New to Mercedes - a little help pls
Discussion
Morning all. I’m new to the forums and new to the Mercedes brand and would appreciate a little assistance for a new (or nearly) car that I am thinking of buying.
Love the looks of the C Class, so am considering a 350 CDI Sport with driving assist pack, memory pack, heated front seats, telephone wiring, dynamic pack, DAB radio plus more airbags & child seats. All this comes in at £41.5k according to the website (still cheaper than a Jag I suppose) – my first question is have I missed anything “essential” or “pointless” out in speccing the car as I have?
Any thoughts on likely discount I could expect for brand new? I’d certainly look at a late 2010 or 2011 model second hand – is the C Class a fast depreciator?
There does seem to be a fair price difference between “Mercedes Approved Used” and “Mercedes-Benz Retail” (I understand that Mercedes actually owns this company) – does anyone have any (good or bad) experiences of them were I to go down the second hand route?
Sorry for the wall of text and many thanks for constructive comments.
Love the looks of the C Class, so am considering a 350 CDI Sport with driving assist pack, memory pack, heated front seats, telephone wiring, dynamic pack, DAB radio plus more airbags & child seats. All this comes in at £41.5k according to the website (still cheaper than a Jag I suppose) – my first question is have I missed anything “essential” or “pointless” out in speccing the car as I have?
Any thoughts on likely discount I could expect for brand new? I’d certainly look at a late 2010 or 2011 model second hand – is the C Class a fast depreciator?
There does seem to be a fair price difference between “Mercedes Approved Used” and “Mercedes-Benz Retail” (I understand that Mercedes actually owns this company) – does anyone have any (good or bad) experiences of them were I to go down the second hand route?
Sorry for the wall of text and many thanks for constructive comments.
Id be inclined to get a second hand car that has depreciated its first lump .
I have a great contact at merc benz world brooklands if you need to talk to someone proper that can get you new or used .
got my sls , clk black , aunts e , grans c , friends sls etc etc all from this guy , he is a highly recommended no bs merchant
.
I have a great contact at merc benz world brooklands if you need to talk to someone proper that can get you new or used .
got my sls , clk black , aunts e , grans c , friends sls etc etc all from this guy , he is a highly recommended no bs merchant
.
What kind of journeys will you use the car for? Long or short? Fast or slow? Urban or country? Lots of motorway?
How often will you carry passengers? How many? How big? Children?
What is your driving style? Aggressive or restrained? Fast or slow? Pushy or progressive?
How long do you want to keep it?
The 350 CDI motor is quite lovely; efficient, smooth, strong; I say this as one who doesn't really like diesels.
The sport bodywork is a bit, well, a bit lairy. The sport suspension is a bit hard. The sport interior is a bit sporty. The sport grille is a tad vulgar. But taste is a matter of taste: feel free to disagree and tell me the elegance is a bit old man. However, if you will frequently be carrying passengers over urban or broken roads, you may wish to consider the benefits of the softer elegance set up.
Heated seats are a must for me.
Ditto leather.
Memory seats are useful if somebody else frequently takes your place at the wheel.
Multi-contour seats are worth having if you do lots of miles.
Integrated child seats are great if you have young children (although for some bizarre reason they are only available with coal hole black upholstery), as are the sun blinds.
I would take the rear side air bags if you have children or frequently carry passengers in the rear.
The lane-tracking and driving assistance packages are a waste of money if you've passed your test.
DAB tuner: does it actually work in a car? I have only heard bad reports and they are not going to switch off the analogue anytime soon.
Surround sound system is nice to have if the car is the place where you get to listen to music.
I like the fire extinguisher, if only for novelty value.
If you want a new one, get a new one. Go the whole hog. Order it from the factory and then go and collect it. They look great in Cuprite Brown with Cappucino leather.
How often will you carry passengers? How many? How big? Children?
What is your driving style? Aggressive or restrained? Fast or slow? Pushy or progressive?
How long do you want to keep it?
The 350 CDI motor is quite lovely; efficient, smooth, strong; I say this as one who doesn't really like diesels.
The sport bodywork is a bit, well, a bit lairy. The sport suspension is a bit hard. The sport interior is a bit sporty. The sport grille is a tad vulgar. But taste is a matter of taste: feel free to disagree and tell me the elegance is a bit old man. However, if you will frequently be carrying passengers over urban or broken roads, you may wish to consider the benefits of the softer elegance set up.
Heated seats are a must for me.
Ditto leather.
Memory seats are useful if somebody else frequently takes your place at the wheel.
Multi-contour seats are worth having if you do lots of miles.
Integrated child seats are great if you have young children (although for some bizarre reason they are only available with coal hole black upholstery), as are the sun blinds.
I would take the rear side air bags if you have children or frequently carry passengers in the rear.
The lane-tracking and driving assistance packages are a waste of money if you've passed your test.
DAB tuner: does it actually work in a car? I have only heard bad reports and they are not going to switch off the analogue anytime soon.
Surround sound system is nice to have if the car is the place where you get to listen to music.
I like the fire extinguisher, if only for novelty value.
