Friendly E-class coupe advice

[mattwatson]

Morning all,

I know very little about Mercedes so after some advice. I'm currently looking at used E-class coupes 2010/2011 plate with a budget of circa £22,500.

The 350's all seem to be better specced and are no more expensive than the 250's but I can end up doing some decent mileage through work so the extra performance of the 350 dosen't sway me over the 250 better mpg.

So.....i'm just interested in what extras to look for? Different types of sat navs? Are there any mid cycle engine updates with better mpg/performance? Any common faults/weaknesses?

Any help or considerations would be appreciated.

[mattwatson]

thanks all

[gizlaroc]

Main thing is make sure you get a later car with the 7 g tronic plus gearbox, you will get considerably more mpg from it, 35 average vs 45 average.

Apart from that nothing really to note.

[tonys]

There were changes to the 350 diesel V6 around mid-2011, producing 265bhp/640nm, rather than 231bhp and about 500 odd nm. torque on the older one. Different pistons (i think), lower compression, higher fuel pressure, ceramic glow plugs, changed DPF regeneration. Supposed to be about 5mpg better. Possibly came in with the eco stop start system, which also had modified 7g-tronic plus gearbox, different torque convertor and other mods, i think there was talk of a separate oil pump in gearbox (probably related to stop start). I think the gearbox service schedule was lengthened at the same time as well. Identified with an OM 642 LS numbering in the engine code, IIRC. Older was OM 642. Different turbo bearings. Revised engines seem to have been introduced to different models at different times. I think the coupe was one of the last to get it.

It would seem that all with the straight LED lights have the later engines, but I have seen some with the hockey stick lights that appeared to have the later engine. However, my understanding is that the older lights could be fitted to the newer vehicle, but don't know for sure.

There were some complaints of injector noise/chatter on some of the earlier E350 CDis, but there were some software upgrades to address that issue around end of 2010/early 2011 from what I can ascertain. No personal knowledge though.

Petrol; there was a completely different V6 petrol engine introduced about the same time. 60 degree V6, without balancer shaft as fitted to the older engine. Not sure how many were sold though.

If I can think of anything else in due course I'll add it on here.

[tonys]

Just re-read original thread. Very few, if any, later V6 350 diesels at the budget you have stated. With regard to the 250 diesels, there were well known issues with the injectors on many cars in 2009/2010, but if not already aware there is plenty about it on various MB forums. Various dates have been stated whereby issue supposed to have been fixed, my understanding is that some cars are still being fitted with the latest system as and when they go in for service.

[gizlaroc]

Anyway...just contract a hire one, far cheaper than buying a 3 year old one.

Plus you get much better suspension than the facelift, better steering and all the toys you could ever wish for as standard.

[mattwatson]

When you say cheaper to contract are you basing that on buying a 3yr old car on finance? I did plan on buying the car cash so no monthly inflated costs.

Contract hire is something I have never really looked into.

[Dryce]

matttson said:

When you say cheaper to contract are you basing that on buying a 3yr old car on finance? I did plan on buying the car cash so no monthly inflated costs.

Contract hire is something I have never really looked into.

There have been some deals on contract hire that have made new car ownership look cheap compared with used car ownership.

Depends on the model and the length of time you would own it and how many miles you do.

I went looking for a used CLS a few months ago and the cost of renting a new one was competitive with depreciation on a 18 month to 2 year old month AU car over a 2 to 2.5 year term. Basically after renting the new car and giving it back I'd have enough to left over to buy an older (4 to 4.5 year old) CLS.

Basically the contract hire costs beat the depreciation curve of a new car and roughly matched the depreciation curve of a used one.

However the caveat is that it depends on personal circumstances and available deals and mileage (most contract hire deals headline at 8 or 10K miles per annum). It's also not flexible. You buy a car for cash and you can sell it. You take on a contract hire deal for two years and you're pretty much stuck with the terms fixed over the 2 years.

[gizlaroc]

CLS350cdi was at £309 a month +vat doing 18k miles a year a few weeks back.

E Coupes were even less as they are run out models.

You would loose more than that over 3 years buying a 10 plate one with cash.

[Ari]

gizlaroc said:

CLS350cdi was at £309 a month +vat doing 18k miles a year a few weeks back.

E Coupes were even less as they are run out models.

You would loose more than that over 3 years buying a 10 plate one with cash.

So, £13,348.80 over three years, plus whatever the deposit is, could take it close to £15,000.

If (as the OP suggests) a secondhand one is circa £20K, do you really think it will be worth less than £5K in three years and 18,000 miles or less...?

[gizlaroc]

Ari said:

So, £13,348.80 over three years, plus whatever the deposit is, could take it close to £15,000.

If (as the OP suggests) a secondhand one is circa £20K, do you really think it will be worth less than £5K in three years and 18,000 miles or less...?

