Mercedes W203 C320 Coupe
Discussion
Anyone up for a quick collection caper?
My (t)rusty astra wasn't going to make it through another MOT. My aims were simple, petrol (as I do some short trips), comfy and automatic (as I have a back issue) and a medium sized estate as I need to use it for work occasionally, but a hatchback just might work.
Budget was, shall we say, ambitious, being right at the bottom of a driveable car. But despite the pricing I was looking at creeping up I still couldn't find a decent honest car. The bottom end of the market is now all dodgy sounding traders, private sellers clearly preferring we buy any car.
Then a car popped up. I left an answer phone message but nothing, so I forgot about it. Then several days later I had a call, it took me a while to work out which car it was, but yes I was still interested.
The pics in the advert were not very useful, description brief but helpful. After a few back and forths I agreed to buy it unseen.
It's quite far from the car I intended to buy, it's not known as being a high spot for the brand or market sector, but as something to use for a year or two I think it should be 'interesting'.
So the journey to Kettering starts, it's 39 miles away, but thanks to Dr Beeching it's a 3 HR train journey, seemingly most of it in the wrong direction.
Anyone fancy a guess as to what it is before I pick it up? First clues are it's rear wheel drive, automatic and has a fairly large engine for what it is. It is low mileage and under my original £1,500 budget.
My (t)rusty astra wasn't going to make it through another MOT. My aims were simple, petrol (as I do some short trips), comfy and automatic (as I have a back issue) and a medium sized estate as I need to use it for work occasionally, but a hatchback just might work.
Budget was, shall we say, ambitious, being right at the bottom of a driveable car. But despite the pricing I was looking at creeping up I still couldn't find a decent honest car. The bottom end of the market is now all dodgy sounding traders, private sellers clearly preferring we buy any car.
Then a car popped up. I left an answer phone message but nothing, so I forgot about it. Then several days later I had a call, it took me a while to work out which car it was, but yes I was still interested.
The pics in the advert were not very useful, description brief but helpful. After a few back and forths I agreed to buy it unseen.
It's quite far from the car I intended to buy, it's not known as being a high spot for the brand or market sector, but as something to use for a year or two I think it should be 'interesting'.
So the journey to Kettering starts, it's 39 miles away, but thanks to Dr Beeching it's a 3 HR train journey, seemingly most of it in the wrong direction.
Anyone fancy a guess as to what it is before I pick it up? First clues are it's rear wheel drive, automatic and has a fairly large engine for what it is. It is low mileage and under my original £1,500 budget.
I wish!
I've had several BMW's, an E36 320i touring, E46 325i touring (my favourite, but mainly as it was just a great example), E61 320i touring and E46 325ti compact ( great car, but it never ran right for me).
To be honest I was a bit fed up with having to replace the cooling systems on each one, so when I started looking they were fairly low on my list of candidates as I wanted a change.
I've had several BMW's, an E36 320i touring, E46 325i touring (my favourite, but mainly as it was just a great example), E61 320i touring and E46 325ti compact ( great car, but it never ran right for me).
To be honest I was a bit fed up with having to replace the cooling systems on each one, so when I started looking they were fairly low on my list of candidates as I wanted a change.
Great call! That's where my search started a few weeks ago, they really appeal to me. I read of horror stories about sill rust and they seem to get quite a bad reputation for not being great to drive, so I started looking elsewhere, but they're still an itch if like to scratch
I am under no illusion, however, that my new car does have the potential to have rust issues and will not be the last word in driver involvement either...
I am under no illusion, however, that my new car does have the potential to have rust issues and will not be the last word in driver involvement either...
I had set my heart on getting a car with the 7gtronic box, the logic being that if I had to go auto if rather go with one of the best. They are out there within my budget, but I didn't find the right car (apart from a perfect looking privately owned estate that's on auto trader, but sadly I could never get through on the phone number - nor could auto trader when I asked):
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501208...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501208...
Sorry, that was confusing, that link is the car that I set my heart on, but could never make contact with the owner.
The car I'm collecting has a larger engine, but i'm guessing it'll be low twenties around town and thirty on a run. It's not going to do much mileage so that's not a big issue.
The car I'm collecting has a larger engine, but i'm guessing it'll be low twenties around town and thirty on a run. It's not going to do much mileage so that's not a big issue.
Edited by gulls on Wednesday 12th March 09:52
Edited by gulls on Wednesday 12th March 09:53
C350 Sports Coupé?
That certainly ticks the "poorly proportioned" and "fairly large engine" for what it is boxes.
There can be an issue with the camshaft position sensor.
OTOH if it's the C320 then I hear there aren't any known issues with that engine.
That certainly ticks the "poorly proportioned" and "fairly large engine" for what it is boxes.
There can be an issue with the camshaft position sensor.
OTOH if it's the C320 then I hear there aren't any known issues with that engine.
Edited by Hoofy on Wednesday 12th March 10:23
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