Well, my much loved V70 ('Deefer' - see if you can work out how he was named..) was put out to grass recently as he appeared to suffer from being the same type of less than reliable 'Friday afternoon' car as my 5-series BMW was, with quite a few issues.
I don't thrash or abuse cars (far from it) but I am the only 'constant' with this scenario as my boss has pointed out...
3 replacement turbo's, at least two sets of EGR equipment, plus lots of other glitches (all of which were fixed, but started costing big money) including a thirst for oil towards the end meant that he has had to go. Only 80k miles and just over 4 years. Very disappointing, and not what I expected after a previous good experience.
I looked into whether it made sense for us to look at leasing cars instead of buying them and running them 'til they die, and my goodness, what a different market place it is now!!
I used the (fantastic) Lings cars for the first time (absolutely faultless service, despite being as mad a website as you could ever find), and with a shortlist of a V90 or XC60 (I know, I know, but they look good and perhaps I was just unlucky with the V70...), 5 series Touring (yes, I know again...), or - just thrown in for a laugh - an E-Class E220d SE estate - as I do like to have as big a boot as I can for garden waste to go to the tip, etc, I was keen to see what deals were out there.
Merc's and Audi's have never done it for me, but the boot on the Merc put it into contention.
I know the Skoda Superb boot is also big, but this did not make the short list.
A tremendous deal on the Merc was offered as long as I took the one in stock (which was good for me as I wanted to change ASAP). Metallic black with black interior (both not desirable to me), but with a double sunroof to lighten it up a bit. c. £390 a month (with three months up-front) and over 3 years with 20k miles a year.
In three years that will cost the price of about one years depreciation on a new one which can't be bad!
Didn't do a test drive (thousands of German Taxi drivers cant be wrong), and took delivery of 'Eddie' a couple of weeks later.
Just under a thousand miles under the belt and I am very pleased. The interior is stunning (although the 'piano black' console shows the finger-marks). The satnav / infotainment screen (the basic version) is a huge 12.3" one. Very high 'basic' SE spec, (reversing camera, park pilot, etc, etc) and I am a happy bunny.
Quite an intuitive infotainment system I think - needed because I am a bit of a luddite.... No touch screens either - happy days!
Doubt that the parking feature will ever be used, but one day I might give it a go, you never know....
Despite tons of adjustment on the seats, I could not find the perfect set-up for a trip to Devon and back in a day (500 mile round trip), but I guess that this will just take me time to find the 'sweet-spot'. Very firm seats, but that should be better for the occasional long journeys that I do eventually.
New 1950cc engine has 194bhp and feels noticeably quicker than the 181 in the D4 Volvo. 0-60 in less than 8 secs isn't bad either... 9 speed auto gearbox is super-smooth too.
The trip to Devon and back (from Sussex) 2-up with a real mix of roads and traffic (including rush hour on the M25) plus some subsequent commuting is giving a current MPG average of 53.3 (it was 56.5 for the Devon and back part), and projected range of over 750 miles.
Interestingly a colleague has a hybrid BMW 3-series. Gets about 20 miles from the electric, but then on petrol alone he has a range of just 250 miles I hear, so is constantly refueling....
I must say that the looks of the car externally leave me a bit cold (looks a bit like a whale with a bad back - or a hearse as my daughter positively (?!) commented, but is a good size. It is 2 1/2" narrower and lower than the Volvo but 4 1/2" longer.
Already done a trip to the tip, and a bicycle was swallowed up very quickly without needing to take the wheels off. It was also faster to get all the seats folded than in the Volvo too.
Ride is firm, but with standard 17" wheels and high profile tyres, is still quite comfortable. Self-leveling air suspension at the rear which is good when stocked up with wine at Calais..
So, early days yet, but a smooth stress-free couple of weeks so far.
|
>> Well, my much loved V70 ('Deefer' - see if you can work out how he
>> was named..) was put out to grass recently as he appeared to suffer from being
>> the same type of less than reliable 'Friday afternoon' car as my 5-series BMW was,
>> with quite a few issues.
>>
>> I don't thrash or abuse cars (far from it) but I am the only 'constant'
>> with this scenario as my boss has pointed out...
>>
>> 3 replacement turbo's, at least two sets of EGR equipment, plus lots of other glitches
>> (all of which were fixed, but started costing big money) including a thirst for oil
>> towards the end meant that he has had to go. Only 80k miles and just
>> over 4 years. Very disappointing, and not what I expected after a previous good experience.
