advice buying a cheap old merc - worth it or big mistake?
Discussion
hi all,
I've come in search of advice - due to a recent change of circumstances I'm looking for a new, cheaper car that won't let me down. I'm quite interested in a y2000 C class c180. It's an auto, 3 owners from new, 94,000 miles VOSA certified, FSH. It seems like a decent buy, provided cars of its class aren't money pits. I'm somewhat experienced in buying used cars and know what to look for, in general. E.G, I won't buy it if it's dripping oil, if it drives awfully, it's rusting badly etc.
What I want to ask is: is it worth it, or am I going to be constantly throwing money at it? What are some common issues / telltale signs that this model of car is a lemon if I were to go and view it? What common maintenance does it need to have had / will need soon if I buy it? I don't want to spend much money on it but I am going to at least change the oil and filters, that sort of thing, so don't worry.
What I don't need to be told is: it steers like a boat / it's a slow auto / if you spent just x amount more you could have y / you should go for the kompressor etc. I know it's an older car, I know what I'm getting myself into. I just need people to weigh in on their experiences of this age of a C class, as that's what I have the money for
thanks very much if you can help! I'd love to own an old Merc, but if it isn't sensible, I'll buy a hatchback
I've come in search of advice - due to a recent change of circumstances I'm looking for a new, cheaper car that won't let me down. I'm quite interested in a y2000 C class c180. It's an auto, 3 owners from new, 94,000 miles VOSA certified, FSH. It seems like a decent buy, provided cars of its class aren't money pits. I'm somewhat experienced in buying used cars and know what to look for, in general. E.G, I won't buy it if it's dripping oil, if it drives awfully, it's rusting badly etc.
What I want to ask is: is it worth it, or am I going to be constantly throwing money at it? What are some common issues / telltale signs that this model of car is a lemon if I were to go and view it? What common maintenance does it need to have had / will need soon if I buy it? I don't want to spend much money on it but I am going to at least change the oil and filters, that sort of thing, so don't worry.
What I don't need to be told is: it steers like a boat / it's a slow auto / if you spent just x amount more you could have y / you should go for the kompressor etc. I know it's an older car, I know what I'm getting myself into. I just need people to weigh in on their experiences of this age of a C class, as that's what I have the money for
thanks very much if you can help! I'd love to own an old Merc, but if it isn't sensible, I'll buy a hatchback
I drive an old Merc. I have a 2002 Ml55, which is currently off the road due to electrical issues.
Mercs of this age, around the 2000 year, have rust issues as rust proofing at that time was poor. The car is 20 years old so wire connectors are brittle / weak, rubber pipes are hard and not so flexible, but this is the same for an old car.
How will the car be serviced ? if you are ok with the spanners then cool, but if not then will you be using Merc specialists ? The reason I ask is that you will need to use STAR to diagnose issues.
I love my Merc, had it 5 years and knewn of these issues when buying it. My car has been off the road for 4 weeks, Ive pretty much replaced most of hte modules and have removed the dash looking for loom splits / connector issues. Im £500 in to this issue, which would be far more if I had a dealer / specialist on the case.
Go in eyes open, buy on condition, and puts some coins to one side in readiness. This is pretty much the position of any 2rd hand car.
Good luck.
SBK
Mercs of this age, around the 2000 year, have rust issues as rust proofing at that time was poor. The car is 20 years old so wire connectors are brittle / weak, rubber pipes are hard and not so flexible, but this is the same for an old car.
How will the car be serviced ? if you are ok with the spanners then cool, but if not then will you be using Merc specialists ? The reason I ask is that you will need to use STAR to diagnose issues.
I love my Merc, had it 5 years and knewn of these issues when buying it. My car has been off the road for 4 weeks, Ive pretty much replaced most of hte modules and have removed the dash looking for loom splits / connector issues. Im £500 in to this issue, which would be far more if I had a dealer / specialist on the case.
Go in eyes open, buy on condition, and puts some coins to one side in readiness. This is pretty much the position of any 2rd hand car.
Good luck.
SBK
I've got a 2005 model C Class, so a couple of steps newer so I'm not sure how relevant this is, but I think of it as worthless. The body looks OK on mine as it's galvanised but the subframes are rusting and watch for brake pipes - the rears need the rear suspension and fuel tank dropping to get at although you can bodge around that. A couple of MOTs ago I got an advisory that said "underbody rusty".
Mine is a diesel but I think the petrols have a single chain for the cam and that can iffy.
If you're going to be working on it yourself, Mercs are generally regarded as straightfoward.
If you're serious about it, and haven't looked already, then worth looking (or asking) on one of the UK Merc forums.
