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lawrenceots

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Wanting to get a newer car to tide me over for a bit (wanted to geta new one to celebrate leaving uni but never got round to it) so ended up with an emergency purchase of a Passat.

I'm looking at 56 Mercedes - the 2 liter engine automatics.

Any comments at all about them? I've seen a coupe I'm going to look at tomorrow - a 56 plate 2 door c200 cdi thats done 81k and is about 3.5 k


Any comments or decent advice appreciated!

Thanks
 
Unless you can get it super super cheap I wouldn't.

Slightly underpowered for the car, generally bought new as a "poverty spec", as slightly underpowered I'd be concerned how they have been tuned and remapped.

Unless a very very cheap well specified and clean example I'd be wary. Don't get me wrong, nice car but get a desirable one unless the price is right.
 
Are Merc's mileages still viewed as `suspect`?
 
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Go newer....between approx 51 plate to 57's they were building to price, hence so many rust probs those years, late 57 plates on they went back to quality over pricing manufacture..
 
This one?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201503201919610

Sort of car you cruise about in, as said it's a heavy car with about 120bhp. Mileage muncher at 80mph cruise and very quiet and comfortable.
The C270 has about 170bhp, the C320 has about 220bhp. All do roughly the same mpg if you poodle about 40mpg on a run.
Avantgarde models are better spec'd and there should be plenty around that price, but you'll sacrifice mileage for goodies, however Merc goodies are generally nice to have.

Make sure everything works as Merc parts can be expensive, have a look at Inchcape, Oxford for prices - they have a website thats cheaper than going into the dealer for parts
http://www.mercedes-benz-parts.co.uk/
 
This is my little CLC coupe, 180 auto. I bought it new in June 2010 and still has only 21K on the clock. It's a great car to drive and very comfortable. My previous car was a BMW 2.2 litre 6 cylinder and I find this one quicker, both acceleration and top speed, it also offers better mpg, the computer is currently showing 37.5 mpg overall.


IMG_0003.jpg 2 by killwilly, on Flickr
 
Yes @Byker28i, that's the one! If I'm honest, I fancy a bt of change, mpg wise I'm not that bothered as it won't make a great deal of everyday difference to me anyway.
 
ST4 said:
It's not an underpowered car, not a ball of fire but in a world of dibble, dibble with cameras it's more than capable. I had an e220cdi and it would pull 130mph plus all day long.
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120hp in a relative heavy car is underpowered in my opinion. The equivalent year 220 version has a whopping 25% more power. Very noticeable.

Now it doesn't have to be a problem, however on a car nearly ten years old where the engine has to work hard, likely to have been tuned or mapped, it better be really cheap.
 
ST4 said:
It's not an underpowered car, not a ball of fire but in a world of dibble, dibble with cameras it's more than capable. I had an e220cdi and it would pull 130mph plus all day long.
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There's more to having fun with power than outright speed. I can have as much fun hammering it to 50mph in second... on a 50mph road as I can doing 100plus at a track. Maybe that's why I have a clean license ;)

dejongj said:
120hp in a relative heavy car is underpowered in my opinion. The equivalent year 220 version has a whopping 25% more power. Very noticeable.

Now it doesn't have to be a problem, however on a car nearly ten years old where the engine has to work hard, likely to have been tuned or mapped, it better be really cheap.
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Agreed. My advice? Get a crap car for every day use... and something you couldn't afford, or want to run as a daily drive for the weekend.

No worries about where to park... ultra low fuel bills... cheap tax... no worries about picking up scratches or dents. Then break out the big guns at weekend. Why compromise with a half-way house solution of a big car, but then holding back on the engine etc because you have to consider running costs? That would be like buying alcohol free beer... or a diesel.. what's the point?? :)
 
Pookeyhead said:
There's more to having fun with power than outright speed. I can have as much fun hammering it to 50mph in second... on a 50mph road as I can doing 100plus at a track. Maybe that's why I have a clean license ;)
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LOL...actually. A diesel C class won't accelerate slowly relative to most peoples needs. 170bhp is what thw 270cdi has and its enough to turn the car right round on its own axle in slippy conditions. The performance isn't an issue in any rwd merc for daily driving unless you are intent on breaking every law possibly going.

