About two years ago I changed my lifestyle and went from almost permanent travelling to going practically nowhere. Some weeks I drive the car only to charge the battery. Hence I do not really need a vehicle so a nice luxobarge would seeem in order. Got two Mercs on the slate.
1997 C289 V6 sport 90k FMBSH eat your dinner off it clean £2,495.
2001 C240 Avantgarde 144k FMBSH eat your dinner off it clean every extra and clearly been a rich mans play thing £3,095.
Think the older car will sell for £2,200 the later car is already on price. Head says the later car but theres just sonmeting about those earlier C class models that appeals a real classic Merc look and by reputation unbustably reliable.
Opinions?
(is Aprilia still about he knows everyting about Mercs?)
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>>(is Aprilia still about he knows everyting about Mercs?)
Unfortunately he hasn't been around here for ages.
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Won't be as cheap as those but my 96 (W124) E320 coupe is up for grabs...hasn't been advertised yet, one previous owner 80K from new and maintained far too well, had it 8 years.
that was a cheeky post wasn't it..;)
The 97 car (i assume it's a C class coupe?) needs very careful examination for rust and around wings, doors, bonnet bootlid etc for previous paint.
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My neighbour's got one, or at least what the tin-worm hasn't eaten so far.
I wouldn't touch one with a barge-pole.
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Was there such a thing as a c class coupe that old clk yes but not a c class.
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Well I like the coupe GB and I think you are local to me (Northampton) so we may be able to work something out but large petrol engined slush boxed luxobarges ain't commanding big cash at the moment. Is there an email facility on this site?
Been warned about rear screen lamiation issue with the coupe. Apparently this causes damp in the car?
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>> Been warned about rear screen lamiation issue with the coupe. Apparently this causes damp
That's mainly the SEC, the CE does suffer from screen delamination too but mine was changed about 4 years ago....having said that several HRW wires have lost contact on this screen too, they don't last long.
Price wise my indy will give me 4 when he's ready for it, so that's the ball park figure for mine.
The reason it's being sold is that after changing my job, before it finished me, my income is much less.
This is an exceptional car in truly long term condition, and has been kept as such both body and mechanically with a view to it becoming a classic in the fullness of time, i hoped it would stay with me till the end but i've got to be realistic and it would be a terrible shame for this car to fall into disrepair...they are not cheap to keep in top condition, so it needs a home that can afford to baby it.
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Haha GB led the way...
The trouble with early 00's mercs is the rust. It can be terminal without deep pockets to repair. The earlier merc may be the better bet. Plus the earlier has a general feeling of being slightly better screwed together - although it's all relative, neither are badly fitted!
Now, if you were after maybe a comfortable BMW 7 series. A rewarding drive with great "best armchair" ultra comfortable top quality leather seats. You'd be after one with a spotless interior (permanently cleaned & protected to within an inch of its life) of course. No rust concerns, good economy (if you choose the 148mph 728i - all the pace without the fuel bills, comfortably bank on 30+mpg). You'd probably want to go for something newer, close enough to the 2001 road tax charging change as you can get. Say a 728i built March 2000, first registered July 2000? Banded in the old "above 1.6 litres" / £215 (or whatever it is).
All documentation would have to be in order, and there should be extensive receipts, preferably from a nutter previous owner who spent over the cars value refreshing everything back to "just out the factory" condition.
The ideal example shouldn't be too leggy, comfortably less than 100k miles.
It should fall just about perfectly on budget... It's located very near Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Email via the mods if interested :-)
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i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc69/cowithagun/merc.jpg
i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc69/cowithagun/IMG_1652.jpg
just a taster...those are the winter wheels by the way.
Skod's Beemer sounds good, always fancied a 7.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Sun 21 Nov 10 at 15:41
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I had an E320 on an 'N'. Wouldn't go there again.
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>> I had an E320 on an 'N'. Wouldn't go there again.
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I had an estate on an M with full history which made some eye watering reading.
Was yours a 124 Martin and what happened to it to put you off so badly.
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I ahd an E250 blue effiecency on a 59, definatley wouldn't go there again ever, over rated, overpriced, under built 90% goes into the badge! you can buy an awfull lot better for a lot less
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i have a w201 and have had it from new in 1991. has been faultless in the 19yrs.
never broken down and never disapointed me.
i have done some research on the early c class and i have to say i would never get one.
i might get an x350 xj6 soon or a 7series bmw
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Hi GB. Don't you remember the top of one of the suspension legs collapsed. They all do, the ones assembled in S.A. that is. And always to my knowledge on the right. Cylinder heads 'lifts' (warps) at front (Straight 6). Door bottoms started to go all of a sudden it seemed as did the base of the 'A' pillars. Went like stink though and was economical enough for what it could do. Returned 29.5 including a quickish run to Sarf 'ampton and back.
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>> Hi GB. Don't you remember the top of one of the suspension legs collapsed. They
>> all do,
No i don't remember that episode, must get some memory pills.
Wasn't aware the 124 had a suspension prolapse problem Mart, i know the 210 has a habit of the spring turrets shearing off the inner wings through rust.
Mine fortunately is a German built car.
As you note though, that engine is very fast and can still hold it's own on the road...the seamless gearbox helps and makes driving at any speed a pleasure with no drama.
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Never liked the Beemer 7 series. That body shape is too small for the 3 and too big for the 7 but fits the 5 just right.
Looks like the Merc C's are just money pits. Did wonder why they were so cheap. Oh well back to the drawing board...
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Any observations, from those who know, about a 2001 BMW 728i Sport 4 Door Auto Saloon with 110,000 miles which looks immaculate in its photo. Price? Known issues etc? Thanks in advance.
