C350 CDI 231 vs 264

Capra

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Is there much difference between the two engines, it looks like the 254bhp version comes with the 7G gear box, not sure about the 231 engine. Is the 7G version a better car overall? Do the 7G come with the paddle shifts?
 

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Is there much difference between the two engines

Was a facelift upgrade

it looks like the 254bhp version comes with the 7G gear box, not sure about the 231 engine. Is the 7G version a better car overall?

They both have 7g 'box, I think the later engine has the 7g+

Do the 7G come with the paddle shifts?

Yes, you can also use the gear stick to change by pushing it left or right


I have the 231bhp engine mapped to 300bhp, utterly brilliant
 
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Was a facelift upgrade



They both have 7g 'box, I think the later engine has the 7g+



Yes, you can also use the gear stick to change by pushing it left or right


I have the 231bhp engine mapped to 300bhp, utterly brilliant
How efficient are these for town driving, I know diesels are not great. If you could give me an example of running costs i.e. tax, tyres that would be helpful? My wife wants me to buy something practical and cheap to run!!
 

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How efficient are these for town driving, I know diesels are not great.

They are fine, you will need to do a run every now and then, they do self regenerate so clean themselves out


2010 C350CDi £230


I have Uniroyal Rain Sport 3 all round and they are about £300 a set

My wife wants me to buy something practical and cheap to run!!

The estate is very practical, mercs are not "cheap" to run but well worth it
 
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They are fine, you will need to do a run every now and then, they do self regenerate so clean themselves out



2010 C350CDi £230



I have Uniroyal Rain Sport 3 all round and they are about £300 a set



The estate is very practical, mercs are not "cheap" to run but well worth it
That not too bad really. The tyres are cheaper than I thought they would be? When you say mercs are not cheap to run, is this to do with repair costs? I was looking around at BMW and AUDI before, I cannot imagine that they are any cheaper??
 

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That not too bad really. The tyres are cheaper than I thought they would be?

They are good value

When you say mercs are not cheap to run, is this to do with repair costs?

Yup

I was looking around at BMW and AUDI before, I cannot imagine that they are any cheaper??

Comparable prices, find a good independent Merc Garage, will save you a fortune
 

malcolm E53 AMG

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Regarding running costs you are buying a premium brand so costs can be high especially if you know very little about cars and use franchised dealers to do the servicing. If you are prepared to learn about the cars (the forum is a good place for that) do some of the the servicing yourself but above all find a good MB Independent costs can be reduced substantially.

To calm the marital waters it might be better to include you other half on what costs will be and include her on the journey

Above all don’t think you will get away running costs compared to a Toyota or Ford so always keep a contingency for the unexpected.

The 4 cylinder engines will be cheaper in every respect but if you can afford the slighty higher premium of running a V6 642 engine is the one to buy it is very refined for a diesel
 
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Thanks
Regarding running costs you are buying a premium brand so costs can be high especially if you know very little about cars and use franchised dealers to do the servicing. If you are prepared to learn about the cars (the forum is a good place for that) do some of the the servicing yourself but above all find a good MB Independent costs can be reduced substantially.

To calm the marital waters it might be better to include you other half on what costs will be and include her on the journey

Above all don’t think you will get away running costs compared to a Toyota or Ford so always keep a contingency for the unexpected.

The 4 cylinder engines will be cheaper in every respect but if you can afford the slighty higher premium of running a V6 642 engine is the one to buy it is very refined for a diesel
Thanks Malcolm. I can be hands on if needed, used to do basic servicing myself when I was in my 20's, oil, filter, plugs, air filter. But that is really it. The only hurdle for me to jump is the insurance, ex company car, and because of history cannot even show a clean background.
 

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You’ll get slapped about with insurance premiums then no matter what car you buy. One idea here is for your Mrs to insure it with you as a named driver. That’s what we do (just t’other way around) and it reduces insurance by several hundred a year.

In re. running costs, the 3 litre vs 2 litre engines have around 5-7mpg in it. That’s a difference of ~5p per mile or £600 per year over 12k miles.

For repairs and maintenance, there’s nothing in it between MB, Audi or BMW. Parts costs are similar, servicing ditto. It really comes down to personal preference. MBs tend towards a driving style that emphasises easy waftiness, lazy power with loads of torque. They’re not road rockets or boy racer- mobiles (unless you look at A Class) but instead, high end luxury premium cars that sit at the top end of their markets. If you want a driver: car connected feel, buy a BMW. These cars instead will allow you to drive from Dover to the South of France without noticing it.
 
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You’ll get slapped about with insurance premiums then no matter what car you buy. One idea here is for your Mrs to insure it with you as a named driver. That’s what we do (just t’other way around) and it reduces insurance by several hundred a year.

In re. running costs, the 3 litre vs 2 litre engines have around 5-7mpg in it. That’s a difference of ~5p per mile or £600 per year over 12k miles.

For repairs and maintenance, there’s nothing in it between MB, Audi or BMW. Parts costs are similar, servicing ditto. It really comes down to personal preference. MBs tend towards a driving style that emphasises easy waftiness, lazy power with loads of torque. They’re not road rockets or boy racer- mobiles (unless you look at A Class) but instead, high end luxury premium cars that sit at the top end of their markets. If you want a driver: car connected feel, buy a BMW. These cars instead will allow you to drive from Dover to the South of France without noticing it.
Great advise and information thanks. Because I'm required to have a policy for work that includes business travel I don't think me being a named driver will work! I might just have to buy something cheap for the first year and see what happens. I just can't afford to pay £750 on something.
 

