BMW dealer was £4850.........with 4 new tyres and a new MOT added he has offered it to me for £5000.
He's had a few problems with it like usual front suspension bushes, the engine management light sometimes comes on soon after any service but is switched out by an independent garage, the ESP light also comes on occasionally, the alloys need a refurb and there is a slight tear to one leather door panel.
The question is should I swap for that price, I would be happy to get say 50K more miles out of the W203 over 5/6 years with reasonable reliability and expenses?
Would I be better off considering something else completely, Lexus IS, BMW 3 Series bearing in mind some of Mercedes quality problems in this era?
How much would I be likely to get for the old W202 sport, £1000-1500? There seem to be a lot for sale around £1000 or less, do they take long to sell at the right price privately in Autotrader?
Thanks for any of your thoughts or advice..........I need to decide by Boxing Day when I visit and do a test drive, etc!
My brother is offering me his 1 owner from new early W203 (2001 X Reg C200K Avantgarde 98K miles, auto, petrol, silver,with light colour leather interior, air con and sunroof, zenons) trade in price offered at a BMW dealer was £4850.........with 4 new tyres and a new MOT added he has offered it to me for £5000.
He's had a few problems with it like usual front suspension bushes, the engine management light sometimes comes on soon after any service but is switched out by an independent garage, the ESP light also comes on occasionally, the alloys need a refurb and there is a slight tear to one leather door panel.
The question is should I swap for that price, I would be happy to get say 50K more miles out of the W203 over 5/6 years with reasonable reliability and expenses?
Would I be better off considering something else completely, Lexus IS, BMW 3 Series bearing in mind some of Mercedes quality problems in this era?
How much would I be likely to get for the old W202 sport, £1000-1500? There seem to be a lot for sale around £1000 or less, do they take long to sell at the right price privately in Autotrader?
Thanks for any of your thoughts or advice..........I need to decide by Boxing Day when I visit and do a test drive, etc!