Mercedes W204 C220 & 220,000 Miles Later

[WillRB]

Bellow is a post I wrote back on the 16th April 21 when we were selling our Mercedes C220 S204 from 2011

Original post: MBClub Forum

 

 

"Hello all

 

I just wanted to share my experience with owning my Mercedes C220 estate from 2011 (Facelift) as this is something I would like to have seen when considering buying one of these.

As the final day's approach, I have decided to upgrade to the W205 for the simple reason of the large number of maintenance costs slowly accumulating.

My car has just under 220,000 miles and has generally been flawless, there were a few simple/bigger problems as listed below but generally over the long period I had the car for it has been super reliable.

I bought the car from a Mercedes dealer with 43000 miles back in 2014 and the second I test drove it for the first time I was so easily convinced to buy it. When buying used you always sign up for a big risk of not really knowing how much the previous owner cared for the car and how it was driven, so it's always a good idea to check or ask something about the previous owner and make your own assumptions from that. Buying from a Mercedes dealer seemed out of the question at first due to the price but I did not realise the condition they normally are in, In my case, there were absolutely no scratches and clearly, the car had been run-in and cared for properly by the previous owner as it went on to do many more miles. So I do recommend buying from a Mercedes dealer but just take your time and don't let them push you into anything that you are uncomfortable with like an unreasonably high price.

 

The reliability has been really good with only the common faults really being an issue for me:

1 Fuel injector gave in and stopped partially working putting the car in limp mode.
1 water pump
1 radiator
1 master brake cylinder
4/ALL front suspension arms
1 Suspension coil
Rear brake lines rusted through starting a leak and a slow loss of brake pressure
2 O2 sensors
Rear Diff Boot started to leak but nothing major
Oil pan snapped when an oil change was occurring as they are made out of plastic
Some sort of power steering valve partially failed to cause occasional loss of power steering
The spinning function of the rotary controller for the Sat-Nav (more info below)

 

Things to watch out for:
Timing chains on the OM651 engine can be an expensive issue if not treated early, Luckily on my car that was never a problem. It can be easily self-diagnosed by listening to a cold start best with the bonnet open for a rattling sound for around 2-3 seconds after start.
On early facelift cars (2011/2012), the fuel injectors can cause an issue but this was later rectified by Mercedes. (unsure how pre-facelift cars were affected)
The water pump can easily start a leak so check for any coolant splattered in the front of the engine bay.

 

Personal experience:
Make sure that if you have a tow bar fitted that the electrical connector is properly sealed and tucked away as water gets in and causes the indicator and some electrical equipment to go haywire (only temporary until water is cleared out and dried).
The boot struts were rusted through so have a look at that, they can be easily and cheaply replaced by yourself.
The rotary controller for the Sat-Nav/radio stopped working due to a plastic shaft on the inside braking. This makes the Garmin map pilot useless as it relies on the rotary controller and not the up/down left/right input of the rotary controller. The up/down left/right input still works and if you have the upgraded Mercedes Sat-Nav (Command I think) then this should work regardless if the rotary function works. All other functions still work regardless of Map Pilot or Comand as they can use the up/down left/right input.
The front door kickplates Will fall off as they are really lightly wedged on unless you know magic to keep them in place.
The original 7 spoke rims are so bad if you do lots of miles in adverse weather conditions, all 4 of mine the protective layer started to peel everywhere and caused many water pockets underneath the foil and this makes them look really bad and corroded, Structurally fine but not cosmetically.
The passenger seat mat was faulty and caused the Airbag symbol to light up (Which would cause an MOT to fail).

 

I always did my services on time and as Mercedes said, this I feel is very important in the durability department as good care for the engine pays off in the end,

 

Some real positives were:
The battery was still fully functional at nearly 10 years old.
Economy on A roads (which I mainly did) was around 55mpg and when on the motorway could easily get above 60. on long journeys we did we could get around 750 miles (1200 km) on 1 tank so the economy was amazing.
The intelligent light system I think is really something to go for as not only does it illuminate the road really well but it also makes the car look so much better, also they last longer as they have a mix of Bi-Xenon lights and LED's. There are still a few old halogen (I think) lights scattered around the car but none of these ever broke.
The car technically never let me stranded anywhere in terms of a breakdown and the things that broke always left the car still drivable.

Sorry about the long post but I wanted to share my experience with the car for new buyers, also please correct me with anything that I have said that is wrong. Please feel free to ask anything if you have any questions.

 

Thank you also for all the help I have received over the last year on here👍"

 

Hope this helps anyone looking into getting one of these.

 

Edited 24 January, 2023 by WillRB

[johnny cabbage head]

Thanks for your owner review of the Mercedes, I have been a skoda /VW passat driver for many years, none of them ever let me Down, I always service them myself, and run regular diagnostic checks on DPF etc, However I recently took my brother to the Airport in his 220 Mercedes Diesel car and my wife and I were both impressed with the smoothness of the car and absoloute comfort.

