new member thinking of buying used C220d car

[pcdoc]

Hi have joined forum as planning to buy used Merc 220d. The car I am looking at is a 2016 model from dealer
C220d Sport Premium 4dr Auto 2.1 with appx 63k on the clock.

Checking on its mot history there was a fail the previous mot with

• Engine MIL inoperative or indicates a malfunction (8.2.2.2 (g))

The car was then passed so I have to hope any issue was properly fixed. The rest of its mot history looks fine and its currently to March 25 with latest test showing no defects.

Just wanted a view as to if I should have any worry re the 2023 fail for the above code?

Car is priced at just over £13k and looks good all round so hopefully a good purchase for me.

Any advice appreciated
Thanks

 

[AMGeed]

I drove a slightly later model and found it a nice car to be in. I assume you would be doing 10k+ miles pa to be buying a diesel?
If not I'd be looking at a similar petrol model without the complications of a DPF/EGR and possible ad-blue. All things likely to give problems if a diesel car isn't being driven a lot.
If the new MOT shows no advisories or malfunctions I think its safe to say the previous fault was fixed.
I'd be making sure it has a full and complete service history (every 12 months or 15500 miles), preferably at a main dealer or Mercedes specialist.
Without a full history, you have room to negotiate on the price.
Good luck!

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Welcome!
They are good cars just make sure you do your homework, ADBLUE and NOx sensors (both expensive repairs) are likely to be the main problem if you don’t do many miles per annum

 

[billo2]

Hi pcdoc, I've had a 2016 estate version of this for almost 6 years, and have been very happy. 55k miles, nothing major yet... (except frustrations around 4matic crabbing)

 

[Srdl]

Hi pcdoc, I've had a 2016 estate version of this for almost 6 years, and have been very happy. 55k miles, nothing major yet... (except frustrations around 4matic crabbing)

Welcome - All Season tyres (Michelin Cross Climate) cured the crabbing on my GLC.

 

[pcdoc]

I drove a slightly later model and found it a nice car to be in. I assume you would be doing 10k+ miles pa to be buying a diesel?
If not I'd be looking at a similar petrol model without the complications of a DPF/EGR and possible ad-blue. All things likely to give problems if a diesel car isn't being driven a lot.
If the new MOT shows no advisories or malfunctions I think its safe to say the previous fault was fixed.
I'd be making sure it has a full and complete service history (every 12 months or 15500 miles), preferably at a main dealer or Mercedes specialist.
Without a full history, you have room to negotiate on the price.
Good luck!

excellent feedback really appreciated. tbh I will only likely do 8k as retiring shortly so no work journeys just leisure. Might consider researching a petrol version in that case but am attracted by £20 tax on the diesel. One other thought... I think these are a chain rather than a belt. Is the chain a lifetime thing or should it be changed at intervals I think I read appx 60k? any thoughts about that would be helpful

 

[pcdoc]

Welcome - All Season tyres (Michelin Cross Climate) cured the crabbing on my GLC.

ah thanks for that i did a search on this and found another post on YouTube who fixed this issue by going onto Michelin pilot sport 4 so seems Michelin are the way to go for winter. will check more into this before I buy the car

 

[Srdl]

ah thanks for that i did a search on this and found another post on YouTube who fixed this issue by going onto Michelin pilot sport 4 so seems Michelin are the way to go for winter. will check more into this before I buy the car

So far, I’m about 7000 miles into the Cross Climates and they seem to be excellent tyres, wearing well, although we’ve had no winter weather down south, just rain and a lot if it but they work well in the wet.

 

[Srdl]

Might consider researching a petrol version in that case but am attracted by £20 tax on the diesel.

I would avoid diesel at all costs. AdBlu system problems costs would far exceed any savings from lower road tax

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

excellent feedback really appreciated. tbh I will only likely do 8k as retiring shortly so no work journeys just leisure. Might consider researching a petrol version in that case but am attracted by £20 tax on the diesel. One other thought... I think these are a chain rather than a belt. Is the chain a lifetime thing or should it be changed at intervals I think I read appx 60k? any thoughts about that would be helpful

There’s no science to timing chain longetivity some last 60k miles and others the life of the engine a lot depends on regular oil changes <10k in my view

 

[Blobcat]

There’s no science to timing chain longetivity some last 60k miles and others the life of the engine a lot depends on regular oil changes <10k in my view

Most of the modern chains have been switched to simplex rather then duplex and also turned so it's at the back of the engine rather than the front (for better pedestrian impact) - both of these lead to increased chain wear and more difficult to replace

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Most of the modern chains have been switched to simplex rather then duplex and also turned so it's at the back of the engine rather than the front (for better pedestrian impact) - both of these lead to increased chain wear and more difficult to replace

I remember in the day my Dolomite Sprint went through duplex timing chains every 40k miles a real pain in the a**e they sounded like the household cavalry coming down the road when they required doing it was one of the first 16 valve cylinder heads produced and must have had quite a load on the chain

 

[Chrishazle]

I would avoid diesel at all costs. AdBlu system problems costs would far exceed any savings from lower road tax

+1 on that thought, the posts you see on here (and on the MBClub forum) about Adblue/Nox sensor (expensive) problems, I would not touch an Adblue car with a very long barge pole! With diesel now about 10p/l more expensive that 95RON, fuel and servicing cost will be lower on a petrol, although they're rarer than diesels. Member @littlebrooklyn on here had a C250Cgi estate and heavily regrets selling it!