Dad surrendering his license, wants me to have his car...

Soldato
Joined
23 Jun 2005
Posts
5,298
Location
Cornwall
The C180 doesn't have a great reputation. They are not exactly reliable, it's auto and it's from an era of Mercedes where their galvanisation processes were laughable.

The other is one of the last bulletproof Volvos made with one very reliable euro3 diesel lump. They do not rot and they do not go wrong.

I think I'd pass. The Merc has it on looks, of course because it's a sporty saloon, not a man's man estate. But that's it.
 
Caporegime
Joined
17 Jul 2010
Posts
25,658
4 cylinder Mercedes engines have never been that great really. Not sure why though. I guess they're just not seen as a major priority over V6's and V8's in the bigger cars. Although the 2.0 Turbo in the A35/45 is supposed to be excellent but that was fettled by AMG.
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2002
Posts
7,176
This is classic head vs heart. Head says Volvo, heart says you’ve persuaded him to give up his freedom, the least you could do is keep the Merc in the family as he obviously has some attachment to it and may appreciate the odd run out in it. Any chance your insurer will add a second car on restricted mileage cheaply or an insurer will mirror NCB (usually smaller independent brokers with more flexible terms vs the computer says no brigade).

I’ve said ‘no’ in 3 out of 5 of those sort of situations (deceased relative or ‘I’m getting a new car, are you interested in...’ I don’t have 5 parents). It can be a fine line to walk.
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Jul 2005
Posts
7,069
Location
S. Yorkshire
I think there is more to this than just the clinical comparison of the two cars. There is the emotional aspect. Yes, it would be nice to keep it in the family, but the flip side to that is your dad may always see that as his car, long after it is sold to you. This can extend to getting frustrated with you if you don't keep it to his standard, or his perception of his standards. When you choose to sell it, he is going to then be invested in that decision and there may be guilt on your part in doing so.
I'd personally not take it on unless I had a deep emotional connection to the car. If not, then all I see are potential negatives down the line.
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Sep 2012
Posts
3,860
Location
Monterrey, Mexico
If he wants to keep it in the family that much, he can give it to you and you can run it alongside the Volvo. If he wants you to pay him for it, he surely can't be so bothered about it, or he'd like the money, in which case you might as well just help him sell it. Chances are you'll get more money for it that way too.
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
19 Dec 2002
Posts
2,001
as said i cant deem to know your family set up but when the father in law died his car was worth litterally scrap value in the double figures .even though he spent thousands getting servicing timing belts etc changed and doing less than 300 miles between mots(suspect mainly the garage fetching it and because of age he just trusted what the said needed doing , even though ne knew i could still do the work he didnt want to bother me?

no one in the family wanted it so i stepped in and bought it at top value........several months later im getting repercussions from the family as regards why i have it and they felt as though they were short changed.

it could cause problems if you have other siblings...my advice if you want the car then **** them and do it but that me :)
 
Soldato
Joined
15 Jan 2005
Posts
4,569
Location
UK
My mum had a C180 coupe of similar age, it was a good car to prat about in but would get expensive when anything broke. I can't remember what went wrong now but every time it would be close to a grand, and Mercedes dealers just take the wee with prices.
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Sep 2003
Posts
15,875
Location
Norwich
As your dad is keen for it to stay in the family it would probably soften the blow of handing over his licence if you could make that happen some how. Are there any other family members who might potentially want it?
 
Associate
Joined
30 Nov 2002
Posts
2,059
Location
Bolton
So it is a W204? I had a 220CDI many years back. 5 Speed Auto and the foot-operated parking brake. I believe the W204 is when Mercedes stopped being led by beancounters and the quality started to improve again.
 
Caporegime
OP
Joined
25 Nov 2004
Posts
25,812
Location
On the road....
The D5 has bags of torque low down the rev range and more power, so I'd imagine an automatic petrol would comparably feel slower.

Both Merc and Volvo are at an age where they could potentially throw up some big bills, depends if you prefer the Merc by a large enough amount to run the risk of replacing the V70, or if it's a case of 'better the devil you know' and sticking with what you've got.
Don’t particularly prefer the Merc at all, I’m just thinking it’s slightly younger, has an excellent history and has done over 100k less miles than the Volvo that said, out of the two I wouldn’t expect the Volvo to be the one that breaks spectacularly first!



The C180 doesn't have a great reputation. They are not exactly reliable, it's auto and it's from an era of Mercedes where their galvanisation processes were laughable.

The other is one of the last bulletproof Volvos made with one very reliable euro3 diesel lump. They do not rot and they do not go wrong.

I think I'd pass. The Merc has it on looks, of course because it's a sporty saloon, not a man's man estate. But that's it.
I bought the V70 for the reasons you list and to be fair it’s not missed a beat despite buying it at 167k, a year and 8k miles later bar servicing and tyres I’ve had no issues.
If the V70 D5 is the 182bhp variant then it will be quicker.
It’s the 163 variant, it may have been remapped as it goes like it’s got no right to, but I couldn’t be sure...

I think there is more to this than just the clinical comparison of the two cars. There is the emotional aspect. Yes, it would be nice to keep it in the family, but the flip side to that is your dad may always see that as his car, long after it is sold to you. This can extend to getting frustrated with you if you don't keep it to his standard, or his perception of his standards. When you choose to sell it, he is going to then be invested in that decision and there may be guilt on your part in doing so.
I'd personally not take it on unless I had a deep emotional connection to the car. If not, then all I see are potential negatives down the line.
I don’t think he’s that attached to it as such, I had his old e39 when he bought the C180 and he kept harping on about how much better the e39 was.... :D


As your dad is keen for it to stay in the family it would probably soften the blow of handing over his licence if you could make that happen some how. Are there any other family members who might potentially want it?
I’ve got two sisters, one with a new Mini Cooper the other a 2 year old Discovery so I can’t see either of them wanting it.

So it is a W204? I had a 220CDI many years back. 5 Speed Auto and the foot-operated parking brake. I believe the W204 is when Mercedes stopped being led by beancounters and the quality started to improve again.
Yes it’s got the foot parking brake, I think it’s a W204 and it feels extremely tight and rattle free and the bodywork is bar a few minor scratches absolutely fine, no rust whatsoever certainly compared with many similar aged Mercs you see about...

I think I’ll discuss it with him further at the weekend but am more minded to just sort out selling it for him (he won’t want the hassle of tyre kickers)
Whilst it’s a nice car in clean condition it’s not what I’d have chosen were I looking for a car by any means, compared to the Volvo it’s wholly impractical for my two German Shepherds, and I found it boring to drive, nice enough certainly but absolutely zero character which ironically the V70 has in spades, the Volvo is much more comfortable too which I wasn’t expecting.

Thanks for the replies all. :)
 
Back
Top Bottom