Auction gamble Merc C Class wagon
Discussion
I really ought to introduce myself on the shed thread with this one. For my daily use (I don’t take my main car out in crappy weather etc) I did have an Alfa 159 wagon - gorgeous looking thing but despite fastidious care it was staring to look tatty and corrode. It had to go.
I borrowed a mates BCA account and saw this facelifted 2012 C class estate - a C200 CDi SE manual. It had 197k on the clock but it looked clean enough and the (worthless really) BCA “essential” report was all green.
So I took a punt and won it for £900 (just over £1100 with fees).
So I packed a rucksack with a few essential tools, code reader etc and caught the train up to Edinburgh and a tram to BCA near the airport. It turned out that I didn’t need anything - it was all pretty well spot on. It’s the SE spec so no big fancy alloys, just little 16” ones, no AMG kit etc. It is in a colour called Albandine Grey, which was a special option, and looks sort of green (goes with the slightly green windows) and I couldn’t tell how nice it would look til later. No sunroof - plus point.
Everything works, remote power tailgate, dual zone climate, power seats (heated). It has the newer modern dash too, being a facelift. Parking sensors front and rear too.
The collection pic…
The interior was a surprise - no real bolster wear or wear on the gear shift gaiter. Goodyear tyres. New front discs and pads. Bosch wiper blades. 11 months MOT. It said there was no history but when I opened the glove box it was crammed with paperwork - every service and invoice from new - two services a year. A bit of detective work showed that the owner had been tooling up and down between Bury St Edmunds and Ballantrae in Ayrshire.
So I drive it back home to Rossendale in Lancashire - 65mpg. Get in.
Over the next few weeks I treated it to quite a lot of TLC and new parts. It’s had a mega detailing, swapped the blimey grille and sticking up Merc bonnet star for a flat sports jobbie off eBay (genuine), new rear discs, pads and handbrake shoes, new rear shocks (didn’t really need), new ARB links all round, a control arm on the front, a wheel bearing, an exhaust flexi, oil and filter (oe) and a few other bits and bats. The car was equipped with the slot for a Becker navpilot - you can now get a wireless CarPlay unit for that now, so got one of those. And I fitted a towbar (this is after all our tip and DIY chariot).
It’s come up like a new pin - I cannot believe the PO managed to get a car up to that mileage and there are no parking dings and very little in the way of marks at all. Quite a feat.
Overall I’m over the moon with it - it looks really smart, is mega frugal, VED £160, it doesn’t have a single knock or rattle, doesn’t appear to burn oil. Great little estate. It probably stands me at £2000 or so all in including the towbar and CarPlay unit, but I have gone a bit mad getting it just right and it won’t need touching for a long while, hopefully.
A few pics…
I borrowed a mates BCA account and saw this facelifted 2012 C class estate - a C200 CDi SE manual. It had 197k on the clock but it looked clean enough and the (worthless really) BCA “essential” report was all green.
So I took a punt and won it for £900 (just over £1100 with fees).
So I packed a rucksack with a few essential tools, code reader etc and caught the train up to Edinburgh and a tram to BCA near the airport. It turned out that I didn’t need anything - it was all pretty well spot on. It’s the SE spec so no big fancy alloys, just little 16” ones, no AMG kit etc. It is in a colour called Albandine Grey, which was a special option, and looks sort of green (goes with the slightly green windows) and I couldn’t tell how nice it would look til later. No sunroof - plus point.
Everything works, remote power tailgate, dual zone climate, power seats (heated). It has the newer modern dash too, being a facelift. Parking sensors front and rear too.
The collection pic…
The interior was a surprise - no real bolster wear or wear on the gear shift gaiter. Goodyear tyres. New front discs and pads. Bosch wiper blades. 11 months MOT. It said there was no history but when I opened the glove box it was crammed with paperwork - every service and invoice from new - two services a year. A bit of detective work showed that the owner had been tooling up and down between Bury St Edmunds and Ballantrae in Ayrshire.
So I drive it back home to Rossendale in Lancashire - 65mpg. Get in.
Over the next few weeks I treated it to quite a lot of TLC and new parts. It’s had a mega detailing, swapped the blimey grille and sticking up Merc bonnet star for a flat sports jobbie off eBay (genuine), new rear discs, pads and handbrake shoes, new rear shocks (didn’t really need), new ARB links all round, a control arm on the front, a wheel bearing, an exhaust flexi, oil and filter (oe) and a few other bits and bats. The car was equipped with the slot for a Becker navpilot - you can now get a wireless CarPlay unit for that now, so got one of those. And I fitted a towbar (this is after all our tip and DIY chariot).
It’s come up like a new pin - I cannot believe the PO managed to get a car up to that mileage and there are no parking dings and very little in the way of marks at all. Quite a feat.
Overall I’m over the moon with it - it looks really smart, is mega frugal, VED £160, it doesn’t have a single knock or rattle, doesn’t appear to burn oil. Great little estate. It probably stands me at £2000 or so all in including the towbar and CarPlay unit, but I have gone a bit mad getting it just right and it won’t need touching for a long while, hopefully.
A few pics…
bishop finger said:
Get the rear sub frame checked
Yep - done that. I was half disappointed that it’s ok as a new one FOC from MB would have been niceconanius said:
This appears to be absolutely excellent. It's amazing what a difference having an oem look CarPlay makes to interiors.
The ability to upgrade to CarPlay - either with some form of addon box (or module like this) or a total headunit change is a prerequisite for me. Both the previous shed 159 and Mrs DS’s SLK have double DIN units with all the correct trim etc. Mercs of this era with the Audio 20 have the simplest solution ever - there’s a slot in the glovebox for a Becker Nav Pilot module, which is about the size of a fag packet. Just stick it in. Now you can get these CarPlay/android auto modules that fit in the same slot. Wireless too.
The inability to upgrade the head unit was a total killer really for Volvos. We like Volvos but they all have those “waterfall” dash consoles - they look trick but you can’t do anything with them.
Just got rid of same car, only automatic and in black. Super comfortable and functional. Best ever I saw was 57mpg. Took it from 110k to 165 in three and a bit years.
Only when it got stranded by steering column computer failure, listen out for an odd (or no) noise when inserting the key, I thought it time to change.
Only when it got stranded by steering column computer failure, listen out for an odd (or no) noise when inserting the key, I thought it time to change.
Alfahorn said:
They looks like a great car for daily chores, trips to Sainsburys and the tip etc. Good work!
I had a previous era, 2005 model C270CDi estate, for 16 yrs - I’m not sure how similar the engines etc are but mine needed a decent run to warm up. I used to take my wife to work sometimes so a slowish 10 mile round trip and on a cold day the temp gauge would only just be moving at the end of it. I mainly used it for long work trips - at 20 miles to the motorway I reckon it was just about warmed through by the time it got there.The electric block heater on mine was great but took so much power it only works when the car is moving, but it blows warm air within a few hundred yards.
Dog Star said:
Sheepshanks said:
The electric block heater on mine was great but took so much power it only works when the car is moving, but it blows warm air within a few hundred yards.
This is something I’ve noticed - it seems to start blowing warm air very quickly, is that something special?Some newer Mercs have PTC heaters in the heater airflow so they really are almost instant - like turning a hairdryer on.
On the Merc I had the block heater had to be enabled in the cluster computer and then it worked if the outside temp was below 8C. Maybe there was some link with a/c button being on or off - I forget now.
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