C200 CDi Sports Coupe Evo Panarama

[QuietLeni]

Dear All,

I confess... I am not an MB owner yet, but I am interested in buying the above car. I am not sure how to go. I currently drive a rapidly aging (but extremely frugal - 60-66mpg) Ford Mondeo 1.8TDi (with 156k miles), but would like to trade up to a C200 - I hear that this is very frugal itself.

There are several issues:

I quite like the Evo Panarama Pack, because I like the leather, metallic paint and sunroof (essential, as I feel claustrophic otherwise) and suspension. Is this a wise choice and what other extras would be essential in the spec. of the car to prevent my car being a leper later on?

I am bewildered by the number of "cheap deals" that I can see on the Internet (I think that they are just fronts for someone else) and am not sure where to get my dream car! Am I right and/or where do I go, can anyone tell me?

I like Manual and have never owned an Auto before, but I am told that one should NEVER buy a Manual MB EVER! Why?

I drive on average 25k miles a year. How much will this depreciate the car over 3 years?

I drive on average 100 miles per journey on motorways (usually 200 to 300 miles) (yes, I am serious), will this extend the servicing periods or will I keep the car in the shop for half of its life?

With the above in mind, what sort of money should I expect to pay for servicing over a year?

I like the rubanite, but have not seen many cars with this colour, why?

I went into a stealership and they suggested that I would have to pay circa 700 pounds all in per month for 3 years for the pleasure of owning this Baby MB - are they joking?

As you can see, I am still looking and would like to be in the MB Club for real, but am hesitant. Thanks.

Regards,


QuietLeni

 

[jberks]

Ok, the first thing is, have you driven the 200cdi?. My view of this engine is that it is there to sell up from as personally I was surprised how little power it had compared to the 220CDI. It is more frugal but I felt that at motorway speeds it didn't even have enough power to keep me out of trouble.

Merc autos are brilliant and traditionally what you say is true, but the manuals are pretty good now and the 'rule' was really from the days when they only made big stuff. I would still argue that a manual SL or E would be a mistake, but a manual C coupe should be fine.

Where it comes from doesn't matter, provided it is a UK spec car with 3 year warranty and the firm you are buying from doesn't rip you off (put their name into google and look for scam references). I can't comment on depreciation but the best way to tell is to go onto autotrader and MB web sites and price current 3 year old 75k ones. Just remember to allow for the dealers profit so if its up at £10k you'll not see more than 7 on a trade in.

The servicing intervals are an oddity. They seem to have more to do with the quality of the oil used than the driving style in my experience. I used fully synthetic on my old E240 and saw a 17k interval. My E270CDI is stubbornly sticking to 10k despite the same 95 mile daily commute. Next time I will insist on better oil and see what happens.

The servicing costs are partially optional. Manufacturers can no longer insist on you having a dealer service your car, so provided its done to MB spec, your warranty stands. Clearly your C200 would be cheaper but I just had a quote of 'around £550' from the dealer and 'between £170 and £329' from an independent Mercedes specialist. So, they can be run for sensible, though admittedly not Ford, money. I wasn't able to make 'all in' costs add up. Be aware that after 2 years the Mobilio warranty dies if its not serviced at the dealer, but thats really just breakdown cover and the savings cover that several times over.

I say this to most people considering new mercs. Why? They are pretty well made and the styling doesn't change every 5 mins like Fords and Hondas, so there really isn't any reason to buy new (again IMO). A 12 month fully comprehensive warranty to kick in once the manufacturer's ends cost me £650 (on a much bigger car) so warranty isn't a valid argument either. There are plenty of 6-12 month old c coupes around with the kind of spec you'd want, but with at least the extras depreciated down to nothing. I saved over £11,000 on my car, just by buying it at 11 months instead of new. They say mercs have good resale values and it's true, but the extras are extremely expensive and are worth nothing on trade in. (my car has over £9k worth of 'extras' though many things that I consider essential, - co-incidence? - I doubt it!)

My advice would be to buy a 12 month old C220cdi evo with a good spec, 3 years warranty and maintain it at an independent specialist. That way you get a better Merc and run it for less.
Just my view obviously.

 

[niva441]

Just to add to jberks comment on auto / manual. Try a manual and see how you get on with the foot operated parking brake.