Hello,

In the market for a W204. Based on my needs (low displacement, fuel economy, adequate power, gasoline engine), I have decided on a W204 C250. I have, however, found conflicting information about the M271 EVO online. Being only familiar with the original Kompressor M271 (163hp), I don't know what to expect. I definitely don't want to deal with more (costly) trips to the dealer, I already have had enough of that with a run down W209. Are timing chain problems as prevalent as they seem to be? In my understanding, if replaced, it should last at least 100k km, right? What about oil gasket and heat exchanger leaks? Any advice would be appreciated.

Here is the maintenance record for my 2013 C250. It's been reliable and only left me stranded once in six years & 150K+ miles of ownership (failed starter). It's had it's share of coolant and oil leaks but I don't believe it's worse than any other Mercedes.

Thank you for the detailed answer. Your maintenance seems pretty routine, no major troubles which I like. I am also looking at a particular 2013 example (around 100k km). How costly was the last service if you don't mind sharing?

I do all my own service work so I don't know the Mercedes dealer or independent service costs. For an oil service, the cost is around $60 for oil (Mobil 1 0W40) and filter (MB). For an oil, air filter, and cabin filter (MB filters), the cost is around $130. If you're even slightly mechanically-inclined, you can easily do the work yourself and none of these tasks require jacking up or crawling under the car.

Hi,
I have the c200k at 125km the starter completely failed out of the blue no warning ended up being oil weeping at the oil heat exchanger gasket leaked in to the starter brushes , so if there are oil leaks in this area of the engine plan on a new starter after fixing the oil leak.

Hello. We have a 2013 C250 that currently has 122,000 miles. The m271 has been a good engine with mostly just routine service and maintenance. Oil and filter are changed every 5000 miles.

Non routine items:

a. Replaced valve cover gasket(s) due to oil seepage into spark plug recesses.
b. High pressure fuel pump replaced by MB under extended Warranty coverage.
c. One coil replaced due to erratic behavior
d. Replaced serpentine belt tensioner (i guess this is really a routine item)
e. Oil feed pipe to turbo charger replaced due to leak

My 2013 C250 W204 has about 160,000 km now. I just replaced engine and transmission mounts, which is common for Mercedes Benz. It did have the cam phaser failure at 120,000 km but Mercedes paid to replace them and the timing chain (because there is a US extended warranty). I’m told that maybe 10% of the M271 EVO engines have the phaser problem but really don’t have any statistics. On a forum like this you see the cars that need repairs and people looking for advice — no one posts things like “Just to let you know, I got in my car this morning and everything worked.” Other than that, the car has been quite reliable. I have never had an oil leak of any kind. Routine maintenance is easy and inexpensive.