High Mileage 2005 C220 CDI

[Pullers]

Hi Everyone,

Im thinking of going to look at/buy a high mileage 2005 C220 CDI Sport.

Ones done around 97,000 and the other 104,000, They have both been company owned and as such have full Merc-benz dealer history. Having never owner a Mercedes previously wanted some advice.

I would be looking to keep it around 3 years (40,000 miles). Do you think that as long as it was serviced etc that it would be reliable and ok at these mileages?? or should I look elsewhere.

Are these engines timing belt/chain and am I likely to have turbo probs etc as in BMW 320D.

Thanks in advance

Pullers

 

[turbopete]

hello and welcome

to be honest thats not a high mileage in MB terms. high for its age perhaps but not high for the car. the engines have timing chains not belts so no worries there. there are no major reliability concerns that im aware of, the only things that stick in my mind are rubber o rings fail which means it starts drawing air into the fuel, signalled by poor starting, and there was a run on injectors failing on cdi engines, but they havent cropped up on here as much recently. im not aware of any turbo issues. yes there are the odd few failures, but as far as im aware its nowhere near the scale of bmw's!

id also say that the ride quality is better than the bmw ride too. also regarding mileage, theres someone on here (cant think who off the top of my head) has a similar car with over 100k miles and its been clocked by 100k already, so at 200k miles! i dont think you should have much to worry about in the next 40k or so!

 

[harpersimon]

buy it, MB's are bullet proof

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Hi Everyone,

I'm thinking of going to look at/buy a high mileage 2005 C220 CDI Sport.

Ones done around 97,000 and the other 104,000, They have both been company owned and as such have full Merc-benz dealer history. Having never owner a Mercedes previously wanted some advice.

I would be looking to keep it around 3 years (40,000 miles). Do you think that as long as it was serviced etc that it would be reliable and ok at these mileages?? or should I look elsewhere.

Are these engines timing belt/chain and am I likely to have turbo probs etc as in BMW 320D.

Thanks in advance

Pullers

Hi Pullers, and welcome to the Forum.

Looks a tempting proposition. Cars this age, even averaging 25,000 per year, are still relatively new cars. The full service history is nice, and means any updates will also have been done.

I would not hesitate and would make my choice on the following provisos:
choose the one with the better presentation (bodywork, interior) - anything else mechanical is readily sorted, but tired bodywork is not
extras fitted?
interval to next service?
how much life is left in the tyres?

Other than that, regular consumables (battery, exhaust) generally have plenty of life ahead of them.

It will be interesting to hear your choice and to see the pics when purchased. You should be getting a really good car at a really good price (once corrected for mileage).

 

[Quick Silver]

Hi Everyone,

Im thinking of going to look at/buy a high mileage 2005 C220 CDI Sport.

Ones done around 97,000 and the other 104,000, They have both been company owned and as such have full Merc-benz dealer history. Having never owner a Mercedes previously wanted some advice.

I would be looking to keep it around 3 years (40,000 miles). Do you think that as long as it was serviced etc that it would be reliable and ok at these mileages?? or should I look elsewhere.

Are these engines timing belt/chain and am I likely to have turbo probs etc as in BMW 320D.

Thanks in advance


I have a Vito 220 cdi with same engine ,Its barely run in ! Mine has done 240,000miles amd still going strong just keep it serviced oil & filter changes + gearbox oil change every major service if its manual (Its not recomended by MB but worth doing) I know of some of these engines doing over 350,000 miles and still going strong. No real probs with turbos may be leaky vacuum pipes generally but that is all .

Unless the chain is rattling leave alone but usually around 250,000 miles the chain may show signs of needing to be replaced and not overly expensive to do .

 

[Pullers]

Thankyou so much guys, Has made me more keen to go and have a look.

Have also found a 55 plate C200 (2.2 CDI) avantgarde se with sport pack, Has 112,000 going for £9000. Looks really nice!!

 

[Lerpy]

I purchased a C220 CDI '51 plate in April '04. At that time it had 204K miles on the clock, of course it was an ex-company vehicle and full MB service history. It now has 252K miles on it, has stood idle for 15 months and hasn't really had that much wrong that has cost more than a couple of hundred pounds to fix. So good value for money? YES, nice ride? WITHOUT SHADOW OF A DOUBT, will I get rid of it? ONLY OVER MY DEAD BODY

 

[television]

Until something goes wrong !

Be fair most do not

 

[Rafman]

Hi Pullers,

I have owned my C220 CDI Avantgarde SE Estate since February this year, it had 71k on the clock for a 55 reg model and I have just had the first B service done under my ownership, the Indie put it on star and found absolutly nothing wrong with it, but did advise having the Poly V belt and pollen air filter changed which was done. Car is superb has a full service history and is a delight to drive. This is my first MB and is the first car I can really say that I feel at home in, I normally change my cars at about the 4 year mark, but I think that as long as this one keeps going I am happy to keep owning it.

 

[Lerpy]

Until something goes wrong !

Things have gone wrong, but the cost of repair, provided you don't use and MB main dealer for spares and their labour costs aren't that much more than any other car I've owned and the pleasure from this one is enormous. So I'd always look at ex-company vehicles..... and as a Polish contributor said in another thread he laughs at us in England when we worry about 100 -120K miles when he's had several that have done over 400K

 

[Lerpy]

Like I said, I try to find my parts as after market mfr and not MB main dealer. Lets face it, as a car gets older, high mileage like mine (254K) even second hand parts are worthwhile to keep it going

 

[Lerpy]

This does lead to the question of at what point does it become uneconomical to repair your pride and joy. Clearly if it's a write off there's not much you can do, but suppose the gearbox fails, you get a second-hand unit fitted and then say you need the head replaced. Both expensive jobs, but do you say no to the head.

My personal feeling is that I'd rather have the devil I know than the one I don't and it's a matter of knowing in your own mind what the vehicle is worth to you in terms of repair costs versus replacement.

 

[turbopete]

It's not so much the cost of the labour, it's the cost of the parts that are way above other manufacturers.

ever priced bmw parts then? theyre way more expensive, in my experience!