Mercedes c240 auto 1998

[trupac]

Hey, sup y'all.
Am new to this board and have a query about a mercedes c240 auto 1998 R Reg that i have been offered for £5995. Problem is i don't know whether to buy it as it has done 114k. Is this mileage too high for a merc as i have never owned one
Another query that i have is that it has got a small patch of bubbled paintwork the size of a five pence piece near the bottom front. Is this something of major concern.
If anyone could give some advice on the above or general advice on the c240 (like likely mpg and service costs) i would be grateful. Or even if it is better to get a c200, c220 or c230.

 

[steveperry]

Hi trupac,

If the car has a solid full service history then the 114k mileage, although high, shouldn't be an issue. Have you taken said car for a test drive? If the car has been well maintained then the ride should be smooth

The small patch of rust you mention although not a major problem should be rectified immediately as this will only spread and get worse. You might want to get an estimate for the rust repair, I had a small patch on my rear nearside wheel arch that was actually repaired under warranty by Mercedes-Benz. People have varying degrees of success when trying to get MB to pay for rust repair under warranty though.

The C240 uses a V6 lump that has twin-spark technology (yep that's 12 of the little buggers). In terms of mpg if I'm doing steady motorway cruising I can achieve mid 30's mpg, at the other end of the scale if I'm driving like a hooligan around town this figure can drop to 19mpg :roll: As for service costs, I bought my car back in Jan 02 with 55k miles on the clock and had an A service (minor) in approx Apr 02 which cost £135 approx, however, this year in Aug 03 I had a 70k mile B service (major) which set me back £950 :cry: Both services were carried out by a Mercedes dealership (stealership).

I'm still thoroughly enjoying my car and I think it's great, I'm certainly glad I bought it. Out of all those other models that you list I would plump for the C240 as all the others are inline 4 cylinder models. If I were to choose other models then I'd consider the C230 Kompressor, C280 or the C250 TD (turbo diesel). Although the 230K is a four pot engine it's got power that's similar in spec to the C280 whilst being more economic. If you want a good source of info on the W202 C-Class then you could try Parker's Guide.

Other things to consider; auto's and a/c are the most sought after options and hence should be very high on your 'list to haves'. Leather, climate control or cruise control would be nice to haves but not necessarily essential.

Umm, hope that helps

S.

 

[trupac]

Thanks for the info, very helpful. Did not go for the C240 as it likely to be heavy on the fuel and high maintenence (especially forking out for 12 spark plugs). Am reviewing my options and am probably looking for a c220 or a c230 kompressor. The bubbling paintwork has got me intrigued because alot of people in this forum have mentioned it on post 1997 models. Also some people have said that post 1998 models have a 30 year corrosion warranty whereas models before had 6 year. So mercedes must know there is a problem.

Cheers for the info anyway