I'm selling my beloved C270 CDI
- Thread starter garystu1965
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MBManInKen
MB Enthusiast
crockers
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I agree - I am amazed by how much my car depreciated in the first year - Company paid £30k + after 14 months I bought it from them for £19k - now that I feel has taken the best part of the depreciation out of it...
Robbo
Active Member
Crockers,
where did you see that the W204 C320CDI was slower than the W203 version? The new C class brochure sitting in front of me has the W204 C320CDI going from 0-60 in 6.8 seconds, which is faster than the W203.
where did you see that the W204 C320CDI was slower than the W203 version? The new C class brochure sitting in front of me has the W204 C320CDI going from 0-60 in 6.8 seconds, which is faster than the W203.
no matter what you get you will loose mpg. I know the 270 is noisey and at times you feel like it could be doing with a little extra.
Id brabus chip it and get either a brabus or AMG auspuff fitted
should free up some more bhp. Those combined should take it to about 210bhp
Id brabus chip it and get either a brabus or AMG auspuff fitted
should free up some more bhp. Those combined should take it to about 210bhp
GazCaff
MB Enthusiast
That's a better excuse! Getting your 270's engine "chipped" would put the smile back on your face for a lot less money than a new 320CDI
Indeed,
http://www.upsolute.com/eng/index.html
Edit, sorry no direct link, but look in the database and you'll see that a chip gives the 270 a useful boost in power.
crockers
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http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/new_car_reviews/article1492257.ece
Read that - more like 7.7 secs than the 6.8...but lets face it - does it really matter...
OP
OP
garystu1965
Active Member
Read that - more like 7.7 secs than the 6.8...but lets face it - does it really matter...
Er..yes.
Robbo
Active Member
I think that might be a mistake in the article. I'd probably trust the MB sales brochure over some tired old hack
There is only 70 kg difference between old and new model. Thats not going to make 0.8 seconds difference to a 0-60 time.
There is only 70 kg difference between old and new model. Thats not going to make 0.8 seconds difference to a 0-60 time.
MBManInKen
MB Enthusiast
Carrotchomper
MB Enthusiast
0-60 isn't always the most helpful of measures I find, particularly with TD cars. The real talent is in the mid-range
Not that I'm biased or anything. I'd never be interested...
8.5secs
Not that I'm biased or anything. I'd never be interested...
8.5secs
crockers
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I think that might be a mistake in the article. I'd probably trust the MB sales brochure over some tired old hack
There is only 70 kg difference between old and new model. Thats not going to make 0.8 seconds difference to a 0-60 time.
70 kg is quite a bit of weight..thats a dead body in the boot....so perhaps they are mafia cars after all.....
hawk20
MB Enthusiast
To this news Culpano responded 'OUCH'. But, in truth it is not really bad news but pretty good.
First, Culpano, to get a value for yours go to Glass's Guide and you can put in all the details and for a mere £2-95 they will give you a full valuation including trade price, part ex price, private sale price and dealer price. I always do that and take it to the dealer to help you haggle a good part ex or show it to private buyers to help them get realistic.
Depreciation: - MOST UK cars drop to 30% of new price (ex extras) -OR LESS- within three years. (see tables in What Car). Merc, BMW and some small cars manage to drop far less to a 3 year residual aroung 50% or so. So if you want to buy new and keep for three years, budget for half the value to go in that time. If you take the basic price of your car new -without extras- in 2003 (was that the year or was it 2002?) it would have been what, ? , £22,23/24k around that. And Glass's show it retailing now at 4 to 5 years old at about half what it cost new. Very good. You won't find many better. So it has dropped about £4k per year, which is exactly what you should expect. If you had bought a new Mondeo or Vauxhall it would have dropped far more.
This is why I always say Servicing is the small change of motoring. Depreciation is the big item.
You paid a lot less than the new price, as you bought the car when it was 35,000 miles on the clock. What did you pay, and when exactly (month)did you buy? For example if you paid £17/18k given the high miles, and it is now worth £10 to £12k, then over 3 years you have lost £6-7k or only about £2000 per year. Buying a 1 year old car that is excellent depreciation nowadays. You could lose that on a supermini.
