Mercedes W203 C320 Coupe
Discussion
Anyone up for a quick collection caper?
My (t)rusty astra wasn't going to make it through another MOT. My aims were simple, petrol (as I do some short trips), comfy and automatic (as I have a back issue) and a medium sized estate as I need to use it for work occasionally, but a hatchback just might work.
Budget was, shall we say, ambitious, being right at the bottom of a driveable car. But despite the pricing I was looking at creeping up I still couldn't find a decent honest car. The bottom end of the market is now all dodgy sounding traders, private sellers clearly preferring we buy any car.
Then a car popped up. I left an answer phone message but nothing, so I forgot about it. Then several days later I had a call, it took me a while to work out which car it was, but yes I was still interested.
The pics in the advert were not very useful, description brief but helpful. After a few back and forths I agreed to buy it unseen.
It's quite far from the car I intended to buy, it's not known as being a high spot for the brand or market sector, but as something to use for a year or two I think it should be 'interesting'.
So the journey to Kettering starts, it's 39 miles away, but thanks to Dr Beeching it's a 3 HR train journey, seemingly most of it in the wrong direction.
Anyone fancy a guess as to what it is before I pick it up? First clues are it's rear wheel drive, automatic and has a fairly large engine for what it is. It is low mileage and under my original £1,500 budget.
My (t)rusty astra wasn't going to make it through another MOT. My aims were simple, petrol (as I do some short trips), comfy and automatic (as I have a back issue) and a medium sized estate as I need to use it for work occasionally, but a hatchback just might work.
Budget was, shall we say, ambitious, being right at the bottom of a driveable car. But despite the pricing I was looking at creeping up I still couldn't find a decent honest car. The bottom end of the market is now all dodgy sounding traders, private sellers clearly preferring we buy any car.
Then a car popped up. I left an answer phone message but nothing, so I forgot about it. Then several days later I had a call, it took me a while to work out which car it was, but yes I was still interested.
The pics in the advert were not very useful, description brief but helpful. After a few back and forths I agreed to buy it unseen.
It's quite far from the car I intended to buy, it's not known as being a high spot for the brand or market sector, but as something to use for a year or two I think it should be 'interesting'.
So the journey to Kettering starts, it's 39 miles away, but thanks to Dr Beeching it's a 3 HR train journey, seemingly most of it in the wrong direction.
Anyone fancy a guess as to what it is before I pick it up? First clues are it's rear wheel drive, automatic and has a fairly large engine for what it is. It is low mileage and under my original £1,500 budget.
I wish!
I've had several BMW's, an E36 320i touring, E46 325i touring (my favourite, but mainly as it was just a great example), E61 320i touring and E46 325ti compact ( great car, but it never ran right for me).
To be honest I was a bit fed up with having to replace the cooling systems on each one, so when I started looking they were fairly low on my list of candidates as I wanted a change.
I've had several BMW's, an E36 320i touring, E46 325i touring (my favourite, but mainly as it was just a great example), E61 320i touring and E46 325ti compact ( great car, but it never ran right for me).
To be honest I was a bit fed up with having to replace the cooling systems on each one, so when I started looking they were fairly low on my list of candidates as I wanted a change.
Great call! That's where my search started a few weeks ago, they really appeal to me. I read of horror stories about sill rust and they seem to get quite a bad reputation for not being great to drive, so I started looking elsewhere, but they're still an itch if like to scratch
I am under no illusion, however, that my new car does have the potential to have rust issues and will not be the last word in driver involvement either...
I am under no illusion, however, that my new car does have the potential to have rust issues and will not be the last word in driver involvement either...
I had set my heart on getting a car with the 7gtronic box, the logic being that if I had to go auto if rather go with one of the best. They are out there within my budget, but I didn't find the right car (apart from a perfect looking privately owned estate that's on auto trader, but sadly I could never get through on the phone number - nor could auto trader when I asked):
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501208...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501208...
Sorry, that was confusing, that link is the car that I set my heart on, but could never make contact with the owner.
The car I'm collecting has a larger engine, but i'm guessing it'll be low twenties around town and thirty on a run. It's not going to do much mileage so that's not a big issue.
The car I'm collecting has a larger engine, but i'm guessing it'll be low twenties around town and thirty on a run. It's not going to do much mileage so that's not a big issue.
Edited by gulls on Wednesday 12th March 09:52
Edited by gulls on Wednesday 12th March 09:53
I couldn't be happier. I know it's early days, but I'm enjoying it much more than I expected. I can't believe so much car, in this condition, is available for so little.
Apart from colour choices (which are a bit safe for my tastes), I think this is how I would have specified a car had I been in the place to order one new.
Taking it fairly gently the computer showed 25 mpg, so as expected. The gearbox is as dim witted as I expected too, but that's ok, I'm sure I'll learn it in time.
Performance is ample for what it is, sounds nice too!
The steering is surprisingly fast, and better than I expected. It has recently had an alignment, my only minor criticism is that it doesn't track straight quite as strongly as I am used to, so maybe an adjustment to the toe (?) would be an idea, or perhaps a bush or two needs looking at.
It's not wallowy as I expected either, but the ride is still fine.
There are a few bits I want to sort, there's the common clicking from the HVAC system for a few seconds on start up. I might live with that!
The sunroof doesn't open, the blind opened for me but now wont do anything, but it's how I want it most of the time, so that's fine.
The speaker grilles in the doors are cracked, oh and I need some floor mats. That's it I think, bar giving it a good machine polish (the paint is very good I think and no dents I can see).
I'll get it serviced in a couple of months, if there's any interest in this thread being updated (perhaps with a name change if the mods can oblige) then I could update it accordingly.
Apart from colour choices (which are a bit safe for my tastes), I think this is how I would have specified a car had I been in the place to order one new.
Taking it fairly gently the computer showed 25 mpg, so as expected. The gearbox is as dim witted as I expected too, but that's ok, I'm sure I'll learn it in time.
Performance is ample for what it is, sounds nice too!
The steering is surprisingly fast, and better than I expected. It has recently had an alignment, my only minor criticism is that it doesn't track straight quite as strongly as I am used to, so maybe an adjustment to the toe (?) would be an idea, or perhaps a bush or two needs looking at.
It's not wallowy as I expected either, but the ride is still fine.
There are a few bits I want to sort, there's the common clicking from the HVAC system for a few seconds on start up. I might live with that!
The sunroof doesn't open, the blind opened for me but now wont do anything, but it's how I want it most of the time, so that's fine.
The speaker grilles in the doors are cracked, oh and I need some floor mats. That's it I think, bar giving it a good machine polish (the paint is very good I think and no dents I can see).
I'll get it serviced in a couple of months, if there's any interest in this thread being updated (perhaps with a name change if the mods can oblige) then I could update it accordingly.
Tax is indeed good compared to many of the other cars I was looking at.
I've not really tried the S setting on the box yet, so that's a good call, I'll have to give it go at the weekend when I take it on a longer run.
I realised last night that I probably have a budget version of my ideal two car garage, the MR2 roadster for top down days and the C320 for practicality, and for well under £3k combined.
I've not really tried the S setting on the box yet, so that's a good call, I'll have to give it go at the weekend when I take it on a longer run.
I realised last night that I probably have a budget version of my ideal two car garage, the MR2 roadster for top down days and the C320 for practicality, and for well under £3k combined.
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