# Calling all Mercedes C Class owners! Help for buying



## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Hi all,

The time has come where I need to move on from my 1 Series.
The reason I am telling everyone is because I need a diesel for work (true)
The main reason is I absolutely love the C Class Coupe and would love one.

The particular model I have found close to home is a C220 CDI AMG Sport Coupe in Silver.
It has 1 (non company) previous owner and just under 30k on the clock on an '11 plate which seems fair.

I have been to have a quick glance at it this evening (literally 5 mins as they were just shutting up) and I am booked to go and have a proper look Sunday morning and test drive.

I wanted to ask on here if anyone has experience with these cars and if there is anything I should look for/test when I go again on Sunday.

Any help with this is greatly appreciated.

Cheers all,

Will


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

The father in law had one and as far as I'm aware he had no issues, that was replaced with a b class which has had a trip on a low loader 

If mpg is important in my experience with a hired b200 old model I found it really struggled to crack 50mpg and that was on a 400 mile road trip and driving like a saint, compared to a passat 2.0 which according to the mfd couldn't quite break 70 mpg, I could only get it as far as 69.9.

The merc is a bit small inside too, but in answer to the original question the father in law like his - 200cdi se 2011.


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

We've got a late 2010 C Class saloon.

Not aware of any common faults and not had any issues although it's only done 6k miles.


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

Some of the 2008 and 09 models that I've seen already have rust on the wheel arches, so I'd inspect the paintwork carefully.


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## Brigham1806 (Apr 1, 2011)

You should find no issues. So long as it's been serviced properly. 

Although I would try Mercedes Benz retail centres rather than dealers. Much better cars for bigger discounts


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## silverblack (Jan 23, 2011)

Well mate ive just done exactly that went from a 1 Series Coupe to an AMG CD 220.
Lovely car better interior that the 1 series too.Strangely it even feels faster than the 1 Series (120D m-sport) even tho its slower in specs.I went for the Sport Plus which adds 18" Alloys in black with diamond edging,bi xenon headlights,Spoiler,Part leather trim with red stiching,red seatbelts and AMG mats again with the red stiching.
My only gripe is the daft footbrake still not used to it 6 weeks on !


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

silverblack said:


> My only gripe is the daft footbrake still not used to it 6 weeks on !


:lol: I can't understand the logic behind the Merc's handbrake. It's still mechanical, but far less usable than a normal handbrake.


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## silverblack (Jan 23, 2011)

SteveyG said:


> :lol: I can't understand the logic behind the Merc's handbrake. It's still mechanical, but far less usable than a normal handbrake.


I dread to think how manual users get on :doublesho
Its not even very good i thought i was going to break the pedal i had to apply that much pressure to get it to hold.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Cheers guys for all the feedback so far! Really good to hear from people with more knowledge than me.

Paintwork was briefly inspected by me today and seemed pretty mint as did all the alloys. Couple of minor stone chips where I would expect them.

How do you find it for power vs MPG.

I'm coming from a 1.6 BMW which gets me about 30mpg even with motorway each day.


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## Brigham1806 (Apr 1, 2011)

WP-UK said:


> Cheers guys for all the feedback so far! Really good to hear from people with more knowledge than me.
> 
> Paintwork was briefly inspected by me today and seemed pretty mint as did all the alloys. Couple of minor stone chips where I would expect them.
> 
> ...


In my 220 saloon on a 22 mike commute 20 miles of that motorway. I'm averaging between 54-70mpg.

That's using v power nitro


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Brigham1806 said:


> In my 220 saloon on a 22 mike commute 20 miles of that motorway. I'm averaging between 54-70mpg.
> 
> That's using v power nitro


Same sort of commute as me. Cheers for these figures.

How do you find pulling away, overtaking on motorway etc? On the grin-factor scale, nothing official :thumb:


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## Brigham1806 (Apr 1, 2011)

WP-UK said:


> Same sort of commute as me. Cheers for these figures.
> 
> How do you find pulling away, overtaking on motorway etc? On the grin-factor scale, nothing official :thumb:


Fine, has the extra power when needed. I used to have the 200 & I can tell a big difference between the two.

