Time to say good-bye to my C350 CDI :(

[Wighty]

There is another thread just started , with suggestions that the hybrid batteries will not start up in cold weather

 

[John Laidlaw]

Although at least the PHEV’s have the benefit of electric power first thing and also the nice benefit in this weather you can remotely heat the car in the morning before getting in....

 

[Jeddy]

A question for you guys, primarily those who are driving a C350 CDI.

What is your next car going to be?

As best I can see the C350 CDI was dropped around 2014.

Are you going to accept a 250D and worse performance / 4 cylinder engine, decent economy though?
Are you going to go for a petrol for the performance e.g. C43 and economy of maybe 27mpg (Honest John real world figure) and high performance car running costs?
I'm guessing not hybrid given the above comments.

The reason I ask is that's basically the position I'm in so I'm looking for inspiration.

 

[survey]

I have a E250cdi coupe. It was purchased new in 2012 and has 57000 on the clock. It is rattle free, returning a true 49mpg over its life, ultra reliable so far. Normally I would have changed cars by now but in view of the diesel debate and the fact there is nothing in the MB range that I like I have decided to keep my car, enjoy it, until there are any signs of unreliability.
Electric seems crazy with only a limited range plus extra weight and more to go wrong.

 

[Submariner1]

I don't really want to go back to a car with 7.4s 0-60 etc. acceleration, I rather like a 0-60 of sub 6 secs. I'd want to avoid a diesel for DPF reasons as above and MB don't really seem to have any other options. If there was a C350 petrol than I'd be considering that for sure.

Just in case they escalate the war on Diesels, and you get hammered on depreciation.
I would tell SWMBO its essential we take the safe route and go C43
I assume the 0-60 would meet your expectations

 

[Submariner1]

A question for you guys, primarily those who are driving a C350 CDI.

What is your next car going to be?

As best I can see the C350 CDI was dropped around 2014.

Are you going to accept a 250D and worse performance / 4 cylinder engine, decent economy though?
Are you going to go for a petrol for the performance e.g. C43 and economy of maybe 27mpg (Honest John real world figure) and high performance car running costs?
I'm guessing not hybrid given the above comments.

The reason I ask is that's basically the position I'm in so I'm looking for inspiration.

I sympathise ...
wtf is wrong with Mercedes, no 3 liter normal Mercedes
Blimey I cant even buy a 5 Liter SL or S or CL .. S Coupe. Its 4.6L no doubt moving to quad turboed 3.7L
Imo they should have bi-turbo the 5.5 and left the 63 as 6.2L

They just dont excite me ... well certainly not enough to get my cheque book out for the price they now want for a new one.

 

[Jeddy]

Just in case they escalate the war on Diesels, and you get hammered on depreciation.
I would tell SWMBO its essential we take the safe route and go C43
I assume the 0-60 would meet your expectations

Nice idea, however looking on autotrader the cheapest I can find is £34k which is rather over my budget. I suspect SWMBO may also get fed up with washing my underwear too!! The first time I tried to overtake a car in my C350 CDI I nearly rear ended it as I was caught out by the performance. Can't imagine what would happen with a C43.

 

[Jeddy]

Not (m)any viable alternative suggestions yet, but there is something else I noticed recently. Supposing I don't bother plugging it in and get the very bottom of honest johns real world mpg of 36mpg. That's pretty bad isn't it! I guess the best comparison would be the petrol C350, so looking at the W204 C350 honest john shows a real world figure of 24.5mpg for similar performance figures. Forget the slightly cheaper electric only miles, maybe the hybrid is doing something useful? OK, a diesel (apparently the devil incarnate this year) would give more like 38mpg but that was discontinued, but you can see why they went hybrid petrol if by doing so they can increase economy from 24.5 to 36mpg without impacting performance - even if it is heavier! Comments about problems with hybrid are indeed relevant, even if they are impossible to put into perspective (there are plenty of comments about problems with other cars here too).
I have a feeling I'm preaching to the wrong crowd here though. Still trying to justify my decision given the lack of alternative suggestions. Maybe I should have gone BMW 330i (32mpg real world)?

 

[sonic]

In some respects I am similar to you, I have a E350CDI retired do about 6K miles a year. Its just coming up to 7 years old with 47K on the clock.
Depreciation is the killer cost & your current car is past that. What ever you save on fuel will be nothing in comparison to depreciation on your new car.
I am sticking with my 350 for a lot longer yet.

 

[Jeddy]

In some respects I am similar to you, I have a E350CDI retired do about 6K miles a year. Its just coming up to 7 years old with 47K on the clock.
Depreciation is the killer cost & your current car is past that. What ever you save on fuel will be nothing in comparison to depreciation on your new car.
I am sticking with my 350 for a lot longer yet.