Your choice now is: - how much p.a. can you afford/do you want to afford for depreciation. How much more will you accept for the joy of new or nearly new and change every three years?????
If you are happy to keep your car longer (sensible option but less fun of course), look to join Service Plus before the anniversary of registration and it covers virtually all bills to 6 years old or 120k miles whichever come sooner.
But here is the catch. When your car is 7 or 8 it will be worth a few grand and the new will be £25k or more -a huge gap to finance. So if you want to delay changing, it makes sense to put money aside each year ready for the big day. You can put aside less than you would need to finance a new purchase, because you will be earning interest instead of paying to borrow.
http://www.glass.co.uk
You can do a basic check with Glass's for free via Vauxhall's website http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vx/finance/valueyourcar.do
PS Most cars drop in value to nearly nothing after ten years, so if you buy new you will lose a tenth of the car's value every year -EVEN IF YOU HEEP IT TEN YEARS!!!! So you will lose at least £2-3k per year on a C class(depending on model and price), even if you keep it ten years.
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Robbo
Active Member
The new price for 2003 03 reg C270 Avantgarde auto without extras was £27865.
So its worth 37% of new price (assuming a trade in of £10.5k). For a 4 year old car, thats not too bad, but I suspect that there could be other cars that can better this although I havent checked.
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Only if you paid list, which would be insane. I never look at Vauxhall's but did seriously consider a Mondeo Ghia and they are often available discounted by up to £6K. The depreciation looks a lot better when it's based on £14K rather than £20K.
MB's hopefully perform better in % terms in the medium term (that's one of the reasons I bought one) but the higher purchase prices mean the hit in pound notes is likely to be higher than on a Ford or Vauxhall.
Some of the PCP deals on new MB's look better than buying the car outright - however when you look at the deposit and monthly payments it really brings home how much the car is costing over 3 yrs. I think that people who buy cars outright are often in denial about how much it's costing them.
hawk20
MB Enthusiast
Thanks, Robbo. More than I expected. Even so, Glass's give a three year old one a part ex price of £13k in average condition to £14,700 in excellent condition so well looked after 50% of new price is what you could get three years old. Pretty good by today's standards.
However, Rory is right, most of us are in denial about depreciation. It is worse even than I am saying once you take new models into account. Yes, you can get 50% of new price for a 3 year old Merc in good nick BUT NOT IF A NEW MODEL COMES OUT. Then if Merc choose to over-produce and sell loads at the end at big discounts it can cost existing owners dear. When the new CL came out I saw an almost new demonstrator with 2k miles on it for £25 below list. Mind you the list was an eye watering £75k!
I reckon the cheapest motoring now, with full peace of mind, (in a Merc) is to buy just under three years old, join Service Plus on the anniversary of first registration and you have virtually all bills paid till 6 years or 120,000 miles.
The other great way is to buy the old model just after the new one comes out. My S class, (220 series) registered Christmas 2005 for the MD of a Merc dealer, was sold to me in April 2006, 6000 miles, for £17k off list. The new one had come out in Feb. Lovely grubbly.
Presumably there will be C class bargains very soon, if not already??
Robbo
Active Member
Interestingly, the website I used to buy the A class which usually has excellent deals on mercedes cars (drivethedeal.co.uk) has no more C classes for sale. This presumably means all of the existing stock has already been sold off.
In which case, MB may have learned from past experience which is good news for existing owners.
Edit: I just checked and there are still estates available, but no saloons.
In which case, MB may have learned from past experience which is good news for existing owners.
Edit: I just checked and there are still estates available, but no saloons.
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hawk20
MB Enthusiast
Guy in today's Sunday Times saying can get Mercs 27% off. 0870 number. Says he gets direct from Mercedes in Germany. Offered me nearly 5k off a well specced A class. How can they do it? Can you trust? Anyone know how can check out these guys??? UK dealers only get 8% on the A class.
hawk20
MB Enthusiast
How did you do that? Which company did you deal with, please?
For those who want not to be in denial, the current issue of What Car gives real cost of owning all the major cars, if buy new and keep for three years. Horrifying just how much it cost. Really worth reading the article and checking out the figures. A large brandy is recommended.
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