Hi everyone, im new to this forum but I thought I would join up early as I am looking at getting a C class in the spring/summer and wanted to get the reserch in to find the best car for me when I do get one early next year.

I am looking at either a W202 C250 Turbo Diesel, or a W203 C200/C220 CDI, the C250 is well within my price range, the C200/C220 is right at the top end but I need to ask if its worth the extra money for the C200/C220.

I am not looking for power as I have an RX7 that I drag race, I am looking for a replacement to my daily drive, which is currently a 306 Dturbo, which does between 48 and 63mpg.

I am ok to sacrifice a bit of fuel economy to have a less basic car, so I am looking at C classes, and also E classes.

I just need to ask what might be the best car to go for, there are plenty of parts for both cars, I can check out the official stats but I would rather ask what they are like to live with.

I know that the C200/C220 CDI is more economical, but its also more expensive to buy, therefore I am thinking of getting the cheaper (but less fuel efficient) C250 as the price gap doesn't make up the differance between the 2 cars.

I know that the C250 might have issues with kickdown due to the MAF needing a clean, and that the glow plugs need to be in good working order (like all diesels) but what other issues might I have?

What about the C200/C220, what issues does it usually have?

Sorry about all the questions, I am new to C classes and just want to find out everything I can. I am just checking some stats on the W202 and W203 cars, there seems to be W202 C200 CDI as well, what is the best diesel to go for in the W202 and W203 cars?

Looking at whats on sale at the moment, the W202 C250 is currently the car I am thinking of getting, there are quite a few in my price range, but I still want to check out other options before I am set on it.

 

Hi there, thanks for your reply, yeah I would only go for the C250 Turbo Diesel if I was going for the W202 shape, or the C220 CDI if I was going for the W203 shape.

The issue I have is this:

W202 - lots of choice - good ones are around £1500-£2000
W203 - limited choice (a lot are C180/C200 petrols) - Good ones are around £4500

Insurance for me for either car is about the same, so thats ok, its just a large price gap where I could buy 2 X W202s for the price of 1 W203.

Should I wait a bit and buy a W203? Are there other possibilities such as the E class? I know there is an E300 Diesel, are they any good? Im guessing they won't be as economical as the C class though?

What are the main issues with the C250 TD vs the C220 CDI engines? Any really common faults? Also is the C250 TD mechanically injected or does it run off an ECU that could be used for a remap?