How boring - ZZZZZ
Discussion
It's like that being a Mercedes owner, isn't it? Bought my LHD W202 220cdi estate 9 years ago today and was thinking about it and it's reliability over the years. Now being a W202 it was already a year old when I bought it but still brand new cause it had never been sold as the later model had just come out. It's a Danish car and with the tax they had imposed on "luxury" cars it cost £80,000 on the road. No wonder it didn't sell! Anyway, I bought it from someone in the UK (saw it in the Sunday Times) who had bought a dozen and it cost the princely sum of £16,000 on the road. Bargain!
So what's gone wrong? Well, I can think of only two things, apart from the battery that lasted three months due to non-use and was changed under warranty. The aircon compressor failed two years back. Cost 1,000€ to change and regas. A front spring broke so another 400€ for two springs and while they were at it a new steering damper.
Tyres last 25,000, the fuel consumption is steady around 35mpg, (much improvement since the engine was run in at 60,000 miles) and similarly adding a litre of oil in between services has ceased. Maintenance costs are low since servicing here in France has never cost more than £350 at the main dealers. It tows my trailer and race car all day long at about 25mpg too.
She's at 120,000 miles now - I know, so little for a Merc - and that equates to 200,000 kms. I look forward to running her to 500,000 kms. My last car was a 230E 1988 which I sold when I bought this one and that had 200,000 miles on the clock and on which the only problem was a bit bizarre - the exhaust camshaft snapped on startup. Is it any wonder I stick with the devil I know?
So what's gone wrong? Well, I can think of only two things, apart from the battery that lasted three months due to non-use and was changed under warranty. The aircon compressor failed two years back. Cost 1,000€ to change and regas. A front spring broke so another 400€ for two springs and while they were at it a new steering damper.
Tyres last 25,000, the fuel consumption is steady around 35mpg, (much improvement since the engine was run in at 60,000 miles) and similarly adding a litre of oil in between services has ceased. Maintenance costs are low since servicing here in France has never cost more than £350 at the main dealers. It tows my trailer and race car all day long at about 25mpg too.
She's at 120,000 miles now - I know, so little for a Merc - and that equates to 200,000 kms. I look forward to running her to 500,000 kms. My last car was a 230E 1988 which I sold when I bought this one and that had 200,000 miles on the clock and on which the only problem was a bit bizarre - the exhaust camshaft snapped on startup. Is it any wonder I stick with the devil I know?
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