... It is P reg one so is almost 10 years old but it is a Mercedes and you can see it.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
It is like a tank, everything inside feels humongous. The doors feel heave but close easily but slam with a healthy clank. The engine sounds sweet or should I say works quieter than a ... Read review
Advantages: The brand, The image, comfort, the feel, sturdiness Disadvantages: Expensive to fix is goes wrong, Too many hidden electronics
...old but it is a Mercedes and you can see it.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
It is like a tank, everything inside feels humongous. The doors feel heave but close easily but slam with a healthy clank. The engine sounds sweet or should I say works quieter than a mouse stealing some cheese.
DRIVING
On the motorway this car feels at home. Like leviathan at prehistoric valleys. It does 100mph without you even ... ...that's what being in a Mercedes is all about.
MECHANICS
There are few things to be careful about though. On the w202 chassis which is the one from 93-01 there are few tings to be careful about when buying.
The viscous fan tends to go very lose which was the case with mine and I could also tell from the bonnet having a small bulge from the inside indicating the fan blade had snapped and hit the bonnet. more
Well I needed an upgrade from my previous car that apart from the fact that it was a bit girl-y it was also falling to bits. So I decided to ante up and went for the full testosterone upgrade and got a c180. It is P reg one so is almost 10 years old but it is a Mercedes and you can see it.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
It is like a tank, everything inside feels humongous. The doors feel heave but close easily but slam with a healthy clank. The engine sounds sweet or should I say works quieter than a mouse stealing some cheese.
DRIVING
On the motorway this car feels at home. Like leviathan at prehistoric valleys. It does 100mph without you even realizing and cruise control coupled with the automatic gearbox make you redundant. Just steer while you relaxing to some Wagner classics and sipping tea. You feel cocooned in the security of a U Boat.
In town it feels sturdy and has a bit of kick even though it is "only" a 1.8 L engine. Being a nearly 2 ton car though it is impressive. I like everything about the car. From the boxy looks to the interiors which might not be the stylish Italian Alfa-Romeo ones or the posh Jaguar ones but the blunt style and the unbreakable feel to every knob, handle and stick makes you feel comfortable and that's what being in a Mercedes is all about.
MECHANICS
There are few things to be careful about though. On the w202 chassis which is the one from 93-01 there are few tings to be careful about when buying.
The viscous fan tends to go very lose which was the case with mine and I could also tell from the bonnet having a small bulge from the inside indicating the fan blade had snapped and hit the bonnet. The are not very expensive but will give you leverage to bargain for the price with the viscous rotor costing about £50 and the blade about £25.
ELECTRONICS
The problems though are imminent if you key fob fails and/or immobiliser locks. I had this problem and if it is any of these two there is trip to a Mercedes dealer and they charge £135 for a key. 135!!!!!!!!!! What the hell? What is it made of gold? And if the immobiliser is the one that is buggered they charge £95 plus VAT to unlock the engine that has locked because Mercedes has put something to lock it and for them to reset it they need to charge you and arm and a leg. Anyway it wasn't the key or the immobiliser it just needed a booster on the signal which my local garage did for me for next to nothing. Also check the battery because if it is kinda dodgy will give you all sorts of problems with the electronics and a lot of money down the garage. Another thing to be careful is the Air Mass Meter. See because this damn thing has more electronics that a Japanese DVD player manufacturing facility it needs a sensor to measure the amount of hear that goes in the engine. And if that things fails and boy it does your growling Mercedes becomes a wimp, coughs up and loses power for no reason. It will also make it hard to start if it feels like it and will cause it to make a hard shift in gear from 1st to 2nd. Now the best part is that that stupid thing which is essentially a plastic T-Shaped tube with a small PCB with two wires and guess how much Mercedes wants to charge for it: £290.84 plus VAT and some of them don't want even give you the part number. A bit cheeky don't you think….. Anyway even though you would expect Mercedes to charge an arm and a leg so do others with prices of £200 plus. Luckily eBay comes to rescue but just remember to drive and if you notice a hard downshift or some lack of power at any time don't get fooled to think is a one off or that the petrol has an air bubble and if you think is covered under the warranty than think twice. Standard dealers warranties only cover engine and gearbox and for some unknown reason the air mass meter is considered part of the fluid system.
