How many miles is too many when buying a used C class or CLS?

[WantaMerc]

Hi guys

Looking to buy a used C Class or CLS (haven't decided yet!) likely to be from around 2011 - 2013.

Just wanted to ask how many miles do you guys consider to be too many when buying used cars?

Or does it not really matter as long as its not ridiculously high?

Thanks.

 

[MWCLS]

Lots of factors to consider, price, history and condition being the main. As long as a car is maintained correctly I personally don't see miles an issue.

There is a stigma in the uk with the 100k mark for some reason, I've never owned a car or kept a car more than 3 or 4 years so haven't ventured into that territory.

 

[SG94]

I've never got that 100K thing either, especially for diesels, they're just getting run in at 120k! Haha

A mate years ago had a Vauxhaul Viva with a genuine 326k on the clock, his dad bought the car new and gave it to him, it just ran and ran and ran. I've had an Audi A4 2006 that I put 126 on with no issue bar a clutch, but that only went at around 115 so I consider that fair TBH.
If it's maintained, you like it and the money is right, don't get too hung up on miles.

 

[Giantvanman]

It isn't the actual mileage; history and condition are everything. A well maintained and looked after car with high miles is nothing to be worried about, especially at only 100k. Keep in mind that some engines are used across ranges so, for example, it is not uncommon for a Vito van or a C220 used as a taxi to have 250k+ miles and be running fine.
The 100k mark seems to hark back to years ago when a car's engine was all thought to be all but done at that mileage.

 

[TheFoX]

To be honest, if I was buying a petrol engined car, I'd want a lower mileage vehicle, and not go above 100,000, but diesels are a totally different beast.

You only have to look on Autotrader to see ex fleet Mondeos with 150k+ on the clock, and they are still running strong.

Of course, it is not just the engine you have to look at. Don't forget the braking system and the drive train, as well as the suspension. Typically, shocks will fail sooner or later, giving a very wishy washy ride, and brakes/clutch might need to be checked and replaced.

Ascetically, pedals, steering wheel and seat coverings will show much more wear and tear, but the price of the vehicle should reflect the mileage and condition.

 

[MBDevotee]

To be honest, if I was buying a petrol engined car, I'd want a lower mileage vehicle, and not go above 100,000, but diesels are a totally different beast.

You only have to look on Autotrader to see ex fleet Mondeos with 150k+ on the clock, and they are still running strong.

Of course, it is not just the engine you have to look at. Don't forget the braking system and the drive train, as well as the suspension. Typically, shocks will fail sooner or later, giving a very wishy washy ride, and brakes/clutch might need to be checked and replaced.

Ascetically, pedals, steering wheel and seat coverings will show much more wear and tear, but the price of the vehicle should reflect the mileage and condition.

I don't understand this logic?

With old school, unstressed diesels yes I agree, but modern diesels - the opposite is true - I'd far rather buy a 150,000m petrol than a 150,000m diesel nowadays.

With all the tech in a modern diesel (and to be fair, petrols are catching up in complexity) - they are by far the more unreliable vehicle - just do a search on this forum to see how many CDi problems there are compared to petrols.

Having said that, gearboxes, clutches/torque converters, suspension etc have all done the miles whatever poweplant drives it (although diesels do product more torque low down so transmissions will be more prone to failure....

From speaking to others on the forum, the 320 petrol engine is almost bulletproof and faultless - I have not seen one post about them from a bad reliability point of view, but I suspect you are looking at a 350 era car, and I think they have had a few more issues.

When all is said and done, some diesels will go 800,000miles and more - but they will need plenty of work on them to keep going.

Certainly you don't have any more to fear from a petrol or diesel that's done 120,000m than one that's done 90,000 just because of the miles - it will be a case of luck and how the cars been driven / maintained that will count in the end - but certainly there is no need to have a "cut off" mileage.

 

[TheFoX]

Yes, modern diesels have numerous bits of kit to comply with EU regs, but it is still a diesel underneath. Admittedly, the turbos can blow, or the DPF filter can block, but these can all be sorted.

One thing that stands out is that if someone doesn't follow a proper service schedule, things can fail. Turbos usually fail around the 150k mark, as my friend with the BMW found out.

It can easily be a matter of good luck and a quality service regime. Some people buy a pig that has nothing but problems, and others buy something that has little issue.

The problems with fault reporting is that we don't get a good balance. If everyone had to report whether they had a fault, or whether they had faultless driving, on an annual basis, then we'd get a much better picture of vehicle reliability. In this imperfect world, we only ever get to hear about the woes of ownership, and rarely the pleasures.

How many threads are there on this forum saying how reliable the CDI has been over the last 12 months?

A friend of mine who is a diesel mechanic has the opinion that you should rag a diesel until something goes wrong, then fix it. Chances are that it won't fail again. Of course, that is his opinion, but since that is his job, his opinion probably holds a lot of water.

I wonder how many people have issues with diesel because their journeys just aren't long enough. I do a 15 mile journey to work each day, and I know this isn't long enough for my car, so I take a longer journey the weekend to really run the car in.

I am now on our seventh diesel, and apart from a blown injector seal, have had no issues with those seven diesels, and I do about 15,000 miles a year.

