Station shed #2 - Mercedes W203 C Coupe

[mattman]

My job means I'm fortunate to work from home most of the week, so my mileage has come right down in the last year. I don't see much point in having lots of money tied up in a car that travels a few miles to the station and back and gets bashed around by careless commuters so have moved to the bargain basement end of motoring. Last April I bought a 2002 TT 225 coupe which has been faultless except being too small to carry growing teenage kids. So last weekend the TT was dispatched to its new home without incurring a financial loss and I set about finding a slightly bigger replacement for less than my self imposed limit of £2k. I was looking for something Audi, Alfa or Mercedes, but open to anything
After a few failed attempts with c class saloon's with moon miles and 10+ Owners this W203 C Coupe turned up at a local dealer.

Advertised as spares or repair because it had more miles than they like to deal with and didn't want to put a warranty one, a quick HPI check gave the all clear and just 3 owners. The DVLA MOT check read well and showed the car hadn't done many miles in the last few years.

Went to see the car the next morning, and was a lot better than expected - no rust like many early 2000 era Mercedes, MOT until December, serviced 500 miles ago, full history, loads of tread on matching tyres, albeit Nexen! and appeared to be quite clean and tidy. A quick test drive showed no issues and although being slower than the TT it drove well and felt a lot more solid than the TT. A good haggle with a sensible salesman and we drove away for the princely sum of £1500.

Gave it a first clean today and despite some kerbed alloys and a few stone chips there doesn't appear to be any horror stories. I will admit to removing the C180 badge finger crossed this could be a bit of a bargain. Set of carpet mats ordered from eBay and that should be all I need for now.

The car itself is a C180 Kompressor with 143bhp and a 6-speed manual. It's very smooth and feels very solid, although not quick by the TT standards is gets to 60 in just over 9 secs. Handles well, quite direct, no sports car but is pretty responsive. The suspension is comfortable without being too wafts and it cruises nicely at motorway speeds. Has a few toys, unfortunately not the pano roof, but cruise, climate, etc etc. The two tone leather lifts the interior and the room in the back is on par with the saloon, although limited to 2x seats by the rear belts. The boot is decent and with the hatchback and 60/40 split it's surprisingly useful. Being a 2005 the tax is only £235/yr.

It wouldn't have been my first choice of car, but in the sub 2k bracket you have to open your options and be ready to jump when something decent turns up. I know it's not got the best rep on PH and the rear end look is not the prettiest, but being all black I think it scrubs up quite well and looks more than its purchase price.

Enough waffle, couple of shots

Edited by mattman on Sunday 28th February 21:51