Geercz

Hi everyone, Im looking to buy used c220 125kw, pretty nice pieces are to be found around 18.000EUR (2017, cca 100.000km on the clock)
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I would love to hear experience from people driving this car for past couple of years, ideally second hand, higher mileages and basically any help or tip will be appreciated.

What is the reliability? What are the maintenance costs? What is the interval on the timing belt?
Is there any specific issue to look out for? is 2.1 125kw diesel engine a good choice?
With around 100k km, what investments can i expect? I believe breaks most likely, what about timing belt?

Either Ill go for a w205 which is a little bit tight on my budget sitting around 18k eur but its still OK, or ill go for w204 ...which would be obviously older, but cheaper but I since it was announced i just love W204 design, its just getting old now...and thats the thing id like to avoid. Id rather pay more and get a car which is not older than 5 years and I hope to drive it for around next 5 years without significant issues (I know we all do :-D) which will be more expensive but hopefully should drive without issues with injectors, timing belt and all those things which usually happen sooner or later... rather than buying a cheaper diesel car with the risk of previously mentioned things id like to go for something newer even for the higher initial investment.

I expect and hope if I buy a 4 years old car with "only" around 100k kms on the clock it should be reliable for couple of years, what do you guys think, is this a good idea?
I take good care of my cars, buy quality parts and do oil changes in time, i properly heat the engine up and cool it slowly down i really take care about little things like that.

Currently Im driving 2016 mitsubishi outlander phev which havent had a single issue - we have it since a new car (and now it has 200.000km on the clock and still ticking) , due to the covid i lost an opportunity to charge it daily hence ill be moving somewhere else and I always loved merc... other opportunity would be corolla hybrid 135kw and only reason i would go this way is the reliability and that for this price ill get even newer car than merc w205, we had a toyota auris hybrid in family for couple of years, driven around 220.000km during 4/5 years without a single issue and now my wifes family drives it for over a year and it runs as good as new i am really impressed by their engineering to be honest..... I was not able to find much about w205 reliability on the internet which might be a good sign(apart from issues with electrics and multiple callbacks). Obviously my heart goes for the Merc : - ) and I have no one around me who would help me decide and the last mercedes i was driving was when i was 18years old, an old diesel W124 which was unstoppable at the time and i loved the car, but i have no idea how much mercedeses changes since then, mainly in terms of reliability

Another thing is we are expecting a baby and obviously i need something which will be reliable and which will not eat me alive financially.

Sorry for spam and my thoughts, I really cannot decide which way to go ... as I said, any opinion and tips will be highly appreiated ... thanks !
Best of luck in these hard times, stay safe and take a good care of your tristar darlings

Andy74

The only thing you need to avoid is Corolla. Mercedes is the Best or Nothing. I have a C200 2015 AMG line I only charge engine oil. Very reliable sporty and luxury car. I recommend W205 👍👍

irondad

You're going to find that statistically Lexus and Toyota are going to be the most reliable car make, and Mercedes-Benz is rarely in the top 10. Anecdotally, I've owned MBs for over 30 years and they're not terrible but not great reliability-wise. Concurrently with MB I've owned Lexus and Toyota and they're bulletproof.

Statistically, MB maintenance is much more expensive than average.

Numbers don't lie:

Andy74

Strange opinion from someone who owned a Mercedes for 30 years. Each to his own opinion. I owned my car for almost 3 years, I changed the main battery, the auxiliary battery and fixed the roof rack (a stone was found in the rack). I keep the car maintained for service A and B at the dealership I only buy OEM parts. My car is a 2015 model not a brand new car. What do we call this car? Not reliable? Ok so what is a reliable car?

irondad

I've provided facts, and (30+ years of) anecdotal evidence. No opinions.

You have provided limited anecdotal evidence and opinion. One car does not a statistic make. Surely you grasp that logic.

Logically...30 years and owned 8 Mercedes Benz vehicles, and my family owning them since the 1960s establishes me as an expert of sorts...versus your one car. As such, your first sentence makes no sense.

Regardless...I've provided facts...statistics...so that OP is provided with facts...not opinions stated as facts.

Andy74

I really dont care about your statistics or your family history. If you dont think Mercedes is a good reliable car why did keep on buying them for 30 years? Again, I am happy with my car, and surely my next car will be a Mercedes. OP you asked for my opinion and I gave to you based on my humble experience with my one car. Good luck with your search.

irondad

Lol. Irony. Why do you care?

Geercz

Thanks a lot for reply guys, no need to fight around right :-D Statistically mitsubishi is basically same ranking as mercedes - yet I have also experience with one mitsubishi which is flawless. I will only have to find a reliable garage with mercedes specialization.

I still have some time to decide, i always dreamt of having a newer merc and lifes too short to avoid your dreams so i will see what the situation will look like when ill have to decide.

1 hand car, with clear service history and not an extreme mileage will be hopefully ok or my dream will turn into a nightmare :-D

. I did not even find any common design flaws for w205 / s205 - like avoid this type of engine, avoid this. Maybe its just still a new car for this.

Only thing I know I would like to avoid is air suspension. /amg sport suspension

Doa

The om651 diesel is very reliable! I had it in my 204. and now in my 205.
The 220d has just like the 250 à double step single turbo vs a normal single turbo for the lower engine levels

irondad

"I did not even find any common design flaws for w205 / s205 - like avoid this type of engine"

If you search this forum or Google "w205 wrist pin" you'll see one...and it's not pretty. I'm fairly confident it's just in 2015 cars.

My brand-new 2020 has been in the shop 4 times for 37 days in less than a year. Does that make MB horrible? No? Does that mean the W205 is unreliable? No. It's just my car. Anecdotal evidence from one owner is useless.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from MB, just trying to give you facts. All brands have their flaws and idiosyncrasies.

Search this forum, and Benzworld, and research statistics for the year and model you're looking for.

From what I've read 2017 is a good year for reliability ratings of Mercedes, so you should be good!

irondad

Here ya go. Top 5 in 2017.




Post pics if you get it!

Doa

That is for all models...
I would say from 2017 on the w205 models produced are as safe as it can get for Mercedes models. Most common issues will be sensors that died. I have a 2018 250d and only had 1 issue so far, the camera in the trunk died and was replaced under warranty. My 204 250d made over 250 000km's before I sold it, only issue I had was a broken alternator