W202 C Class; Any Good?
Discussion
As you may already know if you've seen my previous threads, I'm fresh out of uni and have £1000 from the sale of my car in second year to spend on a shed to get me about, until I become the PH standard of Powerfully Built Company Director With Goatee and am able to afford something more fitting of such a position.
Anyway, I've considered quite a few options; from a classic mini to restore, through mundane, everyday stuff like the Civic Aerodeck (currently number 1 choice), to something a bit silly like a shed budget Porsche. Like any car nut, even something like a change in wind direction makes me change my mind over what I want, and right now a nice barge sounds good.
I started off looking at the trusty W124 Mercedes in saloon, estate and coupe guises. I thought I wanted an estate as there's the appeal of plenty of space to lug stuff about, however apart from moving flat/house (a rare occasion, likely to happen in 4 weeks time and 12 month's time when I should be able to buy rather than rent), the occasional trip to Ikea, and potentially fitting a bike in the back every now and again. Those last 2 could be doable with a saloon or coupe, so I'm just not sure.
Anyway, the W124s seem to have gotten a bit more scarce, very few within shed budget. I've decided to look down a size, at the C Class. There are plenty of W202 C Classes in shed territory, but are they any good? They're sort on on the limit of Mercedes' great-a bit iffy quality eras, so naturally I'm wondering.
Over to you PH
Anyway, I've considered quite a few options; from a classic mini to restore, through mundane, everyday stuff like the Civic Aerodeck (currently number 1 choice), to something a bit silly like a shed budget Porsche. Like any car nut, even something like a change in wind direction makes me change my mind over what I want, and right now a nice barge sounds good.
I started off looking at the trusty W124 Mercedes in saloon, estate and coupe guises. I thought I wanted an estate as there's the appeal of plenty of space to lug stuff about, however apart from moving flat/house (a rare occasion, likely to happen in 4 weeks time and 12 month's time when I should be able to buy rather than rent), the occasional trip to Ikea, and potentially fitting a bike in the back every now and again. Those last 2 could be doable with a saloon or coupe, so I'm just not sure.
Anyway, the W124s seem to have gotten a bit more scarce, very few within shed budget. I've decided to look down a size, at the C Class. There are plenty of W202 C Classes in shed territory, but are they any good? They're sort on on the limit of Mercedes' great-a bit iffy quality eras, so naturally I'm wondering.
Over to you PH
Keep looking for a w124 - they really are nice vehicles. 4 doors often come up cheap (I have one and realised I could have probably done better for what I paid). You won't regret it, and the early amber models look nice to my eyes!
The C isn't too bad, but every time I see one they are so rusty.
The C isn't too bad, but every time I see one they are so rusty.
Have seen what you mean, plenty of old Mercs with lots of rust on them; although many are from the late 90s/early 00s iffy quality period. One thing I have noticed with the W124 is they all seem to be automatic, did they not do a manual? It's not a dealbreaker for me, but the OH is still learning to drive, and we may have to share 1 car between us, which is irritating for me as we have no hope of insuring two under 25s, one without a full licence, on anything remotely interesting 
but I may be able to convince her that we need two cars...
but I may be able to convince her that we need two cars...There are a few manuals around, but they are rare and mostly basic models in terms of other spec (though we have poverty Merc enthusiasts on here!). I wouldn't want a manual as the auto suits the car very well, in my opinion. Keep an eye on the bargain thread as there are often w124s posted there.
One positive thing I found with the w124 having zero no claims was that the insurance was remarkably cheap - perhaps as mine is now over 20 years old. Quotes for mine were less than a Yaris, despite treble the engine capacity!
One positive thing I found with the w124 having zero no claims was that the insurance was remarkably cheap - perhaps as mine is now over 20 years old. Quotes for mine were less than a Yaris, despite treble the engine capacity!
Edited by 0a on Sunday 7th July 20:09
If it were just for me to drive I'd definitely go auto; as you say it suits the W124 quite well, a manual would really be only for the OH's benefit while learning, although I suppose we could save a few quid and get her a Metro or something cheap and manual. I know at shed prices I shouldn't be too picky, but I do have a hankering for one with leather seats. In an ideal world, I'd want a reasonably good stereo in it too, but it's not a deal breaker as I'm sure I can find one
I own a W202 C240 V6. I've had it for 6 years and in that time i've taken it from 83k to just over 242k miles. It's an Estate Sport. Great car - has taken me all over the UK many times in utter comfort. Everything except the aircon still works, and has required comparatively little work in that time as I've done everything myself. I'm only due to change it because it's crumbling to bits with rust.