The 250 is popular as well so that might be worth a look if the 220 isn't powerful enough


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Brigham1806 said:


> Fine, has the extra power when needed. I used to have the 200 & I can tell a big difference between the two.
> 
> The 250 is popular as well so that might be worth a look if the 220 isn't powerful enough


Cheers :thumb: I'm sure the C220 will be enough for me (the most I can afford insurance wise too) and will be a vast improvement on my 116i


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## Exotica (Feb 27, 2006)

I went from BMW to Merc and have the 220CDi . Most reliable car I've had plus it hasn't got the numerous potential problems the BMW diesels have.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Exotica said:


> I went from BMW to Merc and have the 220CDi . Most reliable car I've had plus it hasn't got the numerous potential problems the BMW diesels have.


Good to hear! Cheers for your feedback


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## nichol4s (Jun 16, 2012)

Not a c class but we have a A class 220cdi AMG and IMO it goes really well tried the 200 and it was garbage also tried the 250 petrol and it felt a little lame needed to work it hard to get anything back from it, we had a clc 220cdi too 180k (bought new too) the only issue was an ecu fault this happened 1 week after the warranty finished but Mercedes were great and paid 1/2 the bill.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Reassuring to hear. Thanks! Going to see it again tomorrow morning so fingers crossed


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## knightstemplar (Jun 18, 2010)

Had my E Class 3 month now and it has done 6000 miles and never missed a beat, quality is different class. Saying that the BMW I had before this was 100% reliable for 4 years, only the tyres wearing odd and a wheel cracked.


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

knightstemplar said:


> Had my E Class 3 month now and it has done 6000 miles and never missed a beat, quality is different class. Saying that the BMW I had before this was 100% reliable for 4 years, only the tyres wearing odd and a wheel cracked.


Actually I was surprised how poor the latest E class is in terms of quality. We had a brand new E350 for a few weeks while the BMW was at the repair centre and we both thought it was pretty flimsy. It didn't feel well built at all. Ride was fine, but nothing to shout about. The only nice thing about the Merc was the AMG seats which were great for long drives.


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## Turkleton (Apr 18, 2010)

My dad's run a 61 plate C250 CDI saloon for 65k miles and the proper average has been about 53mpg, it's a nice car to sit and cruise in, the auto box is ok, it shifts down far too much to use the last 400 revs which sounds awful, but it works day to day.

The engine is very agricultural sounding and disappointing for the sort of car it's in, however it's economical and the interior is a nice place to be.

The seats are a bit boring and the handbrake thing is awful but it does the trick.
It doesn't feel half as quick as it's figures make it out to be, 500NM of torque? The auto box hides that massively, and a manual Mercedes just doesn't seem right at all

Exciting/grin factor come nowhere into it. 

For sitting on the motorway to do lots of miles though? It's fine, nice and comfy and quiet, in nearly 3 years there's only been one creak that appeared from the centre console area


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Thanks for sharing your dad's experience. Interesting to hear your thoughts on the engine sound, I listened to a c220 not so long ago and didn't think it sounded too bad in comparison to some of the 3 series etc. to be fair the higher mpg is what I am after, had my fun with exhaust noise on the 1 series running a 130i backbox. 

Good to hear about the interior and lack of creaks. Especially as the 1er rattles and creaks all over.


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## Andpopse (Mar 19, 2009)

I have a cdi 220 Amg sport plus saloon. Its brilliant ! So much so that I am giving consideration to selling my BMW 335i, the Merc has plenty of grunt and they are also tuneable to 250/260 bhp fairly easy. Not yet done that but tempted, that really would be the end of my BMW.
The Becker sat nav module is good in the merc also, if yours has not got it , see it the slot is in the glovebox, if its prewired, you can buy the becker map pilot for around £250 on ebay. Not sure if they prewired the model you are looking at.
Good luck


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Andpopse said:


> I have a cdi 220 Amg sport plus saloon. Its brilliant ! So much so that I am giving consideration to selling my BMW 335i, the Merc has plenty of grunt and they are also tuneable to 250/260 bhp fairly easy. Not yet done that but tempted, that really would be the end of my BMW.
> The Becker sat nav module is good in the merc also, if yours has not got it , see it the slot is in the glovebox, if its prewired, you can buy the becker map pilot for around £250 on ebay. Not sure if they prewired the model you are looking at.
> Good luck


Thanks for the above :thumb:

Great to hear your experience! I must admit I hadn't given tuning it thought for further down the line. It comes with Sat nav, not sure if it is the Becker unit, is that standard or an option?


