anonymousmoose

Spoke to an acquaintance who is really into Mercs. He just picked up a very nice S500 Benz. I think its an 07 (its the current shape).

He confirmed what most are saying about the engines, he says its best to go for a 6 cylinder then the kompressor. Nothing wrong with the kompressor he says; its just the 6 doesnt require as much attention and will do higher miles without as much maintenance.

So maybe I should expand my search to an E class as well as the C. Not many 6 cylinder C classes around where I am but plenty of E's. Thing is, the E's are quite a bit more then the C.

Just wondering if an E around about the 2004-2005 era are as reliable as the C's from 05-07.

albert101

I personally tend to make it a rule for myself to not go for supercharged or turbocharged cars. Any time you add more power into an engine you will add more stress. The 6 cylinder is a naturally aspirated engine and in theory, should last much longer and be more reliable.

I've owned a number of turbo and supercharged cars in the past and sadly none of them lasted very long. Since then, I have stuck to NA engines.

Johnsct

I owned a 1990 VW Corrado, supercharged engine. Sold it in 2000 with 205,000 miles and the engine never had a repair other than maintenance. My C230 K now has 131,000 miles and the engine has never had a repair other than maintenance.

I agree that an engine without a supercharger or turbo will "probably" have a longer and less problematic life, but that is not a sure thing.

Glyn M Ruck

Your Mate is right. Listen to him.

cpbeasley

what happened to the 06 c230 you said was available?

anonymousmoose

Still available but didn't end up selling my car. Gotta sell it before I can get a merc. So got more time now to do research.

cpbeasley

I personally woudnt buy an E class just bc it had the engine I wanted.

Im dying for a C350, which is a rare w203. But you dont see me buying a CLK350 or SLK350 or ML350 or E350
you get the idea
hold out for what you want. sounds like you got the time to now anyway.

Glyn M Ruck

There is nothing wrong with a newer E240 or E320.

My opinion is that the E is a bit of a tank but a very nice car. It all depends what you really want.

When I lived in Aus I always thought the E to be overpriced in that market, especially secondhand. Maybe it's a snob appeal thing vs the big Holdens & Fords.

anonymousmoose

Not saying I really WANT the C class over the E, just didnt realise the engines for the V6 was better then the 4 cylinders. Of course if there was a V6 C & E same similar year, price and KM, I'd take the E (if its as reliable as a C).When I sell my car, I will need to see whats available.

So far, it looks like the 2005+ E's are out of my budget so a V6 C looks like the one. But by the time I sell my car, the story could be different.

C230 Sport Coup

Lots of C320's around.

anonymousmoose

Maybe in your part of the world, but not where I am from.

TruTaing

I believe the NA motors are just simpler. In other words - there is less stuff that could break down. If V6s are not common in aus, you could also consider a NA I4 in the 1.8 and 2.0L variants.

anonymousmoose

What is NA?

FrankW

naturally aspirated engine.

alpinweiss

I think the biggest thing about buying a used turbocharged or supercharged car is to make sure it has a good maintenance history. I really don't think these engines are very compatible with extended oil change intervals. If the car looks neglected, you may want to move on to the next candidate.

My car is a 2005 C230k (M271 engine). I have ignored the factory-recommended oil change interval (13,000 miles) since it was new. I change my oil every 5,000 miles, with the MB-approved Mobil-1 0W-40. It is my belief that a little extra money spent now on oil, will reduce the likelihood of expensive future repairs. There are many other owners that are meticulous about maintenance, and you want to buy a car from one of those people.

If you are uncertain about a car's maintenance history, a naturally aspirated engine is a better bet. Just remember that the four cylinder engines normally burn a bit less fuel than the six cylinder engines.

W203E35

No offense but changing your oil at 5k instead of 13k is a waste of money.

LawRens

i wouldnt say "waste of money." but the benefits of changing oil every 5k instead of say, 8k-10k is marginal, unless it's driven hard constantly.

W203E35

Waste of money...couple of members did an oil analysis at recommended oil change interval and their oil was perfectly fine. This means changing it 3-5k sooner doesn't mean anything. If it doesn't do good or harm then it's a waste of money.

If recommended is 10k and you do 5k that's half. on a 3k would you change it at 1.5k?? Especially with the 0 40 synthetic changing it much sooner doesn't change anything.

cpbeasley

I don't know anything about the science behind the breakdown of oil, especially when talking about differences between engines and how they uniquely break it down, however... if a company like Mercedes-Benz spent more money than we can imagine to engineer a vehicle and say that it needs 10k+ oil change interval, then who is any Joe to challenge that? How many thousands of these vehicles have been produced, and where are the news breaking automotive stories declaring the 10k+ oil change a farce and a con with the droves of broke down MBs?

anyway. i agree with Karo.

LawRens

well, if buyer has $$ to burn and it gives peace of mind for a clean running engine, who's to stop him? He's just helping the economy at this point.

FrankW

I always feel that oil analysis is only a pass/fail test. it doesn't tell the whole story about the oil. viscosity may stay around the same, but the harmful contain in the oil can change a lot. and I was just reading this http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html

IMO 5-8k miles interval is perfectly fine.

and just so you know that the service interval set on the cars are driven by cost of providing maintenance from MB.

OneOfaKindTrini

+1. Dont wait until you actually HAVE to do it. Do it before hand and save the headache I change my oil every 5k miles roughly twice a year.

W203E35

This oil debate has been going on for a while. If interval is 13k why the fock would you change it at 5k miles????? Especially when you put 8.5 quarts???

If your over a year sure change it with time viscosity changes too. All i'm saying is changing the oil half its interval is a waste of money. If that makes you sleep better at night and you feel you saved your engine from harm by changing it half it's interval so be it.

Even 8k is too early but to each their own.

FrankW

lol karo...go read that site i linked. you'll see the harmful deposit in the oil changes a lot even at just 5k miles.

btw, sending you a PM regarding tele-aid lol

W203E35

PM replied. Lets get a meet going