Mine is a diesel but I think the petrols have a single chain for the cam and that can iffy.
If you're going to be working on it yourself, Mercs are generally regarded as straightfoward.
If you're serious about it, and haven't looked already, then worth looking (or asking) on one of the UK Merc forums.
I had a 2006 diesel estate model and to be frank, it was bloody brilliant!
It carted myself and my family to all four corners of this fair isle with comfort. I ended up covering 65,000 miles whilst I had it, during which time, apart from servicing costs, the only added expense was a couple of suspension linkages and a set of front discs.
I personally would go for a later post 2004 model with the galvanised body and a better looking interior. The sport or Avant-garde models have proper aluminium trim rather than wood. I would also go for a 220 cdi if you want reliability. I would avoid petrol four pots because of the aforementioned cam chain and pulley issues. Check for black death on diesels but to be honest, I seem to recall that post facelift cars had a slightly different design of injector clamp and black death was less of an issue. Put it this way, I've had three cars with the 220CDi and5 speed auto 'box combination. An E Class, a C-Class and a CLK. Between them, I did about 200,000 miles and never had an issue with any of them.
Avantgardes with the sport package and Sport models post 2004 get flappy paddles, drilled pedals, sporty seats, fat staggered sized wheels and massive drilled, vented front discs. I would argue that these models look far better. The boot is plenty big enough for four people and all of their luggage in the estate. The Avantgarde versions have stiffer suspension and I think they sit slightly lower.
Mine felt pretty well put together and there was no visible rust on the bodywork when I sold it, at 175,000 miles.
I wouldn't be too bothered about buying one with sat nav. It's extremely old fashioned and last time I looked, it was about £220 for the discs to update it. The sound system on the whole is good quality and sounds pretty good.
Comfort wise, It carried my 6;5" frame all the way from Derby to Plymouth on a number of occasions and I was perfectly comfortable.
Parts are surprisingly cheap from places like Autodoc.
My advice would be to look for as late a model as you can find with as low a mileage diesel as you can find. Keep it serviced, use good quality diesel and just enjoy wafting around behind a three pointed star.
Would I have another? Absolutely. But maybe a C32 or C55.
Oh and they look lovely in Jasper Blue.
It carted myself and my family to all four corners of this fair isle with comfort. I ended up covering 65,000 miles whilst I had it, during which time, apart from servicing costs, the only added expense was a couple of suspension linkages and a set of front discs.
I personally would go for a later post 2004 model with the galvanised body and a better looking interior. The sport or Avant-garde models have proper aluminium trim rather than wood. I would also go for a 220 cdi if you want reliability. I would avoid petrol four pots because of the aforementioned cam chain and pulley issues. Check for black death on diesels but to be honest, I seem to recall that post facelift cars had a slightly different design of injector clamp and black death was less of an issue. Put it this way, I've had three cars with the 220CDi and5 speed auto 'box combination. An E Class, a C-Class and a CLK. Between them, I did about 200,000 miles and never had an issue with any of them.
Avantgardes with the sport package and Sport models post 2004 get flappy paddles, drilled pedals, sporty seats, fat staggered sized wheels and massive drilled, vented front discs. I would argue that these models look far better. The boot is plenty big enough for four people and all of their luggage in the estate. The Avantgarde versions have stiffer suspension and I think they sit slightly lower.
Mine felt pretty well put together and there was no visible rust on the bodywork when I sold it, at 175,000 miles.
I wouldn't be too bothered about buying one with sat nav. It's extremely old fashioned and last time I looked, it was about £220 for the discs to update it. The sound system on the whole is good quality and sounds pretty good.
Comfort wise, It carried my 6;5" frame all the way from Derby to Plymouth on a number of occasions and I was perfectly comfortable.
Parts are surprisingly cheap from places like Autodoc.
My advice would be to look for as late a model as you can find with as low a mileage diesel as you can find. Keep it serviced, use good quality diesel and just enjoy wafting around behind a three pointed star.
Would I have another? Absolutely. But maybe a C32 or C55.
Oh and they look lovely in Jasper Blue.
Edited by Derventio on Friday 13th November 12:39
I know it's not a merc, however my Rover 75 has done 160,000 and is an 04 plate.
This year it had a stupid bill of £1800, however this was my choice to get everything sorted on it.
To me, the question isn't cost, it's value.
Some would argue £1800 on a 16 year old car (Rover or Merc) is daft.
However to me, as a one family owned car, this is still much cheaper than the PCP or depreciation on a newer car.
I say do it, but plan for some bills which other people (those spending £300-£400 a month on a new car) will think are stupid!
This year it had a stupid bill of £1800, however this was my choice to get everything sorted on it.
