USED Mercedes-Benz C-Class Saloon (93 - 01)

My car

Well i had a Mercedes c240 Elegance for a year. Yes you do feel good driving one and the refinement is way above that of most bread and butter cars. The leather seats are oh so comfortable, do not buy without leather as leather is much preferred and easier to sell. Another must is auto gearbox. Forget sport trim as to me this looks cheap and nasty, go for Elegance or Avantgarde, the wood looks miles classier than that awful sport trim. One thing i noticed irrespective of what colour you have they all seem well suited to the car. My one gripe with the C class ( and other Mercs) they have NO front or rear wing liners so mud and muck collects in the wheel arches leading to rust so have a good prod around. Driven sensibly the 240 can be described as economical, getting 27mpg average. In town drops to around 17-20 mpg. Not as dear to maintain as you;d expect and i found dealers to offer parts (mats, badge etc) far cheaper than i imagined. if you're looking for a Mondeo/Vectra try a C class.

My car

This is my 4th Mercedes and definitely one of the best,although i would have preferred an estate, this, (a 200 kompressor avantgarde saloon)was too good to miss.I'm a big fan of German motors and have owned an X5,320d estate(which we traded in for our motorhome)plus a couple of Audi's.I always feel that BMW's have a sporty image,Audi solid and reliable but Mercedes have the classier image.My car is a 2000 model and drives like new, has leather seats and all the toys!Driven sensibly the car returns around 32-36 mpg,which is brilliant for a car which goes like **** off a shovel.The colour is metallic purple which wouldn't be to everyone's taste but looks fantastic polished up! Go out and buy one!!

My car

mines the c 240 estate or Transporter, lovely car not the usual second hand rot box, owned it three yrs in april, after replacing the air mass and the odd thing to improve the creature comforts i.e cup holder front cd storage new cd player .this car drives like a train on the motorway has not turbo or supercharger doesnt need it good returns on fuel 35/37 mpg , parts are cheap enough,the last of the truely mercedes looking mercedeses. hope i have it for years, serviced by a mercedes specialist in chester with genuine parts costs less than my old vectra to keep on the road and is miles better . and yes i think you do drive slightly better behind the wheel of a nice quality car.

My car

This is my 2nd Mercedes having previously owned a 190e for 8 trouble free years so the bug is well and truly in place.

Dealer service:

Bought this car 2 years ago when it was 6 years old from my local Mercedes dealership at Cardiff Gate with 40k on the clock - Excellent service from the (not too pushy) professional sales staff who were not the slightest bit concerned with my slim budget of only £7k to spend.

Performance:

I was initially a bit concerned with the potential lack of power from this 1.8 petrol engine however this can easily be wound up helped out with BP Ultimate 97 octane to help boost up the 127 or so BHP - plenty of power in this day and age of speed camera's on every corner and easily returning 40 mpg on a run.

Reliability:

Very good covering some 15k so far however lost power at 45k however easily remedied at the dealer by replacing a coil. A few spots of rust starting on the wheel arches but other than that the bodywork is superb.

Overall:

I find it difficult to fault this car and would recommend anyone to purchase a good used W202 (1993 - 2000 model). Don't buy a Mondeo with your £5k !!!!!!!!!! Spend your money wisely and find an excellent low mileage used C Class that will last you for years !

Sensible motoring : - )