We need a new car soon to replace our non-ULEZ compliant diesel Volvo estate. It’s not until October but by September the market will be flooded with diesel cars so I’m tempted to replace it soon.
I always assumed Mercedes were expensive cars but they (C-class estate, not one of the sporty ones) seem to be cheaper to buy than a Volvo and I’ve heard service costs are reasonable too. Have I always been wrong?
We are looking at petrol versions about 2 years old.

Have had x2 diesel 220 auto E-Class estates from 2008. The first we sold 2 years ago with 210k miles on the clock. Luckily never had any major mechanicals and had it serviced at the local garage. The interior was remarkably resilient and looked amazing after suffering 3 children and a lot of MTB trips. Sold it at auction for £600. The second is the same model but updated, 2013 currently with 100k on the clock. Again, absolutely no major issues apart from needing a new battery recently which was £400. The interior is not as resilient as the last one but still pretty good. Both massive load carriers, relatively quick, very comfortable and great cruiser on the motorway. Both were ex-lease at 3 years old from Car Giant in London which is a hell of a lot cheaper than cars down here in the South West. I’m only basing my experience on a sample of two but I’d have no problem buying another – although if I’ve enough pennies will be going electric after the current one needs to go, although I’m sure, like with most car makes, there will be others who haven’t been so lucky.

£400 for a battery??

£400 for a battery

Shhh. My Ovlov has two batteries.

It depends what you are comparing it to.

I was looking at them last year when I ended up getting my Leon.
The interior of the C Class was lovely, but that was about the only thing swaying me to it.

It would have cost me about £2k more for a cat that was at least 4 years older with about 70k more miles on the clock. And because it was a previous generation car it didn’t come with Android Auto which was something I really wanted to have.
But the C class interior was lovely….

 It’s not until October but by September the market will be flooded with diesel cars

Why, what is happening to cause this?

The extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone to the north and south circular will mean all diesels before EU cat VI will be charged 20 quid a day.

The assumption is that a lot of owners will realise this summer and try to off load cars.

Woody

@woody

I never realised that all the car ownership attitudes of the UK is based on a London policy. 🤔

Bath ULEZ came in mid-March (tho doesn’t affect private cars yet), Bristol are introducing one soon which will, as is Birmingham – so not just London by any means.

I reckon if you live in London (or commute in regularly) and have a non compliant car you’ll have a problem shifting it and prices will drop – I know 3 people who are already trying to sell. Bargains to be had if you live in others parts of the country and pick one of these up.

I stand corrected on that.

I’m still struggling to see everyone selling up all diesel cars, just because of one policy in cities.

I would like one, but the cost to change is too high, and it doesn’t year suit our situation.

So London might be a good place to start looking for an older Chelseas tractor come September?

It’s also coming to Scotland: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and dundee

I bought one in 2011 (Demonstrator 6k on the clock) did another 150k and it was superb. Traded it in for another last year (10k on the clock) Both Petrol sport models. Wouldnt pay the new price and the new one was almost 1/3rd off the list (£22k)

Mercedes can be very economical motoring if you are doing long journeys or lots of miles, as they’ve put a lot of effort into reducing running costs for fleet buyers etc.

I had a C220 diesel saloon from the bottom of the range, but it still had all the standard toys like dual zone climate control, bluetooth, cruise control etc. The big difference in costs was the wheels, by avoiding the large diameter ones with low profile tyres I was paying just over £60 a corner for premium tyres (Goodyear, Michelin etc).

The servicing was every 15,500 miles (or one year) and the last couple were with the local garage that charged the same for it as any other 2 litre diesel. Other consumables like bulbs and wipers are the same as other cars, so there’s no premium for these either. Your only risk is if anything big goes as mercedes parts can be very expensive.

You tend to pay a bit more for one, I bought at 2.5 years old and could have got a 1 year old mondeo/passat for the same money. However, when I looked at the going rates for high mileage 7.5 year old mercedes against a 6 year old mondeo it was a different story … the depreciation on the merc was significantly less, and there is a strong market for them.

They can be… don’t drive the six pot cdi350 if you can’t afford it. It’s like being fired silently into hyperspace.
I put 140,000 miles on a CLK fitted with the same motor. Only ever needed tyres and basic services.

The classic merc estates 230t and 280t from mid 80s are going for crazy money now, its demand and supply there rent many good ones left.

