W203 C220 CDI - please help me decide

[m1tch]

Hi everyone,

I am new on here and wanted to get everyone experiances before I spend my cash on a Mercedes.

I am looking at getting a W203 C220 CDI next year, please can you persuade me/disuade me from getting this car.

I was looking at a W202 C250 Turbo Diesel as well, but I do like the more modern looking W203.

I have however heard some really big issues with the W203s and wanted to see if it was worth me even trying to buy the car. If I wanted a car thats unreliable I would get an Alfa.

I already have an RX7 for the weekend, I am just looking for a nice car to get to work and go on the motorway every now and then, would need to be economical (current daily drive does between 48-63 mpg) but I am happy to sacrifice a bit of MPG for a better car.

Please can you help me decide if I should get a W203 C220 CDI, or indeed if I should look at an E Class or something.

thanks in advance

 

[st4]

Without being rude whats your budget.

Early 203's are not without their issues, but are more modern to drive and much safer in the event of a collision.

A 220cdi is a reliable engine, gearbox tough. Basic ones do not have a lot that go wrong.

The body work is a bit gash on the early 203's.

The other option is a late W210 E class which bar the body work, is a very reliable big car.

 

[m1tch]

Hi there, thinking of spending about £4k-£4.5K which can buy 2 X W202s or 1 x W203

Saw something like this:

2003 MERCEDES-BENZ C CLASS C220 CDI Classic SE 4dr Auto Diesel Saloon

or this, which is exactly what I am looking for (just 6 months too soon)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...page/13/postcode/hp43ne/radius/1500?logcode=p

I understand about the paintwork, but I guess this can be touched up/polished, its not a show car, its ment to be driven.

What sort of MPG should I expect out of it vs the E class?

 

[st4]

The E will be 5-10mpg worse tops. A C220cdi will avergae mid 40's early 50's, an E late 30's mid 40's

I'd be inclined to go for a late 202 model as it will be a cheaper car to buy and less to go wrong.

 

[trapperjohn]

Hows about an estate.

MERCEDS C220 CDI ESTATE AUTO 2001 Y,(STUNNING EXAMPLE) on eBay (end time 08-Dec-10 13:00:12 GMT)

 

[m1tch]

I think an estate would be a bit too big for me really, the saloon is big enough as it is lol but its good to see that you can get a W203 with FSH within my budget, I am looking at getting a black C220, perferably black with leather, but I guess they are at a premium?

 

[kusanku]

The late W202s had some serious rust problems, just as bad as the W210 e-class. W203's before 2004 were not galvanised, although I am not certain they rust quite like the 202, and they are a lot nicer to drive. It might also be worth your while considering one of the smaller petrol engines, rather than the 220cdi, which is not the most refined engine and will not save you much in fuel costs unless you intend to do a fairly high annual mileage.

 

[m1tch]

Would you suggest having a look at the 180K then? Although even the official figures state that the CDIs are the most economical.

I think I will go for a W203 if I am going for a C class, I got a good response off another forum about their 2001 C220 CDI, he had no issues as long as it was serviced correctly and bought it with a FSH.

 

[JOB-BLACK-RAT]

Hiya Mitch, replied on your other post but the above raises the real mpg issue.

My C220 run at the speed limits 'my user name should give away my line of work!', LOL. The tank is 80 quid to fill and I get 630 miles for it, though most are M-way miles.

 

[m1tch]

Ah ok, so you are doing high 40s MPG then? thats not bad, the minimum my current daily drive has done was 48mpg, but im ok to drop some MPG if it means that I can drive a nicer car

How many litres does the tank take btw?

The official MPG figure for my current car is 46mpg, the official figures for the C220 CDI is about 41-44 mpg, so not too much difference, my current car has mechanical diesel injection, whereas the CDI is electrionic, but a larger engine

I do plan to tweek the car slightly for MPG, perhaps a remap and just generally give it a good service.

The car will be used as the daily drive, which isn't a very long journey, but I do take it cross country every now and then, on the motorway I do drive economically, im guessing the C220 has cruise control like my RX7?

 

[Markedes]

why not throw a w203 270cdi into the mix, a nicer engine and mpg a tad more .Maybe a wee bit biased

 

[trapperjohn]

No, thats a very good point Markedes. They have a much smoother engine and they are quieter too.

 

[m1tch]

I have seen the C270, is it more economical than a C220 then? I was put off by the C270 as its got a larger engine lol might as well go for a E300 at this rate lol

Will do better MPG than my RX7 that does between 2-23MPG

 

[trapperjohn]

Any of the Mercedes you mention will trounce your RX7 for MPG. If I remember rightly the RX7 had a healthy oil rate consumption too which should not happen with the Mercedes. Nice car the RX7 though.

 

[m1tch]

Yeah, its why I have 2 cars lol which is why im not worried about power for this car, just the economy what the car is like to live with

Merc = weekdays
RX7 = weekends

Should I also look at the C270s as well then? I am guessing that black is a premium colour when it comes to buying one second hand, seems to be an extra £500+ for a black merc versus silver

 

[Markedes]

I cannot fault my 270cdi for smoothness and mpg. On a run from Bedfordshire to Southampton M1 M25 M3 averaged 58 with my good lady driving like " Miss Marple" !

 

[st4]

c270cdi no less frugal than a 220cdi

 

[m1tch]

I cannot fault my 270cdi for smoothness and mpg. On a run from Bedfordshire to Southampton M1 M25 M3 averaged 58 with my good lady driving like " Miss Marple" !

Oooo am I correct that the C270 is a 5 cylinder vs the C220s 4?

What sort of MPG do you get around town?

 

[kusanku]

I would certainly suggest looking at a C180, because not everyone prefers the way a diesel drives. I have no doubt that a C220cdi would be more economical, but the C180k might well be cheaper, so you could get a better example for the same price. Insurence-wise the C180 is group 12, and the 220cdi group 14. You could always work out the cost per mile, multiply by your annual mileage to see how much you might save per year. Then you have an idea how long you need to keep the car for to actually save money.

 

[m1tch]

I have checked the insurance for the C220 and its the same as my daily drive diesel hatchback lol I think that the C180 can be more economical at times, but im thinking that the diesel would be more economical for more of the time, if that makes sense.

I plan on keeping this car for a while, so I am ok spending a bit more on it, I have found that there are quite a few silver C220s and C270s well within the price range I was looking for.

I am going to check out all options though, what sort of MPG does the C180k do? I know they fitted a supercharger to make the car more efficient by making the smaller engine more efficient.