Should I buy a 2010 C250 with 91K on the clock?

[Pitts Pilot]

I’m looking at replacing our 2002 Renault Laguna with a C Class Estate.

I have found a 2010 C250 CDi W204 with no less than 91,000 miles on the clock.

The car is in excellent condition *visually*, but I was wondering what I should be looking out for with a car of this mileage?


Presumably, most of the miles are motorway miles, as I don’t see how you could do that mileage around town in 3 years, (Taxi service notwithstanding). Do you agree?

Of course this means that the shock absorbers, steering, exhaust, etc, etc have also done 91K, and as I have never purchased a car with such high mileage I admit I’m a bit apprehensive about it.

My intention would be to keep the car for at least 3-4 years, and I too would be doing many motorway miles, say 8K a year.


I've heard rumours of the ‘Black death’ (?) to the injectors, but I’m not sure what that is or whether it is relevant on a W204. Help please!

The vehicle is being sold by a non-franchised dealership that offers a 3 month warranty. It has been a demo car and then had one private owner. It has FSH, although that will be the first thing I check.

Would you get an RAC inspection done before handing over the cash?


Finally, I have just spent £1,000 on a new turbo for the aforementioned Laguna, and I am therefore nervous about high mileage turbos. Are my worries unfounded, or should I be thinking about removing (via software) the EGR for instance?

All comments and help are very much appreciated

Cheers,
Robert

 

[LTD]

How cheap is it ?

 

[Pitts Pilot]

They are asking £12,950

I reckon its worth £12K. What do you think?

Notwithstanding the above, it's the mileage that makes me hesitate.

On the one hand a regularly serviced Merc should go round the clock two or three times, but its that damn Renault turbo that recently emptied my wallet that has got me wondering.

I admit: Renault verses Mercedes - some comparison!

Cheers,
Robert

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Black Death won't affect a 2010 car.

The turbos on Mercedes cars are notoriously strong, I only remember hearing of one or two being replaced when the cars had 270k+ miles.

 

[Pitts Pilot]

Black Death won't affect a 2010 car.

The turbos on Mercedes cars are notoriously strong, I only remember hearing of one or two being replaced when the cars had 270k+ miles.

That's very reassuring to hear.

Are there service items, or 'gotcha's', that a 90-100K miles MB diesel are known to have?
Or is 100,000 "Just a number" - as the Americans say about their trouser waist sizes!

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Pitts Pilot]

Anyone got a 100K miles turbo diesel C Class they can share a little about servicing, problems that have come to light, turbo issues, etc?

Cheers,

Robert

 

[kam05]

The W204 C220CDI is a fine car in general, however mine (a 57 plate car) seems to have had the following problems recently:

1. Failed O2 upstream sensor
2. Falied camshaft position sensor
3. Failed door control module due to water/corrosion (this module controls all the electrics in the door, mirror, indicator, lock, window etc)

Mines only done 56k, but a well maintained high mileage car shouldn't give you problems.

 

[bpsorrel]

but a well maintained high mileage car shouldn't give you problems.

That's the key. Well maintained 220cdi seem to go on forever. I had an E220 for three years and it never missed a beat. Not as high mileage (63K) but I think mileage isn't the main factor with these.

 

[LittleG]

Bought my 05 S203 with 120k FSH and is now nudging 180k apart from the DPF being replaced and glow plugs, not herd a peep out of the engine.

Had track rod ends replaced and a rear spring has now just gone ping.

I would buy another high miler without hesitation.

 

[gIzzE]

I have found a 2010 C250 CDi W204 with no less than 91,000 miles on the clock.
My intention would be to keep the car for at least 3-4 years, and I too would be doing many motorway miles, say 8K a year.

They are asking £12,950

I reckon its worth £12K. What do you think?

That car is now coming up to 4 years old, in 3 years time it will be nearly 7 years old and will be an old model, not just not facelift but the new C Class will have been out 2 years and it will look old.
It will also have 120k miles or more on it.

Bearing that in mind it will be trading for around £7,000, which will give you a private sale figure of around £5500 or trade of £4,000.

Meaning that car will cost you between £6500 an £8000 to run for 3 years.

So £180 - 225 in depreciation each month.

Then add in all the other bits that might need doing like suspension arms etc.

Maintaining a 100,000 mile car that is 5 years old starts to cost a bit more than a new one.

MPG on that model is also not great, most seem to be about 40mpg.


You could go brand new for that sort of money...

Mercedes-Benz C Class contract hire | £185.90 per month | CarLease UK | ID: 17537696

£2007 and then 35 months at £223 month.

So around £270 a month, but in a brand new car with no warranty worries, 50mpg all day long and some piece of mind.

Shame this wasn't last week, end of the quarter and there were deals at £159 a month on them.

 

[gIzzE]

If buying at that age I would consider an estate, when they get to 6 years old they are worth so much more than the saloons.

Jay has lovely looking one here, in 3 years time I bet you would still get £6-7k for that no problem.

Mercedes-Benz C Class C220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Elegance 5dr Auto 2.1 1 OWNER, BLACK LEATHER, FMBSH

 

[blue gnome123]

Those leasing costs are amazingly low - at under 10K per year they are hard to beat second hand for all in costs (including repairs etc.. on an older car).