Well thats weird, My ex XC70 - a D4, is now on 6 years and 136k miles is still oil tight, original gearbox, and turbo. It throws up some 4x4 warnings from time to time, buts that belived to be an electric gremlin that clears itself.
Now had you thrashed and abused it, yours might well have fared as well ;)
I have to say if I was to be saddled with a car for three years I would have wanted a test drive, after all thousands of German taxi drivers are now Turks who upgraded from a horse and cart.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 22 Oct 18 at 14:20
|
>>Now had you thrashed and abused it, yours might well have fared as well ;)
That made me smile!
I think that the engines were slightly different, and that might be the nub of the problem.
I guess yours was the 5 cylinder D4?
Mine was a D4, but the first of the new generation D4 - the 4 cylinder version that first came out in 2014. There were a number of EGR valve problems, and some turbo problems to start off with, and some other teething issues that I guess could be expected when you go from developing a few hundred engines to making tens of thousands. A colleague got one a year later, and he has had less issues, but the main turbo is on the cards to be replaced at 140k miles on his.
I should have gone for the long-in-the tooth but more established D5.....
Any test drive on the Merc would have been for less than 100 miles I expect, and it was only after 200+ in one go that I realized that I was struggling to get comfortable, but even then with thousands of settings for the seat I would still have thought I will find a nice position - which I will in due course.
It would not have put me off the car.
It did seem a bit odd not t test drive one, but at the time I was up against it with so many other things at work that this was the least of my problems.. :)
|
Welcome to the waft club ! ;-)
( I have heard though that the seats in the “SE†model are an acquired taste. )
|
>>In three years that will cost the price of about one years depreciation on a new one which can't be bad!
Cheap motoring (kind of!).
|
The current E class estate is on the whole a good looking car I think, and hides it’s size well. In Uber form (which I assume is SE) it’s also very comfortable in the back, though some drivers set the interior LED lighting to a rather garish hue ;) I think it looks good in black, but only when clean...
If and when I need a large estate again I’ll be taking a look at whatever the then current E is I am sure. In the mean time, a MINI estate, aka as Clubman, will do. Though, thinking about it, a 2018 MINI Clubman Cooper S (with a lot of extras but after discount) cost more than a 2011 E250 CDI Avanatgarde witha few extras and a chunky discount...makes you think...!
|
>> >>Now had you thrashed and abused it, yours might well have fared as well ;)
>>
>> That made me smile!
>>
>> I think that the engines were slightly different, and that might be the nub of
>> the problem.
>>
>> I guess yours was the 5 cylinder D4?
Yes, the marine engine, economical it wasnt, characterful and torquey in spades tho
|
|
Oddly we were following a V70 D6 (!) AWD earlier and reminiscing about the V50 D4 (5 Cyl) we had for a while. Lovely engine sound and a good long distance car. Mrs RP wasn't that keen on it, too sensible.
|
I have had 2 E Class estates over the past 19 years.
The first one was a 320CDI which went up to 215,000. I swapped it because I was getting nervous about it starting in the mornings, no real reason, just didn't want to take the risk of it not starting one day.
The current car is a 2008 220 CDI which I bought in August of 2008. It's just coming up to 101,000 miles. Um, I like it. That's about it. I have this year switched from Mercedes Benz World servicing to an indie, only because MB stopped doing the 7+ Value servicing. I have no intention of getting rid of it. It's silver, I wish I had bought a black one.
|
|
My 2011 E250 CDI went to nearly 200,000 with not so much as a lightbulb replacement, my 2016 E220 has just notched up 90,000 and has been similarly trouble free. Can't fault them.
|
>> My 2011 E250 CDI went to nearly 200,000 with not so much as a lightbulb
>> replacement, my 2016 E220 has just notched up 90,000 and has been similarly trouble free.
>> Can't fault them.
Apart from one of them being a couple short of a full engine
|
Both of them technically. It's the same engine in different states of tune. Although I will admit that the 220 is noticeably less powerful than the 250 particularly when it comes overtaking shove. Only upside being that it is in turn, noticeably more economical.
A 350 would have made even less sense as a company car due to bik tax unfortunately.
Not complaining at all mind you, they have both served me very well.
|
In a previous life, my ex and I had just bought another shop and I contacted a friend in the car trade to source me a second reliable van.
