Time for a new workhorse... C300de?

[Deep4]

Evening all,

This is my first post, so firstly I wanted to say hello! I've been an owner of a post-lift W176 A180D Sport premium for the past year, and believe it or not, but I've been taking this car on daily 200 to 300 mile journeys 5 out of 7 days a week, clocking over 80K miles since the beginning of my ownership. The little Reno 1.5 diesel has returned some incredible mpg (I'm still in the high 70's), and it's been very reliable - the only issues I had were with the glow plug module, the exhaust pressure sensor, and very recently the fuel cap mechanism which I replaced myself.

But the time has come to give the little one a rest, and I am now in search of a new workhorse that I plan to push to at least 150k miles. My only restriction (and unfortunately this is a big one) is that it has to be a plug-in-hybrid - the company I work for has recently invested into chargers, and they insist on me getting a hybrid, which IMO doesn't make any sense because of the ridiculously high mileage that I tend to work up, but who am I to argue - at least I'll enjoy being in the lower tax bracket.

The no.1 choice on my radar at the moment is the W205 C300de Station Wagon powered by the OM654 - which so far has been praised for its smoothness, mpg and reliability. Fellow 300de owners, how does this car stack up on the motoroway? What kind of mpg can I expect once the battery runs out? My typical daily jaunt is 100 miles up, and 100 miles down. I'm also open to other suggestions.

Thank you for your time reading this, and have a great evening!

 

[dry run]

Welcome

 

[LostKiwi]

Welcome.
I think you're brave to go for a hybrid MB. From some posts on here they're very expensive when they go wrong.

 

[axelcls]

Welcome


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JBell]

Welcome.
I think you're brave to go for a hybrid MB. From some posts on here they're very expensive when they go wrong.

MB Tier 1 Warranty essential for me if I had one

 

[A.J.]

Hi and welcome to the forum Despite all of the crap Renault do make they do produce a good Diesel engine.

 

[Srdl]

Welcome. My normal advice is to avoid diesel but, for your mileage, it makes sense. Like others, I would only have a hybrid if I had a good warranty behind it because problems can be eye-wateringly expensive.

I can’t help with mpg figures but general feedback seems to be that you will get nowhere near the published figures. If it wasn’t for your company policy, I would suggest you look at the 220 which seems to get good feedback on mpg.

 

[Deep4]

Welcome.
I think you're brave to go for a hybrid MB. From some posts on here they're very expensive when they go wrong.

Hello Kiwi, thank you for the advice - I actually haven't considered the fact that hybrids might be far more expensive to maintain/repair (duh!), the vehicle will most likely be brand new and come with MB's warranty - but because I never owned a Benz from the start I will have to do some more research about what it covers, up to what mileage etc.

 

[Deep4]

Welcome. My normal advice is to avoid diesel but, for your mileage, it makes sense. Like others, I would only have a hybrid if I had a good warranty behind it because problems can be eye-wateringly expensive.

I can’t help with mpg figures but general feedback seems to be that you will get nowhere near the published figures. If it wasn’t for your company policy, I would suggest you look at the 220 which seems to get good feedback on mpg.

Hi Srdl, yes it seems that warranty is a must have. I have just checked out the MB PHEV warranty certificate, and it appears that the battery's warranty is covered up to 62k miles (Or 6 years from the car's initial date of registration) - I wonder if that's on the combined mileage of the battery and the ICE or just the battery. If the latter, then I won't have a lot to worry about. The standard MB warranty appears to be active for 3 years since the registration of the vehicle, and mileage doesn't play a role in it. Our company usually changes vehicles every 3 years anyway, although I would like to keep the car for longer. I would go straight for a diesel if not for the imposed restrictions.

 

[Blobcat]

Hello Kiwi, thank you for the advice - I actually haven't considered the fact that hybrids might be far more expensive to maintain/repair (duh!), the vehicle will most likely be brand new and come with MB's warranty - but because I never owned a Benz from the start I will have to do some more research about what it covers, up to what mileage etc.