OP wants a 2010 model for £22500.
That car will be worth around £10000 after 3 years and 45k miles at trade in value, at best.

So will cost £12500 there or thereabouts.

If you buy main dealer you will get a years warranty on it, then you will gamble on anything going wrong or you will take out another 2 years warranty at £1050 a year if you keep the car under 60,000 miles.

A 2010 E350cdi coupe will do approx. 34mpg, doing 12k miles a year that is £6700 in fuel.
a 2012 E350cdi couple will do approx. 40mpg, doing 12k miles a year that is £5700 in fuel.

A used car with 20-30k miles on it and being sold with around 65k-75k miles on it will need the big 50k mile service doing, brake discs front and rear and may need an extra set of tyres depending how good they are on the car now.



So, when I say cheaper I might have been pushing it, but it won't be that much in it, especially if you add a warranty.

The new E Coupe is due soon, will come with the standard kit of the E saloon, ie comand, online, dab, leather, led lights, media etc. and the hire deals will be even better.

By all means buy a 2010 E Coupe for £18k, but I wouldn't spend £22500 on one. IMHO of course.

[mattwatson]

Cheers for this ^^^^^^^^ some food for thought there definitely!

[jonny70]

Ari said:

So, £13,348.80 over three years, plus whatever the deposit is, could take it close to £15,000.

If (as the OP suggests) a secondhand one is circa £20K, do you really think it will be worth less than £5K in three years and 18,000 miles or less...?

here is the Eclass coupe 220 cdi auto brand new 2 years 10k a year .

http://www.cvsl.co.uk/car-leasing/mercedes-benz/me...

@ £229 + vat is £275 x12= £3300 a year so £6600 for 2 years + deposit brings it nearer 8k .Thats for a brand new car ,wont need new tyres with warranty etc

So you said £15000 true cost is nearer £8000

[gizlaroc]

jonny70 said:

here is the Eclass coupe 220 cdi auto brand new 2 years 10k a year .

http://www.cvsl.co.uk/car-leasing/mercedes-benz/me...

@ £229 + vat is £275 x12= £3300 a year so £6600 for 2 years + deposit brings it nearer 8k .Thats for a brand new car ,wont need new tyres with warranty etc

So you said £15000 true cost is nearer £8000

But a 350cdi will cost twice as much over the same period, however, I see the CLS250cdi is going for only a few quid more than the E220cdi coupe, that would be my choice, plenty of poke, 40-50mpg all day long and a good looking motor with a sublime interior.

[Cyclone1]

gizlaroc said:

But a 350cdi will cost twice as much over the same period, however, I see the CLS250cdi is going for only a few quid more than the E220cdi coupe, that would be my choice, plenty of poke, 40-50mpg all day long and a good looking motor with a sublime interior.

On which site did you see the CLS250cdi?

Jules.

[HarryW]

jonny70 said:

here is the Eclass coupe 220 cdi auto brand new 2 years 10k a year .

http://www.cvsl.co.uk/car-leasing/mercedes-benz/me...

@ £229 + vat is £275 x12= £3300 a year so £6600 for 2 years + deposit brings it nearer 8k .Thats for a brand new car ,wont need new tyres with warranty etc

So you said £15000 true cost is nearer £8000

Thats a business only rates, besides its gone up to 255 today! personal is 346 + 1000 down, so getting nearer 10k than 8k. Still good and prefeable to buying private all day long imho.
The deals are there as its the run out model though, I think the replacement is due in June?

[HarryW]

Cyclone1 said:

gizlaroc said:

But a 350cdi will cost twice as much over the same period, however, I see the CLS250cdi is going for only a few quid more than the E220cdi coupe, that would be my choice, plenty of poke, 40-50mpg all day long and a good looking motor with a sublime interior.

On which site did you see the CLS250cdi?

Jules.

PCP they're 399 straight from Merc, +6k from you and 11K from the dealer. I was swinging between the CLS shooting brake and the E Estate myself, part of me wishes I'd gone for the shooting brake, bit of marmite car but I like marmite.......

[gizlaroc]

HarryW said:

PCP they're 399 straight from Merc, +6k from you and 11K from the dealer. I was swinging between the CLS shooting brake and the E Estate myself, part of me wishes I'd gone for the shooting brake, bit of marmite car but I like marmite.......

I'm not talking about PCP, buying a new car is just not sensible these days.

It was on here, but the deals that we up in May have now gone, just about everyone was offering a CLS250cdi AMG auto with comand and metallic for 6 months down and £249 a month + vat or 6 + 23x£309+vat for the CLS350cdi.

But as the allocation of those cars disappear so do the deals.

99% of those lease companies will do it personally as well, just add the vat on.

[HarryW]

Are they still available at those prices then?