Advice Required

[Happy-sun]

Hello forum, I need some advice on buying a second hand convertible, and I'm hoping you kind folk will help.

What I want:
-A soft top
-As much room in the back as possible
-Petrol (ulez)
Obviously I'd like a decent ride, but i'm more concerned about these things IF I had to create a hierarchy.
I'd like to spend under 10k. I could stretch up a bit if really necessary.
I have been looking at BMWs, M-B and Audis.
I was all excited about BMW 4 series until I realised it was a hard-top. Which BMW model should I be looking at next to meet my criteria above?
I love the look of Mercedes, but don't know which model would best meet my criteria. Is an E-class convertible or CLK cabriolet closer to my criteria above, or should I be looking at something else.
All suggestions very gratefully received. It is quite hard to just answer these questions researching on line so am really hoping you guys can help.

[gazza285]

Room in back = Zero. But still...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334222524074?hash=item4...

[trevalvole]

The E-class convertible is the successor to the CLK, as Mercedes also introduced a W204 C-class coupe and for branding purposes wanted some distance between the two. The E-class convertible is still based on an enlarged W204 C-class platform. They both probably have reasonable room for four, as the fabric roof helps with this whereas metal-roofed ones tend to be forced to have a big boot and not much space in the back.

As far as petrol engines go, the M271 1.8 has various timing chain/sprocket problems and the pre-2008 M272 V6s have balancer shaft sprocket problems; the earlier the V6 is, the more serious the problem.

[ZX10R NIN]

The E Class is the pick & at this price point the E350cgi is the pick you'll get a nicely spec'd one for a smidge over 10k with some haggling:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107175...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111119...

The thing with the CLK350 is that you'll be paying £585 tax vs £340 for the E Class.

A leftfield option (but will involve a budget stretch & some proper haggling) is the Vauxhall Cascada Elite 200, I think they're a good looking car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108286...

Volvo T5 SE Lux 230

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110278...

630i

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110078...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109057...

Audi S5

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111179...

3.2 A5 S Line 260

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111119...

2.0T S Line 210

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109157...

IS250 although this is a hardtop

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109087...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108196...

9-3 Aero 210

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109217...

As you can see you have a fair few choices but as I said earlier the E350 is the pick.

[georgeyboy12345]

My top 3 picks

Mercedes E350 CGI Cabriolet
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112010...


BMW 630i
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111089...


Audi A5 1.8 TFSI Cabriolet
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111039...

[Happy-sun]

trevalvole said:

The E-class convertible is the successor to the CLK, as Mercedes also introduced a W204 C-class coupe and for branding purposes wanted some distance between the two. The E-class convertible is still based on an enlarged W204 C-class platform. They both probably have reasonable room for four, as the fabric roof helps with this whereas metal-roofed ones tend to be forced to have a big boot and not much space in the back.

As far as petrol engines go, the M271 1.8 has various timing chain/sprocket problems and the pre-2008 M272 V6s have balancer shaft sprocket problems; the earlier the V6 is, the more serious the problem.

thank you for taking the time to respond. What is the M271 and M272... are these CLK or E class?

just for clarification, can you shed any more light on the difference between the CLK and E class eg which is bigger in the back?

many thanks

[Happy-sun]

[quote=ZX10R NIN]The E Class is the pick & at this price point the E350cgi is the pick you'll get a nicely spec'd one for a smidge over 10k with some haggling:


Thank you very much for taking the time to respond and for these recommendations.

Sorry to ask what I'm sure is a really basic question but is the E350cgi the E-Class, or are there lots of different E-classes?

[Happy-sun]

georgeyboy12345 said:

My top 3 picks

Mercedes E350 CGI Cabriolet
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112010...


BMW 630i
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111089...


Audi A5 1.8 TFSI Cabriolet
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111039...

Thank you so much for taking the time to come back to me, very much appreciated.

[Happy-sun]

Thank you to all who have posted with advice.

I have another question.

When looking, do you have any advice about whether to prioritise year or mileage? I'm uncertain which is most important?

Secondly, in my price range I'm seeing a lot of cars with mileage 90k-100k, which seems a tad on the high side to me. Do you think any of my favourite 3 cars - MB E-class, BMW 6 series, and Audi A5 - hold up particularly well - or badly - on the mileagde front? My previous BMW X3 was about 96k when I got rid of it and running perfectly fine, so informally I'm inclined to think BMW's can take reasonably high mileage, but then again I wonder if maybe an X3 is more robust than one of these and I should be more careful about high mileage, and I don't have any experience of MB or Audie. Do I need to maybe consider paying a bit more, for slightly lower mileage, with a more 'fragile' convertible??? Are there any known differences between these 3 models I'm considering (and probably narrowing down to BMW 6 series and MB E-Class)

Once again, thanks for letting me tap the window of the forum.

