While scrolling down a car website the other day I came across a link to a car ad on a Dutch online auction and shopping website. The car itself was not really special or rare, but the text in the ad certainly was. The story behind the car, that’s what matters. I’ll get to that later.
The seller has a 2001 Mercedes-Benz W203 200 CDI to offer. The 203 series (sedan, wagon and coupe) was Mercedes’ C-class representative from 2000 to 2007. As usual available with a wide range of four-, six- and eight-cylinder gasoline engines and four-, five- and six-cylinder diesel engines. All six-cylinders were V-engines. The V8 gasoline was AMG only.
This C 200 CDI has the least powerful 2,148 cc four-cylinder turbo diesel engine, type OM611. With its common rail injection it was good for 115 hp. This car was not built to win sprint races but to eat the kilometers (or miles) in an endless kind of way. Rolling down the freeway at 120 to 150 km/h in complete safety and comfort and with great fuel efficiency. Speaking of sprint races, as far as I’m concerned the 0-100 km/h sprint time has become a completely overrated nonsense number of yore. Furthermore, this is a family sedan, not the Lamborghini Countach in yesterday’s boys room.
Back to the ad. What’s special about it is the way the seller describes his car. I’ve never seen such a comprehensive, hilarious and sincere car ad on a website before. You can find the original Dutch ad with lots of photos here.
What follows next is my integral translation of the ad’s text:
This marvelous piece of German durability has been a part of our family since it was new. It has gone through a lot…no, a TREMENDOUS LOT.
It started its life as a leased car for my father. Right after about two hours there were already two small holes in the leather upholstery. You see, we like bicycle racing, so a wagon would have been more practical. But hey, “it’s a leased car, so we just throw it on the rear bench seat”.
My father was already an old geezer when he got it, so in all that time it never did go faster than 110 km/h. Fuel consumption was less than 4.0 L/100 km quite regularly. By the way, the absolute record was 3.6 L/100 km thanks to a broken sensor in the gearbox.
We both loved our C so much that my father bought it from his employer at the end of the lease term. At that point it had about 250,000 km on the clock. From that moment on the car has been treated as a private-investment. For example, bird poop was always persistently removed within six months by using an abrasive sponge…and it got new rims rather than these were cleaned.
Due to the recycled steel that was used for this C model, rock chips and other damage immediately led to rust. So my father had the whole body panel resprayed the minute something occurred…by someone who shouldn’t be allowed to be in the business. The car has been in the paint shop so many times that I really don’t know if there still is a body panel with its original paint at all.
Anyway, that’s all cosmetic. No wonder all those taxi drivers drove such a Mercedes. With timely maintenance they are mechanically indestructible. Furthermore it has a number of amazing gadgets. An example is the solution to that annoying tailgating: the so called “Mercedes Active Soot Screen” that slowly builds up in the exhaust system during the trip. To be activated by the gas pedal. And gone is that irritating tailgater, just like in a James Bond chase scene ! Ideal !
Exactly for these reasons I decided to take over the car about 4 years ago. With only 390,000 km on the odometer, so the little beast was barely broken in. First it got a pamper service and the broken rear springs, all wheel bearings and the bent rims were replaced. Looking back I might as well have neglected the latter; when I fell asleep behind the wheel for the second time not the guardrail on the left side but the concrete barrier on the right side made the rims not suitable for re-use. But as you can see the C is fully prepared now.
Meanwhile it has 563,000 km on the clock and it’s still purring like a cat. The last 7,000 km the average fuel consumption was only 4.9 L/100 km according to the trip computer. Disconnecting the lock to get rid of the annoying sound coming from the broken door lock at the rear-left was one of the last modifications. So no worries anymore about car burglars damaging the car, after all, the door is unlocked. (The alarm does work however)
I’ll move to Belgium soon (relax, I’ll just stay a Dutchman). After such a carefully built up history it’s only logical that I wanted to take the car with me. Unfortunately it had to go through an import-inspection first. The car itself passed the inspection with flying colors, but a quick scan by the official learned that the total costs of importing the car were higher than its value. The Belgian official told me that buying another voiture was wiser than importing my Benz.
So that’s why I’m looking for a decent new owner (from the Netherlands or Africa) who can take good care of this emotionally burdened C-class so that it will get to those 1,000,000 km. And I’m very positive it will get there.
I believe the service books must be somewhere in the car. I will be looking for them during your test drive.
It’s a “Classic” edition with:
Cruise control and speed-limiter
Automatic A/C
Leather upholstery
Automatic fold-down rear headrests (always funny to harass your passengers with)
Electric windows
Trailer hitch
Life hammer (maybe the most crucial option)
Radio/CD-player and trip computer
Steering wheel controls
What is it about the plastic that Daimler-Benz (or their subcontractor) used in the plastic headlights that makes them haze over and oxidize faster than the headlights on American and Far Eastern brands? They look just plain ugly. The one in these photos is typical. It has cataracts!
Old Volvos with the big rectangular headlights were about the same but the Swedes had an excuse, being so far north where sunlight and ultraviolet are substantially less, until they got reports from more sunny climes. By now you would think Mercedes would know.
If nothing else, the seller is quite honest and has a sharp sense of humor. It does help dampen all the crimes this car has endured.
It sure had its fair share of abuse….
But the thing is this: Compact and midsized Mercedes models with four cylinder diesels -essentially since the W115- were and are driven by guys (mostly guys) who are on the road a lot, think 40,000 km a year and (way) more, and use it as a commercial vehicle at the same time. These sedans often have a rough life, for a long time.