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>> about a 2001 BMW 728i Sport 4 Door Auto Saloon
www.meeknet.co.uk/E38/bmw_e38_buying_guide.htm
That guy details it all way better than i ever could. Key points for the sport model -- make sure it's a real one and not just had mpars and badges stuck on :-)
Make sure you hear it from a cold start up, listen in the front offside area of the engine bay as it's starting for any strange noises (AC pump & secondary air pump, both can fail, both in that area). Then go round the back for smoke.
The PDC sensors are difficult to source 2nd hand, i needed 3 at one point! 120 each from a dealer. If one goes bad, all the PDC will refuse to work. Eventually got some off a scrapper.
Parts can be had cheaply with a few know how's, if you do go for it i can email you a list of known good suppliers and what parts to use each of them for. I have an elaborate system of bouncing price matches off one and other :-)
Sagging self levelling suspension (not to be confused with EDC) often means ripping out SLL and replacing with normal shocks and springs at the rear. Choice of parts, sachs / boge oem are the same price as billstein aftermarkets. Rear shocks change on this car is not a job for the feint hearted!!!
Bit of a brain dump but that guy's site is ace. There's also the excellent www.e38.org
EDIT: The timing chains are reliable, and the dual vanos is fine on this engine (it'll be the TU like mine), but there's a (rare) known weakness with the left handed thread on the oil pump sprocket. I dropped my sump to check it and mine was fine. If you get an oil starvation message and shut it off immediately, if there's still oil in the sump then drop it and check the pump before starting it again.
Last edited by: Skoda on Sun 21 Nov 10 at 23:16
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Skoda
Many thanks for a most comprehensive response. As it's getting a bit late I'll examine your comments tomorrow and your link(s).
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Skoda
I've just had a look at your link. What an unbelievable site! How anybody can gather that sort of information together about a range of cars is beyond me.
Having skimmed through it and read your post again I think that there is too much to go wrong so I'll shelve my flight of fancy and stick with what I've got for the time being.
Thanks again.
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Great site. Reminds me of the one for the original Mercedes A class .
My rule of thumb is when you get loads of posts on an Owners' forum about a model, there is a problem. BUT when someone devotes an entire website to a model and its foibles, you need to run away. Fixing a bad 7 Series looks like painting the Forth Bridge..
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To the OP (2nd attempt as the first post vanished into the ether)
I've owned a W202 and a W203 C-Class. Both driven to high mileages without any problems. The W203 was one of the very first built (May 2000) and only saw the dealer for regular servicing in the 3 years I had it. The interior was disappointing, though the later ones are better.
I preferred the W202 in a lot of ways. It felt more like an old school Merc, with a very absorbent ride, well damped steering and a feeling that it would just go forever. The W203 felt more like a half hearted BMW clone, with a harder ride and more direct steering without actually handling any better than the older car.
I would happily have another W202 but to be honest the W124 is the one I would go for if I wanted an older Merc for a low mileage. In fact I did, I presently own an E320 Coupe, similar to gb's but blue. The Coupes don't wear the miles as well as the saloons which makes clocked or uncared for ones easier to spot. The 6 cylinder ones have a Straight 6 engine rather than the V6 in later Mercs. If you really want to spoil yourself, there is also the (saloon only) V8 engined E420.
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>> If you really want to spoil yourself, there is also the (saloon only) V8 engined E420.
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I have not seen a W124 E420 though there was an E500.
Re the OP's two Mercs, I might be wrong however I would have thought that the '97 E280 would be a straight six where as the '01 E240 would be a V6.
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>> I have not seen a W124 E420 though there was an E500.
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You mean the 500E. Hand-built by Porsche, no less. Yes, very nice, very discreet. The epitome of a Q-car.
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>> I have not seen a W124 E420 though there was an E500.
Oh right, just discovered the W124 E420 was never available in RHD. They are available here for reasonable money, the E500 is a collector's item.
In terms of the engines, the OP was asking about the C-Class and sadly Mercedes buried the Straight 6 in the C280 with the facelift of the C-Class for model year 97 and replaced it with the V6. The W210 E-Class got the same treatment later on that year.
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>> I think that there is too much to go wrong
Haha, the other way to look at is there's so much to enjoy! It'd easily take over an hour just to test everything works before buying.
I wouldn't recommend buying a rough one. False economy to put it straight again even if you got it for free. The flip side is if you have the space, a slightly uncared for one for parts is a cheap option.
Cared for, they'll last forever, with ongoing maintenance budget comparable to a Ford Focus (yeah i said that with a straight face). If you cut all the nonsense out of my spending it's a fairly cheap car to run given what you get in return, it's 10 years old but even though my Vrs has every option on the sheet worth having, it's still missing features to the 7er, the 7er isn't missing anything the Skoda has.
I guess it's like the s-class, years ahead of their time, technologically still completely relevant a decade later.
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>> Was yours a 124 Martin and what happened to it to put you off so
>> badly.
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Oh! . Sorry if I implied W124 the bombproof one I believe. No, a 210 as you said. Never again. An E500 was always fancied for no other reason than it was an understated rocket.
Now back to the Mitsi Colt. Works for us, but yawn!!
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 23 Nov 10 at 00:46
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" ... went from almost permanent travelling to going practically nowhere ... "
Niallster, man, may I ask how on Earth did this happen ?
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Vincent,
I took early retirement and moved from London back to my home village in Northamptonshire.
And its the best thing I ever did. International travel looks glamourous but after 20 years it gets real old. On the plus side I have enough airmiles to fly to Saturn.
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I believe an Irish airways is planning a site there.
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>> I believe an Irish airways is planning a site there.
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yes but the actual landing location is on Venus and get a coach from there :-)
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Mercedes Benz - A tale of two Mercedes - Clk Sec