[georgeyboy12345]

I think most here will come back to you and say neither and that you should buy on condition, which means physically having a look at the car.

You can have a 4 year old car with 20,000 miles on that has been owned by someone that never serviced it, did only short journeys so it never got warm, drove it across fields, parked it on grass, never washed it, carried toddlers and dogs that vomited in it, etc, etc; or you can have a 15 year old car with 150,000 miles on it that is serviced every 5000 miles, fastidiously maintained, low stress motorway miles, washed weekly, back seats never used, stored in a heated garage, etc.

[Happy-sun]

I see. So in terms of checking out the condition what would you look for apart from the obvious cosmetic?

- I see lots of references to 'full service history' or 'comprehensive service history' but don't REALLY know what this means or how to check/interrogate it?

- would you consider paying eg AA to go and check out the car for you before buying? Or is that not worth it / too much of a faff?

- I'm really narrowing down to the E class and the BMW 6 series, and I think if I can find the right one, the E Class has the edge for me, having read through the advice and done a bit more research. So any questions you think will help me not sound like a sucker to the dealer - gratefully received!

[Happy-sun]

Any thoughts on this which I found elsewhere on forum:

The CLK is FAR more reliable than the 2006 E Class, and the primary reason is that the E Class utilizes that horrible hydraulic suspension which delivers a magic carpet ride when new, but later delivers the car's owner to the poor house, by magic carpet, when the suspension is a couple of years old, and starts to need bushel basket-fulls of cash to repair and maintain.

The CLK, on the other hand, is set up with tried and tested springs and shocks, which can be fixed as needed at reasonable cost.

[trevalvole]

Happy-sun said:

thank you for taking the time to respond. What is the M271 and M272... are these CLK or E class?

just for clarification, can you shed any more light on the difference between the CLK and E class eg which is bigger in the back?

many thanks

M271 and M272 are Mercedes engine codes. The M271 was a four cylinder 1.8 litre, which will be badged as CLK200 and E200 and E250. The M272 was a V6 engine of various sizes and will be badged as CLK280, CLK350 and E350CGI. To answer a related question you asked, a E350CGI is an E-class with a direct injection (the CGI bit) 3.5 litre V6 petrol engine. All the 350CGI engines were produced after the problems with the balancer shaft sprockets were fixed.

I suspect the E class will be a bit bigger in the back as all its dimensions are a bit bigger than the CLK.

[trevalvole]

Happy-sun said:

Any thoughts on this which I found elsewhere on forum:

The CLK is FAR more reliable than the 2006 E Class, and the primary reason is that the E Class utilizes that horrible hydraulic suspension which delivers a magic carpet ride when new, but later delivers the car's owner to the poor house, by magic carpet, when the suspension is a couple of years old, and starts to need bushel basket-fulls of cash to repair and maintain.

The CLK, on the other hand, is set up with tried and tested springs and shocks, which can be fixed as needed at reasonable cost.

The E-class convertible, known internally as the A207 and related to the C207 coupe, is based on the W204 C-class saloon and estate and is not really related to the 2006 E-class referred to above. The reference to the 2006 E-class is an odd one, as I think they are referring to the facelift of the W211 which was only a saloon and estate, rather than the 2009 W212 which shares styling with the E-class convertible. Also, I don't think any E-class has hydraulic suspension - some of the larger-engined W211s, like the E500, had air suspension which I gather isn't too problematic compared to normal suspension, especially considering its advantages.

[ZX10R NIN]

Happy-sun said:

Any thoughts on this which I found elsewhere on forum:

The CLK is FAR more reliable than the 2006 E Class, and the primary reason is that the E Class utilizes that horrible hydraulic suspension which delivers a magic carpet ride when new, but later delivers the car's owner to the poor house, by magic carpet, when the suspension is a couple of years old, and starts to need bushel basket-fulls of cash to repair and maintain.

The CLK, on the other hand, is set up with tried and tested springs and shocks, which can be fixed as needed at reasonable cost.

You have a lot of misinformation there.

The E Class coupe/convertible have shocks & springs, it based on a stretched C Class chassis, also the E350cgi engine doesn't have any balancer shaft issues of the earlier engine although on the CLK the balancer shaft issues were pretty much sorted from 2007 (57 plates) onwards.

[ZX10R NIN]

So OP have you drawn up a shortlist?