fuzzy

the car is a c class estate but theres 2 different engine choices with almost the same bhp figures.
ones a 5.4 V8 and the other is a 3.2 supercharged v6. both are around 360bhp..
what one would you prefer and why?
ive never had a big v8 before or a supercharged engine. I guess power delivery in the supercharged engine would be similar to my stage 3 cosworth...?

Adam-M

I'd imagine the supercharged one to respond more to a remap? I dunno what I'd choose tbh, nah the cossie power delivery would be alot more ferocious. Super chargers are generally quite smooth and so is a v6.

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

I should imagine the v6 is more economical and lower emissions etc. So get the v8

fuzzy

hmmm, the 5.4 has 370lbft and the 3.2 has 330lbft . 0-60 is exactly the same at 5.2 but the more economical environmentally friendly smaller 3.2 is a second quicker to 100.
got to consider the environment !

Caddyshack

There is no replacement for displacement and that's a fact...go big v8 every time. I had the supercharged 55 v8 and that is a special engine.

fuzzy

I did look at that as well but for my budget I think that would be at the bottom end of the scale and a dog of a car !

Caddyshack

I would consider getting a specialist inspection on any Merc AMG product as the bills can be crippling and around 2001 to 04 the electrics had a bad faliure rate, the earlier cars had some issues with rust on certain models, the E class arches were very bad.

Best case is buy from a dealer and get their warranty and then send it to a merc dealer for a full service and inspection (ideally do that as part of the purchase deal) I did a deposit with the dealer and then took the car to Merc, they found about £4k of work to do and we got most of it paid for, I put in £1200 and knocked that off the price. The car I bought had been on a full service contract so you would have thought it would have been sorted no matter what.

fuzzy

Sounds like you were a bit higher up the food chain than I am ! I'm looking at the 100000 mile 2002 c32 for around the 6 grand range. Do you think that's likely to be more problems than its worth ?

Caddyshack

I think the C32's were probably better built cars and actually a bit less complicated. I drove one when it was brand new and it was bloody good.

fuzzy

the cheapest ive seen a c32 is £4500, the dearest is £7000 , all around the 95000- 120000 mile range so I hoped id be safe around the £6G mark.
I'm sure you've answered this before but any tips on anything specific to check on this car other than the usual sort of stuff ?
any common known weak points?
a 2004 supercharged 5.4 e55 also caught my eye at £7500, looked good in the pics but I think would be stretching me a bit to far just now. like ive said before, this is just a weekend toy for picking up the kids in and wont be used during the week.

Caddyshack

I can tell you loads to look out for on the E55 but not on the C. The E is brilliant but there are a lot of common and expensive faults although many may have been fixed

fuzzy

this is looking good with 408bhp and perhaps be heading home with me soon ....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-C...IAAOSwFqNZSbgr

Caddyshack

That looks lovely.

fuzzy

the I look at it the more I like it. 408bhp and a 0-6 of 4.6 seconds apparently.
its had 11 owners though. would that concern you? for a 15 year old high end car no one seems to keep it long as even the current owners only had it 7 months but according to the add hes recently spend £3000 on it but is now selling it for £5000?
edit........
just checked the mot history and some of it is a little odd. its failed mot's previously for headlamps aiming to high on 2 separate occasions....?
it only covered 51 miles in a year between mots last year.
its had several advisories over the last half dozen years for play in front suspension joints and bushes and has advisories for excessive wear to inner edges of tyres plus braking system out of balance twice but just within mot standards.
sounds like its maybe been in a crash and repaired....?

Caddyshack

Hmm. Sounds a little odd but if in any doubt then steer clear

Caddyshack

I would bid him in the bollox and be prepared to spend some, £4k or walk away, maybe less.

Adam-M

Have you done a hpi and see if it comes up as cat d ect?

fuzzy

not yet, ive messaged the seller and ill see what information he comes back with. seems odd hes only had the car for 7 months, he recently spent another £3000 on it but is now selling very quickly ....

It's Czech Mate

You need to get on the £5k barge thread on Pistonheads

fuzzy

hes offered to knock it down by £500 , put a full years mot on it for my peace of mind and fill the tank with optimax for my drive home to edinburgh.
I'm not sure if that gives me peace of mind or worries me more !

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like he's desperate to get shot of it!

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

V8, I never got the whole "Kompressor" thing, it's not the way these cars should be done.

Martin

gcfcos

That's a nice looking car

fuzzy

its a nice looking car but id be the 12th owner in 15 years. no one seems to keep it long. I messaged him today to say forget it. he does seem desperate to get rid even though hes only had it 7 months and apparently spent £3000 on unspecified work to it.

Adam-M

There's certain places in the uk I just wouldn't buy a car from and London is one of them

fuzzy

Glasgow is one the same up here . you get a better class of person on the east coast.
I think I'm just going to get a c320 estate and get it chipped . 260ish bhp will be enough I think and ive found one has the amg sport pack with the big brakes etc that's never failed an mot.

Adam-M

The full central belt is a shit hole...like

fuzzy

ended up buying a 2006 c class estate with the 3 litre tdi engine. collecting it tomorrow from Cardiff and it goes in next week to get done whatever it is they do nowadays to give it more power ,apparently they stopped chipping cars years ago, something to do with a flash drive or something !. will give it an extra 45bhp (266bhp)and 90nm torque and apparently these merc engines are bomb proof and quite receptive to tuning.
ill sort out a new set of 18's and get the windows tinted next week as well.
there was to many dodgy shysters selling the old amg cars !
going to keep my A210 and strip it for hot hatch days at knockhill for me and my boy.

Caddyshack

Good news, get some pics up

fuzzy

ill put up some pics once ive got the alloys next week.
do you know it cost £145 for a 1 way train ticket to Cardiff from Edinburgh and it takes longer than it would to drive? that's fucking outrageous...you could get a week in spain for that !

Adam-M

Fly down

st220kyle

I noticed this the other week when I bought a car, I live in the southwest 30mins south of Bristol. I found a car right over on the east coast and I was looking at trains,planes etc in the end I just thought fuck it if I'm going to the trouble of all that I'll have to buy it anyway so I just paid a company to pick it up on a flatbed and deliver it to my door!

fuzzy

how much did that cost compared to the train? I'm £300 down with the days lost wage added but he knocked a couple of hundred off to help cover my travel.

Caddyshack

That does sound a lot for a train, after all it was going that way anyway whether you were on it or not BUT that would have been a few tanks of diesel and a day or more wage for a flat bed....it's a long journey.

There was a chap on a Subaru forum and loads of forum members agreed to all drive a bit of the journey and got a lift back...nice story, the car went all over the country to get there and when it arrived some people had fixed it and added a stereo.

Caddyshack

Here it is https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1645288

st220kyle

£1 per mile between pick up and drop off, £260 in my case vs a days wages, £90 for the train + fuel home.
also, he really helped me out as I wasn't sure how to pay for the car but the delivery bloke offered to pay for the car with his own money. I just payed him back for the car and delivery once he had dropped it off to my place. Which I thought was good of him seeing as I had never even met him.

Caddyshack

Blimey, that was good. I suppose he knows where you live and has your car but still above and beyond eh?

Adam-M

I flew down to Gatwick 3 months ago for about £40 then connecting train to reading was about £30. Don't think that was bad atall and flight only took 1.5 hours

Adam-M

Just checked flybe's website and to fly from Edinburgh to Cardiff this Saturday would be £55.49 one way.

https://www.flybe.com/web-app/index....=&hideWidget=0

gcfcos

Wow that's mega cheap!