W203 or W204? Petrol or diesel?

[Hairymonster]

Hi all,

I know this has been discussed before, but not specifically the engines.

I'm after either a W203 or W204 C class estate.

Consensus seems to be that the last of the W203s are nicer than the first W204s.

I'm currently trying to decide between petrol and diesel, also 1.8/2.0 litre or go large with 3.0/3.5 litre 6 cylinder units.

I know some of the earlier V6 petrols had problems with the cam chain/sprocket - teeth jumping etc. but most 2006 engines onwards had the upgraded bit which stopped this happening. Is a big diesel lump going to have more issues than a big petrol lump? is the 2.7 5 cyl diesel any good?

I would go for facelifted W203, but have seen nice W204 estate C280 petrol for decent money - £5.5k.

Essentially I want something which is going to give as few problems as possible, even if I need to pay a bit more for petrol rather than diesel.

Is 1.8 Kompressor lump any good?

All feedback welcomed!

Cheers - Philip

[mickyveloce]

I've got a 1.8 kompressor 6-speed manual coupe from 2003.

The engine is regarded as robust, with less to cause problems then the diesel.

On my 18 mile commute, the trip computer often tops 40mpg, with 35/6 being the average over the last 900 miles.

It's got inter-stellar gearing, which helps, and it's quite, but rather uninspiring in its performance and noise.

Later 203s were much more rust-resistant than mine, and have a nicer, more conventional dash and instruments.

Overall, a really competent package.

[BlackFlag]

W204, IMO. At the time it was the most-tested car MB had ever developed. They are generally very reliable and have a pretty limited set of issues, most of which were resolved or are easy fixes.

Also, no rust and the chassis was widely considered one of the best in the segment.

[Hairymonster]

Thanks Gents - good to hear your experiences.