DanB7290 said:
I started off looking at the trusty W124 Mercedes in saloon, estate and coupe guises...
Anyway, the W124s seem to have gotten a bit more scarce, very few within shed budget. I've decided to look down a size, at the C Class.
While the W124's "classless" image has already been discussed at great length on many PH threads, I'm not sure if the W202 C-class is in the same league.Anyway, the W124s seem to have gotten a bit more scarce, very few within shed budget. I've decided to look down a size, at the C Class.
How about its predecessor, the W201 190E (and a bike rack)? Nice little mini-barge with the 2.6 engine.
10 months or so ago I was looking for a cheap 'shed' also. Since buying any 'modernish' car seems to be a lottery, and having viewed a £700 maroon 4-door Fiesta, I decided a Mercedes was probably a more pleasant place to wait for a breakdown truck, so I purchased an £800 98 c240. It's a dark green estate which I hoped would not have been ragged to death, and it looks like a former dog-wagon judging by the amount of fur in it. Touch wood, no real problems so far, though I did drop the ignition key which then failed to start the car. £260 from Mercedes, thank you. Also the heater blower packed up just before winter. Apparently a 'common problem on this model' (as is everything when searching on the internet, lol). That turned out to be the motor itself, despite looking brand new. Replacing it is one of the easiest jobs I've ever done on a car. As others have said, the paint doesn't stick too well on these; mine has minimal rust round the rear wheel arches which I treated and covered in black Smoothrite, and is not really noticable. It amazes me that the owners of these things don't do anything about this problem. One thing, try and get one with a leather interior, it makes all the difference to how it feels. My metaphor for owning this era Mercedes is it's like having a beautiful but utterly mad girlfriend; when everything is going well you feel like a millionaire, but it will go wrong and maybe frequently. It's just knowing when to get out of it....
I love my 202!
I've got a 250 Turbodiesel Elegance Estate which i've had coming up for 3 years and i can't think of anything to replace it with. Mines Auto and i really would'nt go back to a manual, especially in a Merc.
Last year i had the rear arches and tailgate resprayed due to the dreaded Merc rust and now the front wings are starting to go, however these are bolt-on so i'll replace them when they get holed. I'd far rather deal with cosmetic rust than i would ABS/TC/airbags lights i've had to deal with on similar era BMW's!
Routine servicing is cheaper than you'd think if you find a good local MB Specialist, my last B service cost around £300. Make sure you change the gearbox oil if you can't find a record of it being done, mine's now super smooth! Also lubricate wiper linkages as i've heard there quite expensive if they fail.
They drive suprisingly well, last weekend i covered just over 500 miles, fully loaded and she did'nt miss a beat.
Im hoping that as the rough ones dissapear from our roads the good ones will start to be appreciated like the 123/124's have. Especially seeing how prices of 124's have risen as you've noticed!
Previously i had a 201 190 which was also superb, but im not sure i'd want to use one everyday now as there getting to classic status.
Make sure you get a solid one with a good history and i don't think you'll go far wrong!
I've got a 250 Turbodiesel Elegance Estate which i've had coming up for 3 years and i can't think of anything to replace it with. Mines Auto and i really would'nt go back to a manual, especially in a Merc.
Last year i had the rear arches and tailgate resprayed due to the dreaded Merc rust and now the front wings are starting to go, however these are bolt-on so i'll replace them when they get holed. I'd far rather deal with cosmetic rust than i would ABS/TC/airbags lights i've had to deal with on similar era BMW's!
Routine servicing is cheaper than you'd think if you find a good local MB Specialist, my last B service cost around £300. Make sure you change the gearbox oil if you can't find a record of it being done, mine's now super smooth! Also lubricate wiper linkages as i've heard there quite expensive if they fail.
They drive suprisingly well, last weekend i covered just over 500 miles, fully loaded and she did'nt miss a beat.
Im hoping that as the rough ones dissapear from our roads the good ones will start to be appreciated like the 123/124's have. Especially seeing how prices of 124's have risen as you've noticed!
Previously i had a 201 190 which was also superb, but im not sure i'd want to use one everyday now as there getting to classic status.
Make sure you get a solid one with a good history and i don't think you'll go far wrong!
Have driven a W202 C200 down to the south of France and back and I thoroughly enjoyed the car.
Extremely comfortable cruiser and it's so good at that you never really want to push on too much, so I'd agree that an Auto is the obvious choice.
Said car proved extremely mechanically reliable over 3 years and 30k+ miles too.
