W202 C240 owners Help needed

[se97mlm]

Hey guys.

I have been spending the last 10 months looking for a nice C220 cdi auto with a black interior which has proved virtually impossible.

I have noticed recently that a c240 can be had from about £3000 cheaper and are a lot less rare.

What sort of mpg and range do you c240 owners really get? I am wondering, if i buy one, how long it will take me to catch up that £3k in the extra fuel needed...!

 

[lotusmark2]

OK real world figures not MB fantasy
on a run at 65mph I get 32mpg,
around town I get 27mpg,
Combi I get 29-30mpg,
If I drive it with errrr abandon I get 22-24mpg
As a rule of thumb I bank on 29mpg and worth every penny!!
If you want any more info drop me a PM,
Mark

 

[C240Sport97]

with a mixture of motorway (at 90) and town (London!) driving, I get about 26mpg. If it's mostly motorway, I get about 30mpg. Therefore, fuel consumption is not so high, and you get quite a nice smooth and powerful (if you use the kickdown) V6.

 

[jaymanek]

The 220CDi is a very economical engine. It did twice as much as my CLK on fuel. They are torquey, and seem very quick with a manual box esp.
They are rare because they are so much in demand. Low mileage ones will fetch a huge premium.
Around this time last year i sold my 202 CDI, 1999 T for 11500 with 45 on the clock. It was perfect but was manual. Manuals are worth a lot less, but IMO, if you can live with changing gear, then they perform a lot better. With an auto, i found they were pretty sluggish off the start, which often got dangerous as im used to a bit more acceleration...
I had a 240 recently aswell. Its more refined and quicker off the mark, but i would go for the CDI everytime, the balance of power and economy is perfect. It will be just as good on the motorway as a 240, if not better. The 240 maintenance shedule is scary aswell, esp when the plugs need to be changed!

Jay

Jay

 

[lotusmark2]

I would agree with everthing Jay says but bare in mind on the service side things like plug changes from MB are VERY expensive (£200-250) but indie's do them a hell of a lot cheaper (£120-140) which when you are looking at 12 plugs I didnt think was that bad.

 

[marcos]

When I had my C240 I reckon I used to get about 25mpg. I was a little younger then and my right foot seemed to only have two positions, up and to the floor.
Lovely car though and the engine was as sweet as a nut, sounded good too.

 

[Steve_Perry]

As for my experiences:

On a motorway run - mid 30's mpg (range approx 380 miles)

In town - low 20's mpg (range approx 250 miles)

My town driving consumption figures are probably worse than average because I can't help but enjoy my V6

As for the 12 sparkies, yes they are exbenzive to change but at least they do approx 60k miles between changes. I'm not sure how that compares to the four potters sparks and I presume the diesel's glow plugs are meant to be fitted for life unless one pops.

S.

 

[se97mlm]

Thanks for all your responses. It seems i have been convinced to by the V6. I suppose I could always change it for a cdi later if it waws too thirsty!!

Is the dreaded spark plug change an easy-ish DIY job? German & Swedish car parts stock them at £4 each!!!!

 

[fuzzer]

Thanks for all your responses. It seems i have been convinced to by the V6. I suppose I could always change it for a cdi later if it waws too thirsty!!

Is the dreaded spark plug change an easy-ish DIY job? German & Swedish car parts stock them at £4 each!!!!

Don't do it .. hold out for the C220 CDI

When i had my C240 i used to spend all my time in the town and was getting about 18mpg Fair enough the car did go smoothly and on the motorway used to get up to about 33mpg . Apart from that when you come to sell the 220 CDI it will be worth a lot more as youve found with the rareity value of it and also the lower insurance group , better MPG and longer between services as well.

I always thought the engine was a bit of a non event. The MPG of something a lot more powerful without the real grunt to go with the noise. If youre hell bent on a V6 hold out for the 280 or even a 230 Kompressor. Both which are a lot more powerful and shouldnt be a lot more expencive. The proof of this being that my 149bhp C180 Kompressor isnt only faster than the 240 i replaced it with but im managing to get 26mpg in the town and also 40mpg sitting at 85 on the motorway, so even the argument for a diesel is getting thin on the new models.

Go for a light metallic colour and leather interior for best resale. Sport seems to sell better than elegance for some weird reason , so if youre getting an elegance , youve got room to bargain on it.

Remember .. Fuel isnt getting any cheaper and give the choice of a Guzzler of a V6 or a 2.2 Diesel very few would choose the former.

 

[jaymanek]

No it is not a diy job really. If one gets stuck, its a head off job. Im reasonably competent, but i wouldnt do it! I changed the glow plugs on my diesel, now that was easy.

Jay

 

[silverarrow]

i think the c240 had a problem with high oil consumption and wear on stop start driving dilution on bores i think from memory i have c220 cdi and would not go back to petrol

 

[jaymanek]

yes some do use a bit of oil. The dealer gave me a litre to carry around as the 240's are known for it. But most are fine.

Jay

 

[lotusmark2]

done 10k miles of mainly start stop driving in mine and used 1 litre of oil, so not a major issue for me.