Pookeyhead said:
My advice? Get a crap car for every day use... and something you couldn't afford, or want to run as a daily drive for the weekend.

No worries about where to park... ultra low fuel bills... cheap tax... no worries about picking up scratches or dents. Then break out the big guns at weekend. Why compromise with a half-way house solution of a big car, but then holding back on the engine etc because you have to consider running costs? That would be like buying alcohol free beer... or a diesel.. what's the point?? :)
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Unless you are a petrol head that's an extravagance a lot won't want. Two cars, two sets of insurnace, tyres etc and you're stuck driivng a crap car the rest of the time to tolerate a few highs over the weekend. Depends on the value you place on the highs and how much of the lows you are prepared to tolerate for them. A diesel saloon does most, fine all the time.
 
ST4 said:
LOL...actually. A diesel C class won't accelerate slowly relative to most peoples needs. 170bhp is what thw 270cdi has and its enough to turn the car right round on its own axle in slippy conditions. The performance isn't an issue in any rwd merc for daily driving unless you are intent on breaking every law possibly going.



Unless you are a petrol head that's an extravagance a lot won't want. Two cars, two sets of insurnace, tyres etc and you're stuck driivng a crap car the rest of the time to tolerate a few highs over the weekend. Depends on the value you place on the highs and how much of the lows you are prepared to tolerate for them. A diesel saloon does most, fine all the time.
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Lol you've now gone for a car/engine which is 43% more powerful than what the op is looking at. Huge difference in that car.
 
dejongj said:
Lol you've now gone for a car/engine which is 43% more powerful than what the op is looking at. Huge difference in that car.
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My mate had a C270cdi and he said it had the potential to scare most witless. The point being a lesser engined variant will be fine.

As you know my choice of stead is 160bhp and weighs a lot more than a C class. It'll be fine for my law abiding future.
 
ST4 said:
Unless you are a petrol head that's an extravagance a lot won't want. Two cars, two sets of insurnace, tyres etc and you're stuck driivng a crap car the rest of the time to tolerate a few highs over the weekend. Depends on the value you place on the highs and how much of the lows you are prepared to tolerate for them. A diesel saloon does most, fine all the time.
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Works for me. There's very few times you can use any performance when commuting to and from work, so a runabout works just fine. At the weekends, or holiday time, when the traffic is significantly reduced then it's time to get out the performance vehicle, plus club meets, drive puts etc.

Two lots of everything? I put £250 a month away to run the sports car and get nowhere near that, despite being an expensive car to run. Insurance was less than £200, tyres, well they last a long time doing 5-7000 miles a year.

The trouble is, anything with sporty performance is generally a pain in commuting traffic, especially if stop start.

Where it probably doesn't work is for the OP, who said he was 21 and fancied a change. As such he's limited to choice by the insurance costs.
 
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ST4 said:
My mate had a C270cdi and he said it had the potential to scare most witless. The point being a lesser engined variant will be fine.

As you know my choice of stead is 160bhp and weighs a lot more than a C class. It'll be fine for my law abiding future.
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To be honest you can be caught speeding in a 2cv. The correlation just doesn't exist other than an irresponsible driver.
 
They have a couple of bmws there as well. The touring with the leather and auto looks quite good value.

http://www.stockportinternetcars.co...-alfa-romeo-147-1-9-jtdm-16v-ti-5dr-stockport

For bang/buck the alfa looks quite good. Needs a proper wheel on it as it seems to have the space saver on.

If you bear in mind they're probably buying blind in auction and punting it straight out onto the forecourt without any prep at all then you could get lucky with a bargain.

Whatever you buy make sure you pay at least £100 of it with a credit card.
 
