Mercedes C class W204 (Facelift) Reliability

[jonbaekis00]

Hi all, some of you might know that i used to drive a Lexus Gs450h , bought 2nd hand 7yrs old with 117K km.

 

Although i did choose lexus for reliability , it gave me 2 big big issues one being the hybrid battery and another being the engine blew up, hence have decided to scrap the car.

 

with the lexus , i have learnt a few things :

 

- 3.5 road tax can die

- horsepower not worth in SG, although car is silky smooth

- dont buy a old hybrid car

 

hence, I've been looking around for the next car that will not give me so much problems ( at least not so expensive ones) and have come across a friend that drives a W204 facelift model. so far since day 1 of owning the car, the car had no major problems other than a few cheap wear and tears that were very minor.

 

anyone can share any opinion regarding the reliability of the w204 model, buying 2nd hand , and also, after the expiry of COE, will it be worthwhile to renew COE on this model? 

 

i have yet to test drive the car, but overall looks and interior quality are pretty nice IMO

 

any opinions regarding is appreciated, or even other car suggestions are welcome too.

 

looking at c180 or c200 model

[Sdf4786k]

get the C250 instead.

 

 

[Vinceng]

The gurus at SGMerc are your best advisors

 

http://www.sgmerc.com/topic/4578-c-class-w204-problem/

 

But one thing though. The interior space is very limited. More cramped than a 1600cc Nissan Sylphy and Kia Cerato.

[Ct3833]

Hi all, some of you might know that i used to drive a Lexus Gs450h , bought 2nd hand 7yrs old with 117K km.

 

Although i did choose lexus for reliability , it gave me 2 big big issues one being the hybrid battery and another being the engine blew up, hence have decided to scrap the car.

 

with the lexus , i have learnt a few things :

 

- 3.5 road tax can die

- horsepower not worth in SG, although car is silky smooth

- dont buy a old hybrid car

 

hence, I've been looking around for the next car that will not give me so much problems ( at least not so expensive ones) and have come across a friend that drives a W204 facelift model. so far since day 1 of owning the car, the car had no major problems other than a few cheap wear and tears that were very minor.

 

anyone can share any opinion regarding the reliability of the w204 model, buying 2nd hand , and also, after the expiry of COE, will it be worthwhile to renew COE on this model? 

 

i have yet to test drive the car, but overall looks and interior quality are pretty nice IMO

 

any opinions regarding is appreciated, or even other car suggestions are welcome too.

 

looking at c180 or c200 model

GS450 should go straight to E Class,  the  C class interior will be too c cramp for you.  

[jonbaekis00]

GS450 should go straight to E Class, the C class interior will be too c cramp for you.

i have seen your PM and opinion regarding C vs E. as for me, interior space of the C class isnt much of an issue as the GS interior wasnt that big either.

 

in my opionion, the E class is just looks way too "uncle" for me, just my opinion

[Ct3833]

i have seen your PM and opinion regarding C vs E. as for me, interior space of the C class isnt much of an issue as the GS interior wasnt that big either.

 

in my opionion, the E class is just looks way too "uncle" for me, just my opinion

Ok. Hope you will get good one of what you are looking for.

[jonbaekis00]

Ok. Hope you will get good one of what you are looking for.

thank you , still main concern "reliability" as its still a conti. lexus hybrid battery costed me 5k and was quoted 9k to rebuild blown engine + parts. definitely dont want this to happen again.

[Mkl22]

Go with a Camry or altis. parts easily available and not expensive. A Mercedes will surely still cost more to run. Conti are generally not more reliable than Japanese. Conti have the weirdest crap that can fail which you wouldn’t get in bread and butter Japanese.

 

You have green key issues with mercs which is unheard of in Japanese keyless systems. Conti also have door locks commonly spoiling. Tell me which jap has this? The list goes on.

 

Go in with eyes and pockets open. In the end it depends on what you desire. If you benchmark is a Japanese toyota like reliability, sad to say you won’t get there.

