What Mercedes Estate "cheap" runaround to buy?

[Scott_F]

That's probably down to the car-killing monkeys Citroen employ in their servicing depts. If you find one which hasn't got a full dealer service history they're v reliable OTOH they're worth so little any old fault can send them to the scrapyard as beyond economic repair, so £1000 is severely overpriced.

If I had to look for something old and French for under a grand (which I wouldn't), I'd probably consider a Laguna estate.

 

[mj2k]

If I had to look for something old and French for under a grand (which I wouldn't), I'd probably consider a Laguna estate.

I'm sure there are specialist websites concerning things which are old and French for under a grand

Personally I hate Renaults but like Pugs (the Xsara Picasso is the indestructible Pug 306 hidden in a Kinder Surprise), but I concur, French cars under a grand are potentially a ticking timebomb.

 

[Smart320]

Had a 9/5 V6 diesel estate, loved it . Very comfortable, nice drive and frugal , guess it would be fine with a smaller engine

 

[mj2k]

Had a 9/5 V6 diesel estate, loved it . Very comfortable, nice drive and frugal , guess it would be fine with a smaller engine

They're a funny one really, on paper they sound terrible - Vauxhall components in a car made by a long-defunct company, but I've never heard a 9-5 owner do anything but sing their praises.

Are they the UK's most undervalued / underrated car?

 

[jdrrco]

They're a funny one really, on paper they sound terrible - Vauxhall components in a car made by a long-defunct company, but I've never heard a 9-5 owner do anything but sing their praises.

Are they the UK's most undervalued / underrated car?

Yes

 

[mj2k]

Yes

Might have to give an Aero HOT or v6 diesel a try sometime

 

[Williamwoo]

Might have to give an Aero HOT or v6 diesel a try sometime

I had a 2006 Aero HOT and really liked it (mostly).

Mine was a manual ‘Dame Edna’ model (with additional chrome round the headlights). It did feel quite old to drive – the torque-steer was awful and the car frequently struggled for grip (although I believe there are ways of minimising the problem – I never got round to it though). It was very highly geared, mainly I suspect as an artificial way to try to tame the torque-steer. The net result of this was that it was never comfortable in top (5th) gear except at speeds of over 60 mph. The gear-change itself was ok though as were all the other main controls.

There is of course a plus side to having a 260 bhp (280 with overboost) turbo-charged engine, and that is the fantastic in-gear acceleration once you’re going fast enough for torque-steer not to be a problem. The rate at which it could accelerate from 40 to 85 when joining a motorway for example always made me grin childishly. It was a great engine – smooth (although not particularly quiet), and surprisingly economical (I averaged 28.5 mpg over 20,000 miles) and it used no oil.

There were other good things too. It was a handsome and distinctive car (still is I think), and it was also well-equipped; I’m not sure exactly what was standard, but mine had leather, touch-screen Satnav, heated seats (front and rear), electrically adjustable front seats (with driver’s memory), xenon lights, rear parking sensors, dual-zone climate control, auto-wipers, self-dipping mirrors, lovely alloys and probably more.

Which brings me on to the interior. It has all the aforementioned goodies, but it looked and felt a bit hard and cheap. Most of the switches and in particular the indicator column switch are unpleasant to use, the latter making a horrid ‘clack’ noise. The window switches are in between the front seats which was mildly annoying but not as annoying as the fact that they had one-touch down but not up (you also can’t close all windows when locking via the fob). The cruise control was fiddly and you had to switch the wipers off and back on to the auto setting again for the auto-wipe function to be reinitiated whenever you restarted the engine. The satnav was very primitive and you couldn’t enter a destination when in motion (even though it knew when you’re carrying a passenger because of the seat-belt warning circuitry). The reverse parking sensors worked fine, but were quiet and didn’t mute the stereo.

The ride wasn’t great but this was compensated for by terrific seats. The switchgear and dash may have looked and felt like they belonged in something cheaper (although the instruments were a model of clarity), but conversely it all felt very well put together – there were no creaks or groans, and absolutely nothing went wrong during my tenure.

In short, it was an old car on which various attempts had been made to try and bring it up to date, with varying degrees of success. However, it had oodles of character (subjective I know), and I think the world has become a poorer place since the company’s demise.

I'd go for one if I were you!

 

[tron]

As a former owner of ten or so 99s and "classic" 900s, the design was excellent, the execution thorough, the engineering well done with a few small manufacturer quirks and they were a joy to live with. They were surprisingly frugal, over the ten years I had them, on at least two of them the running costs were less than the cost of the shuttle programme. The rest were normal years. I ought to have bought a Porsche but if money was serious, I wouldn't spend it as I do. Utterly beguiling motor cars. Far and away the best I ever owned.

 

[tron]

Back on topic, a 210 estate is cheap, good and worthless, an S202 is cheap, may be good and worth hanging on to if it is. Rough250 Turbodiesel £400, good one £1000 if you can find one!

 

[Darrell]

Yes

My sister is on her second convertable. She loves them and reckons they are the car worlds secret.

 

[grober]

If going SAAB I would recommend going petrol. The D308L 3.0V6 diesel
V6 diesel was an Izuzu design and among other things had a rep for dropping liners at high mileage.
SeriousSAAB Buyers' guides: buying a SAAB 9-5

 

[mj2k]

Back on topic, a 210 estate is cheap, good and worthless, an S202 is cheap, may be good and worth hanging on to if it is. Rough250 Turbodiesel £400, good one £1000 if you can find one!

I think it is on topic in some ways, sounds like a Saab 9-5 would be a worthy-but-newer alternative to the W210 / S210.

IMO the W210 / S210 would have been one of the MB 'greats' if it wasn't for the catastrophic (and well deserved) rust reputation. They're more responsive and avant-garde than the W124, but have a similar feel and reliability....

Drove my 20 year old / 150k W210 E320 900 miles this week, it behaved faultlessly, quietly and easily kept up with the more 'spirited' drivers on the M4. Definitely an excellent car if they can keep driving like new at that advanced age, the only blot on it's faultless record was seeing the bonnet's rust scabs twinkling in the sunlight

 

[After Shock]

I think it is on topic in some ways, sounds like a Saab 9-5 would be a worthy-but-newer alternative to the W210 / S210.

IMO the W210 / S210 would have been one of the MB 'greats' if it wasn't for the catastrophic (and well deserved) rust reputation. They're more responsive and avant-garde than the W124, but have a similar feel and reliability....

Drove my 20 year old / 150k W210 E320 900 miles this week, it behaved faultlessly, quietly and easily kept up with the more 'spirited' drivers on the M4. Definitely an excellent car if they can keep driving like new at that advanced age, the only blot on it's faultless record was seeing the bonnet's rust scabs twinkling in the sunlight

Thanks everyone!

I'm swayed towards a W210 estate because I had one which was fantastic!!

Excepyr for ...... Rust!! If this wasn't the Achilles Heel of these cars they would be an all time great!!

 

[mj2k]

If you're going for a diesel I'd suggest trying to find a pre face-lift om606 - they're not much slower than the cdi and have way fewer expensive parts to go wrong. Or if a petrol try one of the v8s, or the later v6 e320 - they're very well balanced and corner surprisingly well