Potential new owner advice please!

babydave

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Hey up chaps!

I'm very close to buying my first mercedes and as previously I have dived into all car purchases with minimal research and swayed by my heart not my head, I thought it best to get some advice from the experts first (thats you guys!).

I'm looking at the current C-Class sport 58reg or newer (what w no. is that?) and originally wanted a c220cdi sport auto, but have been offered a fairly good deal on a C200K sport, so first question:

Has any one got a C200K auto and what are the fuel costs like - is the diesel worth the 4k premium - I do 20,000k plus a year but work pay for fuel for business.

And another...

How much on average are the A and B services?

I'm trading-in a 58 plate civic type-r GT which I love and is so much fun but is doing my head in day to day due to the ride, the fact it goads you round to 8500rpm in every gear and the build quality is appalling!

Oh and at 25 am I too young for a merc? Or has mercs quest to make them appeal to the younger buyer worked - lol - just don't want a ubiquitous 3 series of Audi A4/passat/exeo/octavia (god knows what's really under the A4).

Final thing - are there any common niggles/irritations with the current C I should know about. Type-R has so so so many I've given up!

Any advice at all would be most appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Cheers

Dave
 

Alex M Grieve

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B Class d200 Sport Premium Plus (66)
Has any one got a C200K auto and what are the fuel costs like - is the diesel worth the 4k premium - I do 20,000k plus a year but work pay for fuel for business.

Hi Dave and welcome to the Forum. It is good to hear that you will be joining the ranks of MB users - and no, you can never be to young, or to old to enjoy this.

Let me tackle one issue in your list - petrol v diesel and the cost of fuel.

If your employer provides you with a fuel card which also pays for fuel for non business use, that will be declared on your P11D and your tax code will carry the cost. So, it is not really "free".

A better situation is where you buy the fuel and then claim reimbursement for business use at x p per mile. In my experience a diesel, particularly after it has slackened up buy 10,000 miles, will cost less on fuel than the employer pays. I used to claim 12p per mile, but the car cost 8p per mile on fuel, so there was a tax free gain of 4p per mile. If you do 2/3 of your motoring on company business you can therefore cover your fuel costs for all motoring and break even. If you cover more than 2/3 of your motoring on business, you cover your costs and make tax free income too.

It is worth doing the arithmetic. If the employer will pay a reasonable rate, they may well be happy to reimburse in this way - saves them the cost of the fuel card and probably some employer's NI - saves you the tax on the fuel card "private use element".

With a MB 320CDI E Class averaging 40 mpg I was able to enjoy £2,000 of additional tax free income by this means. The guys in Finance idolised me!
 

television

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Cant compete with Alex on this,,but they are great car for that year,,you could always get it remapped to the 220 spec
 

st4

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Hi and welcome.

1. Try to get the C220cdi. It will be easier to sell on, and be more effortless to drive with more peak power (I think) and a lot more torque. Day to day its the faster car. At 20k/miles per year your employer will see the benefit, as will you. At that milliage level, and if you keep the car 3 years a diesel engine is a lot better.

2. You aren't too young for a Merc. There are younger ones than you on here.

3. The new C class is an excellent car and has little to no common faults coming through. Both the petrol and diesel engines are proven engines and some 220cdi engined taxis in the E class are over 400k milers and running sweet. BMWs E90 3 series has problems with all 4 clyinder engines and a common steering fault. The C class and 3 series are both dynamically excellent cars, the A4 much less so.

Good luck with the purchase.
 

st13phil

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W204 C220CDI
you could always get it remapped to the 220 spec
Malcolm, you obviously missed the K on the end of "but have been offered a fairly good deal on a C200K sport"

Going back to the OP's questions:
Has any one got a C200K auto and what are the fuel costs like - is the diesel worth the 4k premium - I do 20,000k plus a year but work pay for fuel for business.
In like-for-like driving I get 43mpg from my C220CDI, and circa 35mpg from a 200 Kompressor that I was loaned for a few days. You can do the maths based upon whatever your business mileage is and the rate you're reimbursed at. The diesel is more desireable as a used car and will have a marginally stronger residual %age than the petrol so it costs more to buy, but you'll get more back when you sell, too. I prefer the diesel's power delivery which results in relaxed but swift progress, but both will feel significantly slower than a Civic Type-R.
How much on average are the A and B services?
Inchcape fixed price menu servicing is around £199 for an A service, and £295 for a B service. You would have to add extra for brake pads, etc. to those prices.
Oh and at 25 am I too young for a merc?
No. Some people learn to appreciate the finer things in life sooner than others ;)
Final thing - are there any common niggles/irritations with the current C I should know about.
The W204 has quickly earned a reputation as being very well screwed together and very reliable. A very, very, small number of 220CDI's exhibit a drivetrain vibration at around 1,300 - 1,400rpm when under light load. Some people are extremely sensitive to this and have had long fights with MB to get it sorted. Some cars, after many workshop visits, remain unsorted and MB then claim that it's a "characteristic" of the model. My advice would be to not let this put you off as the vast majority of cars either don't exhibit the problem or their owners don't notice it.
 

harp1963

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I experianced a vibration on my C220 CDI and rejected the car!!!!
 
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