Discussion
Hi, what is the general consensus on the two makes, I have the chance of either buying a face lift 5 series 520d SE or a facelift C class 220 elegance, both 2011, both diesel, both auto, both similar colours, the Merc is £500 cheaper and has done 10K less (130,000) though.
Personally I prefer the BMW but what I don't want is to end up with a big bill for a new auto box or something. So which is it to be.
Personally I prefer the BMW but what I don't want is to end up with a big bill for a new auto box or something. So which is it to be.
Trabi601 said:
2011 isn't 'facelift' (or LCI in BMW terms) for the 5 series.
However, the C class of that era is is cheap and nasty. Buy the 5 series.
Must be a new model then, it went from the up turned headlights from about 2004 to a much more subtle front end in 2010/11. However, the C class of that era is is cheap and nasty. Buy the 5 series.
I'm surprised the Mercs are still on the cheap side, have they not learned from the rust buckets of mid 2000s?
F10 5 Series all the way. It's a better car than the current C-Class, let alone the previous generation.
I speak from experience as had an F10 520D company car for a couple of years up until recently and the wife has the current C-Class 220D and had the previous model back in 2010.
Much more comfortable, better engine, better gearbox (The ZF 8 speed is absolutely miles ahead) and better to drive. We also had an E-Class of the last generation for 2 years from 2013 to 2015 and whilst a nice car the F10 is still noticeably better.
We also had more issues with the Merc's despite doing less miles in them. All cars were leased so brand new.
The W204 class wasn't cheap or nasty in my opinion and a massive improvement on the C-Class that came before it. Not a patch on the F10 though.
I speak from experience as had an F10 520D company car for a couple of years up until recently and the wife has the current C-Class 220D and had the previous model back in 2010.
Much more comfortable, better engine, better gearbox (The ZF 8 speed is absolutely miles ahead) and better to drive. We also had an E-Class of the last generation for 2 years from 2013 to 2015 and whilst a nice car the F10 is still noticeably better.
We also had more issues with the Merc's despite doing less miles in them. All cars were leased so brand new.
mickmcpaddy said:
Must be a new model then, it went from the up turned headlights from about 2004 to a much more subtle front end in 2010/11.
I'm surprised the Mercs are still on the cheap side, have they not learned from the rust buckets of mid 2000s?
F10 5 Series was released in late 2009/early 2010 as a replacement for the E60 5 Series. We also had an E60 and E61 back in the 00's and again the F10 is a definite improvement in many ways.I'm surprised the Mercs are still on the cheap side, have they not learned from the rust buckets of mid 2000s?
The W204 class wasn't cheap or nasty in my opinion and a massive improvement on the C-Class that came before it. Not a patch on the F10 though.
Edited by SWoll on Sunday 13th November 22:02
SWoll said:
F10 5 Series all the way. It's a better car than the current C-Class, let alone the previous generation.
I speak from experience as had an F10 520D company car for a couple of years up until recently and the wife has the current C-Class 220D and had the previous model back in 2010.
Much more comfortable, better engine, better gearbox (The ZF 8 speed is absolutely miles ahead) and better to drive. We also had an E-Class of the last generation for 2 years from 2013 to 2015 and whilst a nice car the F10 is still noticeably better.
We also had more issues with the Merc's despite doing less miles in them. All cars were leased so brand new.
A little off-topic - I've been thinking of leasing the current 520d and also looked at the current e220d. Would you still suggest that the 520 is better? I'd think the new MB engine, the 9 speed gearbox and the gadgets make the e220 the better choice at this point.I speak from experience as had an F10 520D company car for a couple of years up until recently and the wife has the current C-Class 220D and had the previous model back in 2010.
Much more comfortable, better engine, better gearbox (The ZF 8 speed is absolutely miles ahead) and better to drive. We also had an E-Class of the last generation for 2 years from 2013 to 2015 and whilst a nice car the F10 is still noticeably better.
We also had more issues with the Merc's despite doing less miles in them. All cars were leased so brand new.
mickmcpaddy said:
Must be a new model then, it went from the up turned headlights from about 2004 to a much more subtle front end in 2010/11.
I'm surprised the Mercs are still on the cheap side, have they not learned from the rust buckets of mid 2000s?
F10 5 Series was released in late 2009/early 2010 as a replacement for the E60 5 Series. We also had an E60 and E61 back in the 00's and again the F10 is a definite improvement in many ways.I'm surprised the Mercs are still on the cheap side, have they not learned from the rust buckets of mid 2000s?
Edited by SWoll on Sunday 13th November 21:58
nc11 said:
A little off-topic - I've been thinking of leasing the current 520d and also looked at the current e220d. Would you still suggest that the 520 is better? I'd think the new MB engine, the 9 speed gearbox and the gadgets make the e220 the better choice at this point.
It'll depend on lease costs, I think.Our company leases had 520d MSport and Luxury variants listed at £50 a month cheaper than an E220SE. If you wanted to match the BMW spec., by adding Premium / Premium Plus packages, you were looking at differences of over £100 per month.
However, I don't know if you can order an F10 / F11 to your own specification now - surely they'll be switching to the new model for 2017 builds?
(Reviews still rate the F10 as a better car than the new E-Class, too)
I would say the opposite to the others. Merc all the way. I changed my 2012 C220 for a 2015 5 series.
In the 3 years I had the Merc not a rattle, squeak, fault and it felt like it would go on for years and many miles and fell as good as new.
I've had the 5 for 18 months. It's been back to the dealers more than once to fix trim that has literally fallen off while I was driving along. I have spent ages sorting out the many squeaks and rattles in the car. The paint quality is terrible, orange peel all over it where the Merc paint was like glass. Some of the heater switches have stopped working and yesterday the sat nav and dash decided to turn itself off for 5 mins while I was driving, no speedo, rev counter, nav nothing I had to pull over and restart the car and it all came back on. A piece of Automotive crap. I got the 5 as the world seemed to rave about them and it was a good deal, but I'm looking forward to 18 months time when I can change it.
In the 3 years I had the Merc not a rattle, squeak, fault and it felt like it would go on for years and many miles and fell as good as new.
I've had the 5 for 18 months. It's been back to the dealers more than once to fix trim that has literally fallen off while I was driving along. I have spent ages sorting out the many squeaks and rattles in the car. The paint quality is terrible, orange peel all over it where the Merc paint was like glass. Some of the heater switches have stopped working and yesterday the sat nav and dash decided to turn itself off for 5 mins while I was driving, no speedo, rev counter, nav nothing I had to pull over and restart the car and it all came back on. A piece of Automotive crap. I got the 5 as the world seemed to rave about them and it was a good deal, but I'm looking forward to 18 months time when I can change it.
DUMBO100 said:
I've got a 2015 520d Msport and haven't had a single problem in 20k miles. I've been thinking about a C or New E Class but am worried that the Diesel engine is a bit rough. Am I correct in thinking that the new E has an improved engine? I think that the E has the 9 spd auto also
The E does have a new engine and box. But the interior is a technofest gin palace. All bling. Couldn't live with it.
Yipper said:
Make of it what you will, but Reliability Index says the MB C-Class is around 2 times more reliable than the BMW 5 Series. The BMW has below-average reliability. The Merc is above-average.
The F10 isn't listed in the Reliability Index - the ratings are for the E60, which is fairly ancient these days.The old C-class is listed, but age comes into this, as the oldest C is a good number of years younger than the oldest E60.
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