Potential purchase 2012 C180

[potentialmerc]

Hi, Ive just joined so be gentle!!
Can I have some views on the reliability etc Im likely to expect from the car in the title.
Its a petrol 1.8 (I think) 61 plate C180 estate with circ 69k on clock, full MB history, just had a major service. Now Ive done some googling and keep seeing this cam chain / sprocket issue rearing its head regularly, is this something that is really common or just happens sometimes?

Fire away please

 

[potentialmerc]

So I take it no news is good news...... thanks

 

[ernie]

So I take it no news is good news...... thanks

Sorry no one has answered as yet. If you have aM271 engine, which I think you will have, the cam chain and wheels should be your main concern. You will get a good indication if there are any problems by listening for chain rattles on a cold start. If the timing starts to slip you may get an engine warning light. At that stage it is folly to ignore it!
If all is quiet on a cold start, you’re probably ok.

Ernie

 

[SarahAnn200]

I had a one owner C180 62 reg estate bought at around 2 years old with quite low miles. The engine always felt too small for the car. . I part ex'd it for a 330d around 18 months later but missed the merc so went back to a c class but got the 250d.

 

[markjay]

Sorry no one has answered as yet. If you have aM271 engine, which I think you will have, the cam chain and wheels should be your main concern. You will get a good indication if there are any problems by listening for chain rattles on a cold start. If the timing starts to slip you may get an engine warning light. At that stage it is folly to ignore it!
If all is quiet on a cold start, you’re probably ok.

Ernie

As above.

Timing gear failure will always be a worry on the M271 engine. If your budget stretches to a 2013 model, you'll get the newer M274 engine, which has no such issues.

Another common W204 fault is knocking from front suspension especially at parking speed, so look out for those.

And, check that the ECO function (Stop/Start) actually works - the functionality itself is not important, but if it does not work then this indicates one or more underlying issues (bad battery etc).

I had my 2013 W204 C180 (M274 1.6L Turbo) for two years now and it's a great car!

 

[markjay]

Ah... and try to get a car with COMAND Navigation (as opposed to Audio20 and Becker Map Pilot)

 

[potentialmerc]

Didn't go with the car, did some more digging and it seems that engine is far too unreliable, plus a couple of phone calls to a couple of local independents backed this up, one's response was 'why do you think I work on mercs, plenty of faults to keep me busy and as for that model, if you buy it I WILL see you again".......
So still looking, something will be along that's suits.
Ta

 

[markjay]

I am very happy with the C180 that I bought second-hand two years ago. It's a 2013 car with the M274 1.6L Turbo engine.

Said that, the most reliable (though probably not most refined... apart from Lexus) marques are probably the Koerans and Japanese, followed by Skoda.

BTW, I also have a 1997 Toyota Previa and a 2010 Kia Soul and both have so far been faultless.

I think that you buy a Merc if you like the car and expect to enjoy owning and driving it. And I accept that quite a few people rightly buy cars dispassionately and the top German (and British) marques have relatively little to offer in the absolute reliability department.

 

[potentialmerc]

I am very happy with the C180 that I bought second-hand two years ago. It's a 2013 car with the M274 1.6L Turbo engine.

Said that, the most reliable (though probably not most refined... apart from Lexus) marques are probably the Koerans and Japanese, followed by Skoda.

BTW, I also have a 1997 Toyota Previa and a 2010 Kia Soul and both have so far been faultless.

I think that you buy a Merc if you like the car and expect to enjoy owning and driving it. And I accept that quite a few people rightly buy cars dispassionately and the top German (and British) marques have relatively little to offer in the absolute reliability department.

I've never had a Mercedes yet, so really do fancy one, I've read good reports about the 1.6 engine, so like I said something will be along that suits
Oh and if you really want prestige unreliability I could tell you about my 2010 Jag 3.0d XFs I had a few yrs ago.... but that's another story.
I'm currently running a 6 seat transit for my family daily driver, got 3 kids and dogs and a 350z roadster as MY car and a zafira for the mrs, but I'm wanting to streamline the fleet and get a smart but functional petrol estate car to cover the duty of the transit and 350z. I will really miss the 350z, such a lovely engine.

 

[ernie]

I am very happy with the C180 that I bought second-hand two years ago. It's a 2013 car with the M274 1.6L Turbo engine.

Said that, the most reliable (though probably not most refined... apart from Lexus) marques are probably the Koerans and Japanese, followed by Skoda.

BTW, I also have a 1997 Toyota Previa and a 2010 Kia Soul and both have so far been faultless.

I think that you buy a Merc if you like the car and expect to enjoy owning and driving it. And I accept that quite a few people rightly buy cars dispassionately and the top German (and British) marques have relatively little to offer in the absolute reliability department.

I also had a M274 1.6 204 AMG Estate for a couple of years and only sold it because the suspension was a bit hard for my wife who had suffered injury in an accident in our previous car.

The only issue I had was with the thermostat which needs about 2.5 hours to replace, fortunately, for me, under warranty. So..., if you look at a 1.6 M274 engined car, make sure it comes up to temperature and doesn’t vary during the drive.

By the way there were also some 204s fitted with a 1.6 271 engine around 2011/2 and these can have the same problems as the 1.8, so just be aware of that.

Ernie

 

[markjay]

I also had a M274 1.6 204 AMG Estate for a couple of years and only sold it because the suspension was a bit hard for my wife who had suffered injury in an accident in our previous car.

The only issue I had was with the thermostat which needs about 2.5 hours to replace, fortunately, for me, under warranty. So..., if you look at a 1.6 M274 engined car, make sure it comes up to temperature and doesn’t vary during the drive.

By the way there were also some 204s fitted with a 1.6 271 engine around 2011/2 and these can have the same problems as the 1.8, so just be aware of that.

Ernie

I sympathise with your wife's back problems, I suffer from same, which is why my W204 is the Executive SE model with the softer suspension, higher ride, and 16" wheels...

It is obviously not as aesthetically pleasing as the Sport AMG-Line though...

 

[ernie]

I sympathise with your wife's back problems, I suffer from same, which is why my W204 is the Executive SE model with the softer suspension, higher ride, and 16" wheels...

It is obviously not as aesthetically pleasing as the Sport AMG-Line though...

Yes. The car we lost was an Execurive SE which we only had for 2 weeks before being hit by an uninsured driver who lost control of his car at high speed. At that time, E SEs were few and far between and we settled for the AMG Sport Estate which turned out to be a bit too hard. It was a fine car, though and apart from the thermostat, perfectly reliable.
Sadly my wife succumbed last year to a serious chest infection activated by the accident.

Ernie

 

[markjay]

...Sadly my wife succumbed last year to a serious chest infection activated by the accident.

Ernie

Sorry to hear that.