ASHW124estate
New Member
I've been a more classic Mercedes owner since 2010 having had three W124 (S124 to be correct I suppose) estates which I used basically as vans! My premise for their purchase was that I'd always had Citroen XM Estates and unfortunately the availabilty of both parts of good cars was becoming difficult. My last W124 was sold 2023 and I replaced it with a "new" W212 estate , a 2010 E350 CDi Avantgarde with 170k on clock. Faultless a year on. It was a gem of a purchase was the previous owner was as fussy as I would normally be , if not a little more - FMBSH, new rear susp, new discas pads allround, recent Michelin Cross Climate tyres just a few months prior to my purchase. I no longer need it as a "van" but enjoy it as a daily and love the engine power at 260hp odd. That car was bought over the phone from a dealer in Christchurch after having had a good number of conversations with him and a video call. Car totally as described - worts and all (cosmetically exterior not perfect but smart). The dealer was Portfield Car Sales Ltd. I flew over from NI to Southampton and the dealer's dad collected me from the airport.
Anyway a year later I needed to change my wife's car and plumped for a B180 CDi (B200 was preferred but no good ones at pricepoint). Sourced one from Mercland and again made the call and did the video...........a really good experience. In negotiations and viewing of the video and photos I picked out a few things that needed sorting plus asked and got the service history from new - verfified by a third party at my end. Included in the deal (at cost price on top of window price - was new premium tyres all round and the satnav module).
We flew to Birmingham on the hottest day of 2024 and were collected by a very friendly chap from the garage. Arrived and were treated immediately to a cuppa and left to look araound the car for ourselves without any hassling. We did the deal and signed up for the extended warranty on what was a 12yr old car - B180 Cdi with 20k on clock and one previous owner. Low mileage in my opinion, has its positives (very little if any wear and tear) but also can have negatives especially mechanically due to lack of use, although this car had been serviced/oil change every year despite low miles - some years it did on;ly 900 miles but it averaged 1700 miles per year over the 12 years.
As we were about to drive away we noticed a small scratch on the fuel flap. Without hesitation the guys were on it and sorted it with a "smart repair" while we waited.
Six months down the line - the car is still great. My only gripe is the low power but it's a personal thing as I had driven the B200 and was spoilt really. My wife drives the car every day and she's more than happy with it. The comfort is great too - remember we're a Citroen family since the 1980's! Hence going for the CDI and not the Sport.
So, in summary, MERCLAND were good to deal with BUT, as a proviso or caveat, I would say that one needs to actually agree with them what you want or expect. My opening line was if you describe the car as perfect, it needs to be, full stop. If you tell me there's an issue about something then I will understand and we can agree that you sort it, rather than me fly over to pick up the car only to discover it's not as described. So yes, the experience with MERCLAND was good.
Anyway a year later I needed to change my wife's car and plumped for a B180 CDi (B200 was preferred but no good ones at pricepoint). Sourced one from Mercland and again made the call and did the video...........a really good experience. In negotiations and viewing of the video and photos I picked out a few things that needed sorting plus asked and got the service history from new - verfified by a third party at my end. Included in the deal (at cost price on top of window price - was new premium tyres all round and the satnav module).
We flew to Birmingham on the hottest day of 2024 and were collected by a very friendly chap from the garage. Arrived and were treated immediately to a cuppa and left to look araound the car for ourselves without any hassling. We did the deal and signed up for the extended warranty on what was a 12yr old car - B180 Cdi with 20k on clock and one previous owner. Low mileage in my opinion, has its positives (very little if any wear and tear) but also can have negatives especially mechanically due to lack of use, although this car had been serviced/oil change every year despite low miles - some years it did on;ly 900 miles but it averaged 1700 miles per year over the 12 years.
As we were about to drive away we noticed a small scratch on the fuel flap. Without hesitation the guys were on it and sorted it with a "smart repair" while we waited.
Six months down the line - the car is still great. My only gripe is the low power but it's a personal thing as I had driven the B200 and was spoilt really. My wife drives the car every day and she's more than happy with it. The comfort is great too - remember we're a Citroen family since the 1980's! Hence going for the CDI and not the Sport.
So, in summary, MERCLAND were good to deal with BUT, as a proviso or caveat, I would say that one needs to actually agree with them what you want or expect. My opening line was if you describe the car as perfect, it needs to be, full stop. If you tell me there's an issue about something then I will understand and we can agree that you sort it, rather than me fly over to pick up the car only to discover it's not as described. So yes, the experience with MERCLAND was good.
