Looking to purchase a Mercedes B Class

[Kingdom34]

Hi All

Keeping it simple...looking to buy a B-Class Petrol. Year 63/14.

Is there a guide to help check various angles when I'm looking at the car?
Anyone with similar experience?

I'm going to start to look at the Sports version (ive heard about the 18's being too large and affecting the ride).

Also am I right that services are every 2 years/15k as we will probably only use the car for 8-9k miles per year.

Is there anything major that goes wrong with them or to look out for tale tale signs?

Any help is much appreciated

Thanks
Dan

 

[mattyg]

Can you get an extended test drive before you commit.

The OH has 14 plate GLA 220D 4matic AMG line..That we bought last June

Were trading it in for Skoda.

 

[Kingdom34]

I'm hoping so. I want to see what the ride is like and the practibility.

Whats your story with the GLA then?

Any high end costs you can think of.

Skoda Kodiaq?!

 

[Dis86]

Why a B-Class? Seems a very specific requirement. There are lots of other cars in the sector that fulfill its role.

 

[Kingdom34]

Why a B-Class? Seems a very specific requirement. There are lots of other cars in the sector that fulfill its role.

Best equipment level, best looking, most amount of boot space, legroom and head height. That we have seen so far.
Alternative suggestions welcome

But if anyone has any advice on what to look for etc then feel free to share

 

[Kingdom34]

Well bought a 63 plate B200 Petrol Manual, 25k miles, Sports spec with Sat Nav, Reversing Camera, Grey Crystal Leather...excellent condition and all serviced etc.
Test drove another in the morning for 45mins, down side roads and gravel tracks and pot holes...these reviews crack me up about suspension etc. Its a myth. Its firm but fair....not crashy and uncomfortable.
Also for the price I paid with all the extra's I would have had to spend 3-5k more on a Sportage, with lower mpg and slower.
Lets see how it is on the way home (100miles) tomorrow after we pick it up.

 

[Martynt74]

Well done finding a petrol. We've just bought a B200 Sport Automatic Diesel. Ours is a 2012 plate though. Well paid the deposit anyway, should be picking it up next week. They do seem to be well looked after in general though. For a 5yr old car the leather and general bodywork is immaculate.

Sounds like we were similar to you, went looking for a bigger car IX35, Tiguan etc but the spec levels for those were pretty poor compared to the B class. The auto is on another level to the box in the other cars too and we were limited by that requirement.

 

[Kingdom34]

Well done finding a petrol. We've just bought a B200 Sport Automatic Diesel. Ours is a 2012 plate though. Well paid the deposit anyway, should be picking it up next week. They do seem to be well looked after in general though. For a 5yr old car the leather and general bodywork is immaculate.

Sounds like we were similar to you, went looking for a bigger car IX35, Tiguan etc but the spec levels for those were pretty poor compared to the B class. The auto is on another level to the box in the other cars too and we were limited by that requirement.

Parallel lives
Managed to get the B200 as well, a bit more grunt. Only 8 on Autotrader and only 1 B200. Bought from a well mannered gentleman near Coventry.
What did you think of the ride then? Your experiences? Personally couldn't feel much difference between the lower output I test drove in the am, but then I didn't give it some in the afternoon as I knew that's the one I wanted.
Weve paid the deposit too and this time tomorrow we would have picked it up.
I couldn't find any blemishes to the paintwork and the owner had done 4400 miles in 6mths since the MOT. She drives it to Tennis which is an 8 mile commute.

Exactly the same, when we were looking at the Sportage 14 plate, for the money all it had was Bluetooth and parking sensors, half leather and the boot was big but with the B class, we get reverse camera, sat nav, full leather, better economy and quicker. Plus the refinement and feel of the drive compared to what I felt was a sluggish 1.6 with the Sportage.
Its the only MPV we considered tbh. I don't like Ford and we didn't fancy the Golf Plus.
I hadn't thought of the Auto as weve never had one, but there was about another 10 Auto's available within our price range.

Managed to pay £12,350 for a 63 plate with 25k on the clock and FSH. You?