Wouldn't trust an Alfa, they have a terrible rep for faults, breakdowns and bits falling off.
 
boogie man said:
Wouldn't trust an Alfa, they have a terrible rep for faults, breakdowns and bits falling off.
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Reputation yes absolutely however that was from the alfasud days. A lot changed from the 155 onwards. That 147 looks great value for money.
 
I had a new 147 a few years back. Blew engine on day 1.
Also had a mk1 TT. They're 4wd with lots of electrical bits and are money pits when they get older...
 
ST4 said:
LOL...actually. A diesel C class won't accelerate slowly relative to most peoples needs. 170bhp is what thw 270cdi has and its enough to turn the car right round on its own axle in slippy conditions. The performance isn't an issue in any rwd merc for daily driving unless you are intent on breaking every law possibly going.
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Did you not read what I just wrote further up? Power can be fun WITHOUT breaking any laws. I can hammer it down a slip road right up to 70MPH in 2nd.. it's fun... and it's legal. I can accelerate swiftly.. legally. Why does having a powerful car mean it's wasted unless you break the law? Besides... on top of all that... there are race tracks.

ST4 said:
Unless you are a petrol head that's an extravagance a lot won't want. Two cars, two sets of insurnace, tyres etc and you're stuck driving a crap car the rest of the time to tolerate a few highs over the weekend. Depends on the value you place on the highs and how much of the lows you are prepared to tolerate for them. A diesel saloon does most, fine all the time.
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Why is it an extravagance? It's actually cheaper if you choose the right cars.
 
lawrenceots said:
Wanting to get a newer car to tide me over for a bit (wanted to geta new one to celebrate leaving uni but never got round to it) so ended up with an emergency purchase of a Passat.

I'm looking at 56 Mercedes - the 2 liter engine automatics.

Any comments at all about them? I've seen a coupe I'm going to look at tomorrow - a 56 plate 2 door c200 cdi thats done 81k and is about 3.5 k


Any comments or decent advice appreciated!

Thanks
Click to expand...

I've only had one Merc, an SLK. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for them and I've driven lots but one thing I do hate is their "handbrake" faff on. If it's still the same arrangement as it was... push with your foot.... graunch... pull with your hand.... kabonk! I'd walk away. In fact after owning only two German cars, Boxster and SLK, I'd probably think twice about owning another as IMVHO you pay for the badge and the image and not for quality or reliability.

I've spent a lot of money on cars in the past but these days I'm happy with an old MK2 MX5 for fun and a Getz (handed down from my mam) for everything else. I think that owning anything "nice" can be a PITA. You get worries about vandalism, you get hassled on the road and you get the bills... so I wouldn't advise anyone to sink too much into a nice car these days. I'd say get a Hyundai, a Kia or if you want to go upmarket get a Mazda :D (and that's a hatch not a soft top) or something else that'll do the job without attracting attention. Attracting attention is a bad thing. Spend the money saved on enjoying life or an early retirement :D
 
lawrenceots said:
Wanting to get a newer car to tide me over for a bit (wanted to geta new one to celebrate leaving uni but never got round to it)
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Uni..??, shouldn't you be driving a rusty 1.0 Corsa with a Baked Bean tin on the exhaust, illegal tints and no ground clearance for 10K a year insurance...:D
 
the only thing i can say about mercs at that age is when they go wrong the can be very expensive to fix i nearly bought a 2007 A class merc a couple of years ago but the cost of parts / maintenance put me right off
i looked at a few and all of them needed some sort of attention the worst being pressure sensor passenger seat ( quite a common fault i believe ) , leaking fuel pump , faulty wipers ( related to airbag / srs fault because of pressure sensor in passenger seat ) and binding rear brakes
to look at the car it was in really nice condition and the only visible fault was the airbag / srs light on, it drove well too but the binding brakes were obvious and the fuel leak ( diesel ) wasn't so obvious without a close inspection under the bonnet
apparently another common problem with seals in the pump

the cost to put that little lot right was not cheap to say the least
needles to say i didn't buy it
 
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