Used to be 3 years unlimited mileage warranty - worth checking they’re doing the same for diesel hybrids… as I fear it might be with Mercedes more than you…

 

[Srdl]

… as I fear it might be with Mercedes more than you…

I suppose, for balance, we should remember that the problems we read about are usually from Mercedes’ early efforts at hybrid/battery technology when it was rushed to the market! I hope that things are now more reliable as the technology matures and Mercedes get better at building these things,

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

A lot of the problems are with the hybrid starter motor and ancillaries so worth checking that the these are covered and not just the ‘battery’ although the battery is a major cost. Anyway you will no doubt need to keep a FMBSH during the 6 year warranty to maintain cover which usually entails an annual inspection

 

[Deep4]

A lot of the problems are with the hybrid starter motor and ancillaries so worth checking that the these are covered and not just the ‘battery’ although the battery is a major cost. Anyway you will no doubt need to keep a FMBSH during the 6 year warranty to maintain cover which usually entails an annual inspection

Hi Malcolm,

Apologies I was too vague, it appears that the starter motor and any associated components with the Hybrid (apart from the battery) are covered by the standard warranty. The battery itself, however, seems to have a separate warranty (This is according to the document attached).

Reading through the official MB warranty handbook, it does not state anywhere that the car must be serviced by a dealer. In fact, if you take a look at the "What doesn't the warranty cover?" section, the very first bullet point states the following:

Ignoring any instructions in the owner's manual or given by a Mercedes-Benz Retailer or Independent Garage

And the fourth bullet point:

If, when servicing is not done by a Mercedes-Benz Retailer, the maintenance or repairs are not carried out correctly

I know that this is not part of the original post's subject, but have any of you ever been denied warranty because you've serviced your car at an independent MB specialist? I can imagine the warranty arrangements being a bit different if you buy a used car from a MB network dealer.

 

[Deep4]

I suppose, for balance, we should remember that the problems we read about are usually from Mercedes’ early efforts at hybrid/battery technology when it was rushed to the market! I hope that things are now more reliable as the technology matures and Mercedes get better at building these things,

That's useful to know, thank you Srdl! I have personally not come across a lot of posts about the C300de's unreliability, right the opposite in fact. But of course it's not often that you see those cars on the road, so that also reflects the amount of information available online...

I will be visiting an MB dealer on Monday (weather permitting...) to complete a job, I'm hoping some of the techs will have more insight.

 

[B8VET]

Having just taken delivery of glc300 de I decided to lease for the first time so covered for first three years on warranty and hopefully no big bills in last year of ownership . Will only have 32k on the clock when I hand it back. I went for this route as wonder what resale value might be when batteries start getting near end of life as think many second hand buyers will be concerned.

 

[Blobcat]

Having just taken delivery of glc300 de I decided to lease for the first time so covered for first three years on warranty and hopefully no big bills in last year of ownership . Will only have 32k on the clock when I hand it back. I went for this route as wonder what resale value might be when batteries start getting near end of life as think many second hand buyers will be concerned.

Hello and welcome,

You're now on the never ending monthly payment that Mercedes and every other manufacturer is desperate to get drivers into.

 

[Srdl]

Having just taken delivery of glc300 de I decided to lease for the first time so covered for first three years on warranty and hopefully no big bills in last year of ownership . Will only have 32k on the clock when I hand it back. I went for this route as wonder what resale value might be when batteries start getting near end of life as think many second hand buyers will be concerned.

You know the big bills always come just after the warranty ends! Seriously though, in my opinion, lease is definitely the right way for this type of vehicle because no one knows what residuals are going to be like.

 

[JBell]

I would buy a Toyota Corolla, friend of mine has an Auris as a Taxi, on 160k and no issues.

New Corolla have 10 year 100k warranty on them as well

 

[grayb]

The newest C-Class hybrid has just earned 4 1/2 stars (out of 5) in an Autocar full roadtest, earning first place over the BMW 3 Series.
The compromised boot space is still an issue though, in my view...

Mercedes-Benz C-Class review | Autocar

Is the C-Class still a mini S-Class?

www.autocar.co.uk