New W204 or W211 Estate on the horizon....

[peterg1965]

My local Mercedes dealer is doing his hardest to seduce me into a brand new W204 or a W211 Estate. His plan is to settle the finance on the GL320 and to do some financial jiggery pokery to sort out the finance on a new estate. The financial settlement figure for the GL is currenty more than the part ex value. My criteria is that I save at least £100/month on the finance. The new car will be free from VAT again as it will have my son's wheelchair hoist fitted in the boot. This gives the business manager a bit more latitude to sort out a deal. I don't really need the GL size now so I think we can cope with a 'smaller' estate.

I went into the dealer today and sat in a C180K Sport Estate BlueEfficiency auto, silver on black. I liked it a lot, it felt well built inside and looked very good. The interior is a lovely place to sit. Standard spec is fine and this one had parktronic and heated seats. I like the Sport spec, twin spoke 17" AMG alloys look good. The W211 he has is an E220CDI Auto Avantgarde silver on black, I haven't seen it (its in Zeebrugge!) and well aware its a run out model but happy to see what he comes back with. The finance rates on both cars is very good and both come with a variety of 'free' options. They are looking at PCP and PCH.

My only concern with the W204 is the boot size, it may well be just too small for the wheelchairs (manual and occasionally the electric chair - not together!) I will get my tape measure out this weekend. This would be the one I would favour as my wife will drive it around the most - her Mini will also have to go. It is also the most modern and looks and feels fresh.

I will be interested to hear what the business manager comes back with.

 

[A210AMG]

Hello

a C180K instead of your GL and 'only' saving £100 a month....NO thanks

Not sure I'd be tempted with the E220 Estate either new one about to be replaced?

I would be happier as my neighbour did a cancelled order E320CDi Avantgarde with command, leather, parking sensors, phone, 30K

Depends on the figures I guess but a E220 would have to be a very very good deal to tempt me out of a GL?


Almost anything you look at will me smaller than the GL, worth checking how you fit the wheelchair etc as both the C and E are much lower in the boot. I know this from using my dads E320 estate, its a tad longer than the ML but no where near as high and the pram has to lie flat. Much more usable space left if its upright.

 

[peterg1965]

a C180K instead of your GL and 'only' saving £100 a month....NO thanks

Can see why you say that, but I am paying a low monthly payment on the GL (less than £470/month). I have seen a 2 year lease deal (Contract Hire) on a C200CDI Estate auto + metallic at £308/month (ex VAT -which I wont pay anyway) so that would be a £160/month saving for me which would be very tempting! I expect the C Class to be cheaper than the E.

I hear what you say about the lower floor of an estate with regards to getting the wheelchair in and out. One of the other reasons for potentially getting a normal car as opposed to an SUV is that access in and out of the car is actually easier for my disabled son who doesn't walk.

 

[A210AMG]

Is the car what ever replaces the GL used pretty much to take your son out and about?

Do you use this on long trips / holidays and the like

Only reason I ask is would a converted Vaneo or VW transported type car actually be better for your needs? drive the wheel chair straight in?

I understand what you say re the lease prices £160 a month and sitting in a new car is not to be snift at. Your also correct getting in and out of an C/E is easier / lower. I think the C180 would feel much smaller though...(almost anything must do after a GL)

 

[peterg1965]

Car will be used daily by my wife and to get my son around - mostly domestic stuff. We don't like wheelchair accessible vehicles, it is safer (in the event of an accident) for my son to be sat in a proper car seat as opposed to be in his chair and strapped down.

Anyway, no decisions yet until i hear the figures! Even if we kept the GL until the end of the contract (March nexy year) it will not be replaced with another large SUV so at some point we will be getting a smaller car, its just that it could be sooner rather than later.

 

[timskemp]

My 13 yr old's chair (manual) only just fits in the V50 - I doubt most power chairs will fit in any of the smaller sportswagons (V50, C class, 3er, A4) so I'd stick to looking at the W211, or a V70. We also downsized from a small MPV to a normal car as access is easier for our son (who can walk short distances supported)

Not wishing to pry (too much) but if there's two 08 plate cars to go are you trying to economise? if so buying a new car sounds like an odd way to do it.

 

[peterg1965]

I have looked at the measurements (from the brochures) of the C and the E, in pure dimensional terms there looks to be only a small difference in the load bay sizes. 1190 mm (E) vs 1037 mm (C) is the distance between the back of the lower rear seat and the tailgate, although the E well also be slightly wider and with less intrusions.

Financial economy will be a welcome by product of this exercise, Running three cars is a drain with insurance/maintenance/tax (although the GL is currently zero rated for VED) coming at regular intervals throughout the year. It may sound odd to buy new, but with the VAT taken off a new car and the very attractive MB finance offers buying a nearly new may actually be more expensive.

Anyway, as I have said, no decisions yet, I want to see how hard the dealer will work to make a deal attractive to me.

 

[timskemp]

Well good luck - the E also has significantly more rear leg room, and the load bay is a better shape than the C (less curved to the rear) - and will have rear air suspension as standard if I remember my models rightly!

 

[peterg1965]

Dealer didn't (or couldn't) try hard enough and no deal that was acceptable to me was on the table!

He did want to buy my CLK55 off me though, he is so short of stock they are happy to be selling 8 year old MBs through the 'Stratstone approved scheme' !

Looks like I will be waiting a few more months before changing, the GL is £4K in negative equity!

 

[Dryce]

Car will be used daily by my wife and to get my son around - mostly domestic stuff. We don't like wheelchair accessible vehicles, it is safer (in the event of an accident) for my son to be sat in a proper car seat as opposed to be in his chair and strapped down.

Anyway, no decisions yet until i hear the figures! Even if we kept the GL until the end of the contract (March nexy year) it will not be replaced with another large SUV so at some point we will be getting a smaller car, its just that it could be sooner rather than later.

I'm biased against the 204 so I won't comment on it.

But ....

If the car is to be used mainly domestically then do you want a W204 Sport or W211 AG? These will have the firmer suspension options.

I don't know what the options are on the W204 but the W211 in Elegance form has a softer suspension - this is (or at least was) a factory option on the Avantgarde.

A softer suspension option may not be the most attractive choice from the driver's perspective but may actually be a more comfortable fit for purpose if the car is used for domestic running about.

 

[st13phil]

I don't know what the options are on the W204 but the W211 in Elegance form has a softer suspension

The W204 options are SE or Elegance = Comfort suspension (quite a supple ride, but by no means "floaty"); Sport = Sport suspension (quite a bit firmer, more jiggly ride on rough surfaces, but not, imo, really uncomfortable). On the Sport model only, is the Advanced Agility dashboard-switchable suspension that allows you to select between Sport and much firmer at the flick of a switch.

If you want to sample "firm" suspension, then I'll take you for a ride in my wife's R56 Cooper S with sports suspension and 17" runflats. That'll loosen your fillings