E46 320d or C220d?

[Ritchie335is]

Its time to get 'er indoors something to scrape along the parking bollards again.
I am a BMW man through and through so my first choice was going to be something along these lines,

http://beta.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

I know its a 330 but I would be after the 2 litre.
I am a bit concerned about the E46's corrosion resistance. I stay by the sea and both my E39 and my olds mans E46 are starting to get a bit scabby.
I do fancy one of these aswell,

http://beta.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

But the horror stories of Merc build quality and corrosion issues make me think I will be better off with the E46. Are the Mercs any better nowadays?

Just to clarify, my budget is about 5-6k and it has to be diesel and an estate.

[ajb85]

Likewise > BMW man. However you'd be impressed by Merc's diesels, they trump the 4 cyl BMW ones. 220cdi is the pick of the diesel bunch.

[markbuck14]

The horror stories of rot are very true. I spent two years chasing rot round a 2001 E320cdi. A mate has a 53 plate c220cdi, both front wings are apparently scrap from rot. Nearside door bottom has rotted through along with the nearside rear wheel arch... We live in Birmingham, about as far as you could possibly get from salty sea air. Not sure when the build quality improved but have heard anything between 1996 and 2006 is to be viewed with suspicion. Real shame, I was a big merc fan before owning the last one but was glad to see the back of it, utter rubbish in my opinion.

[jamieboy]

markbuck14 said:

The horror stories of rot are very true.

Although my '06 (55 plate) C220 seems fine.

One thing I'd say is that if the C220 is pick of the diesels in this era C Class, the others can't be up to much.

[markbuck14]

jamieboy said:

markbuck14 said:

The horror stories of rot are very true.

Although my '06 (55 plate) C220 seems fine.

One thing I'd say is that if the C220 is pick of the diesels in this era C Class, the others can't be up to much.

Glad you havn,t experienced the same problems that I did, from what I could find out the W210 E class was the wost offender in this respect. The time period for poor build quality I mentioned was gleaned from the various UK and US mercedes forums and from talking to local specialists in my area.

[Ritchie335is]

Hmm, it's looking more like the E46!

[jamieboy]

markbuck14 said:

Glad you havn,t experienced the same problems that I did

Me too. From the research I did it seems like the later W203 ( maybe '04 on? ) were a lot better, but still get tarred with the same brush.

[daemon]

jamieboy said:

markbuck14 said:

The horror stories of rot are very true.

Although my '06 (55 plate) C220 seems fine.

One thing I'd say is that if the C220 is pick of the diesels in this era C Class, the others can't be up to much.

Problem years seem to be 1996 -> 2003

[Ritchie335is]

daemon said:

jamieboy said:

markbuck14 said:

The horror stories of rot are very true.

Although my '06 (55 plate) C220 seems fine.

One thing I'd say is that if the C220 is pick of the diesels in this era C Class, the others can't be up to much.

Problem years seem to be 1996 -> 2003

Is there anyway to confirm this?
I really fancy a change to the Merc.

[martin mrt]

Ritchie335is said:

Hmm, it's looking more like the E46!

I think that's a wise idea, purely on the basis of you being a self confessed "BMW man" like myself, a Mercedes would likely never cut it with myself if it's being chosen against a similar BMW

[NickXX]

2005 C220 will be ok for rot - they seemed to fix that problem in 2004.

[Ritchie335is]

martin mrt said:

I think that's a wise idea, purely on the basis of you being a self confessed "BMW man" like myself, a Mercedes would likely never cut it with myself if it's being chosen against a similar BMW

NickXX said:

2005 C220 will be ok for rot - they seemed to fix that problem in 2004.

So to sum up, this thread has helped me none whatsoever!

[daemon]

Ritchie335is said:

daemon said:

jamieboy said:

markbuck14 said:

The horror stories of rot are very true.

Although my '06 (55 plate) C220 seems fine.

One thing I'd say is that if the C220 is pick of the diesels in this era C Class, the others can't be up to much.

Problem years seem to be 1996 -> 2003

Is there anyway to confirm this?
I really fancy a change to the Merc.

Heres more detail on it on a Merc forum, but it seems late 2002 onwards saw the cars being galvanised.

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t...

[Fox-]

The rot on the E46 is just annoying rather than serious.

[Ritchie335is]

Fox- said:

The rot on the E46 is just annoying rather than serious.

Thats a fair point, still expensive to fix though.
The E46 would be a better drive, I just fancied a change really.
I think I am trying to convince myself that the Merc would be ok when really the BMW would be the more sensible option.

[greggy50]

Fox- said:

The rot on the E46 is just annoying rather than serious.

Will have to try and use that description about my mini

[dema]

Doesn't the 320 have weak turbo?

I looked at the 330 in the first link, but I find hard to justify 6K for that mileage.

MB, I've looked at a coupe and I was told to go for the 05+ models because of rust issues on previous years

[Ritchie335is]

dema said:

Doesn't the 320 have weak turbo?

I looked at the 330 in the first link, but I find hard to justify 6K for that mileage.

MB, I've looked at a coupe and I was told to go for the 05+ models because of rust issues on previous years

I have noticed that a couple advertised have had replacement turbos.

This is my favorite so far..

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

Although, I'm offshore working for another three weeks so I won't start looking seriously until I get home.

[ajb85]

You need to try a Mercedes. They are not so driver focused like a BM, but excel in other areas, comparing the two is to compare apples and pears.

Way back when the 330d was hot property and new on the block, I actually thought the C270cdi was a better performer. Go try!

[Ritchie335is]

ajb85 said:

You need to try a Mercedes. They are not so driver focused like a BM, but excel in other areas, comparing the two is to compare apples and pears.

Way back when the 330d was hot property and new on the block, I actually thought the C270cdi was a better performer. Go try!

Thanks for that, I will! I probably won't be driving it much anyway but I'm sure if we all go away somewhere in it I might be kicking myself I didn't get the E46. You have made a good point.