Hello! I'm in need of your advice.

I'm an old member to the boards as I once owned a 2005 C Class Kompressor. We eventually got rid of that car and my wife got a Lexus ES330. My daughter is now 16 and we are giving her the Lexus (it has over 200k miles) and my wife has asked me for another car.

Right now I'm looking at a fully loaded (nav, AMG wheels, pano sunroof, etc.) 2008 C350 with 108,XXX miles for $10k cash and a 2012 C250 which is pretty much stock and has 76,XXX miles for $13,500 cash. Both of these deals are from private owners and neither has been in a wreck. The owners aren't offering any type of service records when I ask so I'm assuming at this point that they didn't do a good job of keeping them. So the big question is do you think one of these are a better buy/bargain than the other? Which do you think is the best option?

 

Personally Id go with the face-lifted 2012. You may be down on power, but you'll have the better transmission.

 

EDIT: Phrased this badly:


Extra power will not be necessary. Both these cars have about 40 more horsepower than the average sedan.

C250 - less miles - likely less problems - better mpg

Always try to negotiate.

 

I like the sound of the 2012 C250 as well. I guess my only apprehension is that the C250 is red and she's prob not going to like a bright red car. She may just have to suck it up though.

Do you think the 2008 c350 is a good deal at $10k with 108k miles?

 

It is priced right, but as german cars get high miles they tend to cost $$ as I'm sure you know.

 

I personally go with the 08. More power. V6 has been around a long time and outside of a few sensors it has proven reliable. The 76K mile 250 is an 4 Cylinder turbo. Not sure how long turbos are lasting these days specially on small displacement cars but your wife will feel the 60+ horsepower difference.
If you are in it for fuel economy the 250 is the better choice but again, turbo life is not forever. Could be costly to replace. I think the price is a tad high on the C350 to be honest. Miles are high and trade in on that is going to be low. Either way you should think of keeping these cars a long while due to their low trade in value.

 

I'd go with the 2012. The interior is really great compared to the pre facelift and the car looks better! For me, it would be a bit low on power but if your wife does not care, it's still a great car.

 

I updated my first message above, sorry.

 

as owner of 08 c350 , ill advice you to choose c350 . more reliable better sound . atleast its v6 not i4 . amg kit . only thing that facelift has is interior , love that new steering wheel

 

...my CPO 2012 1.8 turbo 4 cylinder coupe has only been driven 6,000 miles since purchase.
All I can say would be beautiful (subjective), fuel efficient (fact - I'm on Fuelly.com) and flawless (fact - no issues: not one).

For this sailor: best looking coupe ever (Better than '69 Corvette, 74 Porsche or 90 Supra T)

best, ez

 

Better reliability isn't proven, and it seems under these circumstances, sound does not matter.

Looks to me that way.

 

I'd also recommend the C250. If both cars received little maintenance, I think the 2012 would recover better... Also, my 2012 C250 coupe is quite responsive, particularly in Sport Mode; they'll go fast enough to get you in trouble.

 

Not all owners keep service records - ask where the car was serviced and the shop maybe able to tell you what was done

at 137k miles and not knowing how transmission was serviced on the '08 - I would be somewhat concerned ...

In general I would by the much lower mileage car - have her drive the c250 and see how she likes it relative to Lexus ...

 

of cource its more reliable cuz w204's m272 they dont have balance schaft and chain problems so this engines have no other probs , the new c250 engines have turbo soo yeah mb it will not cause much problems but im high mileage turbo will die i guarantee

 

Just like the 300,000 mile saab 9-3 turbo's?

 

yeahh