Mercedes C180 Sport

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Found one of these in auto trader locally for 3k, now i love mercs as do many young men my age, however i have never even considered owning one, but after doing a quote on elephant, it came back as £1011!!

Im tempted to say the least, lovely looking car and looks like a car worth a lot more than 3k!
Its insurance group 12, does this sound oddly low insurance considering im only 20!
 

Jez

Jez

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Its only a 1.8 m8, so that doesnt sound very cheap, it sounds ok, but not cheap.

Depends on what your circumstances are though, for me in a good postal code with 1NCB that car i'd guess would come out at around £800. I find that no matter what the car is though it doesnt cause it to raise too much, that 560SEC you posted for example came out at £1270, so about £500 more than i'd guess that 180 would be.
 
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Jez said:
Its only a 1.8 m8, so that doesnt sound very cheap, it sounds ok, but not cheap.

Depends on what your circumstances are though, for me in a good postal code with 1NCB that car i'd guess would come out at around £800. I find that no matter what the car is though it doesnt cause it to raise too much, that 560SEC you posted for example came out at £1270, so about £500 more than i'd guess that 180 would be.

I see, still would be nice to be 20 with a merc, lol.
 
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I just really like the look of it, some bigger wheels would set it off a treat
 
Soldato
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They're not all that bad

As said, they're only a 1.8 so not all that quick. They're also pretty meanly specced and the manual gearbox isn't great

If you want one though, go for it. You'll have to pay a lot more for servicing and repairs than a more mainstream car, like a Ford Focus though
 
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Thats nice for £3k but i much prefer the newer shape. How about something like a bmw 323 should get a 97P for that sort of money, decent amount of power, but slightly higher insuance group.
 
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Replicant said:
Thats nice for £3k but i much prefer the newer shape. How about something like a bmw 323 should get a 97P for that sort of money, decent amount of power, but slightly higher insuance group.

Yeh i know what your saying but theres just something about this shape merc i cant quite put my finger on it but i love them,
 
Soldato
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Jez said:
Its only a 1.8 m8, so that doesnt sound very cheap, it sounds ok, but not cheap.

Depends on what your circumstances are though, for me in a good postal code with 1NCB that car i'd guess would come out at around £800. I find that no matter what the car is though it doesnt cause it to raise too much, that 560SEC you posted for example came out at £1270, so about £500 more than i'd guess that 180 would be.
dont even know that year, mileage or spec yet
 
Soldato
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Hate said:
my mate had a merc at 18.

nothing special about it tbh, if you really want a merc buy a bucket of a 190E


q.f.t. 190e's are awesome! They look much more special than the C class and you'd probably get a good one for about the same price.
 
Soldato
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Wonderful cars. Not all that quick (at least in 1.8 or 2.0 spec ) but the build quality is fantastic. Some poeple will say they arent as good as the really old mercs, but head over to the mbforums and most people agree the build quality is a lot better than the new C class, and many say also better than the 190 it replaced. I borrowed a mates focus 1.8 ghia today and it felt horrible cheap and plasticky inside compared to my C200 elegance. His car was 6 years younger than mine and was full of rattles and just generally felt like a budget car, whereas the merc feels solid and full of quality in every little switch. ignore the people that say you are buying a badge. Mercedes have earned that badge for a reason - they make fantastic motor cars. Yes, they had some serious quality control issues in recent years (and the modern C class is built in South Africa compared to the German factories of the old ones) but you're not looking at those cars anyway.

My main advice would be to not let your heart rule your head. Theres a saying that nothing is more expensive than a cheap mercedes and that can be true. However, its more a case of how well its been looked after. Dont touch anything without a full MB or specialist service history. If theres any gaps assume its been clocked and walk away. I had to look round loads of cars before I found a real peach - 1997 C200 for £1900 with FMSH and truly immaculate condition. Got a few thousand on it now and its cost me nothing to run so far apart from a cracked windscreen. The whole car just felt right - meticulously well looked afetr, totally original and unmodded and basically feels like driving a new car.

The good news is insurance is cheap as you found out (only £250 a year for me ;)) and theres a decent supply of parts to be found on ebay. There are also plenty of examples so you can choose to be picky. Even better news is apparently they are tipped to become quite sought after, so get one in great condition, keep up the service history and you shouldnt lose much on it at all.

Oh, and make sure you go for an automatic - the manuals dont go very well with the foot operated parking brakes and hence are difficult to resell. The autos are smooth as silk and allow a very relaxed drive, which is as it should be. I personally wouldnt put all the AMG kit on a C180. It will make it difficult to sell on and embarrassing at the traffic lights! Just enjoy a bit of lower end MB ownership and buy a C43, 4.3 ltr AMG when you can afford the insurance and petrol. Awesome cars and you can pick them up for about £5k, which is pretty good for a 300bhp motor :)
 
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Marshmule said:
I see, still would be nice to be 20 with a merc, lol.

But you'll be 20 with a cheapo poverty spec Merc with a lethargic 1.8 litre engine and cloth seats, with keep fit windows in the back.

There are many better cars for £3k - if you want a Merc get Merc money and buy a nice one, old poverty spec ones arn't cool, you just look like a ***** trying to impress. Seriously, go to any dodgy estate and it's fill of early 90's poverty spec 190e's, C Classes and low end 4 pot 3 Series.

You'll be paying Mercedes running costs but you won't be getting the full Mercedes experience - that is, nice luxurious cars with a prestige image and an excellent engine range.

Double your budget and buy a really nice E320 Avantgarde or something if you want a proper Mercedes OR go classic - take a look at something like that rather lovely 560SEL in another thread.

Nobody but clueless people are impressed by 1.8 C Classes.
 
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