General C Class questions..

[barclay03]

first off, ill say hi since im new here

Looking into a new car and not really sure what i want, thought of the C class cos ive always liked the looks of them lol and so stumbled across this site, been havin a read some of the posts aswell to try gather intel on them before i go to see any etc

im still young, so it cant be any the bigger engined models (boooo... lol) so itll prob be a 180/200 or 220 at a push lol age of the car... im thinkinh about 1999/2000 ish, seem to be going for reasonable money...

ok so now the questions...

What should i look out for? main things to check over etc
Fuel Consumption? reliability? performance? (if any from the smaller engined cars lol), and can anyone give me an idea on what rough prices should acctually be, so im not payin over the odds etc... and the BIGGEST question when you are my age... insurance... is it going to cripple me?


ive also been told to go with an auto because the manual boxes suck.. is this true? cos whilst i love the cruisability(lol) of the autos.. i love the control factor of a manual
cheers for any replies guys

 

[Myros]

I like the manual

just as well as I have one. The parking brake sucks though.
The manual box is okay, you just have to feather the throttle to keep it smooth. I can kangaroo like a learner if i don't think about it sometimes.
Don't rule out the 2.4/2.6/2.8. get quotes on them, there are plenty of passable motors with lots of life left in them that even a person of tender years can run. Bigger engined variants tend to be cheaper than you think beacuse everyone is put off byt the perceived lack of economy. I get 26 around town and 30+ on a run in 280.

 

[Bassman]

Welcome to the forum.
I've got a C43 and it's very, very nice, I know that's not a lot of help to you right now but at least you have something to aspire too

 

[barclay03]

thanks for the replys guys, im swayin towards a C200 sport.. insurance is jus a killer lol (im 19 btw, with 0ncb, and live in glasgow lol)

 

[C220GJS]

Ask Doyle what he is paying,he lives in Viewpark, drives a C200 sport and is a couple of years older than you .
Geo.

 

[BarryG]

Welcome!
You could put your personal details into one of the price comparison sites and then try different models of car to find a reasonable quote and also which one is out of your price range.

Barry

 

[barclay03]

yea, ive been running a few quote, an tried moneymarket etc to see what they come up with, cheapest was Bell (Admiral), for C200 sport it was 2500 fully comp (ouch) or 1600 TPFT lol

 

[television]

yea, ive been running a few quote, an tried moneymarket etc to see what they come up with, cheapest was Bell (Admiral), for C200 sport it was 2500 fully comp (ouch) or 1600 TPFT lol

When you get old like me, you can pay £380 for a 230 500SL Something to look forward to in 52 years time

Malcolm

 

[BarryG]

When you get old like me, you can pay £380 for a 230 500SL Something to look forward to in 52 years time

Malcolm

:grin: bet he cant wait

Barry

 

[Ron Palfrey]

I'm not meaning to be funny but I've six children, all grown up now, and I've taught them five of them to drive (the sixth is handicapped so he can't).

As for their 1st cars they started off with (respectively) a Polo, a Corsa, a Mini (old type), a Nova, and a Nova. They then earned a few years No Claims Discount before moving on to more expensive cars.

I'm 57 and I've only had my C280 a couple of years and it costs me about £200 p.a. to insure Fully Comp with 70% NCD.

If you have the money saved up to pay several £000s for insurance then no doubt you will buy what you like, but if you haven't, start small and work upwards. That way you shouldn't be in debt all your life.

Best Wishes,

Ron :wink:

 

[barclay03]

already started off, but i was a student so couldnt afford to go in my own name lol been driving since i was 17, little diesel citroen AX, so nice cheap motoring, i guess i am a bit excentic when it comes to cars, bad habit of putting myself near skint for them cos thats my passion, jus sick of turning up to work/jobs/meetings in my AX when my suit costs more lol want something with some class and style to it, to complete the image that i try to go for, a merc does that, and i can afford it (just lol), why i always dive into every price etc that i can.. jus so theres no nasty shocks lol

 

[jberks]

Always a bit of a nightmare with 0 ncb, though as you have a car at present, why haven't you got a bonus yet?
On the up side, when you do get a discount, the premium should drop dramatically as it builds up. I remember getting renewals on my Viva, watching them drop by huge chunks as each year rolled by.

Personally, I'd look for something that looks nice but has sensible insurance initially, run it for a couple of years to get the bonus up, and then move up. Put the few thousand you would have paid in premiums away for 2-3 years and then get something REALLY nice at the end of it. A nice car is worth the wait! (I had 9 years driving tatty Ford Escorts before I got my first Merc!)

Clearly we don't know your circumstances but you need to look at the whole package inc running costs. Servicing, tyres, parts etc. After an AX, it's a hell of a jump - no £25 tyres on a Merc!.
I've always fancied an E55, but whilst I could afford to buy one, the idea of fueling, insuring or fixing it would be very painful (my E270 is bad enough!) , so look at the whole package. Buying a merc is a 'heart' move, but listen to your brain too, or you may regret it.

 

[barclay03]

yep, i totally get what your sayin, on the plus side tho.. fuel, im not doin alot of milage jus now cos im mostly office based, which is only about 2 miles from my home, tyres i always get a gd discount on as a mate works in the local tyre place, and i do all the car work myself (used to workin on new audi's etc)

the AX was only ever intended as a runaround whilst i was at uni, hence why i didnt put it in my name for the NCB (was quotin in around 3k :|), so that helped me put some money away, and started a new job a few months ago so got a decent cash flow comming in an next to nothin goin out per month, as i only really spend where i absolutly need to lol

also had a 2.0 carlton diplomat for a while but she had to be scrapped due to running out of life... and i miss havin that comfort an ease of driving lol and believe it or not that was costing more to insure than a C200 would cost me lol was acctually all lined up to get a focus tdci but that kinda fell through, an i duno, i jus thought F*ck it... it has to be done lol

 

[jon_harley]

fuel, im not doin alot of milage jus now cos im mostly office based, which is only about 2 miles from my home

Low mileage, but you'll be lucky to see much more than 15mpg doing 2 miles cold.

Why don't you walk!!

 

[barclay03]

cos im too damn lazy :lol:

 

[Blobcat]

2 miles will kill the car, brakes, exhaust, engine the lot. Take the long way round much better for the car.

 

[barclay03]

thats only to work, not countin the 200 or so i do at weekends, which is both driving around and motorway, or the driving every night, was just really meaning commuting/business miles when i mentioned that

 

[daveenty]

or the driving every night

Makes me jealous......used to love that when I was that sort of age, driving for the sake of it

Tend to treat it as a chore now, though do like to sneak around early very Sunday mornings with the excuse of *just going for a paper*.

So what if I buy my Sunday paper in another county?

 

[television]

So what if I buy my Sunday paper in another county?

It helps if you learn the language first

Malcolm

 

[daveenty]

It helps if you learn the language first

Malcolm

COUNTY not Country

In Yorkshire in fifteen minutes from here, Cheshire not much longer