First ever Mercedes

[CamThomson]

Hi All,

I have just purchased my first Merc. As I live in central Scotland I have always been put off by the RWD in winter, however I couldn't turn down a 2009 E-Class 280 CDI (211) sport with 7 seats and 90k miles, 1 lady owner and full Mercedes service history for a good price. These cars in my opinion are stunning to look at and drive superbly compared to what I'm used to.....Skoda's and VW's. The car has had superb maintenance and the bodywork is great. I am a little nervous about the cost of maintenance going forward so really wanted to know if there are any tried and tested warranty companies that the enthusiasts can recommend to me? Struggling to find any that provide warranty for the car.

Regards

Cameron

 

[philnewmerc]

Welcome. Lovely car, probably my ideal diesel car too. One thing I would recommend is getting the underneath thoroughly jet blasted (avoid the parking sensors if it has them), especially the arches and then have a wax oil type application (preferably by a company who know what they're doing), especially the wheel arches and doubly especially the wheel arch lips where they bend in towards the tyres - if you get get your fingers in there check they're not full of old mud. (Yours might be fine being a later model year but Mercs do tend to rust if not kept clean).

 

[ALFAitalia]

Nice car.....but getting a warranty on a 90k , near 15 year old car that covers anything worth covering and does not require you remortgaging your house to pay for it will be difficult. Just put an amount aside each month to pay for any unexpected expensed.....it will probably cost less that a decent warranty anyway.....hopefully!

 

[PaulG]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to post photos of your new car.

 

[SmartAmg]

Cam.

 

[Germgh0st]

Welcome

 

[Byron321]

Hi and welcome

 

[pioneercollector]

Welcome to the group, Sounds like you bagged yourself a nice car

 

[CamThomson]

Nice car.....but getting a warranty on a 90k , near 15 year old car that covers anything worth covering and does not require you remortgaging your house to pay for it will be difficult. Just put an amount aside each month to pay for any unexpected expensed.....it will probably cost less that a decent warranty anyway.....hopefully!

Okay thanks, that's sound advise. thanks for the reply. a lot of the real expensive suspension components have been replaced in the last two years and I paid an independent mechanic to check the car in full before purchasing, no error codes, underside isn't rust free but in great condition for age. I am under no illusion though that things do go wrong on these cars although from what research I have done the facelift W-280 is less problematic than the early 211

 

[CamThomson]

Welcome. Lovely car, probably my ideal diesel car too. One thing I would recommend is getting the underneath thoroughly jet blasted (avoid the parking sensors if it has them), especially the arches and then have a wax oil type application (preferably by a company who know what they're doing), especially the wheel arches and doubly especially the wheel arch lips where they bend in towards the tyres - if you get get your fingers in there check they're not full of old mud. (Yours might be fine being a later model year but Mercs do tend to rust if not kept clean).

Cheers Phil. Great advise thank you. The underside is remarkably clean but I will take your advise and get the car undersealed by a reputable company. I have seen some shocking underseals before!

 

[CamThomson]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to post photos of your new car.

Cheers, I will get some pictures up this weekend. If the sun ever decides shines in Scotland

 

[CamThomson]

Does anyone know if the rear child booster seats and the rear facing boot seats are actually still legal to use on UK roads?

 

[Chrishazle]

In Central Scotland I'd suggest you either fit all season tyres if available in your sizes, or source a set of winter wheels and tyres and swop them at the appropriate time each year. My C class estates were/are useless in snow on summer tyres, winter wheels and tyres transformed them - but down here we normally get little snow so I've gone all seasons on the S204.

 

[Sweetooth]

Hi and welcome

 

[ALFAitalia]

Does anyone know if the rear child booster seats and the rear facing boot seats are actually still legal to use on UK roads?

I've never heard that they are not....even if the law was changed laws are not usually retrospective so any cars with rear facing rear seats would still be legal to use....in the same way it still legal to drive old cars with no rear (or even none at all) seat belts.

 

[CamThomson]

In Central Scotland I'd suggest you either fit all season tyres if available in your sizes, or source a set of winter wheels and tyres and swop them at the appropriate time each year. My C class estates were/are useless in snow on summer tyres, winter wheels and tyres transformed them - but down here we normally get little snow so I've gone all seasons on the S204.

Great advice thank you

 

[CamThomson]

I've never heard that they are not....even if the law was changed laws are not usually retrospective so any cars with rear facing rear seats would still be legal to use....in the same way it still legal to drive old cars with no rear (or even none at all) seat belts.

I didn't know that... cheers

 

[DanE350cdi]

Welcome along, I loved my w211 it was a cracking car.

 

[Smart320]

Welcome , I also loved my w211

 

[CamThomson]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to post photos of your new car.

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to post photos of your new car.