2nd Hand C350e Estate - Good or Bad Idea

[innocuous]

Hi all,

Looking to change my car as my Car is not ULEZ compliant and the ULEZ extension is 2 minutes down the road from me. I'm trying to find a nice family car and noticed the C350e is coming up on auto trader as a good contender. We mainly do small trips back and forth to school (sub ~8 mile round trip) but we need a car that can handle long drives for holidays and seeing friends/family at weekends - seems like we would mostly be using the electric motor, and then dipping into petrol when needed.

I see lots of issues talked about with the Merc Hybrids, but realistically I see lots of issues talked about on all car forums....after all when things are going well, what is there to talk about! So my question is, what is everyone's experience with the car. I'm likely looking at a 2017/2018 model, and am even considering a higher mileage (90,000 miles) than I might otherwise given that the mileage will be somewhat split between the two drive trains and we likely only do 6k miles a year which would bring the car back into 'normal' mileage for its age.

Is the main issue that when something goes wrong, the fault finding is a nightmare? Dealers for all cars are renowned for changing more parts than necessary, but here I am concerned that the average non-dealer likely has little experience with the electrical side of the cars?

Would love to hear your thoughts.

J

 

[Blobcat]

Hello and welcome,

Hybrids are great for low BIK tax, that is all. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to get your school run on battery and you’ll be carrying around a heavy battery for no reason most of the time.
I’d look for a petrol only version

 

[s5tuart]

Unless the car has been well looked after by an enthusiast or a GOOD Indie 100,000 miles is the stage where a lot of stuff needs replacing IMHO.

 

[Larkone]

Unless the car has been well looked after by an enthusiast or a GOOD Indie 100,000 miles is the stage where a lot of stuff needs replacing IMHO.

Nothing special about 100K miles - it's just a number

 

[s5tuart]

Nothing special about 100K miles - it's just a number

I'd prefer to buy a car with 50K miles than 100K miles...

 

[EmilysDad]

Unless the car has been well looked after by an enthusiast or a GOOD Indie 100,000 miles is the stage where a lot of stuff needs replacing IMHO.

I've had 3 cars that I bought at around 100 000 miles ..... 2x 3.0 Senators & a 3.0 Omega, all taken to the best part of 200k with no major problems

 

[LostKiwi]

I've had 3 cars that I bought at around 100 000 miles ..... 2x 3.0 Senators & a 3.0 Omega, all taken to the best part of 200k with no major problems

Ditto. That's my preferred buying point as it's largely done it's depreciation and aside from consumables still has loads of life left.

The most troublesome car I bought had 60k miles and was a complete nightmare (Saab 9-3).
Our old 210 had 96k and ran through to 167k with only a cracked radiator, A/C compressor and two rear suspension spheres. It was rust that killed it as otherwise it drove beautifully.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

My advice - if you buy one buy it from MB and keep it under their warranty - if they go wrong the bills can be eye watering.
Sorry to sound a bit sour on this but hybrids can be problematic especially that generation

 

[00slk]

Ditto. That's my preferred buying point as it's largely done it's depreciation and aside from consumables still has loads of life left.

The most troublesome car I bought had 60k miles and was a complete nightmare (Saab 9-3).
Our old 210 had 96k and ran through to 167k with only a cracked radiator, A/C compressor and two rear suspension spheres. It was rust that killed it as otherwise it drove beautifully.

Totally agree there, 60,000ml VW Golf, never again, 64,000ml Triumph 2000, steering suspension, gearbox to name a few things replaced. To name a few cars. Unless it is a Mercedes then mileage means nothing. As long as it wasn't assembled on Friday afternoon on pay day!!!

 

[grayb]

To be fair, some of the examples quoted by our friends here - Triumph 2000, Senators & Omegas, Saab 9-3 - are all cars from a long time ago. Are they really relevant to the discussion of the longevity of a modern car?