Merc C-180

[graham]

I'm thinking of buying another car, a second hand Merc C-180 (1.8L) probably 7 or 8 years old.

Anyone have any thoughts on a Merc. Anything I should really know?
I haven’t decided if I'm going to keep/sell/trade in the Mazda.

g

[Pete JB]

The Merc C Class was reconed to be one of the best built cars ever made. A tad dull though compared to a 5

[graham]

That's why I might not be selling the 5...

[NickD]

Pimp

[noelhnn]

I had A 94 C 180 with 150000 ON THE Clock, and had no problem's what so ever.only sold it to up grade to a E200.so go for it but keep the MX 5 if you can.

[Cloggy]

I don't like europena cars full stop. Just look at what you find on the side of the road parked up, broken down. It's always a european car. You never see honda's, mazda's, etc. I know some a mfg here, but you just don;t see them having trouble. I always hear there are electrics problems with EU cars.

[Stig]

It Depends. You can get a bad european car and a good one - same with jap cars too. I know a bloke with a Toyota Hilux and its the bane of his life for instance, and I've hear about a Toyota Avensis's too.

I've had a lot of Vw's (all good in my experience), Fords (very good in my experience) and a couple of BMW's - and they are the ultimate driving machine and would buy a quality BM in a heartbeat.
Mercs i don't know much about but I do know I would be wary of buyiing a pre 98 Merc. But they do represent terrific value for money and you can get loads of spurious parts from from from specialist suppliers , just like the 5. They are quite bulletproof. Why not hop on the uk merc forums and ask - a quick goodle should find you their site.
I think a retro slammed C class merc looks well - tastefully done.