 

And not to pour more cold water on your gs450 issue. But if you treat any other car the same you will also get a burnt engine. Engine must be stopped immediately once overheated. Drag it out and it will die.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Mkl22

[t0y0ta]

Hi all, some of you might know that i used to drive a Lexus Gs450h , bought 2nd hand 7yrs old with 117K km.

 

Although i did choose lexus for reliability , it gave me 2 big big issues one being the hybrid battery and another being the engine blew up, hence have decided to scrap the car.

 

with the lexus , i have learnt a few things :

 

- 3.5 road tax can die

- horsepower not worth in SG, although car is silky smooth

- dont buy a old hybrid car

 

hence, I've been looking around for the next car that will not give me so much problems ( at least not so expensive ones) and have come across a friend that drives a W204 facelift model. so far since day 1 of owning the car, the car had no major problems other than a few cheap wear and tears that were very minor.

 

anyone can share any opinion regarding the reliability of the w204 model, buying 2nd hand , and also, after the expiry of COE, will it be worthwhile to renew COE on this model? 

 

i have yet to test drive the car, but overall looks and interior quality are pretty nice IMO

 

any opinions regarding is appreciated, or even other car suggestions are welcome too.

 

looking at c180 or c200 model

 

You wanna buy old pre-used car... and wanna avoid big problems.

 

Better you go get used Honda - Accord or CRV, since Toyota failed you.

[Mkl22]

Just to add more. For a simple issue like valve cover gasket leak. With a Japanese almost all the time you can get away with just replacing the rubber gasket. With a conti sometimes you might also need to replace the valve cover itself as well.

 

With a conti, you can say that they sometimes over engineer things which makes for a nice drive and refinement. But when things break it’s a shit load more of parts to replace.

 

No such thing as a cheaper and problem free old car. If you want to save money and get a coe car, you need to be prepared for repairs. Of course the overall cost is still cheaper vs new. But what will bite you back is more visits to the workshop. Buy an old car with low mileage? You will also pay more and then 10years old parts will still break. No way to have your cake and eat it.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Mkl22

[Gnahp]

I have a March 2012 FL W204 bought new from C&C

 

short answer is - very reliable

 

will share more after I come back from pangsai

 

[Jon_cclau]

I owned a W204 Kompressor since Dec 2011 and I am still keeping this car even though I already purchased my new car. 

 

Throughout the 7 years, apart from wear and tear parts, there are no major breakdown.

I do regular maintenances and mileage now is about 100k after 7 years. 

Car still working perfect now and using it as a spare car for my wifey to drive.

 

The only concern is the interior space like most of the bros here mentioned...

 

Overall, I would say no regret to make that decision 7 years ago.

 

Sharing photo of my Black Horse & Black Cat

 

 

[Gunbound888]

I am driving a 2009 W204 for almost 2 years now. Bought it second hand with 56,000KM mileage. No major issue since, normal wear and tear. In fact, as it is quite reliable, I had just renewed my COE for another 10 years (hopefully good years)...

 

I used to drive a E230 but it was much more problematic, especially the air-condition, failed a few times...

[Amazon777]

I bought a 7yrs old W204 C180K with 100k mileage and drove it till 10yrs mark, not much issue except once change the Electronic Steering lock (ESL) due to green key issue and replace cam shaft magnets. Had wanted to renew COE then in Feb'18 but PQP was $50k and had to exported the car. Subsequently, bought another 3yrs old C180 W205 1.6TC. Not much issue the past 1yr of driving, should be same engine and 7G GB as FL W204 model

 

But I had just renewed COE for my wife 9yrs old F10 523i which I had changed out quite a number of parts 2yrs back but still a little worried as reliablity not near Merc but F10 has served us well past 2.5 yrs never breakdown, old car must tender care

Edited May 8, 2019 by Amazon777

[Gnahp]

W204 variants can be confusing, my wife still doesn’t get it till now

 

It has a mixed combination of 1.6,1.8, turbocharged, Kompressor, CGI, port injection, 5G-Tronics and 7G-Tronics

 

For FL W204 C180, as far as I know, it has three combos – 1.8 turbo + 7G-Tronics, 1.6 turbo + 7G Tronics and 1.6 Kompressor + 5G-Tronics. Both turbocharged engines have CGI/direct injection, the Kompressor model has port injection.

