Need advice about buying a MB

[growntree0889]

Hey all, was wondering if anyone could advise or steer me in the direction of a nice motor to buy.

Havnt owned a Mercedes before but think its time i did. I have a budget of £5500 - £6000 so will obviously be looking at older models.

This is a fair bit of money for me personally so was hoping to find something special that is first of all reliable but also going to hold its value a bit. Im not a massive commuter, maybe 10 miles to the office twice a week but i mainly work at home.

After a fair bit of research i landed on a 2009 C320 CDI coming in around that price and with under 100k on the clock. was pretty excited to go test drive and potentially buy.

After speaking with a couple of mechanics they say the the 7G tipTronic gearbox can give horrific bother (in their experience) which has kind of sent the willies up me because I didnt come across many horror stories in my research.

Another petrolhead friend of mine was just that, said make sure to get a manual petrol. So im basically at a loss as to what I should be looking out for. Should i look at the C280? or are there any good manual and petrol models for my budget?

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated at this point.

Also I live in Northern Ireland so prices are slightly higher here but I wouldnt rule out motors across the water as long as i can factor in £500 to get it home!

 

[pmcgsmurf]

Im not a massive commuter, maybe 10 miles to the office twice a week but i mainly work at home.

After a fair bit of research i landed on a 2009 C320 CDI coming in around that price and with under 100k on the clock. was pretty excited to go test drive and potentially buy.

Why are you looking for a diesel then (usually for high milers)?

 

[growntree0889]

TBH im not sure why, ive always drove petrol but i think people (who know nothing about MB) are trying to brain wash me into the 'more reliable' and more economic diesel engines just so they look like they know what they are talking about. Hence why im here asking the people who own and drive them.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

if you don't need the MPG that a diesel would offer I'd steer clear.

Modern diesel engines are very complex, just the uttering of DPF Fault would have some running for the hills.

 

[growntree0889]

Thanks, so now that youve reaffirmed my initial thoughts on what im after, Would you have any recommendations for petrol models?

Also whats your thoughts on the Manual vs Auto gearboxes?

Again ive always drove manual but was very open to the idea of an auto until I hear stories about people having a bad time with them.

Theres a C280 V6 for sale near me. whats your thoughts on that or is there a better engine

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Welcome to MbClub. There’s lots of excellent advice here. You’re in the right place!

For such short distances, go for petrol engine. For the Mercedes experience go for an automatic gearbox. For the FULL Mercedes experience for a larger petrol engine with automatic gearbox.

The automatic gearbox is known to have problems but the are literally gazillions out there, and the vast majority don’t have major problems. Best to budget for a transmission service though, as often overlooked.

Good luck with your search

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Thanks, so now that youve reaffirmed my initial thoughts on what im after, Would you have any recommendations for petrol models?

Also whats your thoughts on the Manual vs Auto gearboxes?

Again ive always drove manual but was very open to the idea of an auto until I hear stories about people having a bad time with them.

Theres a C280 V6 for sale near me. whats your thoughts on that or is there a better engine

Very, very few Mercedes come with a manual gearbox. Mercedes automatic gearboxes are amongst the best, as you would expect.

 

[Deleted member 149005]

2,4, 5 or 7 seats?
Saloon, coupe, estate or convertible?

perform , style, luxury comfort,

for your intended mileage and budget. £5-6k is look at. 2 litre petrol SLK 2 seater convertible

 

[growntree0889]

2,4, 5 or 7 seats?
Saloon, coupe, estate or convertible?

petcorancr, style, Lucy I, comfort,

for your intended mileage and budget. £5-6k is look at. 2 litre petrol SLK 2 seater convertible

Sorry should have mentioned was after Saloon/Touring

 

[Teego]

As said above, go for petrol.
Whatever model you like they are all good IF....
The body and underpinnings are clean and straight and there's a shedload of history.
Don't be too impressed by a stamped service book. Prefer a folder full of invoices in date order. If buying privately find an OCD seller who will tell you all about the car for as many hours as you can spare.

 

[growntree0889]

Thanks all the info guys. Going to look at one from a garage tomorrow.


Jan 2008 Mercedes C-Class C280 Sport 4dr Auto
AMG BODYSTYLING + 3.0 V6 ENGINE + PANORAMIC SUNROOF
77k miles
£5990

Any ideas what i should be looking out for? Should i just make sure to get a 3 or 6 month warranty with them?

