C coupe sport advice

[pants fm]

Hi folks. Just joined and looking for your thoughts.
Driving a Mazda 6 TS 54plate but have my eye on a C-class coupe Sport.

Looking to spend upto 14500.

Want leather but not sure if black or black/white looks better.
Manual or Auto (never had an auto or a even a merc for that matter)
Petrol or Diesel
Fancy black in colour

180K, 200K or 220CDI appear to be popular enough. Don't want the bigger engines.

I'm in Glasgow and have 4 weeks off work so hopefully get something soon.

Cheers

[matc]

I would recommend an auto, although not as much fun to drive as the manual it is almost essential when it comes to re-sale. If you fancy black have a look for a 'sport edition', they have an AMG bodykit as standard and 17" alloys and were only available in diamond black or iridium silver. A desirable option available from the factory was a panoramic sunroof which looks stunning; also beware of wether it actually has leather or artico (standard in most model lines) which is Mercedes version of 'plastic' leather. If you buy from a non MB dealer they will probably try and sell it too you as leather.

Engine wise the 3 you mentioned are probably the engines of choice, the 220cdi is a bit rough and doesn't give a great fuel consumption in comparison to the petrol engines; The 180k and 200k seem to be similarly priced, so if you can go for the 200K. There are a lot of options available from the factory so make sure you get a car with as many as possible; a couple of essentials are Parktronic, Heated Seats and the afore mentioned Automatic gearbox.

Good luck with your search.

[Orb the Impaler]

We've got a C220CDi and it's a lovely little car.

The Panoramic roof is fab, it looks really trick and really helps lighten the (black! they keep us in the cellar and feed us pins!) interior.

Well worth it IMO is the Evo pack which is 17" wheels (245 rears), lowered suspension and sports eggzorst (if I'm remembering).

I'd also recommend one with all the COMAND gubbins.

The auto box is very refined, but the engine is a bit crude compared to Audis offerings. We've had an average 40.2mpg over the last 15000 miles. Some friends had the 180 Kompressor and complained that it drank fuel (though I suspect a leaden right foot).

Surprisingly they make a really good towcar.

[pants fm]

Thanks for the replies. Always better hearing from owners than reading magazine reviews.
Just need to find the courage to tackle the car dealers ha ha.
Let battle commence.

[Orb the Impaler]

There are plenty of them about to choose from, and there has surely never been a better time to buy.

We paid 8K last July for ours (02 plate C220CDi Evo Panorama), red, blk leather, full MB history, unmarked interior, very nice outside. Only downside - 105K miles. However it's now up to 120K and it's still lovely *except* it has a couple of small rust scabs popping up - very common on this vintage I believe.

[paoloh]

Orb the Impaler said:

There are plenty of them about to choose from, and there has surely never been a better time to buy.

We paid 8K last July for ours (02 plate C220CDi Evo Panorama), red, blk leather, full MB history, unmarked interior, very nice outside. Only downside - 105K miles. However it's now up to 120K and it's still lovely *except* it has a couple of small rust scabs popping up - very common on this vintage I believe.

Might still be in the warranty period.

[Jonnie B]

]

Orb the Impaler said:

There are plenty of them about to choose from, and there has surely never been a better time to buy.

We paid 8K last July for ours (02 plate C220CDi Evo Panorama), red, blk leather, full MB history, unmarked interior, very nice outside. Only downside - 105K miles. However it's now up to 120K and it's still lovely *except* it has a couple of small rust scabs popping up - very common on this vintage I believe.

Might still be in the warranty period.

If it has main dealer history 30 years body corrosion warrant.