I saw A Mercedes E350 BLUETEC AMG LINE PREMIUM 5d 255 BHP estate advertised at a garage 55k  and went for a look at it, The condition was very nice indeed, I started the engine and it was as smooth as silk, I didnt drive it as I asked the sales guy how much he would give me against my 2017 Superb sportline Estate 150bhp Diesel with 40,000 on the clock, he offered me £14500 against this 2015 Diesel Mercedes priced at £20K, which I thought was a Joke, he mentioned a scratch on the wheel arch and said "paint jobs are so expensive nowdays" as though he was justifying the low price.

 

I went away and looked up some information on the mercedes especially the faults they encounter, I was amazed to find there were 8 "defeat Devices" fitted to this model mercedes to bring it in line with the emissions tests, and also that there were numerous electrical faults attributed to this Top Spec car.

The concensus was that these cars lose their reliability fairly regularly which is a great shame, but the same issues were encountered on the once legendary Sprinter vans that lost their status as a bomb proof van .

I know the earlier Mercedes Cars  were Bomb Proof , but it seems that the later cars have far too much technical issues and they run on a very complicated ECU control system.

I decided to leave it where it was, I saw another sportline same year same mileage as mine on a forecourt and it was on sale at just under £21k so this guy was hoping to make a few grand profit on My superb..(nice try)

Think I will stick with Skoda , pity because the E350 is a lovely car but Bit like the wife -its far too complicated at times

Thanks for an interesting review .

[youngtimer]

I also enjoyed your review of your W204, this model was a pivotal step towards recovering their reputation as a premium brand. 

 

The 90's saw a disasterous 

[youngtimer]

oops !  

........Mercedes' experiment with water based paint and poor steel caused premature rusting and severely damaged their image.

I loved the driving experience of the W202 C class, W124 E class and W210 E class but realised my pockets weren't deep enough to maintain them.

 

 

[J.R.]

On 01/02/2023 at 12:29, johnny cabbage head said:

so this guy was hoping to make a few grand profit on My superb..(nice try)

 

He has to to remain in business and put food on the table, car dealers like any other business are not charities.

 

Why did you not ask for a PX price against the £55K Merc you were interested in? That would probably have had a margin built in to pay an unrealistic PX price for a much cheaper vehicle with in being moved on in the trade at no margin or even a small loss.

 

On 01/02/2023 at 12:29, johnny cabbage head said:

I saw another sportline same year same mileage as mine on a forecourt and it was on sale at just under £21k

 

A good example, with that they would be offering a loss making PX.

 

You probably could have got close to that against the £55K Merc if it had been priced that way.

[Pugmanone1]

On 01/02/2023 at 11:29, johnny cabbage head said:

Thanks for your owner review of the Mercedes, I have been a skoda /VW passat driver for many years, none of them ever let me Down, I always service them myself, and run regular diagnostic checks on DPF etc, However I recently took my brother to the Airport in his 220 Mercedes Diesel car and my wife and I were both impressed with the smoothness of the car and absoloute comfort.

I saw A Mercedes E350 BLUETEC AMG LINE PREMIUM 5d 255 BHP estate advertised at a garage 55k  and went for a look at it, The condition was very nice indeed, I started the engine and it was as smooth as silk, I didnt drive it as I asked the sales guy how much he would give me against my 2017 Superb sportline Estate 150bhp Diesel with 40,000 on the clock, he offered me £14500 against this 2015 Diesel Mercedes priced at £20K, which I thought was a Joke, he mentioned a scratch on the wheel arch and said "paint jobs are so expensive nowdays" as though he was justifying the low price.

 

I went away and looked up some information on the mercedes especially the faults they encounter, I was amazed to find there were 8 "defeat Devices" fitted to this model mercedes to bring it in line with the emissions tests, and also that there were numerous electrical faults attributed to this Top Spec car.

The concensus was that these cars lose their reliability fairly regularly which is a great shame, but the same issues were encountered on the once legendary Sprinter vans that lost their status as a bomb proof van .

I know the earlier Mercedes Cars  were Bomb Proof , but it seems that the later cars have far too much technical issues and they run on a very complicated ECU control system.

I decided to leave it where it was, I saw another sportline same year same mileage as mine on a forecourt and it was on sale at just under £21k so this guy was hoping to make a few grand profit on My superb..(nice try)

Think I will stick with Skoda , pity because the E350 is a lovely car but Bit like the wife -its far too complicated at times

Thanks for an interesting review .

 

[Pugmanone1]

I have always been a BMW driver. That was until the latest BMW 5 series. I purchased the 2021 530i touring with only 800 miles on the clock, and 3 months old. After a few months without fault, the rear hatch would open on its own when parked up. I took it to my local BMW dealer who after having the car for two weeks stated that they could not fix the problem. After a shouting match in their showroom making sure that all around knew that the dealer could not fix my car after 2 weeks and this left me with a car in which the rear hatch would open at will allowing thieves and the weather to have a great time. However i had the right to return the car as unfit for purpose and that’s what I did. I had to contact BMW UK to get the dealer to hand my money back however. Then I moved to Honda, but their new civic has a major steering fault I find out to my cost. So that had to go. Now I am trying Škoda, which I hope will be a safe bet. I think that manufacturers are being forced to make their cars meet silly unrealistic emissions targets along with trying to make the cars cheaper to manufacture which is causing most of the problems. Even the copper wiring in todays car is not true copper but a cheap alloy which breaks down over time leading to lots of electrical problems for owners. Best to keep things simple to my mind.

