Buying my fist MB any advice welcome?

[MVP]

Hello All,

I am new to the forum and to MB, I am about to trade in my current car for a 2003 C180 Kompressor 1.8 auto Classic. (Estate)

I have never owned a MB so this will be my first so I would appreciate some advice on what I should be checking prior to purchasing this car.

It's from a dealer I know well (not a MB dealer) and have purchased from them in the past.

It's done 85K warrantied miles, full service history (mostly main dealer) but the dealer I am buying from has done the last 2 services.

I've been for a test drive in it last week, interior is immaculate not a blemish anywhere, however the exterior is looking a little tired, one of the rear passenger doors has clearly had a repair at some point but you can see through the silver paintwork to the filler.... it's been done on the cheap.... however the dealer has said they will rectify this and any other blemish on the car so it's as spotless as the inside.

Now when I started it up it had little or no fuel in it and was on reserve fuel, however it did sound a little rough on revs and coughed a bit but after a few mins it was fine, I suspect it has been sitting in stock for a little while and is ready for a good service and change of plugs which again the dealer said they would do. There was some white smoke from the exsahst but it was a very cold and damp day and wasn't dense smoke just looked like the warm fumes reacting to cold air.

Auto box was perfect, nice and slick not thumps of any kind, drove very well, brakes were a little soft but they did stop I just felt I had to push a bit harder than I usually do.

Overall a nice car bearing in mind it's almost 9 years old, they have offered it to me for £3800. which is a reduction from the £4000. they originally wanted.

I'll get a 3 month warranty with it too.

Any thoughts? should I be looking for anything else on it before I do any deals or look at any of the things I noticed above in more detail? I'm going for a second drive next week with my wife and will be looking to put down a deposit.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[avro]

i have virtually the same car c200 2002 auto estate.
i had the same problems as your self when buying the car in that it had been sitting with a dead battery on the test drive the auto was slow to change and quite a lot of fault codes came up.
but i was able to get the dealer to drop the price a little and gave him time to get it sorted which he did by taking it to a local MB dealer (all cost to him) which supplied a new battery and cleared the faults (i have a copy of the bill) .
when i picked up the car it felt totaly differnt i have had the car about 2 years now and have been on the whole very pleased with it.
only issue i have is the battle with some small rust areas around the wheel arches.
hope you enjoy the car and do as i have done find a very good local independant MB specialist.
mark

 

[MVP]

Thank you Mark,

Yes apparently the earlier 2001-2003 models did suffer with bodywork issues and this has a bit of rust around one of the wheel arches too which he assured me would put right along with any other blemishes.

What should I be paying for on servicing? is there anything unique about MB that a mechanic will need to know to do a proper job? I am around the corner from an independent MB, BMW and Audio specialist so my first port of call would be them, I won't go to a main MB dealer as we dont have any locally and they tend to be steep cost wise....


James.

 

[Troon]

I guess it depends how much you want your next car to be an MB. You're buying what is effectively their budget model at that time — although note I've never been in a C-Class, so I'm not well placed to comment. However, for that money, you could get a newer Mondeo estate (looks for "BAN?" smiley, but that's on the "other side") or similar, which is an equivalent sized car. Might be worth a look.

I've come the other way, from a Mondeo hatch to an E estate because I needed the space and didn't want a big MPV. Sure, the E is a much "nicer" car (more comfort, toys and power, and I love the auto box), but not better in any essential functional way other than the size.

 

[Bolide]

A chap I see in my local deli has a 2002 SAAB Aero estate. Now worth diddly-squat. His mate with a 2004 SAAB can't get £1000 for it

The C180 sounds too expensive to me and it'll be worth half what you pay for it within a year

I can't see anything a C180 Estate will do a Focus Estate won't do better for less than half the price

Nick Froome

 

[BIGCJL]

A chap I see in my local deli has a 2002 SAAB Aero estate. Now worth diddly-squat. His mate with a 2004 SAAB can't get £1000 for it

The C180 sounds too expensive to me and it'll be worth half what you pay for it within a year

I can't see anything a C180 Estate will do a Focus Estate won't do better for less than half the price

Nick Froome

You cannot compare a Saab (depreciation dependant on how much fuel is in the car) against a mercedes. They are not like for like cars. I'd suggest if the "dealer" said he was happy to knock a couple of hundred off, a bit of serious haggling would knock much more off, though its all relative, if the buyer is happy then he is going to pay, end off.

As for the Focus Estate quote, again, perhaps it will be cheaper (for a similar aged car), but its smaller, and if you only end up buying it because its cheaper why not look for a mid 90's Lada Riva ?

 

[MVP]

Thanks All,

I appreciate the debates about Ford and Saab... I do understand that if I was simply looking for a cheap practical car then the Mondeo estate or even a Toyota Avensis estate of which I have had up until recently an 06 plate... is probably better value, however thats not why I'm buying it...

I just fancy having a Mercedes C Class estate of that shape; this one is the right price (having shopped around) and the right trim and colour and it's interior is mint, you would think it's just come out the showroom plus he's a dealer I can trust will do what he says.. it ticks all the right boxes and with a car of this age I don't mind getting my hands dirty a little to keep cost down.

I just wanted to see if anyone had any tips on what faults to look out for on this specific model while I'm looking at it as oppose to debating what other cars are possibly better value for the money.

I took the C class for another test drive today and noticed a very slight whine in the lower gears... it was very quiet but audible just the same.... I wasn't sure if it was normal for this model or a potential problem.... I have to stress I am an sound engineer so my ears are very sensitive and this was very quiet but still there.

Anyone shed any light on this at all?

Thanks.