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That’s ok. It costs around £70 per annum to have a policy upgraded to Business use from SDP&C.

If you don’t mind me saying so you’re approaching this in an arsey-versey way.

You already have your capital budget of £16k. That’s great and gives you a big selection of cars.

You then need to work out how much you can afford on a monthly basis for your running costs. Fuel, maintenance/ servicing, tax, insurance. For me that budget works out to around £300-350/mth per car.

Then you need to look at a number of harder- to- quantify things. How do you prioritise safety, comfort, stress reduction behind the wheel? For me I spend two hours every day driving to & from work and I’ll be damned if I’ll do that while uncomfy, or getting ****y about the beeps and boops the car makes (yes Peugeot I’m looking at you). That will help you think about what sort of car you should look for.

You then start looking for cars that meet your financial and personal criteria. I gravitated towards the E class for our familywagen because they’re big, comfy, safe, handle well in most conditions and are surprisingly affordable to run. My colleague went for a Golf Mk.3 for his own reasons- cheap, cheap, can maintain at home and doesn’t care about comfort on his drive in.
 

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When you say you can’t afford to pay £750 for something, do you mean in a lump sum? Instead of say £80/mth?
 
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When you say you can’t afford to pay £750 for something, do you mean in a lump sum? Instead of say £80/mth?
That was a figure based on monthly payments.
 
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That’s ok. It costs around £70 per annum to have a policy upgraded to Business use from SDP&C.

If you don’t mind me saying so you’re approaching this in an arsey-versey way.

You already have your capital budget of £16k. That’s great and gives you a big selection of cars.

You then need to work out how much you can afford on a monthly basis for your running costs. Fuel, maintenance/ servicing, tax, insurance. For me that budget works out to around £300-350/mth per car.

Then you need to look at a number of harder- to- quantify things. How do you prioritise safety, comfort, stress reduction behind the wheel? For me I spend two hours every day driving to & from work and I’ll be damned if I’ll do that while uncomfy, or getting ****y about the beeps and boops the car makes (yes Peugeot I’m looking at you). That will help you think about what sort of car you should look for.

You then start looking for cars that meet your financial and personal criteria. I gravitated towards the E class for our familywagen because they’re big, comfy, safe, handle well in most conditions and are surprisingly affordable to run. My colleague went for a Golf Mk.3 for his own reasons- cheap, cheap, can maintain at home and doesn’t care about comfort on his drive in.
My wife would like your sensible approach, I've always like cars and do enjoy driving, as long as the car is nice to drive.

Yes, I did do this the wrong way round, I should have looked into insurance and running costs last year. I don't need to commute at the moment as I work from home, so when I lost the company car at the start of the year I have just used the wife's Yaris.
 

malcolm E53 AMG

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With a budget of £16K that will buy you a very nice E/C Class for £12K and leave you with enough cash to build up your NCB and maintain the car during that period budgets can be manipulated to suit situations
 
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With a budget of £16K that will buy you a very nice E/C Class for £12K and leave you with enough cash to build up your NCB and maintain the car during that period budgets can be manipulated to suit situations
Good advice thanks. I'm going to wait a few months and just drive the wife's car around, or until that becomes impractical. I will then save a bit more as I was going to have to borrow some to buy the car.
 

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My wife would like your sensible approach, I've always like cars and do enjoy driving, as long as the car is nice to drive.

Yes, I did do this the wrong way round, I should have looked into insurance and running costs last year. I don't need to commute at the moment as I work from home, so when I lost the company car at the start of the year I have just used the wife's Yaris.

Ok. So you can afford to buy a really nice car (£8-10k) and bank the £6-8k for several years worth of running costs.
 
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Thanks again for the advice. Going to look at something between 8-10k, I do like the post 2011-2012 models, and I would also like the AMG spec. I will make do driving the wife's car for a few months as I am in no hurry. I did find a few models, but they are all over the country. It is normal to travel far to view cars? My thoughts were to find a few in one area and so making the trip worth while.
 

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If your budget will stand it, a facelifted car is better than pre- facelift. On the 212 the pre- facelift cars have twin sharp cornered headlights while the facelift has single headlights with internal LED running lights. If you can, find one with full LED ILS headlamps. They’re awesome, really the best thing ever.

Is it normal to travel? Yes. Think about it, you’re making the second biggest single investment since you bought your house, you want to make sure it’s of the best quality.
 
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If your budget will stand it, a facelifted car is better than pre- facelift. On the 212 the pre- facelift cars have twin sharp cornered headlights while the facelift has single headlights with internal LED running lights. If you can, find one with full LED ILS headlamps. They’re awesome, really the best thing ever.

Is it normal to travel? Yes. Think about it, you’re making the second biggest single investment since you bought your house, you want to make sure it’s of the best quality.
Yea I agree. I can see what you mean about the headlights. What are your thoughts on private vs dealer? Also, I am looking at cars with arounf 90-120k miles on the clock, should I look at lower millage? I'm probably not going to drive more than 10-12k a year.
 
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