OTHER
The card has 4 disk brakes which is about right as it takes a lot to stop this monster. Also the car has rear drive which means the car how it was invented with engine, gearbox and differential in order and the front wheels are free to have a huge turning arc which means that the car is easier to park than my old 306 even though is twice as long. The gear box is nice and smooth but now and again lets the car rev a bit too high. Also watch out for the rear aerial which is motorised but tends not to fully retract after a while. WD40 should do the job though.
ECONOMY
Just about 30 mpg in town but I kind of expected that so keep away if you don't want it. It increased to a lot less than that in motorway roads which this autobahn devourer was built for.
OVERALL
It is a quality motor. I has prestige, it has style and maybe is not cheap when it goes wrong but it rarely does. I love it. I loved the price you pay for such quality. I love to feel safe, love the space for the passengers, the space in the boot and most of all the comfort and safety it implied. I almost sets the rules for every other car I will own...even though it has the handling of a boat. Well a U Boat that is
...I have just sent to Mercedes - does anyone
else have similar experiences ?
________________________________________
Customer Services,
Mercedes Benz,
DaimlerChrysler UK Ltd
Tongwell,
Milton Keynes,
Buckinghamshire
MK15 8BA
9 August, 2000
Dear Sir,
RE: C180 Elegance - registration S393EGC
I am writing to express my concern and disappointment with my Mercedes
C180 Elegance that I purchased from Geyfords (Tooting, London) in
November ... ...This entailed a call to Mercedes Emergency Assistance.
3. Sunroof jammed open. This was dealt with by a visit to the
dealership.
4. Woking motors whilst valuing our car comment on Geyford's
dealership "they have reputation for misleading clients" and showed us
a list containing names purporting to be other disgruntled customers.
5. Whilst on route to Geyfords to contemplate changing the C180,
the car breaks down with an electrical failure. ...
Dominic.Dinardo 14.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Mercedes C 180
...car), it's just that the Mercedes looks and feels like a bigger car and I can't help comparing it to an Omega or Scorpio.
Prior to the Mercedes I had a Renault Grand Espace, this was fully loaded with every toy imaginable so the Mercedes had a lot to live up to. Befor e the Renault was a Porsche 944 Turbo but that was before the kids came along. ...
spencerdavisusername 13.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Mercedes C 180
Advantages: Realiable, reasonable looks, good handling Disadvantages: no Air con
Mercedes c180 '94 petrol manual, 150k on the clock (owned for 4 months)
Mercs are class apart! Very good for its age. A very reliable engine! I did around 1000 miles in one trip in less than 15 hours and the engine showed no sign of fatigue. The maximum it can go is 110 miles/hour.
Not very fast for a dash between signals. Its rear wheel drive, if you accelerate a bit too much on a roundabout or turn on a rainy day, you'd seem like Jeremy on Top ... ...pig in summer! around 24 miles to a gallon in city and around 30 on motorway. I can't think of any problem I had with the car apart from a routine Tracking (wheel alignment and balancing). I never had to spend a pence on repair. Overall a very good and reliable car to own. Not as expensive or difficult to maintain as people think. ...
lovmacars 21.11.2008
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Mercedes C 180
...was a major fault because Mercedes in their finite wisdom had NOT built in a manual overide for the immobiliser! I had to call the AA to hotwire the car so I could get it home, and then had to buy two new keyfobs at a price of £55 each!.The car was of the road for 6 days while I waited for the fobs to come from GERMANY! This I found to be ridiculous and the Main dealers were absolutely useless with their lack of knowledge. Lastly,(at the moment anyway!) ... ...of the radiator when it got too hot. I asked the opinion of the main dealers (I don't know why though) Who were as usual as useful as a chocolate fireguard!. Anyway I plumped for the viscous fan which I bought for £65 from German Swedish ( highly recommended )
who beat the main dealers by £30! I had this fitted at a cost of £50 and that has sorted the problem(phew!)
The car drives lovely and it sails up and down motorways effortlessly BUT the around ...
Derrrrrrr 16.08.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Mercedes C 180
Advantages: Good looking car, nice to drive Disadvantages: Interior not up to normal mercedes standard
...Overall though it's a nice car, but the interior is not up the usual mercedes levels, but I guess that's what you get a high price manufacturer trying to get onto as many company car choice lists as possible.
I've had no mechanical problems at all, so very reliable. ...
Parky1311 18.09.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Mercedes C 180
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