Lord why did I buy a Mercedes Benz? C280 Collected - Headlining botching afoot

[rantingYoof]

'Don't you only hang out in the Modern section frothing over Chinese fridges?' 

Perhaps, but that doesn't stop me making other silly decisions. 

Midday is go time. 

[beko1987]

Chod speed! (later) 

[rantingYoof]

Okay. It's time. I'm only going five miles. 

Clues? For now you can have: straight six engine, ~190hp. 

The keys have been left in a Toyota Century of course. 

[rantingYoof]

Enroute. 

[rantingYoof]

There is the key. In this Century. 

 

[hairnet]

woaft

 

[grogee]

20 minutes ago, rantingYoof said:

There it is.

 

PHWOOAARR!!! 

Well bought. 

[rantingYoof]

Psyche. I've not bought a Century. 

I've bought this. 

[rantingYoof]

Sorry. No more teasers. 

It's a C280. 

More details later. 

[N Dentressangle]

Nice cars, decimated by the scrappage scheme and now ULEZ / LEZ I'm guessing.

[Bradders59]

I had one in that colour. it was a nice old thing to drive apart from being very underpowered due to being a 1.8 auto. 

[320touring]

Nice! Bonne chance!

[rantingYoof]

1 hour ago, Bradders59 said:

I had one in that colour. it was a nice old thing to drive apart from being very underpowered due to being a 1.8 auto. 

This thing needs its pedal shoved through the bulkhead to wake up the gearbox but as it's the 2.8 straight six it picks up and flies all the way to 6,500rpm. 

[lesapandre]

They often have overmats that get behind the organ-treddle accelerator- or just general dirt and debris. It's good to have a look and lubricate everything too.

[lesapandre]

2 hours ago, N Dentressangle said:

Nice cars, decimated by the scrappage scheme and now ULEZ / LEZ I'm guessing.

Top Gear were pretty stupid about them too. Useful little cars. Some paint and corrosion issues related to the water-based paint.

[EyesWeldedShut]

25 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

It's good to have a look and lubricate everything too.

Fnarr! Fnarr!

Nice car there too

[Surface Rust]

1 hour ago, rantingYoof said:

This thing needs its pedal shoved through the bulkhead to wake up the gearbox but as it's the 2.8 straight six it picks up and flies all the way to 6,500rpm. 

I did not know these were also straight six, I had assumed they were all V6. 

I have the same engine in a W124 and it needs a good prod in that as well.

[rantingYoof]

It's the M104 engine. I did a bit of Googling beforehand and it seems over-engineered and robust. It's done 100,000 miles in 30 years, and the engine bay appears to be as dry as a bone. And the underside looks exceedingly good.

These are all my observations, and we all know that I am somewhat of a moron, so we'll see the true verdict when it's MOTed next week. 

[N Dentressangle]

1 hour ago, rantingYoof said:

This thing needs its pedal shoved through the bulkhead to wake up the gearbox but as it's the 2.8 straight six it picks up and flies all the way to 6,500rpm. 

if it's anything like my old C180, that's the way they are

[Schaefft]

Its definitely a great choice in one of these, there really shouldn't be much trouble at all. Mercedes definitely has a thing for massive paddle travel before anything happens, maybe their way of making the drive feel "calmer".

[fatharris]

Good man, happy to have you back in some chod

 

[stuboy]

looks grand that

[Lord Sterling]

19 hours ago, rantingYoof said:

Lord why did I buy a Mercedes Benz?

No idea mate. You had your reasons I guess.

[AndyW201]

Yay! Always nice to see a W202 enter the fold!

Had this now for 2 1/2 years and 18,000 miles. Been a superb daily driver.

I am jealous of your two extra cylinders though! Had two 2.6 190Es a few years ago. At least this C180 has a manual box to wring out what performance there is!

[Timewaster]

Have these gone the way of previous Mercedes that the scruffy rotten abused ones have all but disappeared and any you see now are nice cherished garaged retirement cars coming back to the market?

 

I remember seeing some right shitters about a few years ago, but like 190s if you see one now they are usually spot on.

[Somerset Suffolk]

21 hours ago, rantingYoof said:

It's the M104 engine. I did a bit of Googling beforehand and it seems over-engineered and robust. It's done 100,000 miles in 30 years, and the engine bay appears to be as dry as a bone. And the underside looks exceedingly good.

These are all my observations, and we all know that I am somewhat of a moron, so we'll see the true verdict when it's MOTed next week. 

MOT history seems decent enough ... hopefully I've not cursed you and the Merc......

[Matty]

On 20/06/2026 at 09:30, rantingYoof said:

Don't you only hang out in the Modern section frothing over Chinese fridges?' 

Welcome back to rock bottom with the rest of us 😁

Car looks a peach! From a time when Merc didnt make front drive hatchbacks (a class not withstanding). Lovely 👌

[rantingYoof]

9 hours ago, Timewaster said:

Have these gone the way of previous Mercedes that the scruffy rotten abused ones have all but disappeared and any you see now are nice cherished garaged retirement cars coming back to the market?

The paintwork on this is poor, and I will post photographs of it when I can.

But it doesn't give off neglected or abused vibes. It's been driven as you would expect a 190hp 1990s saloon with a straight six - quite hard at times - but it's had the correct grade Mobile 1 oil all its life, it's sat on four Michelins (two of which are new and recently cost £380), it has a new battery in it from Mercedes (~£200) and the second owner, who bought it in 1998 for £17,000 as I have the receipt in the folder of paperwork, spent ££££s servicing it during a rather rough patch in the mid-2000s as it approached its 10th birthday.

The car has simply not been used. Since 2016 it's done 1,000 miles. Recent MOT show a handful of miles between tests. This infrequency of use is the only concern I have because it's at this point that stuff starts going wrong from lack of use. 

But having driven it a few times now it certainly feels tight and well-cared for.

[lesapandre]

These have a 140+mph performance and 0-60 in about 8.00 - so they are quite a tool. 190 or so bhp I think. Really a shrunk E-Class and the fact it doesn't have some go-faster badge means still reasonable money.

[EyesWeldedShut]

3 hours ago, rantingYoof said:

The paintwork on this is poor, and I will post photographs of it when I can.

You don’t look at the mantelpiece when you’re poking the fire? (As my granny used to say) 🙄

Plus there’s always the fact that there’s a hell of a lot less to go wrong in that era of MB?