Looking to purchase a C-class Estate. Advice please.

[RSAmey]

Hello. New to the forums and I am looking for advice. I am planning to move up to MB ownership. A new addition to the family means I need a bit more space. However I also need pace, with a capital P. No way am I being seen off by BMW rep mobile 318s,320s or 325s. (I did look at buying a Zafira GSi)
I am looking at C- class Estates, 230Kompressor or C280 (possibly 240s).
nothing older than 1999 or over 15K.
Plus I'm off to live in Germany soon, so I will get to see that top end performance.

For example I've seen a 99T 230K Sport with 49k on the clock (10,995) and a 00W 230K Espirit with 57k on the clock (12,995).
Which do you reckon would be better?
Now what I need you experts out there to tell me is which is thebetter engine, 230K or a 280 V6. what are the pros and cons.
What should I look out for when looking at a car to buy? What goes wrong. (I know about the saga of the windscreen wiper motors).
If you wouldn't mind sharing your hard won experience, any help would be gratefully recieved.
Cheers

 

[sym]

You won't be disappointed with the C Class Estate - build quality is just as good as the saloon.

For £15k you will find some very nice examples.

I occasionally wish that I had got a larger engined version, although the C200 suits my current needs - there's always next time ! For Germany though, you're right in that the C230k or a V6 will be much more suitable !

If you can find an example which has been well maintained, you should have no problems. Buy as new a car as you can - FSH is essential - worry less about the mileage as they go on and on when well maintained.

Trims are Classic, ; pretty bare, Esprit - pretty bare with a sportier edge ; Elegance - softer suspension with more spec as standard, and Sport - harder suspension and similar spec to elegance. Although everything being an option on these cars you will find a wide variety of specification.

Most people will tell you to buy an Auto - there are fewer manuals out there and although rarer they are less desirable at re-sale time, so you might get a bargain - we have several members who will vouch for the fact that there is nothing wrong with them !

There are a lot of silver cars out there (which I happen to quite like !) but any metallic should be fine . . . . avoid any white examples (unless you happen to love it!).

Good luck in your search & welcome to the forum.

S.

 

[RSAmey]

Thanks for that. I have another question. Whats the score with the Tip tronic box. My mate just bought a 00 C220CDI with a tip box. is it any better or worse than the "normal" auto?
Plus that 99T I've seen is RED. I would normally go for a silver or Black, but I did think that Red did look the bis.
Cheers

 

[BaldGuy]

Hi,

I've got the 240 V6 with a tip box, albeit a saloon but the V6 engine is a lovely smooth engine, if you want a smooth motorway cruiser go for the V6.
The straight 4 230K is faster although I think a harsh sounding engine. I simply preferred the smoothness of a V6.
A friend has a V6 280 and that is just as smooth but allot more nimble....
The tip box is great if your feeling a bit bored and want some fun, like any other tip box you can hold it in gears or knock it down a few for swift overtaking or country lane stuff.
Its simply knock to the right and left in the drive position, no moving up and down the gate..

Good luck with your search..

 

[sym]

There's some advantage to the tiptronic box, but don't treat it as an essential feature.

Mine is the 5 speed non-tiptronic auto version and I'm perfectly happy with it, having driven cars with and without a tiptronic box. You'll find that if you are doing mainly motorway driving (or autobahn !), a quick flick (stomp!) of the kickdown switch is enough to get you flying on your way, without having to take your hands off the wheel and play with the gear shift !

Non metallic red W202 C Class . . . . hmmm. . . I like Red personally and would consider it, although I don't feel its the greatest colour for the more modern MBs. There are far worse colours out there and a strong metallic would probably hold its value better for re-sale, but its all relative, and its entirely a matter of personal preference ! The car is exactly the same underneath the paint job, after all !

S.

 

[Shude]

Towards the end of production the w202 estate was also available as a c200 kompressor, which is apparently no slouch. With a ceiling of 15k however, you're nearly in C43 estate terratory! Don't forget they can be more plentiful and cheaper in Germany so you could buy one over there...

Also, I think this should be in the General section...

 

[John Peerce]

What you need, young man, is a C43 AMG Estate .. it has Speed (0-60 in 5.5 seconds), fully loaded (leather, heated seats, etc), Power (307 bhp), AND Space (its an estate !) all in one - no need to compromise (you can guess I am C43 owner . Plus it looks both elegant and sporty with the AMG body kit without coming across as "boy racer".

Good luck

P.S. TO give you a fair picture, i would say the minus points would be the high insurance and petrol costs (its 4.3L 8 cylinder car) ! So if you are a low mileage driver like me (< 6000 miles per year) its fine, if you do more than 8k miles a year it might be expensive to run.

 

[RSAmey]

Thanks John, I must admit I did laugh when I saw your post. I agree, however I don't want to have to peel my pets off the rear windscreen when I boot it. Dearly I would love a C43, but my wife is already wise to that.
Seriously though, thanks for the advice, however although I can go upto 15k, I can really only do this if the car is VAT qualifying. As a member of the forces I can get the VAT off when I depart to Germany (we also get fuel coupons there still). If the car is not VAT qualifying then really I only want to spend about 12-13k tops.

I should point out my father, a life long car enthusiast (everything from a Lotus Europas and Scimiters to a Lancia Betas, + various MB estates), and MB evangalist currently has a W124 300TE, and this is the benchmark I must meet (and beat?).

If money was no object, definately a C32 AMG estate (in blue) or poss the new E55, beautiful.

Is this the place to mention my old boss pete. Bought a E430, got the chip changed i.e. de-restricted for about 1000 deutschmarks.
175mph+ on the Autobahn. Top that scooby boys. Oh and you RS turbo girls can leave now as well.

 

[John Peerce]

RSAmey, I bet your pets are probably breathing a sigh of relief now !

If you don’t mind LHD cars, then there are some better value for money bargins in Germany. Here is a site that can give you some ideas (note: its all in German but once there click “suchen” which is search, select the type of car you are after and then press “suche starten”

www.mobile.de

Good Luck