Buying Advice, Mercedes C180 Kompressor

mcshape

Hi all

Hoping for some advise here. Going to test drive a Mercedes C180 Kompressor tommorow, Possibly my first car purchase, Seems nice, Garage has no bad reports on Boards, 2 Owners and 115K Miles, Automatic and Full leather, Seems very clean, BUT My wife has had HUGE problems with a used E90 BMW she bought (Cost us 4k+ in the last year to keep on the road) So i guess im a little scared buying a used car, Are the C180's generally Reliable?, Any majoe Auto box issues or anything i should be aware of? Its the facelifted version with the more modern console and dials etc...
I have searched the forum and not found anything majorly negative about these cars!

All help appriciated!

Anan1

The first thing that jumps out at me from your post is that you make no reference to service history? At 115k miles, how it has been maintained will make all the difference between a reliable car and a money pit. How old is the Mercedes?

mcshape

Anan1 wrote: »

The first thing that jumps out at me from your post is that you make no reference to service history? At 115k miles, how it has been maintained will make all the difference between a reliable car and a money pit. How old is the Mercedes?

It's 2004, was a uk car until 70 000, ful MB service history up to that, then services regularly in Ireland up to now

Anan1

mcshape wrote: »

It's 2004, was a uk car until 70 000, ful MB service history up to that, then services regularly in Ireland up to now

First off check that the stamps/invoices actually match up with the servicing requirements as per the book, ie that all work was done as and when due. , You then need to call the garages both in the UK and here who stamped the book, to make sure that the work was actually done as per the SH. If that's all complete and checks out fully then you need to do a full HPI check on the car, making sure to include the V5 serial # and issue date. Only then should you consider handing over any money.

mcshape

Thanks for that, I'll check all that out, so if it does turn put to e genuine are the 180k autos generally reliable of that generation?

the culture of deference

Bring a mechanic with you and do the normal HPI etc.


Do not bring any money, when you go to look at the car. See how desperate the seller appears
If the mechanic and other checks look good then re arrange to see to car.

mcshape

mcshape wrote: »

.............a used E90 BMW she bought (Cost us 4k+ in the last year to keep on the road)..........

Out of interest what went wrong with it? Is it diesel?

Just to stay on topic while I'm here I used to have an ole Merc and used a UK based forum quite a bit, there was lots of talk of the timing chain on these 1.8s being less than a life time job. I think there was some similar mentions on here too from someone who dealt/worked on them quite a bit.

Francie Barrett

RoverJames wrote: »

Out of interest what went wrong with it? Is it diesel?

There seems to be numerous stories of Mercedes cars with timing chains snapping and then requiring new engines - given the cost here, it wouldn't surprise me that is what happened.

Francie Barrett

Francie Barrett wrote: »

There seems to be numerous stories of Mercedes cars with timing chains snapping and then requiring new engines - given the cost here, it wouldn't surprise me that is what happened.

Great minds
My edit was at the same time as your post

Was just wondering about the e90 probs though

oleras

Francie Barrett wrote: »

There seems to be numerous stories of Mercedes cars with timing chains snapping and then requiring new engines - given the cost here, it wouldn't surprise me that is what happened.

That was an E90 he was on about.

mcshape

The E90 we have is a 2006 318i with 60000ml on the clock, in last 2 years - new ecu, new wiring loom, new throttle body assy, 4 new coils, and only last week new Vvt motor at a cost of 600

bazz26

OP, there is no guarantee that the C Class will cost any less to repair over an E90 if something goes wrong. Premium branded cars can be expensive to fix across the board and on an almost 9 year old car, irrespective of what make/model it is things can fail and need fixing/replacing.

kerten

bazz26 wrote: »

OP, there is no guarantee that the C Class will cost any less to repair over an E90 if something goes wrong. Premium branded cars can be expensive to fix across the board and on an almost 9 year old car, irrespective of what make/model it is things can fail and need fixing/replacing.

+1

I would go for lower mileage if you are after reliability as it will be subject to tear and wear related issues. Plus C class of this era isn't known for its reliability until 2005.

the culture of deference

mcshape wrote: »

The E90 we have is a 2006 318i with 60000ml on the clock, in last 2 years - new ecu, new wiring loom, new throttle body assy, 4 new coils, and only last week new Vvt motor at a cost of 600

ouch.

were you just unlucky or are they just not getting looked after properly. did you buy new or 2nd

Nissan doctor

the culture of deference wrote: »

ouch.

were you just unlucky or are they just not getting looked after properly. did you buy new or 2nd

The N series Valvetronic engines are plagued with issues.

bazz26

kerten wrote: »

+1

I would go for lower mileage if you are after reliability as it will be subject to tear and wear related issues. Plus C class of this era isn't known for its reliability until 2005.

I would consider 115k miles on an 8 year old diesel car to be low enough. Low mileage cars esepcially diesels come with their own problems as alot of owners think they don't need a service that often.

mcshape

kerten wrote: »

bazz26 wrote: »

OP, there is no guarantee that the C Class will cost any less to repair over an E90 if something goes wrong. Premium branded cars can be expensive to fix across the board and on an almost 9 year old car, irrespective of what make/model it is things can fail and need fixing/replacing.

+1

I would go for lower mileage if you are after reliability as it will be subject to tear and wear related issues. Plus C class of this era isn't known for its reliability until 2005.

I had heard this about the 2005 but this is the 2005 facelift model, reg late in 2004

mcshape

the culture of deference wrote: »

mcshape wrote: »

The E90 we have is a 2006 318i with 60000ml on the clock, in last 2 years - new ecu, new wiring loom, new throttle body assy, 4 new coils, and only last week new Vvt motor at a cost of 600

ouch.

were you just unlucky or are they just not getting looked after properly. did you buy new or 2nd

Second hand, fully checked history, had no probs until us, we do v little mileage and get it BMW serviced

mcshape

bazz26 wrote: »

kerten wrote: »

+1

I would go for lower mileage if you are after reliability as it will be subject to tear and wear related issues. Plus C class of this era isn't known for its reliability until 2005.

I would consider 115k miles on an 8 year old diesel car to be low enough. Low mileage cars esepcially diesels come with their own problems as alot of owners think they don't need a service that often.

So the way I was looking at it is this car had one owner from 0-80,000, then imported, then one owner until now, if it was a lemon I would expect more owners, I went to see it today anyway, drove like a dream, very very tidy, BUT the SRs airbag warning was on, dealer explained this was because the car battery ran flat being laid up and had to be jumped, it just needs to be cleared on computer? Sound plausible ?

bazz26

bazz26 wrote: »

I would consider 115k miles on an 8 year old diesel car to be low enough. Low mileage cars esepcially diesels come with their own problems as alot of owners think they don't need a service that often.

'tis a C180 Kompressor Bazz, not a diesel

bazz26

RoverJames wrote: »

'tis a C180 Kompressor Bazz, not a diesel

Don't know where I picked up the notion it was a diesel.

.... the times we live in :pac:

mcshape

Hey all, just to fill u in, I took the merc for a drive and just was not happy, didn't feel right, quite a loud engine and an airbag and bonnet open warning! :-( BUT, I did put a deposit on a 2004 2l D Jag X type today, and I'm a happy camper!

Marcusm

A supercharged Merc turned down in favour of a diesel Ford in Jag's clothing; as RJ says, the times we live in......

(Before anyone says it, I'm aware that a C180K is not exactly a rocket.)