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Just bought 2015 C300 with 85,000 km, maintenance/reliability questions
Hi everyone,
Was deciding between purchasing a newer 2017/2018 C300 with low mileage (~10k km) at a MB dealership for 40k CAD vs. a 2015 C300 with more mileage (~80k km) at 25,000 CAD as part of a private sale. Both cars loaded with sports packages and most options. Ended up pulling the trigger on the cheaper 2015 car because I figured the benefits of lower mileage, newer car, manufacturer warranty would be offset by the much lower price of the 2015. Plus the previous owner of the 2015 took immaculate care of it, got it regularly serviced and has a completely clean history.
I am mostly happy with the decision I made, just had some concerns regarding maintenance and reliability. In terms of major services, the previous owner has had the break pads and rotors done at 60k and took it in for inspection/service a few days ago and they reported nothing. Believe oil/filter is due soon as well. As I continue to put miles on it past 80k, are there any other major expected services which will come up? Also, what about unexpected problems? Obviously since I chose the higher mileage car, there is a greater chance things like that might happen. But what do your guys's past experience tell you might happen?
I am pretty car illiterate right now as this is my first major car purchase so please bear with me if these are stupid questions!
Look up in these forums about the possible wrist pin problem/repair, which is prevalent on the 2015 C300 around 70-100k km. Just look through all these forums about all the common problems for 2015 C300, like the window motor and the weird noises in the hood etc. I'm not too experienced, since I don't own the 2015 model, but since I've been on these forums, 2015 C300 do have problems that are not there for 2016+ models.
2015 was the first year for W205, and I believe that you should always avoid the first year, and possibly the second year, of that model to let the manufacturer fix common problems for the future versions of that model.
25,000 CAD is market for your base sport model, but since many 2015 models are getting out of the 4 year warranty this year, the market price will dip significantly starting this Fall based on the common problems for the average 2015 model.
You bought from an owner that sounds like took care of their car. Hope for the best, and continue to take care of the car. I agree with your judgement. But I would have personally paid a bit more for maybe a 2016 or 2017 version. Definitely not for 40k (30k in USD) plus taxes (33-34k USD?), but somewhere between 24-26k USD after taxes.
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