 

[Martynt74]

We paid £10,800 for a 12 plate with 46k on the clock. So sounds pretty comparable. From a dealer that wouldn't budge on the price. Said that the Mercedes garage was having in on Tuesday so we either paid the price or it went to them. There weren't really any others close to the price/spec/colour in our location and it's pretty much exactly how she'd have specced it up if buying new.

It's mainly for my wife so i only drove the Tiguan and a Jeep Compass. The Jeep was really basic, didn't even have a usb port so felt we'd have wires everywhere for power and aux. Atleast with bluetooth audio you can just stick the phone away in the centre console. Very few had heated seats either.

The closest we got to trim levels was the Mazda CX-5 but to get an auto we were looking closer to £13k and having already gone from 5k to 10k to 11k

I'm with you about the ride, it definitely didn't feel crashy despite having incredible thin tyres. I think the fact the seats were so comfy plays a big part in it.

 

[Kingdom34]

We paid £10,800 for a 12 plate with 46k on the clock. So sounds pretty comparable. From a dealer that wouldn't budge on the price. Said that the Mercedes garage was having in on Tuesday so we either paid the price or it went to them. There weren't really any others close to the price/spec/colour in our location and it's pretty much exactly how she'd have specced it up if buying new.

It's mainly for my wife so i only drove the Tiguan and a Jeep Compass. The Jeep was really basic, didn't even have a usb port so felt we'd have wires everywhere for power and aux. Atleast with bluetooth audio you can just stick the phone away in the centre console. Very few had heated seats either.

The closest we got to trim levels was the Mazda CX-5 but to get an auto we were looking closer to £13k and having already gone from 5k to 10k to 11k

I'm with you about the ride, it definitely didn't feel crashy despite having incredible thin tyres. I think the fact the seats were so comfy plays a big part in it.

It does sound comparable. I looked on WBAC and Honest John and I paid smack bang what I should have (well I did try lower, but I couldn't be too cheeky).
That's the problem, there aren't many available, that's a good sign in my eyes, as Supply and Demand plays an important part to me. Plus like you say, its spec'd to how you would want it.

Exactly the same situation, its my partners weekly drive and for the long journeys away/weekend family trips I will be driving.
I know what you mean...there is a 12V in the front and rear arm console and we have heated seats as well, we have the Exclusive Package I believe (if you have a look online you can get an ebrochure but specs can be mixed and matched as we have a walnut dash and leather on the doors (which I believe is artificial) but the seats leather is real.

That was another car we looked at, never drove but there was only 2-3 in our price range, which is exactly the same as you and also we did the same, had £5-7k, looked at Leon's and Golf's, then Qashqai made us think, so we waited and saved and then increased the range, when we saw the Sportage could be had for a few more thousand and well...the story goes on until we really had to think about how much we were paying.

Agree, the seats were very comfortable and I'm glad I drove it as id written it off in my head and it was basically a day spent to confirm my thoughts. But I was wrong and then saw how nice it felt, drove and the tech spec and compared it to the Sportage and it made more sense.

Have you joined any forums yet? MBClub, MercedesClub?

 

[Martynt74]

Yeah i looked at WBAC and the offer price was £10,400 so shows it's a decent price.

I agree, i think it'll hold it's value well, i can only imagine trying to sell it in 5 years or so and having to try and sell something with no USB port or built in screen functions.

I think the fact it sits quite high up makes it work well. The seat is much higher in it than our Giulietta so it already has a higher driver position than we're used to which we felt was enough really.

Just looking forward to picking it up now. I can't change our insurance over till i get a new bank card which is annoying as it delays things for us till probably next Wednesday or so.

No forums yet, because it's my wifes car i've been pretty much banned from messing around with it! Might have a bit of a read though. Although it does free me up to be able to attempt more work on the Alfa than i was previously trusted with.

 

[Kingdom34]

Yeah i looked at WBAC and the offer price was £10,400 so shows it's a decent price.

