Mercedes C180 2010-ish - Next Car Possibly

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Mon 11 Jul 2016 11:29
Mercedes C180 2010-ish - Next Car Possibly - V4 Heaven

Hi all, I've been thumbing through Autotrader and have noticed a few MB C180 petrol models, around 2010, are within my price range. I have a couple of questions if I may? A) does anyone have any experience of owning/running one? B) is the 'German build quality' more myth than fact? C) I notice that the C180s make about 160bhp? Do they all have a supercharger fitted to produce this amount of bhp from a 1.8? My commute will be a 7 mile commute with some congestion, so I'm only looking at petrol models. I've read HJ's reviews but would be interested to hear if anyone has any hands-on experience. Thanks all!

Edited by V4 Heaven on 11/07/2016 at 11:30

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Mon 11 Jul 2016 11:56
Mercedes C180 2010-ish - Next Car Possibly - RobJP

First off, go here : www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/mercedes-benz/c-clas...d

That's all the reported faults that HJ has heard of.

In their infinite wisdom (slight sarcasm alert there) MB decided to put the gearbox oil cooler inside the radiator in a lot of their automatics. However, when / if a hose lets go, the gearbox oil becomes contaminated with coolant (and the coolantcontaminated with gearbox oil), meaning either an expensive fix, or a VERY expensive fix.

For any 'premium' marque, you pay a considerable amount for the badge. Doing so on cars a few years old makes minimal sense. You'd probably get a far newer, lower mileage Mondeo/Accord/Avensis for the same money, and could expect fewer problems, and cheaper repairs if problems did occur.

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Mon 11 Jul 2016 17:11
Mercedes C180 2010-ish - Next Car Possibly - slkfanboy

The autobox are common accross may Margues and so pritty much the same issue happen to many like Volvo, Jag, BMW ....

Regarding German car reliability I asume the OP means the welll know poor reliability? As above the Nissans Toyotas of this world tend to head all the top spots for this acolated.

I've have an SLK for the past few years and no issues and a ford with no issues either.

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Mon 11 Jul 2016 16:51
Mercedes C180 2010-ish - Next Car Possibly - barney100

Go for it, I'm on my fourth Merc, 2 C Classes a CLK and now an SLK. Mate of mine has a C class and loves it. Manitainance costs at an indie are ok and the Owners club is worth joining for a small fee and they have an expert on each model to offer advice and discounts. Build quality to me seems excellent.

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Mon 11 Jul 2016 21:30
Mercedes C180 2010-ish - Next Car Possibly - jthan

Never had a petrol C, but I've had a few diesels - the last one a 2010 C200 estate, which I replaced with a (petrol) Toyota. Two very different definitions of quality.

The C had excellent interior trim/seatcloth etc. It was an excellent-driving, motorway car. Vastly better than the Toyota in both respects.

I've had no significant faults with either, but some minor bits on the C were disappointing. Rubber trims at the door window bases which lifted in the sun; a flimsy shiny doortread which lifted; an electric tailgate lift which was a bit sticky; a transmission which lacked responsiveness in extreme cold. No such issues with the Toyota.

Mechanically, the Toyota seems smoother and more refined. And its construction is simpler (and all the better for that).

But the C was a much better driving car, with a much better interior... So a quality choice in that respect.

Edited by jthan on 11/07/2016 at 21:30

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Tue 12 Jul 2016 09:37
Mercedes C180 2010-ish - Next Car Possibly - V4 Heaven

Thanks for the info so far. Interesting comments on the German v Japanese conundrum. I already have a Toyota that I have owned for the last 14 years and it has been amazing (it's now on 220,000 miles) but as time marches on (and I'm not getting any younger), it would be nice to drive something a little different and less anonymous.

Edited by V4 Heaven on 12/07/2016 at 09:39

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Tue 12 Jul 2016 17:38
Mercedes C180 2010-ish - Next Car Possibly - Steveieb
There are a few mentions of the gearbox oil becoming contaminated with coolant. But what are the tel tale signs of this happening? You mention hoses? But is it simply a matter of keeping an eye on the coolant levels?
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Tue 12 Jul 2016 19:48
Mercedes C180 2010-ish - Next Car Possibly - daveyjp
The C class had a mid life facelift around 2010/2011, don't know exactly when, but the new interior was far improved over the one which had been lifted out of the A and B class of the same period.
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Wed 13 Jul 2016 22:12
Mercedes C180 2010-ish - Next Car Possibly - 72 dudes

I also like the idea of a petrol C Class (currently have an A180 CDi and a 350 SLK).

Research the engines well. The C180 between 2008 and 2013 had several different engines including a supercharged 1.8, a turbocharged 1.6 and latterly a turbocharged 1.8 (I think this was the Blue Efficiency). All had 154/156 BHP and all were called C180!

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