For sale is my trusty 1998/R Mercedes-Benz C180 (W202) Esprit Auto in Imperial Red. I bought this as a stop-gap alternative to a 318i and ended up really liking it – mainly for its comfort and build quality. It’s a simple unpretentious car that’s brilliant at what it does.
Let’s start with the important bits:
• 115,000 miles, 15,000 of which have been by me (owned 18 months)
• 3 owners including myself
• MOT December, two in my possession with no fails and advisories only for a tyre and bulbs. I have all the MOTs dating back to 2003 and the only failure is for front ball joints. Again advisories only for tyres and bulbs. Pretty impressive I reckon.
• Taxed until November
• Tyres are all good: a pair of Yokos on the rear, one very nearly new Conti Premium Contact and one Michelin Pilot Premacy at the front, Dunlop SP Sport on the spare (full size steel) which was new before I put 500 miles on it last month.
• Two services in my possession (done by myself, it is very easy to work on) – oil and filters (incl. fuel and pollen), plugs last year – most recent 500 miles ago. ATF level checked, fluid looks clean and smells good.
• Front discs and pads 3,000 miles ago
• New battery 18 months ago
• Plenty of service history: Merc stamps until 2002, then what I would imagine is most of the receipts since then. Not much seems to have gone wrong; it had a new MAF not long ago and the aforementioned ball joints, that’s about it.
It is very clean and tidy inside, there are very few marks to report at all. It’s slow yes, but running costs are quite reasonable and spares are cheap – if you get on the right side of your local Merc dealer OEM stuff can be surprising. You can expect approx. 30mpg combined and 400 miles to a tank.
It’s optioned with the autobox (which is silky smooth and kicks down as and when it should), cruise control and a Sony six-disc changer along with the standard automatic heater, leccy front windows, remote locking etc.
As with all Mercs of a certain age, this car does have some rust. I have done some remedial work to contain it for now but it would want doing properly if you were bothered. It’s all cosmetic though (I reckon it will be OK for another year) and underneath it’s well undersealed and clean. I replaced all the front wheelarch liners and bumper mounts, at reasonable expense at the time, as they were damaged.
I have spent a lot of time and effort getting the paint finish back up to par, as it was badly swirled and marred from poor correction in the past. It is now a very smart little car as I’m sure you can see from the pictures, and the paint finally compliments the condition of the interior.
The bad bits:
• Rust as mentioned
• Neither of the electric mirrors work properly. I thought it would bother me when I bought it and I looked into replacing the relevant bits, but once I had got the mirrors set it wasn’t a problem.
• Rear courtesy light is stuck on, I presume the problem to be in the switch cluster by the mirror. Temporary fix is to take the bulb out – there aren’t any battery drain issues.
• Noisy bearing in the power steering pump ruins the otherwise blissful silence at idle. This hasn’t got any worse during my ownership so I don’t expect it to in the near future.
• The front bushes feel a bit tired if you’re being really picky, as it can be a bit wandery at speed.
I have enjoyed running this car for 18 months, only selling because I want a wagon with some more beans. It will make a very nice car for someone.
You are most welcome to view, the car located in Daventry, Northants. All sensible offers considered.
Contact preferably by telephone on 07870 648679
Let’s start with the important bits:
• 115,000 miles, 15,000 of which have been by me (owned 18 months)
• 3 owners including myself
• MOT December, two in my possession with no fails and advisories only for a tyre and bulbs. I have all the MOTs dating back to 2003 and the only failure is for front ball joints. Again advisories only for tyres and bulbs. Pretty impressive I reckon.
• Taxed until November
• Tyres are all good: a pair of Yokos on the rear, one very nearly new Conti Premium Contact and one Michelin Pilot Premacy at the front, Dunlop SP Sport on the spare (full size steel) which was new before I put 500 miles on it last month.
• Two services in my possession (done by myself, it is very easy to work on) – oil and filters (incl. fuel and pollen), plugs last year – most recent 500 miles ago. ATF level checked, fluid looks clean and smells good.
• Front discs and pads 3,000 miles ago
• New battery 18 months ago
• Plenty of service history: Merc stamps until 2002, then what I would imagine is most of the receipts since then. Not much seems to have gone wrong; it had a new MAF not long ago and the aforementioned ball joints, that’s about it.
It is very clean and tidy inside, there are very few marks to report at all. It’s slow yes, but running costs are quite reasonable and spares are cheap – if you get on the right side of your local Merc dealer OEM stuff can be surprising. You can expect approx. 30mpg combined and 400 miles to a tank.
It’s optioned with the autobox (which is silky smooth and kicks down as and when it should), cruise control and a Sony six-disc changer along with the standard automatic heater, leccy front windows, remote locking etc.
As with all Mercs of a certain age, this car does have some rust. I have done some remedial work to contain it for now but it would want doing properly if you were bothered. It’s all cosmetic though (I reckon it will be OK for another year) and underneath it’s well undersealed and clean. I replaced all the front wheelarch liners and bumper mounts, at reasonable expense at the time, as they were damaged.
I have spent a lot of time and effort getting the paint finish back up to par, as it was badly swirled and marred from poor correction in the past. It is now a very smart little car as I’m sure you can see from the pictures, and the paint finally compliments the condition of the interior.
The bad bits:
• Rust as mentioned
• Neither of the electric mirrors work properly. I thought it would bother me when I bought it and I looked into replacing the relevant bits, but once I had got the mirrors set it wasn’t a problem.
• Rear courtesy light is stuck on, I presume the problem to be in the switch cluster by the mirror. Temporary fix is to take the bulb out – there aren’t any battery drain issues.
• Noisy bearing in the power steering pump ruins the otherwise blissful silence at idle. This hasn’t got any worse during my ownership so I don’t expect it to in the near future.
• The front bushes feel a bit tired if you’re being really picky, as it can be a bit wandery at speed.
I have enjoyed running this car for 18 months, only selling because I want a wagon with some more beans. It will make a very nice car for someone.
You are most welcome to view, the car located in Daventry, Northants. All sensible offers considered.
Contact preferably by telephone on 07870 648679
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