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Well I went back for the visit today, absolutely loved it and put a deposit down. Collection next Saturday and told them not to valet :lol:


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## steviebabe0 (May 14, 2013)

We've had our c220cdi amg sport plus in black for nearly a year now from new. Overall its ok but prefer my bmw (petrol head at heart not sold on diesels just yet). Only got it for the wife as she was only getting about 20mpg in her bmw. We are getting 39mpg on the merc which is an improvement but not as good as some of the figures others are quoting, this is a true reading from 7k miles to work and back.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Cheers for the above, I can imagine if I don't loose some weight on my right foot the mpg might suffer a bit, I know what you mean about petrol to diesel though, was a strange thing for me to consider as 1 year ago I wouldn't have considered it but having seen the (potential) savings I changed my mind.


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

WP-UK said:


> I wouldn't have considered it but having seen the (potential) savings I changed my mind.


Just watch out for the DPF...


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

SteveyG said:


> Just watch out for the DPF...


I'll have a read up on that, cheers


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Quick photo for anyone who is interested


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## knightstemplar (Jun 18, 2010)

Very nice! Just drove to Aberdeen and averaged 57 mpg from an E250 Cabriolet so think you should see better on a run. By the way I stuck to the speed limit all the 250 miles:thumb:


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

knightstemplar said:


> Very nice! Just drove to Aberdeen and averaged 57 mpg from an E250 Cabriolet so think you should see better on a run. By the way I stuck to the speed limit all the 250 miles:thumb:


Cheers! Sounds promising, I'm sure if I'm gentle on the work run I should see a nice return!


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## Brigham1806 (Apr 1, 2011)

WP-UK said:


> Quick photo for anyone who is interested


Looks great!


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Brigham1806 said:


> Looks great!


Thank you!! This is going to be such a long week waiting for Saturday collection!


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

Iunno whether this is ot or not, but the c180 and c250 petrols, just how much difference is there in mpg to the c220 cdi?

Also, what's your commute like? Get about 28-30mpg out of the zed which isn't too bad, but do like the c series.


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

Looks really nice, I bet you will enjoy it.

Ref longest week in the world, when I bought my car I had to wait 2 weeks...It'll be worth the wait


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

RisingPower said:


> Iunno whether this is ot or not, but the c180 and c250 petrols, just how much difference is there in mpg to the c220 cdi?
> 
> Also, what's your commute like? Get about 28-30mpg out of the zed which isn't too bad, but do like the c series.


I can't comment on the mpg differences personally on those models.

My commute is about 25 miles mostly motorway but during the day I travel all around sometimes in town traffic.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

asonda said:


> Looks really nice, I bet you will enjoy it.
> 
> Ref longest week in the world, when I bought my car I had to wait 2 weeks...It'll be worth the wait


Thank you! 

Ohh bet that was painful! I feel sorry for some people who buy new cars and have months to wait! Thanks I look forward to collection!


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## Exotica (Feb 27, 2006)

Nice looking car. Whatever you think of MB they always produce classy looking cars. Something BMW are lacking with the current design , well for many years recently.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Cheers, yeah I agree some of the newer BMW's really don't do it for me, I personally don't like the newer 3 series design.


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

WP-UK said:


> I can't comment on the mpg differences personally on those models.
> 
> My commute is about 25 miles mostly motorway but during the day I travel all around sometimes in town traffic.


Is that each way or?


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

RisingPower said:


> Is that each way or?


