[Warlock]

Having never owned one of the 3 Germans, but having spent a considerable time piloting them, would suggest you avoid one more than a decade old. Apart from the obvious costs of maintenance, the availability of spares, access to a good mechanic and insurance can also deplete a wallet. Further, interiors for some mysterious reason seem to chafe and fray faster (or seem to) with use, which means that things end up looking worn and scruffy.

However, buying a machine is led by both the head and the heart. Notice that you're said you may not proceed, so all the best finding another machine that moves the soul.

[CountMe91]

I would suggest to give it a miss. You are better off buying a used German car with extended warranty than spend lakhs on repairs and maintenance. As explained by many BHPians, these cars are extremely complex. Having owned a C Class myself, sensors go wrong very often in these cars and are very costly to diagnose and replace. The only good side being, they are excellent to drive and Merc's diesel engine is really fun to drive.

[ahujapradeep]

The C Class vintage you are looking at is good one. I have owned it in the past and a fun car. Since it is 60K on the ODO, I would personally ask for repair service history from the local Merc if it was serviced at MB stations. Also if you took it back to MB and asked what they feel are essential replacements, that will give you a truer picture of the state of the vehicle

[codwapeace]

Originally Posted by ssenhyd

Personally I would not touch a used Mercedes Benz even if it is free. They are notoriously unreliable and a money pit
https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=zwVxpSs3Kyo

This guy makes stupid videos with all clickbait titles. He is entertaining but has no real informative content. Most times the title of his videos have nothing to do with what he speaks in the video. I have watched lot of his videos but the more I watched the more I realized that he doesn't really know as much as he claims. He also does a lot of advertising for without declaring it in his videos.

I agree with this title though.

I think the biggest problem with German cars in India and US is the cost of their spare parts is exorbitant. Their unreliability also comes from complex electronics and use of plastic parts set to expire.

[vredesbyrd]

Maybe I'm a little late to the party but why not add some funds and get a 2012+ facelifted C200? Revs till 6200 RPM and sound really good for a 1.8L 4-pot. 8-10L should set you up with a decent example, except these petrol ones are rare and definitely go with the facelift because the 7G Tronic is far superior to the older 5 speed.

Originally Posted by codwapeace

This guy makes stupid videos with all clickbait titles. He is entertaining but has no real informative content. Most times the title of his videos have nothing to do with what he speaks in the video

Agreed. Scotty is crazy and going by his choices, he probably doesn't like to drive. On the other hand, German cars need care and I see most 'muricans not treating their vehicles right, often skipping service and required repairs/replacements.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by ssenhyd

Personally I would not touch a used Mercedes Benz even if it is free. They are notoriously unreliable and a money pit

While I agree with you that this is not worth risking money on, I do not like this guy or his channel. He barely has any useful information and his titles are just clickbait. Lowest of the low automobile youtubers.

Look at the title and look at the car he's driving. He says german cars are crap and he arrives in a supra aka a bmw z4 .

[Sarfarazalam]

I relocated to Delhi NCR in 2017, but much before I moved here, I have been drooling over used car prices here. Finally, I decided to take a plunge and buy a 2011, W204 (the facelift model) recently. The car was first owner, done less than 14k kms as it belonged to a reputable surgeon and he had many other cars plus I pulled the service records from TnT to confirm the mileage and was happy to know it was genuine. Before the purchase I showed it to a couple of mechanics, who service my other cars and they were more excited to see the car than I was. The car was in fantastic shape when I bought it. It’s been about 6 months since I got her and I couldn’t be happier. Here is my 2 cents on what made me take the plunge, even after reading tonnes of comments on Team BHP and seeing videos on YouTube etc calling these cars money pits.

1. I love driving, it’s my meditation. So, I don’t worry too much about mileage etc.
2. I don’t mind spending couple of lacs a year on maintenance of my vehicle, if needed. I have in the past few years spent similar amount upgrading something or the other in my Skoda Superb.
3. I have spent endless hours seeing cars, driving them, getting them checked etc, because dealers in Delhi are the worst and I wouldn’t trust them as far as I can throw them. In fact I was looking for a car for almost 2 years but waited till I found the right one. I'm pretty sure I wouldn’t get another car with such low mileage in Delhi NCR.
4. I have some network in TnT and Global Star in Delhi and get discount on services etc.
5. I have good mechanics who can help get me out of sticky situations and have helped my friends who own similar cars.
6. Lastly, with the amount I paid, I could get a brand new Ciaz but I rather walk than drive that no offence to Ciaz owners but it’s a matter of personal preference.

So my simple submission is that if you are ok to spend a few lacs if needed and if you are really craving to get a German car, hold your horses till you find the right car, but by all means go for it if you find a good one.

Btw: Avoid Skoda at all cost, it drives like a dream till it doesn’t and that’s when the nightmare begins.