Taxi-drivers, marker vendors (trailer hitch), contractors (trailer hitch), farmers (trailer hitch), cattle dealers (trailer hitch) etc. etc. If you couldn’t afford a new one you bought a used one.
It’s a nice story, but it could also be completely bogus, and the guy just having a ball flipping an impossible sell. I really don’t know if that ad is serious or not, it could be completely made up as well. And that’s what’s so f***k up with that business, that you have no way of knowing what’s true.
Most long mileage diesel Mercedes just equals “taxi” with letters sky high in my eyes. Most taxis have been driven a lifetime worth of abuse already inside of their three year lease. It’s not unusal for ex-taxis to be sold for almost scrap value to shady people who are then trying to fix them up and scam some unlucky punter out of their money. Odometers are always fixed and set lower, and with cars like that, you won’t notice the car is completely shot before a couple of years anyway. And even if the car don’t have any structural damage, you can count that everything is completely shot and have to be replaced. Shocks, dampers, tranny, coupling, exhaust system and so on. Not counting the rust issues, with that many resprays, there’s just no way of knowing what is going on with that metal.
The story could be true. But it could also be completely made up, from the first sentence to the last. You’d never know, and buyers beware…
The mileage can be checked very easily. It’s a diesel, that means an APK (legally required safety inspection) every year. And then the mileage is officially registered. For a few euros you can get a print of the whole (mileage) history if you want.
First day of registration is August 1, 2001. The current owner has it registered on his name
since April 9, 2011. (Plate check through an official website)
It could be made up, of course. But this is very obviously a high-mileage banger, literally. What does the seller have to lose or win ?
I have no idea, and perhaps the dutch are better prevented. In Sweden, you can check the three most previous owners, and the mileage registrered when the car changed owner. And many people doesn’t check up on that, especially not those that are easily fooled. In Sweden, it’s big business buying up hige-mileage but fairly new cars that have obviosuly run their daily grind on the authobahn, and then try to flip them as low-mileage nearly as new cars. Cars stolen in Sweden are shipped to the east where the same happen to them. It’s big business in Europe flipping stolen or ran down cars. How it even is possible in this and age boggles my mind.
Car registration is pretty tight here. On the same website I mentioned I also found that the car is not registered as being stolen, it’s insured and the APK is valid till May 19, 2015.
The engine management stores recorded mileage even if the speedo is wound back, in NZ many diesels run without the speedo connected as a tax dodge only on pre electronic models like mine is it undetectable.
Well, at least whoever buys is won’t be able to say the car was misrepresented in the ad.
Neat car , better advert ~ it’s refreshing to see an honest E-Bay seller for once .
-Nate
I do enjoy a seller with a sense of humor! Especially the part about harassing your passengers with the fold-down rear headrests… Nice find.
I don’t get the dislike of older high mileage Mercedes…..
I have two with over 300,000 miles , the 4 Banger just chugs along year after year after year….
Yes the tranny is tired and leaks , yes # 1 cylinder has low compression so it lopes a bit @ hot idle but so what ? .
It gets us where we need to go in style , safety and splendiferous comfort , 65° F across any desert , 21 ~ 36 MPG’s depending and best of all , I only paid $1,500 for it close to a DECADE ago .
Used cars are just that : USED . if you expect to drive them sans periodic ca$h injections , you’re going to be a very un happy camper indeed .
FAR cheaper than buying a new car and having that damned monthly payment IMO .
-Nate
One thing to consider is that several of the commenters who have been a little negative toward this particular car are European. From their perspective this type of Benz is thought of in the same light as a Crown Vic or W-body Impala with 350,000 miles of police and/or taxi service. Caveat emptor very much applies here despite the seller’s brilliant and seemingly honest ad.
I actually took a look at a C220 of this model on the weekend, only 260 000 km. They don’t seem to hold up well in the heat, the radio volume control seemed to be like a stick of gooey licorice, lots of other trim pieces were sticky too, the kick plates on the sills had fallen to pieces, electric seat failed to move plus other drawbacks. They just don’t seem to be built too well. I run a sub 600 000 km W124 and the trim is like new. I passed on the sticky W203.
KJ in Oz
What happened here was that some farmers refueled these Benzes with tractor diesel. But back then tractor diesel was not suited yet for diesel engines with common rail injection, with some major engine failures as a consequence. By now farm tractors also have common rail injection (And urea-aftertreatment).
Very nice! This is how all car ads should be written.
I hear you Mark ;
I guess I’m just used to getting older vehicles that will need repairs ~ as long as they’re affordable by me , I don’t really care that much .
Only my European 300TD has anywhere near ‘ low mileage ‘ , it looks it and run like a raped ape but I still had to do the normal old car stuff .
-Nate
I read this article back when it was launched
5 years later, I’m the owner of a 2006 W203 myself.
With 520.000 km on it, nonetheless, and a recently rebuilt engine. Drives like new, and I hope I keep it for many more years
Nice! Good luck with your Benz (another CDI, I assume).
Yes, a C220 CDI, the 150hp DPF model! Avantgarde with leather trim, in black. It’s just beautiful!
COAL by Swedishbrick…it’s all about a German car in Portugal. Now get on with it!
And speaking of not-so-old and beautiful Benzes, there are some specialists here and their inventories are always good for some fun-surfing:
Here: https://www.klaasdepoel.com/showroom
And here: https://www.500e.nl/voorraad/
Those links are pure Mercedes paradise.
I even found a W123 with the EXACT SAME interior color and fabric as the one my dad had! This brings so much memories
A big thanks for the links! That red E500 is also so sweet.
About the COAL… I might do one! And also on the Audi 80, that has a very long story behind it too, cheers!