importfan21

Hi All,

Greetings from the w202 and w211 boards!

I'm toying with the idea of getting a new beater (current beater is E500 4MATIC wagon) for primarily fuel economy's sake (although I still want it to be "sporty"). I'm looking between a facelift w204 and a similar year Honda Accord.The only real mandatory features I must have are heated seats and a sunroof.

I'm looking for input from you guys as to common problems, desirable packages/trims/motor, problems to look out for, etc. I currently have a small stable of M113/722.6 vehicles so that drivetrain is more-or-less all I know in the MB world (I know nothing about these turbo'd motors and 7-speed transmissions).

I glanced at the front page of posts here and it honestly scares me with threads of "Alternator problems w204" and "Instrument cluster failure c300." I guess I'm spoiled by the bulletproof-ness of the older Benzes. I do a majority of my own work, so turning a wrench doesn't bug me; I just don't want a money/time pit.

Thoughts? Advice?

Adi-Benz

honda

superangrypenguin

I'd consider a non DI W204. These things are pretty bulletproof.

I started a thread a while back asking people why they aren't getting rid of their W204. Reliability was a big part. Lots of high mileage W204s.

Stay away from direct injection though. (in MY humble opinion) I bought my 2012 C300 4matic because it was 1) the last year they didn't use direct injection and 2) Projected reliability (and it certainly has done well so far)

importfan21

Thanks for this! I was unaware MB started using DI on the w204.

Funkwagen

You'll see a bunch of problem threads but you'll seldom see "Still continuing to have no problems!" threads..

Adi-Benz

I wish i could say the same

ghlkal

So true. If you based a buying decision on what you read on forums, you'd never buy *any* car.

Just204

Lol, people post more when they're unhappy, Fact...


Be wary of the pre '13 year transmissions as they have a weakness.

I'm curious what issue there is with the 276 with direct injection there is?

superangrypenguin

We talked about this in the DI thread. Potential long term DI issues with respect to buildup on the intake valves.

The main issue here is

1) No proof it doesn't happen on MB cars
2) No proof other than the one photo that was posted in that thread indicating that it is indeed a problem

So the jury is out on this one, as opposed to Hyundai/Ford/VW/Audi boards where there is a plethora of evidence indicating an issue.

I'd rather not take the chance though

Just204

If that it I'm not too concerned, I'm most interested in over all reliability and costs. I can probably do 90% a MB tech can do. I'm almost at 30k, have a boroscope and could check if I really wanted.

edgalang

Not aware of these. Either way, I have a facelifted W204 (2012 was the first year for non-4Matics) and I'm just entering 79k. No problems so far, but then again I was the original owner so I can account for everything that has happened since day 1 (unlike most of the folks here).

Doa

if you want fuel economy you have to take a diesel.
my first W204 was a 350 CDI and hit the 300 000km in just 2 years. never had i any problem and my fuel consumption was 6.2L/100km

now i have a 250 CDI and i'm at 6.0L/100km

importfan21

Ha, true. But I'm comparing against other MB chassis. Sure, no chassis is perfect, but when I'm seeing problems on this board that I've never encountered in any of my other MBs, it raises an eyebrow. Like a instrument cluster failure? S-class problem on a C-class? Sounds nuts to me. I've never had an alternator go on any of my cars (all 100k+ miles).

I don't need to be/am not a hypermiler. Anything better than V8 gas mileage will be a night and day difference to me. Also, an interesting observation: my local indie shop (one of the most well-known Mid-Atlantic MB shops) do not work on diesels, as they don't have the tools (they say it's not cost-effective for them). Curious if this is a growing national trend?

superangrypenguin

To build on this, yes agreed. Buy a post 2012 facelifted model. The interior is much more elegant and most of the bugs have been worked out!

Happy buyin'!