[johnny cabbage head]

On 26/12/2023 at 13:53, Pugmanone1 said:

I have always been a BMW driver. That was until the latest BMW 5 series. I purchased the 2021 530i touring with only 800 miles on the clock, and 3 months old. After a few months without fault, the rear hatch would open on its own when parked up. I took it to my local BMW dealer who after having the car for two weeks stated that they could not fix the problem. After a shouting match in their showroom making sure that all around knew that the dealer could not fix my car after 2 weeks and this left me with a car in which the rear hatch would open at will allowing thieves and the weather to have a great time. However i had the right to return the car as unfit for purpose and that’s what I did. I had to contact BMW UK to get the dealer to hand my money back however. Then I moved to Honda, but their new civic has a major steering fault I find out to my cost. So that had to go. Now I am trying Škoda, which I hope will be a safe bet. I think that manufacturers are being forced to make their cars meet silly unrealistic emissions targets along with trying to make the cars cheaper to manufacture which is causing most of the problems. Even the copper wiring in todays car is not true copper but a cheap alloy which breaks down over time leading to lots of electrical problems for owners. Best to keep things simple to my mind.

 Interesting story  regarding the BMW 5 series, I eventually went for another sportline Plus  estate DSG 22 plate and got a better PX  plus the Sportline was a demonstrator with a  price tag of £1500 cheaper than anywhere else, Been very happy with the DSG some 10 months into ownership, and it tows like a Dream, My caravan is 1500kg.

I am tempted by a new Caravan but according to the "Towing Bible" on caravan forums I need a heavier car as the one I fancy is an 8ft wide one and max weight loaded of 1662 kg.

My V5 DOCUMENT STATES MASS IN SERVICE OF 1693 kg which is  almost 100% but not quite, though over the 85% figure all the caravanners like to quote.

The guy at caravan dealers did a check and its legal to tow but would like some feed back from other superb diesel estate owners, (mines a 150BHP 2 WD)

 

I looked at a 5 series BMW estate with a 3.0 Diesel engine, simply  due to its higher kerb weight but the PX price was £8k less than I paid for the car 10 months ago and I have only done 3k in the sportline plus so thats not going to happen..

I recall a member on here quoting he towed a 1900kg with a 4x4 Superb estate 190bhp with no problems  1 would love to hear any other owner experiences regarding towing at 100%  of the kerbweight including driver which is usually 78kg .

Oh and Happy New Year everyone

[johnny cabbage head]

On 28/10/2023 at 12:10, J.R. said:

A good example, with that they would be offering a loss making PX.

 

You probably could have got close to that against the £55K Merc if it had been priced that way.

sorry I dont understand your Logic , I know about car dealers putting bread on the table -I owned my own Garage for  20 years, but the prices some Garages are offering PX wise are really low, and the definition of "unrealistic"  has a broad meaning.

By the way the Merc I was looking at was not £55k it was 55k mileage maybe a bit of confusion there   

The seller wanted £20 k  for it with the mileage of 55 thousand miles on the clock

I sold my car to another dealer and got £1500 more PX for it and he sold it on for £3k more  all water under the bridge now anyway.

[Pugmanone1]

Hi, I wanted to get shot of my Honda 2022 civic hybrid with 13240 miles on the clock. This is the px and buy it now offers I got.

Toyota £19890, in px with a Toyota rav 4. We buy any car £22400 without seeing the car, so would be less when they did see that the car had had the radio turned on. Mercedes £23000. In px on Mercedes estate. Independent skoda dealer in London £22000 in px on skoda estate. A number of skoda dealers offered nothing at all in px stating that they could not underwrite the Honda. Big buys cars £25000 without seeing the car. Motorway £27600 and purchased the car. The Honda is now for sale at a Honda main dealer for £31900. And the pictures still show the stone chips at the front not painted. I purchased the car from Honda main dealers, ex demo with just over 300 miles. Price paid £29500. So the car is over a year older with 13000 miles extra on it and its more money then when I purchased it, and in deed newer cars of the same spec with only hundreds on miles on the clock. 

[Phil69]

Hi , I had a Mercedes until recently and my areas of expertise are on C207 models that are a E class coupe.My car was a 2016 plate.

C class cars suffer  can suffer from the same problem.

 

Rear sub frame failure through rust.

 

I had my car inspected two years ago and the subframe appeared to be fine. My car had covered a low mileage and was serviced by Mercedes and hardly used in the winter.

 

The problem is that are rear   subframes fail through rust from the inside out.

 

I am hopefully purchasing a Skoda Superb and I must say I was really impressed with the fit and finish and general build quality.

Know doubt many other owners where sceptical regarding Skoda ( Badge snobbery ) but the Superb is Superb.