If you want a new one, get a new one. Go the whole hog. Order it from the factory and then go and collect it. They look great in Cuprite Brown with Cappucino leather.
Before you buy new, look at MB retail. See what 6 months depreciation does...
http://mercedes-benzretailusedcars.co.uk
http://mercedes-benzretailusedcars.co.uk
eldar said:
Before you buy new, look at MB retail. See what 6 months depreciation does...
http://mercedes-benzretailusedcars.co.uk
What he said ^http://mercedes-benzretailusedcars.co.uk
Bought my current E Class (has about £5k of extras) from their Manchester branch for the same price I paid for my previous brand new fairly run of the mill C180k.
Many thanks for the replies and suggestions.
r129sl, the journeys will not usually be long - just me to and from (urban) train station / and weekends with the family (2 seats in the back will be ample).
Driving style less agressive these days (must be getting older) and will take a good look at the elegance - im cerainly not wedded to the sport and some of the options I listed seem to fall fall into the "nice to have" but not "essential" category.
MB retail have been suggested so I'll certainly be trying them if I go nearly new - the website seems to be listing some 2011 models at 27k give-or-take a bit rather than the 40k for brand new (other half may well have some suggestions on how to spend the savings no doubt).
Time to test drive a sport and elegance model and do some thinking!
Thank you all
r129sl, the journeys will not usually be long - just me to and from (urban) train station / and weekends with the family (2 seats in the back will be ample).
Driving style less agressive these days (must be getting older) and will take a good look at the elegance - im cerainly not wedded to the sport and some of the options I listed seem to fall fall into the "nice to have" but not "essential" category.
MB retail have been suggested so I'll certainly be trying them if I go nearly new - the website seems to be listing some 2011 models at 27k give-or-take a bit rather than the 40k for brand new (other half may well have some suggestions on how to spend the savings no doubt).
Time to test drive a sport and elegance model and do some thinking!
Thank you all
The c class was facelifted recently, obviously the new cars will hold their value better than the older shape. Nicer interior on the new cars too.
The 350CDI engine has just been upgraded, new shape cars are 265hp and have better MPG/emissions than the older 231hp 350CDI.
Of course the above won't be an issue if you order brand new.
I tried a new shape 250CDI and 350CDI and chose the 250; the 4 cylinder car is pretty quick (the 350 is quicker of course), quiet and returns mid-50s MPG. I do a lot of miles so the MPG advantage was key for me.
I had a look at what was available from stock and there were some 350's with a really nice specification. I got a very good deal choosing a car from new stock compared with a factory order.
Harmon Kardan is a nice option to have.
I preferred the ride on the Elegance but went for a sport in the end as the steering and brakes felt better, and I disliked the full Artico (fake leather) trim; I had the Elegance for a few days on demo in hot weather and it wasn't a nice place to sit.
So, if you go for the Elegance you really have to add leather seats and if you want xenons too you end up spending more than just upgrading to the Sport model in the first place.
Finally, the Sport has flappy paddles on the steering wheel for gearshift but of course just a bit of a novelty - you can't however spec these on the Elegance.
The 350CDI engine has just been upgraded, new shape cars are 265hp and have better MPG/emissions than the older 231hp 350CDI.
Of course the above won't be an issue if you order brand new.
I tried a new shape 250CDI and 350CDI and chose the 250; the 4 cylinder car is pretty quick (the 350 is quicker of course), quiet and returns mid-50s MPG. I do a lot of miles so the MPG advantage was key for me.
I had a look at what was available from stock and there were some 350's with a really nice specification. I got a very good deal choosing a car from new stock compared with a factory order.
Harmon Kardan is a nice option to have.
I preferred the ride on the Elegance but went for a sport in the end as the steering and brakes felt better, and I disliked the full Artico (fake leather) trim; I had the Elegance for a few days on demo in hot weather and it wasn't a nice place to sit.
So, if you go for the Elegance you really have to add leather seats and if you want xenons too you end up spending more than just upgrading to the Sport model in the first place.
Finally, the Sport has flappy paddles on the steering wheel for gearshift but of course just a bit of a novelty - you can't however spec these on the Elegance.
Edited by texasjohn on Saturday 17th September 07:25
If you are ready to buy and would take September delivery i would try your local dealer to see whats availabe. I have just bought a new E250 Sport Estate Edition 125 at a price that is comparable to nearly new from MB retail.
They will discount quite heavily if they need registrations to meet their Sept quarter end.
You cant be choosy with spec but the standard car has lots of nice bits.
They will discount quite heavily if they need registrations to meet their Sept quarter end.
You cant be choosy with spec but the standard car has lots of nice bits.
Edited by andy-integrale on Saturday 17th September 18:13
I'm sure I read on here that there where some exceptionaly cheap deals on late pre-facelift W204 C350 CDIs. Think £27k was the figure for a fully loaded 2011 car.
ETA: Nope its even cheaper than that http://mercedes-benzretailusedcars.co.uk/home-arti...
ETA: Nope its even cheaper than that http://mercedes-benzretailusedcars.co.uk/home-arti...
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