 

Mine is 1.8L turbocharged, direct injection paired with 7-GTronics which is more commonly found on the FL W204 C200/C250

 

There are a few inherited problem, it will happen, just a matter of time/mileage :-

1. Camshaft actuator failure – mine happened on the intake camshaft, repaired under warranty
2. Oil filter housing leak (more like wear and tear to me)
3. Turbocharger oil feed pipe leak (more like wear and tear to me)
4. Blown-by gas plastic pipe split (more like wear and tear to me)

Now…

 

Air-con - Blower motor became noisy in 5^th year (170k km), less than $200. Other than that, no problem, no gas top up, no washing, no maintenance.

 

Engine – no engine oil consumption between oil changes

 

Cooling system - Plastic heater pipe split in 4^th year (140k km), less than $200. Other than that, no problem, I don’t even need to top up coolant all these years

 

Ignition System – no problem, coils still working

 

Power steering – no problem, top up once when the fluid went a little low

 

Serpentine belt – still good at 200k km but I changed it because I have a spare in the boot

 

Charging/Alternator – no problem, still working

 

Transmission – no problem

 

Valve cover gasket – replaced once in 4^th year (140k km)

 

Brake system – front left wheel speed sensor replaced once in 5^th year (145k km)

 

Fuel pump – no problem, filter is stock from factory

 

Electrical – no problem from new, everything works

 

[Mkl22]

W204 variants can be confusing, my wife still doesn’t get it till now

 

It has a mixed combination of 1.6,1.8, turbocharged, Kompressor, CGI, port injection, 5G-Tronics and 7G-Tronics

 

For FL W204 C180, as far as I know, it has three combos – 1.8 turbo + 7G-Tronics, 1.6 turbo + 7G Tronics and 1.6 Kompressor + 5G-Tronics. Both turbocharged engines have CGI/direct injection, the Kompressor model has port injection.

 

Mine is 1.8L turbocharged, direct injection paired with 7-GTronics which is more commonly found on the FL W204 C200/C250

 

There are a few inherited problem, it will happen, just a matter of time/mileage :-

1. Camshaft actuator failure – mine happened on the intake camshaft, repaired under warranty
2. Oil filter housing leak (more like wear and tear to me)
3. Turbocharger oil feed pipe leak (more like wear and tear to me)
4. Blown-by gas plastic pipe split (more like wear and tear to me)

Now…

 

Air-con - Blower motor became noisy in 5^th year (170k km), less than $200. Other than that, no problem, no gas top up, no washing, no maintenance.

 

Engine – no engine oil consumption between oil changes

 

Cooling system - Plastic heater pipe split in 4^th year (140k km), less than $200. Other than that, no problem, I don’t even need to top up coolant all these years

 

Ignition System – no problem, coils still working

 

Power steering – no problem, top up once when the fluid went a little low

 

Serpentine belt – still good at 200k km but I changed it because I have a spare in the boot

 

Charging/Alternator – no problem, still working

 

Transmission – no problem

 

Valve cover gasket – replaced once in 4^th year (140k km)

 

Brake system – front left wheel speed sensor replaced once in 5^th year (145k km)

 

Fuel pump – no problem, filter is stock from factory

 

Electrical – no problem from new, everything works

 

wah 200k km and suspension still ok? i cannot believe!

 

 

[RogerNg_185295]

i have seen your PM and opinion regarding C vs E. as for me, interior space of the C class isnt much of an issue as the GS interior wasnt that big either.

 

in my opionion, the E class is just looks way too "uncle" for me, just my opinion

The avant garde line is sporty. The elegance line is more for mature drivers. So to say it's uncle is incorrect

[Gnahp]

wah 200k km and suspension still ok? i cannot believe!

 

 

 oh yes, I refresh the suspension a few months ago (190k km) by changing everything at the front end and dampers at the rear

 

I consider those are wear and tear items, I didn't mention battery, tires, light bulbs, windscreen, and consumables like air-con filters 

 

edit: - speaking of suspension, the four wheel bearings are still tight and silent, amazing

Edited May 8, 2019 by Phang