Yeah each way that is


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

WP-UK said:


> Yeah each way that is


Worth having a derv for that? Must say I haven't thought of a derv for 20 miles each way, but a 40ish mpg petrol would be good.

Maybe you do a lot of miles on top of the commute?


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## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

I had a c200 auto as a hire car and it was awful. 
Slow to change gear even in sport mode and just generally horrible and just not my cup of tea.
Once up to cruising speed on the motorway it was okay.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

RisingPower said:


> Worth having a derv for that? Must say I haven't thought of a derv for 20 miles each way, but a 40ish mpg petrol would be good.
> 
> Maybe you do a lot of miles on top of the commute?


Yeah I do a fair amount more on top of that, most of my day is driving around. Will be interesting to see how I get on


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Dannbodge said:


> I had a c200 auto as a hire car and it was awful.
> Slow to change gear even in sport mode and just generally horrible and just not my cup of tea.
> Once up to cruising speed on the motorway it was okay.


That's interesting I found the auto quite prompt, what year was the one you had? Some people prefer manual in general which I understand


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## Exotica (Feb 27, 2006)

Dannbodge said:


> I had a c200 auto as a hire car and it was awful.
> Slow to change gear even in sport mode and just generally horrible and just not my cup of tea.
> Once up to cruising speed on the motorway it was okay.


Should have checked when the transmission oil was done.


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## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

WP-UK said:


> That's interesting I found the auto quite prompt, what year was the one you had? Some people prefer manual in general which I understand


It was either a 10plate or 62plate I can't remember. 
I've driven autos before but this one seemed extra sluggish. Its was like I'd put my foot down and it waould wait......
Then drop a gear.....
Then go faster. By which time I didn't want to go faster.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Ohh doesn't sound right. Not sure if this is a fault that can occur. I'll look into it so if it is I can look out for the warning signs


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## Exotica (Feb 27, 2006)

Exotica said:


> Should have checked when the transmission oil was done.


It's around 48k with Mercs


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Exotica said:


> It's around 48k with Mercs


Will this affect gear change times if not changed?


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## Exotica (Feb 27, 2006)

Like all fluids they will deteriorate over time. 

The possible benefits are Gear changes feel faster/smoother, and pick up is much better.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Exotica said:


> Like all fluids they will deteriorate over time.
> 
> The possible benefits are Gear changes feel faster/smoother, and pick up is much better.


Cheers, all helpful to learn about


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## Exotica (Feb 27, 2006)

WP-UK said:


> Cheers, all helpful to learn about


It will be in your service schedule anyway.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Exotica said:


> It will be in your service schedule anyway.


:thumb:


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## SarahAnn (Apr 6, 2011)

It looks really nice Will :thumb::wave:

More pics when you get it :thumb:


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

SarahAnn said:


> It looks really nice Will :thumb::wave:
> 
> More pics when you get it :thumb:


Thank you  yeah I certainly will!!


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

On a random note does anyone know if the 2011 models have LED number plate lights or halogen? Cheers


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Turns out it does have LED's which is handy. Full payment made today, collection Saturday morning. Going to give her a good spruce up and will get some photos once done! 2 more days..


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## m500dpp (Feb 17, 2006)

Just bought a 10 plate 250 CDI saloon with 23k miles. Fuel consumption so far is just under 50mpg, and I find the longer the journey the better the economy, 74 miles bringing it home resulted in 57 mpg, my typical 27 mile mixed commute gives just on 50.

It is also more economical at 65-70 than 55-60 it seems and the dealer reckons it reprograms itself every 400 miles to suit your driving style, so should get better still.

Love the car its Indigolite blue, light grey leather and has the panoramic roof, its my first auto and its great but I am still at the stage where I have to think about parking and moving off, the footbrake thing isnt very intuitive.

Now here's a tip that will save you £1000! If you buy from a main dealer and take the finance (whether you need it or not) then at the moment you get a £1000 towards the deposit. Under EU law if you then cancel the finance within 14 days you are entitled to settle without any charges being applied at all. So you pocket the £1000 and once you have cancelled the finance you get a further 30 days before you have to settle!!!

