Is it time to let it go?

[MikeInWimbledon]

And it’s worth adding that cars, like most of our friends, get bigger each year, so a newer C class is closer to the older E class in size than you might have expected.

(I find the current E class is now too big for chiselled whippets like MrsMinW and myself.

 

[BTB 500]

Yep our 205 is significantly bigger than the 203 it replaced. Ironically (given that we also own a van) it's our vehicle of choice for moving big things around ... the Vito has two-tier dog caging fitted in the back.

 

[Smiley]

If you have had the car for 20 years and nearly 300k miles then you clearly like it. I bought a 2003 e320cdi estate this year with just over 40k miles on it and I prefer it to the newer ones that I have had. As others have suggested, that is what I would do in your situation. There's no point spending thousands on your old one.

 

[jdrrco]

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

or if you like a C-class diesel: https://www.mtsv.co.uk/s203c320cdiecs23n.htm

 

[rebecca]

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

or if you like a C-class diesel: https://www.mtsv.co.uk/s203c320cdiecs23n.htm

What is the price of this C class please?

 

[jdrrco]

What is the price of this C class please?

Mark just has it advertised as tba. I will say that his cars are always very well-presented and prepared. He is in business, of course, but he is passionate about MBs and looks after his customers.

 

[SpikyMikey]

Mark just has it advertised as tba. I will say that his cars are always very well-presented and prepared. He is in business, of course, but he is passionate about MBs and looks after his customers.

Looks like a nice wagon.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

What is the price of this C class please?

Now updated

 

[rebecca]

I have found a Mercedes E class estate 2011 (newer body shape than my 2003 E Class that has died).
Does anyone know if these cars are just as well built as the old shape? Mechanics have told me to avoid the 2018 shape as not so well built.
I don't have the funding for the 2018 shape anyway.. I'm looking up to 10,000 with low mileage..
Thanks for any input...

 

[m80]

Which engine?
If diesel it will have a DPF, so then your journey style becomes relevant.

Many of these (diesels) have served well as taxis, so interrogating the history is important in case it has been clocked.

 

[rebecca]

It is a 2 litre engine diesel .. What is a DPF? I was going to check the mileage via the MOT's. One car I enquired about at a garage, they told me they did not know where it came from (private seller or auction). I ended the call!

 

[m80]

Fyi, that'll be the om651 engine.
The Diesel Particulate Filter doesn't work so well with short journeys.
These are better when used for regular longer journeys, that get the exhaust hot, and maintain it long enough to regenerate (clean the filter by incineration). So if journeys of a few miles are the regular, then a petrol engine is more suitable.
Also for people that don't keep more than 20% fuel in the tank the system will inhibit a regeneration, leading to expensive issues.

The only clue you 'might' get from MOT history is if the MOT's were at 6 month intervals. But that's only a requirement for some local authorities regarding taxis.
If I see MOT's at 6 monthly intervals, and the annual mileage is less than 40k, then I consider the car to be clocked.
But this strategy is no guarantee.

I look to spreadsheet MOT's, service mileage, and any other record of works carried out. Sometimes a mileage discrepancy shows up. But if there is a discrepancy then such a seller is wise to lose those records.

I did buy a Viano that I was led to believe had 150k miles. I later deduced that 300k was more realistic.