Unable to do so, he came across an ex lease L reg 3yo E200 estate. Basic spec, underpowered 2 lite petrol, manual box, upwards of 100k miles on the clock. Very cheap, with FSH. We took a chance and ran it for two faultless years, eventually swapping it with a supplier for goods! He then used it as a delivery van himself during the week, and family transport at weekends.
It was built like a tank. Brilliant car, with a foot operated parking brake.
|
How did you get on with the foot operated parking brake combined with a manual box? I think I'd feel like I was auditioning for Riverdance !
;-)
|
I ran 3 E-Class diesel estates 10-15 years ago, and the one thing they all did was eat suspension bushes - maybe it was the speed humps what done it? The family out-grew the back seat though - the growing third child was uncomfortable straddling the transmission hump - so we've had front wheel drive cars ever since.
I also was not very happy when my the franchised MB dealer that I had used for a number of years tried to make out that 2 of the cars alloy wheels were 'damaged and unsafe' and needed to be replaced. When I popped in and asked to see the damage they couldn't find any. Needless to say I have never returned there!
|
With regard to the parking brake, we both adapted within days. Until this particular thread I had completely forgotten about it. Without doubt newer models are faaaar more refined, and improved in all departments, but it was a fantastic workhorse and built to last.
When I can make time I’ll see if it’s still around....I think the reg was L857 UBY. Or that might have been an old Subaru!
|
>> How did you get on with the foot operated parking brake combined with a manual
>> box? I think I'd feel like I was auditioning for Riverdance !
>> ;-)
>>
Many years ago I was given a manual C180 temporary car after joining a new company. It was 1999, and the car was base spec, doom blue, manual, no aircon. Someone before me really wanted a Merc! But you know what, it was a nice enough thing to drive, and while the foot operated parking brake and manual ‘box took a bit of getting used to, and I’m sure shortened the life of the clutch, it wasn’t too bad.
|
Me too. I bought an R reg C180 estate, in a nice red colour, at 3yo, from one of my wholesale suppliers whose manager, a friend of mine, had run it. He gave me the full SP so I had no qualms about it. Base spec, manual, slow, but cheap no nonsense practical motoring.
Another car I’d forgotten about!
|
No foot operated parking break malarky now!
However the gear shifter is the stalk to the right of the steering wheel, and not in the central tunnel at all.
Without boring everyone, I thought I would hate it, but it is intuitive and absolutely fine, and when I turn the engine off it automatically puts the car in Park, and applies the parking brake, which is brilliant.
Having nearly all the other functions on the stalk on the left is less easy it must be said....
|
>> However the gear shifter is the stalk to the right of the steering wheel, and
>> not in the central tunnel at all.
>> Having nearly all the other functions on the stalk on the left is less easy
>> it must be said....
That and the high centre tunnel giving it a cramped feel inside is one of the reasons there is a very large other German estate car on the drive.
|
>> That and the high centre tunnel giving it a cramped feel inside is one of
>> the reasons there is a very large other German estate car on the drive.
'Arris too big or something?
;-)))
|
|
I suppose that rules out a Panamera Sport Turismo then.
|
>>.... and the high centre tunnel giving it a cramped feel inside.
>>
Son's Audi Q5 also has the same situation which means my base for a kiddy seat is no use in the centre seat position as the steadying leg is too long.
So if kiddy seat plus two adults in the back then one sits in the middle with the centre tunnel to deal with.
To make it clearer what the problem is see below. The leg is to stop the seat plus base tipping forward.
www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/car-seats/2wayfix.aspx
|
|
Rubbish rear leg room in an Audi Q5 anyway. Some need better leg room for better entry/exit, e.g. the elderly.
|
My 2011 W class had a column gear shift and a manual foot brake. It too about 10 seconds to get used to the column shift, and the fact it automatically goes into park (as it does if you open th door while in drive and stationary) , while lazy, is very sensible. I rarely used the parking brake. Likewise, the single stalk for everything else was hardly a burden - effective auto wipers and auto-dipping mainbeam made it an indicator stalk anyway ;). What was irritating was when they swapped the gearshift indicator stalk round. Very annoying when in a courtesy car!
MB must be selling more now; they’re far less prevalent on hire fleets than they were a few years ago. BMW and Audi seem to have that covered in 2018, which in the case of Audi seems odd as if you go into a dealer they’re quite 6/7 months lead times. Maybe WLTP related and they’ve shifted old stock!
|
Mercedes Benz - Hello E-Class Estate - Zero