 

[219]

My C270CDI was a catalogue of disasters , bought at 115K and all five injectors needing done over the 40K or so I did in my ownership , add in swirl flap failure , glow plug failure , block heater failure , duff thermostat which caused it to run cool and poor mpg , and numerous other problems with the car which combined to make it the most unreliable car I've owned .

My only other diesel was a W124 E250D , normally aspirated , and once serviced with new glow plugs ran well for the short time we kept it , despite dodgy manual gearbox , sold to a forum member who subsequently exported it to Hong Kong ( after it came here from India ! ) .

Contrast that with my petrol engined cars , normally bought with 100-150K and taken well beyond 200K , other than dizzy cap replacements on M103/104 engines , a water pump on one M102 , and a second M102 swapped out due to CHG failure ( could have been repaired but swapping the 1.8 for a 2.3 was my preferred option ) .

I ran my W114 280E from 48k to 272k , engine still going strong but body shot ; W116 280SE from 150K-250K no engine problems but again terminal rust ; W123 280TE from 100K to 200K , trouble free , W123 280CE 150K-230K trouble free , W124 300TE 40K-200K diff failure at 200K , 190E 150K-230K water pump failure at one point , 190E 2.6 150K-200K+ can't remember mileage when sold but only needed dizzy cap/rotor at one point , W126 500SEL 150K - 250K trouble free and the prize goes to my 300TE-24 which was only showing 180K when bought , but service history subsequently proved true mileage to be around 430K on second engine , original engine replaced at 380K , car da faultlessly until written off . Current 300SL-24 knocking on the door of 150K and running sweetly , as is the 190E with exW124 2.3L unit on around the same mileage .

I've also had lots of VW's , both aircooled and water cooled with similar reliability .

I for one will never buy another diesel .

 

[DavidL]

The only issue with high mileage cars is getting rid of them!
Does it matter if a car is on it's 2nd or 4th clutch. It's been changed and works properly!
A well maintained car with paperwork to back it up is a good buy regardless but at higher miles it does need to be priced accordingly as this is what you will hear when it comes to sell.
The numbers on the dash are irrelevant as you cruise down the motorway as long as everything is working properly.
I'm (hopefully) about to acquire my third car with over 100k on it and my daily 944 turbo has 253 on it. That is a cracking car and at its age the mileage is barely relevant - unless I want to sell it.

For the OP on a newer car I suppose high miles means lot of use but as long as its all documented, at the right price, I would let it put me off.

 

[automaniaman]

Buying wont be the issue with a high mileage car, it is when you sell it...

 

[219]

As I either run mine into the ground ( hard to do with a Merc ) or give them away when finished , selling on is a non issue for me .

 

[TheFoX]

Some dealers just won't touch anything over 100k, regardless of the condition.

Also, if a turbo blew at 70k, and a new one was fitted by the manufacturer or their appointed dealer network, that component would have a fresh warranty.

Things do fail. When Mercedes replaced the blown injector seal, I got a two year warranty on that component.

I'm not arguing whether modern diesels are more or less robust than their predecessors, but a lot of issues can arise when something isn't carried out in accordance with the manufacturer's service schedule. After all, they create these schedules based on what they know of their engines.

You could easily buy a low mileage diesel and have more problems than a higher mileage, or it could be the other way around. When buying anything that is outside of the manufacturer's warranty period, you are taking a chance.

I still think that a service schedule and maintenance history should be made part of the MOT records, so not only would you have access to all the MOT tests done, but you could also see when remedial work had been done and services carried out, independently of the manufacturer. If an electronic MOT can list failures and advisories, it can also list any work carried out during the course of the last twelve months.

Remember that paperwork can 'disappear', whereas an electronic record is there indefinitely.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I bought my 1999 CLK230 two years old and with 78,000 miles on the clock. It had a full MB service record. With that mileage in such a short time it was obviously mainly used for long journeys and unlikely to have had too many runs from cold when most damage is done to an engine. In the 11 years I had the car I had to replace a light switch and a track rod end, nothing else other that tyres and pads.

 

[zipdip]

I suppose I come from the era where 80,000 was a lot of mileage and it shapes how you think but in those days petrol engines were thrown together,the tolerances were huge,with diesels even modern ones as long as you service a diesel from new you benefit when the car has done lots of mileage,of course the modern cars have lots of extras on them and with complexity comes problems,my S 320 has some weird ways the drivers door mirror does not open every time needs door slammed,sometimes starts from cold with a roar other times quiet as a mouse,but it uses no oil between services and I am enjoying owning it,i suppose that is what it is about.

 

[TheFoX]

How many miles is too many when buying a used C class or CLS?

Well, if you want the funny answer, it is 237,462 for the C class and 237,465 for the CLS, because it is probably driven a little better.

A pertinent question might be... Do I reset the clock when I replace/recondition the engine/gearbox/diff?

This is such a hard question to answer. Also, as someone has said, what sort of miles has it done. 100,000 motorway miles is a lot better than 20,000 country miles, because the engine will be worked harder, as will the braking system, while negotiating bends, turns, junctions and towns, whereas the motorway traveller will just be cruising, with hardly any stress on the major components.

Also, short trips are more detrimental to a diesel than long trips, so it is not just about the odometer. A fleet car that does motorway miles would probably be a better bet than one that does town miles.

In other words, how long is a piece of string?