Should I buy a W202?
 

Hi guys,

In about 6-9 months I will be looking to buy a car as a daily/beater.

I was set to buy a Mitsubishi Diamante 2003 but the 3.5L engine is putting me off (for cost of fuel).
I am looking at W202 as well, maybe C180, 200 or max C220 but just wondering how these are, reliability wise etc?

This is not in the US and in the country I want to buy the Diamante parts are cheaply and readily available.
The Diamante will be a better drive, more comfortable and more practical, it will also for the same price be a bit newer with less km.

Any opinions/suggestions?

should I buy a cheese donut

I'd say the chances are you can go without a donut

Well from my experiance a W202 was awful. My 00 C280 was a nightmare of a car. I mean everything you could think broke. I purchased it with 53k on it. Drove it to 88k and said thats enough. The car cost about 4k for that time period. Not good for basic made car. It never broke down ro anything and always started when I needed it to but it was too many issues. However my girlfriends 202 she uses as a DD is a 00 C230K. 90K Miles on it and it has been fine. I would not go with a 202 but if I had to I go with a c220. The 280 is quicker but the mpg was not great for me. Thats my.02 cents.

How is their reliability in general do you know?
And do they suffer from the wiring loom melting in the engine bay like the 124?

From what I can tell the C220 only came in 4 speed auto and I would much prefer the 5 speed so I would settle for a C200.
Of course the appeal of this car is the fuel economy which to be honest I have no clue what it is but I assume it must be better than a 3.5L Diamante

i've been getting exactly 30MPG :D on highway road trips and about 23 in city. depending how heavy your foot is. its great on fuel if you go on long trips. i get 450 miles on a tank (i've never ran it to the last drop) but i love it. It has had the wiring harness updated to the new one so there wont be a problem with that. :naughty:
Just be sure before you get a c220 that you make sure the wire harness has been updated, :y one way you can check is by opening the hood and removing the panel cover over the passenger side of the the car and look at the wires by the ECU i believe the tag is on the ground wires and it will have a date on it.
but if you see wires that look old and falling apart stay away!! :report: another way to tell is by looking at the MAF wires if its falling apart when you touch it then stay away.:report:
But i feel that the c220 is easier to do self repairs on then the other ones so you can spend more time driving and enjoying the car:zoom:

Thanks for your info - am looking at a '95 C220 like the one I leased new in '95. But this time plan to keep it forever. Sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone! :)