Re Euro 6 I reckon all cities will tax anyone with Euro 5 and before, not just uk my friends live in Amsterdam and apparently the values of Euro 5 have fallen off a cliff there. I believe it’s the road tax too there not just the rules charge.

I’m no expert but my Merc estate sport was the most effortless, smooth and comfortable thing I had ever driven. Only about 170bhp and probably weighed a lot but was plenty fast enough for me. The old 7 speed box was fantastic even after 160k the gear changes were imperceptible.
Could have bought a cheaper car but over its life (9 yrs) it was probably pretty economical. Just services.

I have a 2011 C with over 100k on it.

Its like a new car. The 7G auto is sublime. Mine is the C350 petrol 6 pot. The engine is also sublime, but 306hp is too much for the sport chassis to use, its a cruiser not a 911. I get 37ish mpg (really).

I think people are scared by the “bork factor” i.e. they think premium price new = premium price to fix.

I had to have a new handbrake (footbrake) mechanism, £300 fitted locally as it was sticking on MOT day. My blind spot radar doesn’t work.

The C class estate is not as practical as a golf etc. For example, the comfy seats are big and take up a lot of room. Rear seat passengers don’t have an excess of space. The rear seat doesn’t fold flat. You can’t remove the luggage blind without dropping the rear seats. Its like its not really designed for tip runs, more 4 up cruising.

Probably more affordable rather than cheap, combined with other brands becoming more expensive. I was after a replacement estate about 3 years ago and most brands were strong money, you can drop quite a sum on a box of dullness these days, though most seem built to a similar level of quality.

I wanted something like a Mondeo Titanium but they were thin on the ground as well as pricey (especially in leather / auto spec) turns out Mercedes have sold a lot more C Class’c in the last few years than Ford have sold Mondeo’s, many times more! Plenty of choice, good specs, plenty of parts and a forum full of technical advice.

A Mercedes is really nice place to be and drive, maybe only a bit more expensive these days.

I wanted something like a Mondeo Titanium but they were thin on the ground as well as pricey (especially in leather / auto spec) turns out Mercedes have sold a lot more C Class’c in the last few years than Ford have sold Mondeo’s, many times more! Plenty of choice, good specs, plenty of parts and a forum full of technical advice.

Interesting. I changed jobs and gave up my company car. Test drove several including the Mondeo estate. Passed the Merc garage on the way home and saw a C class sport estate on the forecourt. it was 5 mins to closing so I went back the next day to test drive and bought it. It was the cheapest of the (all be them new) Ford, Vauxhall and Peugeot I looked at and a million miles away in terms of drive and kit. Suppose I could have made a similar saving with a demonstrator of those brands but who would not rather have a Merc than them…

Yeah weirdly used Skoda’s are priced higher then Mercedes.

Its like some kind of inverted inverted snobbery.

@eckinspain what engine you thinking of going for? They do look good value and look nicer than a Skoda, but there are a lot of options.

Thanks all. I’ve read that there are hundreds of thousands of diesel cars in London that will be affected by the change in October. Sounds a lot to me, but supply and demand tells me I’m going to get nothing for the old Volvo in autumn so I’m keen to swap soon.

I’m looking at a 1.5 or 2l petrol model though I did see that an AMG is only 5k more which got me thinking! We don’t use it much during the week but will use it for trips to Scotland to see my folks and to Spain for holidays.

Needs to fit me, the wife and 2 kids. No dog.

an AMG is only 5k more which got me thinking!

Do you mean an actual AMG (with a big V8) or an AMG-line ‘normal’ C-class (Normal engine but big wheels and ‘sporty’ bumpers)?

Do you mean an actual AMG (with a big V8) or an AMG-line ‘normal’ C-class (Normal engine but big wheels and ‘sporty’ bumpers)?

I have literally no idea.

I had a look at these after the OP started the thread,there are 2 amg models one a V8 the other a V6, plus the amg line which are nice cars despite the lack of fancy engine.

I used my C Class regularly on trips to Scotland of just over 400 miles with my wife and two kids. It was a massive improvement over an Audi A3 and also an earlier Mazda6 in comfort and the effortless way it covered the miles.

I’ve traded up to a bigger Merc as the kids are older and are both tall teenagers. The C class was a bit short of leg room in the back on the long journeys. You may want to get everyone in it to see what space is like if you are planning to use it for four people on long journeys especially if your kids are approaching their teens or are tall?