 

[Teego]

Best advice I can give you now is
1. Take a knowledgeable friend with you. If you can't find anybody who knows about cars take a big friend to keep you grounded.
2. Ask yourself, is there ANY reason to stop me buying this car? If there is go to>>>
3. Walk away

 

[Smiley]

If your number 1 criteria really is reliability and you have £5-6k then you may be better looking at newer petrol Japanese cars. A 10 yr old Mercedes has a fair chance of needing a £500-1000 repair - whether it is a 651 cooling problem, a 651 cam chain, a 642 oil cooler, 642 inlet port motor, electronic ignition switch, the list goes on. The V6 petrol models have their own problems. They are nice cars but I can imagine they would irritate an owner on a budget.

 

[Smiley]

By the way your advert link does not link to your specific car.

 

[markjay]

You should steer clear of the C-Class with the 4-cyl petrol engine (M271, timing gear issues). This leaves V6 petrol engines, which are rare in a C-Class, or the Diesel variants (4-cyl and 6-cyl) of which there are plenty.

So unless you're lucky enough to find a 6-cyl petrol C-Class, Diesel is pretty much your only choice.

 

[Jukie]

My mum previously had a MY2011 W204 C180 petrol. Bought it at 3 years old, kept it for 4 years. Never coughed, nothing went wrong with it and it was really good to drive. You might be able to get one like for somewhere around your budget. But do look for a facelifted one from 2011 onwards.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

With that mileage requirement, go for a "bog standard" 2 litre car. That way your precious funds will get you something fresher & more reliable that the three litre cars. The C class is a fabulous affordable saloon / estate which is commonly available.

Note that an estate will be more expensive and hard to find.

Petrol engines will always be more reliable than diesel, but diesel is more commonly available.

Warranty? As useful as a chocolate teapot unless you're buying from an MB main dealer. Most hidden minor glitches won't be covered. Warranties really only benefit the used car salesman.

 

[growntree0889]

By the way your advert link does not link to your specific car.

Cars Northern Ireland - Used Cars NI. Second hand cars for sale.

www.usedcarsni.com

There's a proper link there.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

At that age too you are going to be right in the "corroded brake pipe" window.
The C can be rather bad and expensive to have brake pipes done on so worth noting.

Good advice above about what to avoid, any of these cars can suddenly hit you with a £1k+ bill.

With the MOT history not being searchable online in NI that would put me off many "dealer" cars.
Dealers always seem to say FSH when they mean a couple of stamps in a book.
I'd be looking for a private seller with a folder full of history and no GDPR problem for the seller passing this on.

Don't rule out cars over here or even keep contributing here and look out our for sales on the forum.

Do not rush, as soon as you buy a car a better one will become available, always remember this, never think you must buy it or you will miss it.

A friend bought a C class last year and didn't ask my advice, car was doing ~30k a year then suddenly mileage on MOT seemed to lose ~50k miles, last MOT has all the corroded brake pipe advisories. I wont be offering to fix.

 

[growntree0889]

At that age too you are going to be right in the "corroded brake pipe" window.
The C can be rather bad and expensive to have brake pipes done on so worth noting.

Good advice above about what to avoid, any of these cars can suddenly hit you with a £1k+ bill.

With the MOT history not being searchable online in NI that would put me off many "dealer" cars.
Dealers always seem to say FSH when they mean a couple of stamps in a book.
I'd be looking for a private seller with a folder full of history and no GDPR problem for the seller passing this on.

Don't rule out cars over here or even keep contributing here and look out our for sales on the forum.

Do not rush, as soon as you buy a car a better one will become available, always remember this, never think you must buy it or you will miss it.

A friend bought a C class last year and didn't ask my advice, car was doing ~30k a year then suddenly mileage on MOT seemed to lose ~50k miles, last MOT has all the corroded brake pipe advisories. I wont be offering to fix.

Yeah 7 previous owners may put me off this one but I'm still going for a test drive to see first and foremost if I even like it!

I'm not one for rushing into things like this so will be looking around for similar models. Even in mainland UK.

If you were in my shoes and a nice clean one of these came up in say a private sale with a wad of service papers etc, would you go for it?

What would the equivalent 2 ltr model be?