W204 C250 buying advice for a newbie please

cheapshots

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Hi all,

I'm very interested in buying a c250, after driving one and reading lots of reviews - I'm hooked.

I've narrowed it down to two cars:

1) 2012 C250 1.8 BlueEFF AMG Sport, 23k (auto)

2) 2010 C250 1.8 CGI BlueEFF Sport 44k (auto)

I did a lot of reading RE the cosmetic changes with the face-lift in 2011, but have there been any mechanical differences?

A few questions:
- What's the difference between CGI and non- CGI?
- Is it still the M271 engine in both cars?
- I believe the 2010 has the 5G autobox, whilst the 2012 has the 7G. I read that the 5G autobox in the 2010 model is far superior to the 7G auto box, would you agree?

Also, there's a £3000 difference between the two cars, quite a bit of money so I really want to chose wisely !

Any help would be very appreciated

Cheapshots :D
 

JBell

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My father has a 2010 250CGi and loves it. It is a great car with a peach of an engine.

I would go for the later car with the 7g 'box it is superior.

What are the specs? Do they have COMAND and leather?
 
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cheapshots

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Thanks, I thought it was the other way round - with the 5G gearbox being far better. Ahh decisions!

The 2012 car does not have COMAND, comes with leather/cloth seats.
 

malcolm E53 AMG

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It would be useful to have a link to the adverts and if you post the VINs someone will access the spec for you
 
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cheapshots

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2010 C250 1.8 CGI BlueEFF Sport 44k (auto) OV60JXN

2012 C250 1.8 BlueEFF AMG Sport, 23k (auto) LC62PBU

Thanks
 

A.J.

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By the way Cheapshots, welcome to the forum :)
 
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cheapshots

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Thanks for the welcome. Apologies my responses are delayed - it seems a moderator needs to approve all of my posts before they go live.

2012 C250 1.8 BlueEFF AMG Sport, 23k (auto) LC62PBU
VIN : WDD2040472A818034

2010 C250 1.8 CGI BlueEFF Sport 44k (auto) OV60JXN
VIN : WDD2040472A467594
 

Vehementi

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For the C250 (2012), I'd suggest going for the 7G+ gearbox.

The C250 CGI being a 1.8 Petrol isn't exactly economic at 40mpg (by my definition at least), however acceleration is still impressive. Takes a little longer to do 0-60.

Have you considered the C250 CDI? Good acceleration coupled with good economics.
Diesel is more expensive than petrol granted, however it's the argument of 'Short term Investment vs Long term benefits' and with the C250 in 1.8 petrol I have a feeling you will be spending rather a lot on fuel. :)
 

Yugguy

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7g is a better box for driving but 5g has less reported problems.
 
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cheapshots

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7g is a better box for driving but 5g has less reported problems.

This is why i am hesitant to go for the (2012) face-lift model. I fear the 7G autobox!
 
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cheapshots

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Vehementi

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Only other option would be to go for a C180 which is a 1.6 Petrol, Although that has a 6 speed manual gearbox.
 

JBell

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I checked the VIN's too, thanks.

The c250 2010 has the 'bullet proof' 772.6 (5 gear transmission) whilst the c250 2012 has the 772.9 (7 gear transmission), which seems to fail quite regularly:

http://gotaclassaction.com/mercedes...n-the-722-9-7g-tronic-automatic-transmission/

I like the face-lift but don't want the 7 gear transmission

And yet there are hundreds on here (thousands in the UK alone) with that transmission who have had no problems including me
 
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cheapshots

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Point taken. I will give it some serious thought and make a decision. Slightly off-topic here but does anybody know how to identify if a car has the 7G or 7G-plus transmission?

VIN decoders don't distinguish between the two. Apparantly if the car has the Eco stop/start function that means its a 7G-plus but I'm not sure!
 

Vehementi

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Point taken. I will give it some serious thought and make a decision. Slightly off-topic here but does anybody know how to identify if a car has the 7G or 7G-plus transmission?

VIN decoders don't distinguish between the two. Apparantly if the car has the Eco stop/start function that means its a 7G-plus but I'm not sure!

A bit hard to tell without looking at the VIN numbers, but cars from 2003 to 2010 will have the 7G box and 2010 onward will have the 7G+ installed. :)

If it has Eco Stop/Start (like my one), it will be a 7G+

Hope this clears up the difference.
 
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cheapshots

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Thank you Vehementi. Having seen and test driven the 2010 C250 (which I thought was very smooth) I'm going to see the 2012 C250 in a little while. I'll let you all know how I get on.

P.S looking at the VIN, it states it has Eco Start/Stop so I'm guessing its the 7G+
 

JBell

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A bit hard to tell without looking at the VIN numbers, but cars from 2003 to 2010 will have the 7G box and 2010 onward will have the 7G+ installed. :)

Not on the W204, the only pre facelift cars with 7g were the C350CDi and the C63, all others had the 5g 'box
 


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