The servicing was every 15,500 miles (or one year)

18,000 or 18 months for my 1.0 litre Ford…
I’ve driven many, many Mercedes, including a C63 AMG, and I wouldn’t accept one as a gift, except to px it for something else. I’ve seen them bricked after a flat battery, the seats in newer ones are like wooden church pews, and a nearly new one, not sure of the class, but it had the super-whizzy dash-width screen, which went black as it was being driven out of our QC after some bodywork and paint. Had to be trailered to a dealer in Bath, plus it had some aircon issues they had to sort under warranty.
I also hate the stupid little knob for operating the wipers. Why?

I had a 17 plate e 220 amg estate as my last company car. It was massive inside, super comfy, fast and due to being the premium plus had every toy imaginable (like 64 different interior colours and an amazing burmaster stereo.)

It was significantly cheaper to lease than equivalent a6, 5 series, v90 etc.and far better spec.

From auto trader you can pick one up similar age with sub 20k miles for 20k. Equivalent v90 is 20 to 30% more.

Thats silly cheap for such a premuim car, mine had about 20k miles and still felt brand new when it went.

300TE estate

I had one of these for 6 years, 700 quid, dogs bo;;oclks

This thread has lead me down a rabbit hole..

Currently pondering wether I have a used GLC shaped hole in my life/driveway.

Never thought that would ever happen..

… The GLC is a lovely car and its dimensions (other than height) are almost the same as a standard C Class, so should easily fit on your driveway 🙂

I’m still struggling to see everyone selling up all diesel cars, just because of one policy in cities.

It’s not just one city nor just ULEZ … (tax/diesel cost) but even if it was the knock on effect is to drop prices nationally (except NI and islands)… It’s T’internet …

Same can be said for supermarkets .. when I was young there was a considerable difference in prices between say NE lancs and greater London … chuck in t’internet and that’s flattened to the “online price” just like chuck in an Aldi or Lidl and they price match nationally.

The only real non island / islands are places a LONG way from the next town but even the bargains in Aberdeen for performance WRX based cars and similar was very short lived before it diffused nationally..

I’ve driven many, many Mercedes, including a C63 AMG, and I wouldn’t accept one as a gift,

OK 🙂

18,000 or 18 months for my 1.0 litre Ford

You have set the bar high

Heres a thought.

All cars are effectively the same these days. all the bits and bobs come from a handful of manufacturers, anything they do themselves are done in the same way.

Car companies are just customer services agents.

Irrelevant if you are buying used. Just buy one whose bells and whistles you like.

all the bits and bobs come from a handful of manufacturers, anything they do themselves are done in the same way

I take your point and quality standards generally should be more consistent as they are dependent more on technology. I have a friend who has worked for Vauxhall (30 yrs) and now a very premium SUV manufacturer… He has more horror stories about the latter than the former and he has only been there a tiny fraction of the time.
I think its generally true that there are less poor quality new cars on the road now as there is simply no space for poor manufacturers. Even the lower price cars are high quality comparatively.

Car companies are just customer services agents.

Or car companies are just finance houses using the car as a vehicle to lend money against.

But I do like the c class estate.

Are there any other recommendations for a 2yo estate car that I should consider?
I’ve looked at Volvo V60; Merc c-class, Skoda Octavia. Don’t want an Audi.

Seat Leon ST (estate). It’s a little smaller than the Octavia in terms of load space, similar sort of price & a nicer looking design (IMO, of course).

I bought an 18 plate 2 litre diesel last July with 28k miles on the clock for £12000.
I also looked at the Octavia, Kia Ceed, C-Class, A4 & Ford Focus.

Octavia was nice, but not keen on the styling if I’m honest.
Kia Ceed – new one was just out of budget & old one didn’t really seem comparable.
C-Class – would have had to stretch budget for an older car with a lot more miles, but was very nice inside. The spec & options baffled me somewhat; really needed to drill down into what each car had been specced with.
Focus – old version seemed outdated, while new one was over-budget.
A4 – smaller boot than Leon/Octavia & didn’t seem ‘premium’ enough to warrant the extra price (would have taken the Merc over the Audi any day).

In the end, the Leon seemed like the best balance for me. Good value, good spec, nice looking, decent boot space with practical features like flat load space & easy-fold down seats, Android Auto etc.