Extremely comfortable cruiser and it's so good at that you never really want to push on too much, so I'd agree that an Auto is the obvious choice.
Said car proved extremely mechanically reliable over 3 years and 30k+ miles too.
I have a W124 200TE 7 seater. Without wanting to go all Troy Queef it does feel very different to other cars of the era that I've driven and owned, as well as very well put together. 225k and still going strong, although does burn a bit of oil and is pretty thirsty. Would have preferred a bigger engine, but for the price I paid it's a hell of a lot of car
Yes. I had one for 6 weeks as a stop-gap before I emigrated. A 1999 2.5 TD Estate with an auto box. 218k, new MOT and 6 months tax, cost me 700 pounds. It was fairly rusty, if I had been looking at it as a longer-term proposition, I would have sought out a less rusty one but it was faultlessly reliable, comfortable, not quick compared to my Impreza but had a reasonable turn of speed (150bhp) and returned 40mpg. A couple of problems to look out for: the digital display on mine had gone haywire (but that didn’t really bother me, rear wiper didn’t work (never found out why and you won’t have this issue on a saloon) and I was a bit disappointed to discover that the factory-fit CD player didn’t work (didn’t bother to test it out when I test drove it). The door mirrors also don’t fold in and were a little bit wobbly on my car (the casing fell off on the passenger side). However, I don’t think I’ve ever had so many positive comments about a car and because it was a Mercedes, people thought that it must have been a lot more expensive than it was. I would definitely have another (and wish I still had it), depite having 218k it drove like a new one (and I have driven one when it was new), the boot is massive on the estate and it is ten times better than the Toyota Yaris I drive now in every way. I would urge you to seek out a 250 TD, as it is a chain-driven engine and is virtually “bombproof” but an old enough design to not suffer from the expensive issues that can plague modern diesels and I wouldn’t recommend a manual C-Class for reasons mentioned already (foot-operated parking brake etc), the 5-speed auto is actually very good. I have some experience with the 2.4 V6 petrol and IMO it is no quicker than the diesel but far more thirsty and I’ve heard it can use a lot of oil. I think that you would enjoy a C-Class, just try to find one with not too much rust!
PDenyer said:
I like mine ..
That's lovely, PDenyer! I was going to add to the end of my post; "..not to get too attached", however it seems that Mercedes are infectious as I have just bought mine some Amg alloys like those on your car. I have also started lusting after C63 estates and looking at older Merc estates also...SilverStar said:
Previously i had a 201 190 which was also superb, but im not sure i'd want to use one everyday now as there getting to classic status.
I would. Theres less to go wrong than the 202, particularly electrics - for example the keys/immobiliser and ECU's can be a PITA on later mercs. With a 190/early 124 as long as the ignition consumables, ovp/fp relay and general maintenance is in order there really isn't much to let you down (that's why they are loved in Africa/EE). The W202 is still a good car, the earlier models seem to have better paintwork/less rust issues.
I ran a 2000 C240 Sport from 80K to 178K miles with nothing more than regular servicing, and sold it on to a friend who I believe is still tooling about in it at 230K+.
In terms of rust, mine had a couple of patches around the leading edge of the bonnet and the rear arches were beginning to go. As posted earlier earlier model cars used a different (and thicker) paint formulation so tend to fare better. The last model year 2001 W/X reg cars also tend to have a better finish as MB were rolling out new paint tech to try and fix the W210.
A late model C220 CDI Sport or 230 Kompressor would be my picks.
In terms of rust, mine had a couple of patches around the leading edge of the bonnet and the rear arches were beginning to go. As posted earlier earlier model cars used a different (and thicker) paint formulation so tend to fare better. The last model year 2001 W/X reg cars also tend to have a better finish as MB were rolling out new paint tech to try and fix the W210.
A late model C220 CDI Sport or 230 Kompressor would be my picks.
To the OP, beware getting an estate - you may end up doing a lot of moving for your friends as well!
The W202 is not remotely classic and in the unloved phase of simply being an old car, so they are excellent value. I think if you aim for a pre-facelift one you'll largely avoid the rust issues ('94 to about '97?).
A couple from autotrader - a manual C180 and an auto C280 for well under £1000
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
They're not quite in the W124/W201 league but they will be a nice comfy conveyance.
The W202 is not remotely classic and in the unloved phase of simply being an old car, so they are excellent value. I think if you aim for a pre-facelift one you'll largely avoid the rust issues ('94 to about '97?).
A couple from autotrader - a manual C180 and an auto C280 for well under £1000
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
They're not quite in the W124/W201 league but they will be a nice comfy conveyance.
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