Should I buy a diesel or petrol C class?

Petrol or Diesel for 6k per year user?


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pcb

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I am looking to buy a C class Mercedes and I have a budget of £10k give or take £2k depending on the specification. So far I have looked at the following specs:

Mercedes C180 1.6 Komp BlueEFFICIENCY SE 4dr 2009 - 44,819 miles
Mercedes C200 2.2 CDi SE 4dr 2008 - 76,629 miles

My Annual miles are approx 6k however I plan to keep the car for 10-15 years and I am looking for an automatic not a manual (I could change my mind) since I buying a merc ;)

Should I buy a diesel or a petrol engine and is there a difference in the maximum miles I should look for in these models?

All tips sharing your experience is very welcome..

Thank you..

PcB
 

Frontstep

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Yep diesel, a relative bought the petrol C regretted it.
 

cleverdicky

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Mines petrol and I sometimes wonder if I should have bought a diesel.

And sometimes I don't ;)
 

tode

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I would go for diesel, and also go for the biggest engine that my budget would
allow.
 

Steve@Avantgarde

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Diesel Auto combo all day long for me. I dont have much confidence in the 271 petrol engine regardless of its updates and apart from a few injector issues the diesels are ok.
 

brandwooddixon

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With an annual mileage as low as yours, I'd be wary of a diesel. I would also steer clear of any diesel fitted with a DPF (diesel particulate filter) as you'll find yourself in endless trouble with it as it needs regular periods of high temperature to burn off the soot collected.

In the UK, with the difference in fuel prices and the extra that you'd pay for the diesel car over the petrol I'd say that financially you may even be worse off.

Saying that I'd steer clear of the C180 as you'll find it underpowered compared to the C220 diesel.
 

MBDevotee

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Dreaming of a CL55k - one day maybe....
Do NOT buy a diesel on 6k per year - you will have nothing but nothing but trouble!

Diesels are ONLY significantly more economical when the turbo isn't boosting - ie. steady low motorway cruise (60-70 mph).

They are not brilliant around town - you won't get anything like the quoted MPG's

Also diesels are not proving to be no more reliable than petrol engines but MUCH more expensive to fix when they do.

There are also dual mass flywheels (not sure if they are an issue on Merc's but Ford / Peugeot / Citroen / BMW etc are having dreadful failure problems) DPF's clog up, and generally they are not good for regular short mileages.

Also don't forget you'll pay over £1000 more for a similar spec, similar miles Diesel auto compared to a petrol auto and I doubt you will EVER get that money back purely in fuel alone - if you keep it 15 years then it's resale value at that point will be so small that the only thing that will matter will be it's condition and history - petrol or diesel will be irrelevant.

During this time, you will be running round in something a bit slower, a bit noisier and a lot less pleasant, fooling yourself you are saving money - and the first time the injectors need replacing or the glow plugs, any theoretical fuel saving has gone down the toilet.

I recently switched to diesel from Petrol/LPG and I can assure you it's the last diesel I think I'll buy.

Buy the biggest engine you can - on your miles it won't make much difference in fuel cost but be a much nicer drive.
 
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daveyjp

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A petrol will be far happier doing 100 miles a week and you get a newer model for the money.
 

M80

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Petrol / diesel advantage depends on journey type.
Short journey's - petrol, as diesels don't give economy advantage till fully warmed.

Size of engine depends on power / torque required. If you get a big engine will you use the available power at the cost of the extra fuel used ?
The 2.7 CDI goes against that principle but at £10K I wouldn't expect you to end up with one unless it's a pristine example.
A CDI is nice with the low end torque but London is pretty flat and unless you want the torque for other than sat looking at the bumper in front it may be of little value.

Since you want to keep the car 'if' you will see fuel costs savings with a CDI that will be worthwhile over the years. The theory that you need do significant miles per year to reap the benefits is irrelevant as you gain year on year.

As said diesels are far too complicated now, so more to go wrong, greater cost when they do.
DPF's were an option since 2004. If you choose diesel check and check again that one isn't fitted, they're a ****** nuisance in respects of economy, power, and eventual replacement.
 

