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Buying a used Mercedes - should I avoid the diesel?

I'm looking for a three year old Mercedes-Benz C-Class. I have about £12,000 to spend and would normally would choose a diesel, as I do about 15- 20,000 miles a year.

Am I better avoiding diesels due to DPF problems, and dual-mass flywheels? And, is the automatic still the better option regardless of petrol or diesel engines? Please tell me what you think.

Asked on 20 November 2013 by P Burton

Answered by Honest John
No dual mass flywheel on a torque converter auto. Don't hear of many DPF failures on Mercedes. Just avoid the abuse of repeated short runs from cold starts.

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