One thing which I've not mentioned which is also a factor for change is my hobby which involves carrying long objects around - currently I have to fold down the front passengers seat, feed in through rear offside passengers door into the front passengers footwell back to near the rear parcel shelf - and I've already damaged the paint trying to do so, very inconvenient - previously I lived with it as I didn't manage to get out much so accepted it, now I'm getting out much more it's a right PITA and I need folding rear seats so need a change. Fortunately it's length I need not height!

 

[LostKiwi]

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201802284155787?make=TESLA&model=MODEL S&r=3
Easily beats the 6.4 0-60 and still has 4 years powertrain and battery warranty.

 

[Jeddy]

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201802284155787?make=TESLA&model=MODEL S&r=3
Easily beats the 6.4 0-60 and still has 4 years powertrain and battery warranty.

Can't help wonder what's wrong with that one - 3 owners, 4 years only 23k miles?
I had considered the pending Tesla 3, but suspect I'd suffer range anxiety.
Still both over my budget though.
BTW, what has the 6.4 0-60? The 330e is 5.8s.
I do like a man who's not afraid of a bit of lateral thinking though.

 

[LostKiwi]

Can't help wonder what's wrong with that one - 3 owners, 4 years only 23k miles?
I had considered the pending Tesla 3, but suspect I'd suffer range anxiety.
Still both over my budget though.
BTW, what has the 6.4 0-60? The 330e is 5.8s.
I do like a man who's not afraid of a bit of lateral thinking though.

A couple more:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201803024212892?make=TESLA&model=MODEL S&r=3

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201803014174925?make=TESLA&model=MODEL S&r=3

The second one looks lovely.

 

[Jeddy]

A couple more:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201803024212892?make=TESLA&model=MODEL S&r=3

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201803014174925?make=TESLA&model=MODEL S&r=3

The second one looks lovely.

Your pockets are deeper than mine.

 

[LostKiwi]

Your pockets are deeper than mine.

Ah.. missed the bit where you said 34k was over budget
At least if you lived near a supercharger point you'd have zero fuel costs.

 

[Craiglxviii]

I still can’t see how keeping the 350CDI is not the optimal solution...

 

[JBell]

Also, it depends where you live. Does the mate getting 8 miles b.t.w. Mr Bell, I'm guessing your profile should read Torquay instead of Torquey - unless that's a pun does he live in a hilly area?

It is a little play on words as my car has been mapped. Torquay is built on 7 hills so yes it will kill range on batteries, he also monas about the real world MPG as it is no where close to the stated, his BMW 320d was massively better overall but his is a company car so the BIK tax is £120 a month less on the Merc

 

[grayb]

The OP was worried about short journeys killing the DPF on the 350CDI - a legitimate fear which I don't think the discussion is properly addressing, so far. We do some short journeys in ours - and the DPF does it's regen thing fairly infrequently, so we seem to be doing OK.

 

[Craiglxviii]

The OP was worried about short journeys killing the DPF on the 350CDI - a legitimate fear which I don't think the discussion is properly addressing, so far. We do some short journeys in ours - and the DPF does it's regen thing fairly infrequently, so we seem to be doing OK.

Ok. So let’s discuss that then.

DPF removal, clean and reinstall is around £200-250 and would need to be done say once every two years. £10/mth to set aside.

Vs.

Risk of some failure of the hybrid system.

Here we come to risk management where risk = probability of failure x impact of failure. With the 350CDI the maximum risk is known at say £120 (100% x annual cost).

With the 350e it’s rather different. Hybrid repair costs can be eye watering. Let’s assume £5000 for a single failure event. Say there’s a 3% chance of that- one owner in 30. That equals £150...

 

[Jeddy]

'Torquey' I like it! Worth moving there for the pun! If he gets poor MPG as well it sounds like the hills may be the problem. I've read on another forum people suggesting you should use battery downhill and engine uphill to get the best range out of the battery - have to laugh, it takes the same energy, you have a choice between poor MPG or poor battery range for the hills.

£250 every couple of years? Can I ask where that's being done and how please? Also every couple of years, if my DPF was regenerating every few hundred miles would it really be a couple of years before I had a problem? I'd assumed if the car didn't regen it would happen fairly soon after it should have, maybe 1k miles tops? It used to concern me a little sometimes when I'd turn the engine off while it was regenerating at the end of my (now ex) commute.

Also, may I ask where the 3% figure came from and the £5k? Not disagreeing, just not figures I've seen so am curious to know where they come from.

Also, my post #30 - I now need the through load. I did ask about converting it at a MB specialist and was told no can do.

I believe (hope?) hybrid repair costs would be covered by the 5 year warranty - well, for the next 4 years, by which time maybe I can get e.g. a Tesla 3 2nd hand. I'll go and wash my mouth out now.