 

[grober]

Personally I would be wary of any early OM651 engined car with high miles . The 250 will have the twin turboed set up which would be horrendously expensive to replace as one unit. They have a timing chain at the rear of the engine if it needed work and it may fall into the "orphan injector " bracket of cars which retained the problematic piezo injector set up- later cars had the entire injector setup changed to a solenoid setup under warranty. Ironically an earlier lower mileage OM646 engined car with a single turbo and solenoid injectors is a better bet long term. Having said that these OM 651 "van engines " [and I used the term advisedly] are designed for mega miles but you might be faced with a big bill somewhere along the line- you just don't want one right away.

 

[Pitts Pilot]

Thanks for all the advice folks

I saw the car this morning and its in excellent condition. Its the Sports model by the way, so a tad more expensive than SE
It also has a great spec: Comand Sat Nav DVD, Full leather, heated front seats, 17" AMG wheels, and its just been taxed for a year (£200).

So, I admit to being interested in it!

With the above car in mind. It is going to cost £12,750. What do you think?

C220 verses C250. Well, I have had two C220's and one C250, all leased, and the C250 is the better car IMO. More power & torque, 2 MPG better economy (despite the reviews and figures). Brighter response to the peddle, and just more satisfying to drive.

gIzzE: That Lease price example is amazing! I was paying £400 pm a couple of years ago!
+ That Autotrader C220 Elegance C220 you have found is very good value. Its got me thinking!!

Grober: " it may fall into the "orphan injector " bracket of cars which retained the problematic piezo injector set up- later cars had the entire injector setup changed to a solenoid setup under warranty."
Sorry, I'm still a novice on this Forum .What's an 'orphan injector'? Are you referring to the period of time around late 09/Xmas/10 when all work on some MB engines stopped because there was a fundamental problem with the injector design?

You see, I was trying to lease a personal spec'd C220 in the late 09's and was told "You can't have one, they have stopped making them until the injectors are sorted out" (!) I remember something about warrenty replacements (as you said).

I spoke to Olly at PCS this morning. He thought the engines were pretty bullet-proof, and that 90K miles was just run-in! Should do 200-300k miles.
He laughed at my Renault needing a new turbo at 80K - "Well its a Renault, not a Mercedes...."

One thing I have to check tomorrow is the Service History. I was presented with various invoices, and Yes the auto box oil was changed at 35K miles, but there were 'holes' in the History.
Having computerised service records might just help here. I'll call my MB dealer who services my SL and ask for the service history. I hope they co-operate.

So price £12,750, Sports model with a nice spec
92K miles and that post-100K depreciation. What do you think?

Thanks
Robert

 

[gIzzE]

I just think it sounds a bit expensive.

I was looking at a C250cdi sport estate with xenons, heated leather, media, and a few other toys last year, with only 32,000 miles on it and that was £14,495 but we agreed om £14k.
09 plate, but this was a year ago, so was 3 years old.

That was with Mercedes of Loughton by the way, so main dealer with a years proper warranty, well, a years Merc warranty which is pretty crap, but still some piece of mind.

Are you looking at a saloon?

 

[gIzzE]

Offer £14500 for this....

There is also a £750 deposit contribution at the moment on all C Class saloons and estates, so that would bring it down to £13750.

Approved Used 2009 MERCEDES-BENZ C350 CDI for sale

It has..

COMAND
Media interface
Harman Kardon Logic 7
Evolution AMG Sport Pack
Steering Wheel Gearshift Paddles / Buttons
Speedtronic Cruise Control
18" Alloy wheels

50k miles on it rather than 92,000.

Plus it is a 350cdi, so in 3 years time will be a hell of a lot more desirable and worth around £2-3000 more.

 

[gIzzE]

Real world MPG differences will be about 3-4mpg between the 250 and 350 on that year.

When you get to the 7g+ MY12 models the 4cyl models start to make more sense if you want to save mpg.

 

[p3tchy]

Mine is 165k and still on the orginal turbo (for the last 7 years anyway, Previous owner)

Still pulls like a train and made 167bhp on the rollers. Nothing done to it. (CLK270 cdi)

 

[kap02]

Offer £14500 for this....

There is also a £750 deposit contribution at the moment on all C Class saloons and estates, so that would bring it down to £13750.

Approved Used 2009 MERCEDES-BENZ C350 CDI for sale

It has..

COMAND
Media interface
Harman Kardon Logic 7
Evolution AMG Sport Pack
Steering Wheel Gearshift Paddles / Buttons
Speedtronic Cruise Control
18" Alloy wheels

50k miles on it rather than 92,000.

Plus it is a 350cdi, so in 3 years time will be a hell of a lot more desirable and worth around £2-3000 more.

That c350cdi Is only showing 1 tail pipe? Thats either the wrong picture or the wrong spec.

 

[isleaiw]

Offer £14500 for this....

Plus it is a 350cdi, so in 3 years time will be a hell of a lot more desirable and worth around £2-3000 more.

Do you think so? do most second hand buyers want bigger engines these days? I would have thought the market for a smaller more economical version is greater - although there are significantly more available so maybe supply and demand?

Ian