I agree, i think it'll hold it's value well, i can only imagine trying to sell it in 5 years or so and having to try and sell something with no USB port or built in screen functions.

I think the fact it sits quite high up makes it work well. The seat is much higher in it than our Giulietta so it already has a higher driver position than we're used to which we felt was enough really.

Just looking forward to picking it up now. I can't change our insurance over till i get a new bank card which is annoying as it delays things for us till probably next Wednesday or so.

No forums yet, because it's my wifes car i've been pretty much banned from messing around with it! Might have a bit of a read though. Although it does free me up to be able to attempt more work on the Alfa than i was previously trusted with.

Sounds exactly like what I did there.

That's a very good point, the technology within should keep the value high. Lets hope nothing goes wrong though. We have a Merc Specialist 45mins away to carry out Servicing as I think Mercedes want £400 a go and Service B is up in September. An expensive month when car insurance is due on both cars.

Indeed, lots of head room for a 6'2 lad. I like the Giulietta's too, have you had any reliability or electrics issues with it?

Oh that's a pain, we have paid £120 extra for 6mths insurance on the original amount we paid for her Corsa...what a step up shes had - Corsa to a Merc B haha.

As you say, read up, plenty of threads on those forums to read. Plus now I need to focus on what I'm going to get in the next year or so to replace the Civic. Probably in the Estate guise, away from the Diesels as well no doubt. Possibly a Hybrid but we shall see.

 

[Martynt74]

No reliability issues. Bought it in 2012 and it's ran brilliantly. Only issue is electrical, the centre brake light broke and the drivers heated seat no longer works. The brake light was fixed by Alfa has it's a known design fault where opening the boot puts strain on the cable.

Other than that it's been a cheap car and only needed standard servicing, tyres and brake pads.

Sounds like we're almost identical, i'm 6'3, although i can't talk about room. I used to own an MX5

Luckily ours if through a VW dealer so they're servicing and putting 12 months MOT on it.

I agree, buying her a new car just makes me want something myself, can't really justify it yet though. I'm waiting a few years though when my commute is smaller and i can get something stupid and impractical! Mainly waiting for the new Mustang to depreciate to sub 20k levels.

 

[Kingdom34]

No reliability issues. Bought it in 2012 and it's ran brilliantly. Only issue is electrical, the centre brake light broke and the drivers heated seat no longer works. The brake light was fixed by Alfa has it's a known design fault where opening the boot puts strain on the cable.

Other than that it's been a cheap car and only needed standard servicing, tyres and brake pads.

Sounds like we're almost identical, i'm 6'3, although i can't talk about room. I used to own an MX5

Luckily ours if through a VW dealer so they're servicing and putting 12 months MOT on it.

I agree, buying her a new car just makes me want something myself, can't really justify it yet though. I'm waiting a few years though when my commute is smaller and i can get something stupid and impractical! Mainly waiting for the new Mustang to depreciate to sub 20k levels.

That's good news on the reliability front.
Hmm that's minor then really in the grand scheme of things.

The 100mile drive back was nice, really smooth drive and you couldn't really tell it was an MPV...the 155bhp certainly isn't sluggish at all. Also achieved 47mpg according to the tripometer. Very impressed.

I'm the same, opened the door for me to get something perhaps next Aug. But its in the mean time, I need to look after my car and get it through until then. Not seen the new Mustang but I did drive one about 8-9 years ago in LA. Lovely, smooth car.

 

[Martynt74]

Just picked ours up. I finally got round to driving it and pretty impressed. The sports seats are very huggy and supportive and the autobox is fantastic. Also giving the option to drop down into manual which seems quite responsive. Not that it's a sports car!

There are a few irritating features which i'm sure must be fixable. Not sure if you've found fixes

1 - The speed warning, telling you to observe the speed limit.
2 - Can't change the song using the steering wheel controls unless you navigate to the audio section which seems very counterintuitive since it's added distraction
3 - Voice controls only seem to work for setting navigation and not for music/calls

 

[Dis86]

Think the speed warning can be switched off if it's anything like my friends C-Class.

Enjoy the car!