To me, the question isn't cost, it's value.
Some would argue £1800 on a 16 year old car (Rover or Merc) is daft.
However to me, as a one family owned car, this is still much cheaper than the PCP or depreciation on a newer car.
I say do it, but plan for some bills which other people (those spending £300-£400 a month on a new car) will think are stupid!
Year 2000 could be the last of the W202s or first of the W203s (like the lovely blue estate above) - worth knowing which it is.
I had a 2005 W203 estate inspected by a specialist recently, verdict was don't touch it with a bargepole.
Worst issue on this example was rust of the rear subframe and behind it (as mentioned) - someone on here paid £3500 to sort similar.
Also slightly rusty rear arches.
Headlights had condensation - new ones are expensive
On startup, there was a noticeable clicking noise from behind the dash. This is a common fault and means one of the stepper motors that controls the ventilation flaps has got stuck. Dash-out job to fix so expensive.
Apart from all the issues I thought the car was nice to drive, comfortable, nicely compact yet practical inside.
IMO the rust issues around the rear subframe, even on post-03 galvanised cars, are common enough that I'd recommend a specialist pre-purchase inspection before buying - unless it's cheap enough that you're happy to accept that it might only last you the length of its current MoT.
However if you find one in decent condition I think it would be fine - check the issues specific to the specific engine variant you're looking at, but beyond that I don't think there are any major flaws and I think they're nice enough to be worth the bills that any old car will throw up.
Personally I'm still seeking a good condition C55 estate
I had a 2005 W203 estate inspected by a specialist recently, verdict was don't touch it with a bargepole.
Worst issue on this example was rust of the rear subframe and behind it (as mentioned) - someone on here paid £3500 to sort similar.
Also slightly rusty rear arches.
Headlights had condensation - new ones are expensive
On startup, there was a noticeable clicking noise from behind the dash. This is a common fault and means one of the stepper motors that controls the ventilation flaps has got stuck. Dash-out job to fix so expensive.
Apart from all the issues I thought the car was nice to drive, comfortable, nicely compact yet practical inside.
IMO the rust issues around the rear subframe, even on post-03 galvanised cars, are common enough that I'd recommend a specialist pre-purchase inspection before buying - unless it's cheap enough that you're happy to accept that it might only last you the length of its current MoT.
However if you find one in decent condition I think it would be fine - check the issues specific to the specific engine variant you're looking at, but beyond that I don't think there are any major flaws and I think they're nice enough to be worth the bills that any old car will throw up.
Personally I'm still seeking a good condition C55 estate
samoht said:
Year 2000 could be the last of the W202s or first of the W203s (like the lovely blue estate above) - worth knowing which it is.
Personally I'm still seeking a good condition C55 estate
Wish I could find a C55 estate in the same colour as my C220 cdi, shown above.Personally I'm still seeking a good condition C55 estate
Sheepshanks said:
I must say that the MOT history on that ^ car is fantastically better than mine! And I've had it since it was 5mths old, it's done 95K (mostly a couple of 400 mile trips per month) and it's been 'meticulously' maintained.
I think I bough mine right. It was well looked after throughout it's life. Hence why I had absolutely no issues....scratch that. I did have a small issue with a stuck guide pin on one of the front calipers. Edited by Derventio on Friday 13th November 17:56
hebdenwill, If you can find one that doesn't have any of these issue, get it bought and look after it. They really aren't a bad motor.
Incidentally, the best of the petrols in the older C320 with the 3.2 M112 engine. It's not massively powerful compared to modern engines of a similar capacity but it is incredibly smooth, reliable and sounds quite nice. If you are really lucky, you might find a few post facelift cars with this engine in. These are the real "Goldilocks" cars.
Edited by Derventio on Friday 13th November 18:00
A few months ago I was asked by a friend of my wife if I would help her sell her late husband's 02 C180.
It was tidy inside, had good tyres, 90k miles,full service history, 6 months MOT and drove really well. But, it was shockingly rusty. All four wheelarches and the bottoms of the doors had bubbled through and you could probably have pushed your fingers through some of them. As it had been ultra reliable and was nice to ride in, she was disappointed when I told to sell it to the first person offering £500.
It took a few weeks to shift for £400. Shame to see a nice car so rusty.
It was tidy inside, had good tyres, 90k miles,full service history, 6 months MOT and drove really well. But, it was shockingly rusty. All four wheelarches and the bottoms of the doors had bubbled through and you could probably have pushed your fingers through some of them. As it had been ultra reliable and was nice to ride in, she was disappointed when I told to sell it to the first person offering £500.
It took a few weeks to shift for £400. Shame to see a nice car so rusty.
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