(have just done this so yes it is legit, doubt the dealers will like it as they no doubt lose their kick back from the finance!)


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## knightstemplar (Jun 18, 2010)

If you pump the brake pedal twice it goes into hill hold and just press on the gas and off you go. Also if you just have your foot on the brake on a hill it has a slight delay before it will start to roll back after you take your foot off, this is to give you time to move your foot to the:thumb: accelerator and drive away.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Exotica said:


> It's around 48k with Mercs


Have Mercedes changed, I always thought they said the boxes were sealed for life and didn't need changing ? Not that I would do that, i'd have the fluid changed every couple of years.


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## Exotica (Feb 27, 2006)

BMW say sealed for life but this is taken with a pinch of salt. Just look on the BM forums. I don't even think ZF who supply them take that stance.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

m500dpp said:


> Just bought a 10 plate 250 CDI saloon with 23k miles. Fuel consumption so far is just under 50mpg, and I find the longer the journey the better the economy, 74 miles bringing it home resulted in 57 mpg, my typical 27 mile mixed commute gives just on 50.
> 
> It is also more economical at 65-70 than 55-60 it seems and the dealer reckons it reprograms itself every 400 miles to suit your driving style, so should get better still.
> 
> ...


Cheers, sounds like good mpg, interesting to hear it adjusts to your driving style!

That £1000 thing sounds pretty interesting, not sure I could pull it off, knowing my luck something would go wrong :lol:


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

knightstemplar said:


> If you pump the brake pedal twice it goes into hill hold and just press on the gas and off you go. Also if you just have your foot on the brake on a hill it has a slight delay before it will start to roll back after you take your foot off, this is to give you time to move your foot to the:thumb: accelerator and drive away.


Yes, is this the hill assist feature? Sounds like it.

Pretty handy to have!


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

knightstemplar said:


> If you pump the brake pedal twice it goes into hill hold and just press on the gas and off you go. Also if you just have your foot on the brake on a hill it has a slight delay before it will start to roll back after you take your foot off, this is to give you time to move your foot to the:thumb: accelerator and drive away.


It's automatic on all the newish Mercs I've driven. If it detects you're on an incline it applies the brakes for you.

An automatic should never roll back anyway though on a hill.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

SteveyG said:


> It's automatic on all the newish Mercs I've driven. If it detects you're on an incline it applies the brakes for you.
> 
> An automatic should never roll back anyway though on a hill.


These cars get more and more clever :thumb:


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## Exotica (Feb 27, 2006)

You should look at the new S class.


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## knightstemplar (Jun 18, 2010)

SteveyG said:


> It's automatic on all the newish Mercs I've driven. If it detects you're on an incline it applies the brakes for you.
> 
> An automatic should never roll back anyway though on a hill.


Thats on my 2014 E class, it will roll back if you dont use hill hold assist. My BMW's would just hold on hills but if they were steep it would creep back really slowly which was a bit unnerving as you were expecting it to just let go:doublesho


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

knightstemplar said:


> Thats on my 2014 E class, it will roll back if you dont use hill hold assist. My BMW's would just hold on hills but if they were steep it would creep back really slowly which was a bit unnerving as you were expecting it to just let go:doublesho


If it's a 2014, I think I saw something when playing with the menus to use auto hill hold rather than manual as I had a new E350 for four weeks a month ago and the hill hold icon came on by itself when you stopped. (unless it's an optional extra??)


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## Davemm (Mar 9, 2009)

looking to get one of these and have seen one i like, i went to see it and both front headlights had condensation build up, now according to Mercedes this is normal. Has anyone else come across this with theirs ?


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

Davemm said:


> looking to get one of these and have seen one i like, i went to see it and both front headlights had condensation build up, now according to Mercedes this is normal. Has anyone else come across this with theirs ?


Haven't got it on mine and haven't seen it on any of the cars I looked at?! What year was the one you saw


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## Davemm (Mar 9, 2009)

61 plate registered in november 2011 has covered 20k


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