Provisionally sold - Mercedes C270 CDI estate - £300

[wuvvum]

This was almost an advert for a Rover 75 estate.  I've been driving them back to back for the last couple of weeks, trying to decide which one I want to keep.  The Merc is objectively the better car in a lot of ways - it's faster (much faster), better on diesel, sounds nicer, is more refined and has more gizmos (a speed limiter that actually limits your speed rather than just flashing a red light, auto headlights and wipers, remote central locking that switches on the lights when it's dark etc).  As far as comfort goes there's nothing to choose between the two.  The Rover has points in its favour too though - I've always liked the 75's interior, especially on the posh models like mine, it's a nicer colour and it has more MOT.  In the end the only thing that tipped the Rover ahead of the Merc is the fact that the Rover has a towbar.

 

Anyway, about the Merc.  I acquired it from Skattrd of this parish not long ago, and it's been sharing daily duties with the 75 since then.  It seems to average about 50mpg on my commute, which isn't bad at all for a big-engined automatic estate, and is nearly 10mpg better than the Rover manages on the same route.  It's done about 250K miles, but you'd never know it to drive it - the engine is quiet (for a common rail diesel), responsive and doesn't kick out plumes of smoke, and the gearbox is lovely and smooth.  As far as I can ascertain, everything works, with the exception of the passenger side mirror which doesn't fold in on the button as it's held together with gaffer tape.  The cruise, speed limiter, auto lights and wipers etc are all good.  The stereo is non-original but sounds perfectly decent.  Glow plug light stays on for a short while after start up, but it's always fired up first go even on cold mornings.

 

It is somewhat cosmetically challenged however.  When I got it it had quite a bit of rust round the edges of the body panels, as is usual with this generation of Merc.  I spent a fun weekend scraping away the loose paint, treating the rust and then painting over it in silver.  It now looks - well it looks gash to be honest, at least close up.  I've painted straight over the rust to protect it from the weather but it really needs a thin skim of wob to smooth it over before painting, and a better job doing of removing the residue from the gaffer tape which used to hold the number plate on - I can't really be arsed though to be honest.  The vast majority of it was surface rust though - there was just a small bit on the bottom corner of the driver's door which had gone through.  It will however probably need welding to the nearside front sill for its next test - a previous owner forgot that the jacking pad was missing and put a jack through the sill.  I have since acquired a new jacking pad which is on the car and hides the worst of the hole, but it really needs doing properly.  Apart from the above, all I've done to it since I've had it was to fit new wiper blades all round, give the inside of the windows a good clean and bolt the rear number plate plinth back on to the tailgate so it's no longer held on with tape.

 

MOT is to late January and it currently has get you home tax.  Skattrd had a fair bit of mechanical work done in his ownership so it should provide reliable service for a good while yet.

 

Pics:

 

 

 

 

 

In NE Norfolk, as always.

[wuvvum]

Sold subject to no roffle win (now that is a sentence you will only ever read on Autoshite).

[Floatylight]

Wow, this looks a lot tidier than it did a few weeks ago..

 

Sent from my Moto G (5) using Tapatalk

[SierraMikeHotel]

Damn! I am genuinely looking for one of these. That'll teach me to go to bed early. Let me know if the provisional sale falls through...