Pappilo

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Its always amazing to see how so called knowledgeable car enthusiasts advise punters to buy a diesel when it is obvious that they do not need it. The salesman tried to convince me to buy a diesel even when I had told him I'd be doing maximum 7k miles per year with 80% of my journeys completed in under 15 minures + loads of stop, start journeys under 5 minutes and the occasional 100/200 motorway trips.

I bought the petrol and havent regreted it.
 

MERCSPORT

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A M271 engined car is a sack of unreliable crap. A nice c class diesel need only be considered. 2008 non BE cars don't have DPFs and are amazing cars.

Says who?

Iv had mine for nearly 2 years and apart from maintenance I have not had to pay a penny, its had teething issues when I bought the car but nothing that I had to pay for and nothing that really would need mentioning, If I had bought a diesel car that would also have teething issues, they are USED cars.

The drive on my W204 2007 57 C180k is very impressive for a 1.8 automatic, and I have not regretted buying it at all and will continue to reccomend these engines, yes the MPG isn't great compared to a diesel on a long distance drive but this car is mostly driven around town and probably ends up getting the same figures that a diesel would.

If it was my money, the C180 auto ;)
 

st4

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Says who?

Iv had mine for nearly 2 years and apart from maintenance I have not had to pay a penny, its had teething issues when I bought the car but nothing that I had to pay for and nothing that really would need mentioning, If I had bought a diesel car that would also have teething issues, they are USED cars.

The drive on my W204 2007 57 C180k is very impressive for a 1.8 automatic, and I have not regretted buying it at all and will continue to reccomend these engines, yes the MPG isn't great compared to a diesel on a long distance drive but this car is mostly driven around town and probably ends up getting the same figures that a diesel would.

If it was my money, the C180 auto ;)

There's a lot of documented timing gear issues that relate to that engine. Pales any diesel related issues into insignificance.

Let's post some real facts. A diesel auto doesn't have a DMF.

A 2008 c220 doesn't have a DPF. My one takes about 5mins to warm up. It does 30mpg in town. It's more efficient than any petrol throughout its entire rev range. Why, because diesel fuel has a higher calorific value.

Yes it's louder and less refined but its less of a potential money put than any M27x engine miles faster than a c180 and cheaper to fuel up every other week.
 

whitenemesis

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There's a lot of documented timing gear issues that relate to that engine. Pales any diesel related issues into insignificance.

Let's post some real facts. A diesel auto doesn't have a DMF.

A 2008 c220 doesn't have a DPF. My one takes about 5mins to warm up. It does 30mpg in town. It's more efficient than any petrol throughout its entire rev range. Why, because diesel fuel has a higher calorific value.

Yes it's louder and less refined but its less of a potential money put than any M27x engine miles faster than a c180 and cheaper to fuel up every other week.

Fuel having a higher calorific value doesn't make an engine more efficient. It's how well that engine turns those calories into power...
 

MERCSPORT

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A 2008 c220 doesn't have a DPF. My one takes about 5mins to warm up. It does 30mpg in town.

My 2007 57 C180 takes roughly the same time to warm up, it does around 28 mpg around town, petrol is cheaper than diesel and my car has had no such issue nor does it give the impression of something under-performing.

The C220 is quicker in which case I'd recommend for a low mileage user a c200k, the c220 is a very good car but not really needed for the ops needs. Each to their own I suppose.
 

Mercfirst

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I bought a 2006 C180k (m271 engine) in 2009 with 52,000 miles on the clock. It has now covered over 79,000 miles and has been no trouble whatsoever in that time, only routine services. The engine is certainly powerful enough with excellent acceleration. Having driven diesel cars I can say that I get far more satisfaction from driving a petrol-powered model.
 
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pcb

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  • Thread Starter
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Thank you all very much for you help. It seems that the group is divided I will look for a Petrol Engine with a larger enigne and see the total costs... I will keep the group posted.
 

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