I wanna buy a reliable mercedes saloon for 5000 pounds

rammster

I am looking for a bargain on a mercedes about 6 year old or so, perhaps in c or e class. do you guys have a clue about which one I should go for. I have heard all sort of things that I shouldn't buy a manual gear box on c class etc. Should I go for a low milage one, anyway what should be the milage on it that will make it an ideal buy . Also the engine capacity. I do see myself doing atleast 40 miles a day or so. What engine capacity should i go for. Lastly whether C class or E Class, which one is cheaper and better value. I have visited the parker website , but would want an insider's opinion. I am young , and have recently got myself my driving license and that would put me in a high insurance bracket. All I would really want is a low cost , low maintenance merc.

Would be delighted if anyone of you guys could help me.

albalad

you may get a better response by posting this in the motoring section here , you could also try posting a similar question in the honest john forum .
All the best in your hunt for a new car !

Pink.

Hi rammster,

I'll move your thread over to the motoring board where hopefully you will get more replies.

Pink

balsingh

As you have just passed your test and insurance is likely to be high, shoudl you really be considering a Merc? However, if its really what you want, why not try an A140. Quite cheap to buy nowadays and should be more insurance friendly as its a 1.4 - the only thing is that it does fall short of true Merc status.

jobbingmusician

How about a smart car? Mercedes build, mercedes crap customer service, and MUCH more fun to drive!

Aletank

Get yaself over to https://www.mbclub.co.uk the guys over there will sort ya out

balsingh

jobbingmusician wrote:

How about a smart car? Mercedes build, mercedes crap customer service, and MUCH more fun to drive!

If recent episodes of Top Gear are anything to go by, its not just the customer service thats crap, the build quality in recent Mercs is meant to be pretty crap too.

Cardew

If you are buying a Merc in the £5000 bracket you have to accept that reliability cannot be guaranteed.

Even routine servicing and minor work required for, say, the MOT can cost a lot of money.

I don't think it matters too much if manual or auto when the car is several years old. It certainly does when the car is newer as most buyers in the luxury second hand market prefer auto.

Personally in your position I wouldn't look at a Merc in that price bracket. However if it was a 'must have' I would look for an older E Class for £2,000 or so and put some money by for the inevitable running expenses. There are even some very good 190E models around for much less than that and they were well built.

FJSRiDER

balsingh wrote:

If recent episodes of Top Gear are anything to go by, its not just the customer service thats crap, the build quality in recent Mercs is meant to be pretty crap too.

Totally agree.

Buy an older Merc. Less than £5k would get a very good early 90's E class or a mint 190 and lots of change. The last of the 'good' Merc's (until recently) were those square headlight versions.

The wife has a 190 - bought it with a FMBSH and 84,000 miles for £770. Other than a service (at a superb Merc independent) she has had to do nothing to it at all. Insurance is pretty reasonable too! Cheaper than the VW that preceded it.

I'm looking out for a similar aged 300 CE.

balsingh

With regards to the auto/manual debate ... Mercs tend to be better as autos but then in your price range, it doesnt really matter. A manual will be more economical than an auto ... also, as you are a new driver, get the practice in a manual car before movign to an auto. If you get too used to an auto now, getting back into a manual car later wont be easy.

tomstickland

You should look at buying a BMW instead. I'm biassed of course, but I think that they're similar but better.