W202 as a daily commute car

[alim]

Thinking of perhaps getting a W202 as a daily driver for a 40 mile commute. Are these cars 'past it' rust buckets or could I get a few years out of one?

Which is the best engine to get?

Are they generally unreliable/expensive to maintain?

Thank you

 

[television]

They are a very good comfortable car, yes there are some rusty ones around, but equally there are some fine examples, I would opt for a 250td in your case

 

[syncropaddy]

I cant imagine you would find a better example than this one . I have been told they are boring cars but I'm not sure about that!

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

I have had a few of these, my favorite though is what I have at the moment, the C250TD sport estate. Great economy for an old bus, comfy, can overtake when you wind it up, corners well. All in all they are superb and very little to go wrong.

 

[Jay Gee]

All in all,excellent cars. Many years of motoring left in a good 202.Rusty wings are obvious things to watch out for,as well as shiny chrome wheelarch covers.There is also the jacking point rust which will not be obvious.Do a search on here to see the pitfalls.Take your time,get the right one and it will do you well.

 

[drdre78]

I have 202 and it great.only thing I say I have an ealier 202 on with 4 speed box which isn't great on motorway revs to high.it has 175000miles on it and the engine will out live body got rust around arches,

 

[robparker]

My daily driver is my c240, currently just over 230k miles. It has rust here and there, but who cares, doesnt stop the car from working and it means im not paranoid about it getting dinged in carparks etc! Great cars.

 

[Biggles299]

I bought a CLS to replace my 202 estate.
I love the CLS but can't bear to part with the 202 which I am keeping "for the winter" in case it turns really bad.
Not sure what I am going to tell SWMBO in the spring........

 

[Blackie]

My c180 202 is my daily driver, my daily commute to and from work is between 25 - 30miles, only one tiny bit of rust on her despite being a 96 model and having 182, 000. Exhaust is a bit raspy now, but otherwise a comfy smooth big beast, getting a miserly 29.2mpg on average sitting on 17" monoblocks.

 

[as400]

I cant imagine you would find a better example than this one . I have been told they are boring cars but I'm not sure about that!

That looks amazing!

 

[S.Speed]

What a fabulous car in unbelievable condition.
It even made me think silly thoughts !

 

[huey]

What a fabulous car in unbelievable condition.
It even made me think silly thoughts !

+1

 

[grahamcol]

Fantastic cars. I've had 3 and still got 2 of them. As said earlier, some are rust free as is my 1996 C200. See elsewhere under "depreciation" for my post yesterday about this wonderful car. Bit boring in C200 form maybe. But boring is much better than troublesome ! In C280 form it's a very very nice fast refined machine albeit slightly thirsty. A decent 202 comes very highly recommended by me.

 

[alim]

Thank you all for all your advice. Is there a top pick engine to go for, which balances refinement, reliability and economy (although I only do 8-9k miles per annum

 

[television]

Diesel or petrol

 

[alim]

I'm open to suggestions, prefer the refinement if petrol provided economy not appalling - perhaps economy and refinement don't mix

 

[robparker]

A manual c180/200/230 will givearound 35mpg on a run and around 28 in town, an auto will be more like 30 and 24, having owned both myself.
The V6's are nice, but although I have heard claims of 30mpg mines never been over 25mpg, although it also runs well below the correct operating temp (finally got around to ordering a new t-stat today!)

 

[grahamcol]

Well if refinement is required then why not one of the 6 pot versions ? The C240 and C280 V6 engines are great. Very smooth and quiet and, I believe, slightly more economical than the older straight 6 C280. You may as well go for a C280 since the consumption's no worse than the C240 and performance is, obviously, better. I have a C200 and C280 V6. There is a difference in fuel consumption but it's not massive and if your annual mileage is low it won't make a huge difference. Unfortunately the C240's and C280's seem rather rare. Some say the C230k is a good one to go for. However, that's a 4 pot and not as refined. I don't know much about the diesels.

 

[aybracers]

A late (Post mid 1999) C220 CDI is a fantastic weapon if it's been well maintained. It also has the tiptronic 5 speed auto and will do 45mpg all day long.

Sure it rattles a bit when cold but, as long as the thermostat is working,(Known problem on 202's) it warms up quickly for a diesel and pulls well from below 2000rpm.

The joy of the last models of a Mercedes range is that lots of features that were once expensive options become standard like aircon, ESP, electric rear windows, side airbags, adjustable steering column,etc.

 

[television]

A late (Post mid 1999)

The joy of the last models of a Mercedes range is that lots of features that were once expensive options become standard like aircon, ESP, electric rear windows, side airbags, adjustable steering column,etc.

They did that on the 129,,, that makes them super buys