230,000 km, 18 Month Update | 2013 Mercedes-Benz C 300 4matic Ownership Review
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- čas přidán 23. 07. 2023
- It's been a little over 18 months since I bought my 2013 Mercedes-Benz C 300 4matic sedan, how much has it cost me to keep it on the road at 230,000 kms? Find out in our ownership update video!
Check out our original episode of TestDrive Spotlight on my 2013 Mercedes-Benz C 300 4matic: • Should You Buy One in ...
I bought my 2013 Mercedes-Benz C 300 4matic in January 2022 when I traded in my 2018 Ford Focus Electric, after needing an AWD vehicle to get through the winter, and a vehicle I could drive from Québec to Ontario after we decided to move in the summer. I bought this car with about 220,500 kms and have put about 10k kilometres on it since buying it.
One of the things we like to do here on TestDrive is talk about long term ownership of these luxury vehicles. While I haven't driven this car much, I have spent some money on maintenance and repairs. Totalling about $3,558.80 in maintenance since buying it, this car has cost me around $199/mo.
Maintenance includes 3 oil changes, 2 safety inspections, 3 tire swaps, a new OEM battery, A/C service, new aftermarket rear brake pads and rotors, a front brake service, two new front struts, and approximately $320 in misc costs to have dents removed from the vehicle. Most of the services were done at Mercedes-Benz dealerships.
I discuss how the car has been over the past year and a half, along with a quick road test to talk about the future of this car for me, and what repairs are still needed on it to keep this vehicle functional on the road.
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Boy I watched your preview older videos about this car. Good to see that you still have it 🥰😃
I'm glad I'm holding onto it, hard to find a decent car for the price it would cost to fix the A/C. It's on my list of things to do but as we get to the end of summer I'm wondering if it's easier to wait until next year to get it fixed. Only downside would be the lack of being able to properly defog the interior.
I got one because of u and I love it my best car yet
Glad to hear it! We just published another update on this car a few weeks ago also.
I bought mine new in 2011 c300 fully loaded for $38k with zero miles and after 119k miles still runs great. I replaced the seat cushion at MB for 550$, Steering column lock, $1200, transmission and cooling system $9,000, belts n pulleys $500, infotainment knob $400. Brakes can last over 100k miles in this. Very reliable other than the trans issue, coolant leaked into the trans and killed it. Have the coolant lines and thermostat replaced, my advice.
Thanks for sharing! Mine's been running great, went in for a Service A a couple months ago, getting the summers swapped on this week and a quick inspection. I enjoy driving mine, we did an update video for 2 years in January.
Did you ever have the broken intake manifold flap issue?
I got 1 after watching your review
Best entry car ever ❤love it
Glad to hear it! We did another update last month, still going great for us.
The ac system best to really take a look with a black light to confirm WHERE exactly its leaking from, highly unlikly itll be all condensor, hoses and pump, while at it, check condensor drain from bottom of car to see if dye residue is there.
MB do sell just the bottom seat cover, or aftermarket, but easier to replace the bottom with good used, or a slip on cover to be cheapest.
Sunroof drain likely plugged, fix it before it become bigger problem. Ie water into passenger floor, shorting a bunch of things, then you'll really need to get rid of the car.
Brakes, tires, inspection, maintenance is similiar with most cars, so thats a non factor, just depends on how much you want to spend of the quality of parts, not like most people need "the best" out there, as theres not really such a thing 😅
(The following basically applies to all mb gas v6 and v8 etc from 2000s and up)
The engine oil leak is a concern though, if its the front cover / oil filter housing / oil cooler, just do it all at one go with a oil change and coolant change as it'll be required when doing the leak, sooner or later, they all eventually leak. While at it, get new belt, tensioner and all pullies.
If leak from the back side, it's likely the cam plugs, and oil separator cover leak. From time to time you may find a rear main leak on them, but fix from top down and obvious first.
We were able to trace the dye with the black light, most of the dye was around the expansion valve at the bottom of the condenser, but some of the piping for the A/C system had dye on it also. My tech found there was a belt in there that needed to be replaced, which is why they quoted a full job. We'll see what we can get done on it this coming month as I do enjoy driving it and want to keep it. I don't think I'd find a better one out there considering.
I'd first see if I could afford the fuel bill. I liked fuel sippers in my day (roughly 4.9 to 5.3 l per 100km was what I got out of my Honda CRX HF and my Toyota Prius). If you can afford the fuel, then enjoy the heck out of your purchase. Make it a bit more pleasant with your planned A/C repair. As the cliché goes: "Life's too short to drive boring cars." I never took this sage advice, lol! Mahalo and take care.
So far it's been pretty good for fuel considering it's a 4matic, I average about 8L/100km in town, I don't drive far to get to work so it doesn't get the best mileage. We took it on a nice road trip at the beginning of July, averaged less than 7L/100km overall with 3 passengers and luggage. We put on about 620 kms during the trip and could have gotten home no problem on that full tank of gas from the start.
@@PRNTestDrive Job's a good'un, then! Can't argue with those results. I hope all your journeys in your C300 are safe and pleasant. Aloha!
The two worst words with used car ownership: deferred maintenance
Tell me about it. I've only been reacting to issues with the car despite taking it in often enough to have it checked over for potential problems.
Have you had any ESL issues with the C300?
Feels like the Mercedes shop wants to use the parts cannon to fix the AC.
It's a worst-case scenario, I don't disagree with them to replace everything while they're down there if the system already has leaks. The dye was found along most of the system. We'll have to see, I've still got the parts in my cart on Rockauto, just waiting to confirm I picked the right stuff.
Nice
This video has been in the planning stages for so long I had originally planned a 12 month update. I'm just glad I got around to it.
That’s a great review. I would keep this beauty cuz there’s no mechanical fault other than the Ac, definitely worth keeping it as a daily commuter. I’m thinking about getting a 13 or 14 model year C300 4matic just like yours but with mileage between 70k and 90k in Toronto for less than 20,000$ . Is that a good choice ?
YES. I have a 2013 C300 that I bought for $16,000 with 100k km and it is perfect in every way. Best car I have ever had.
@@DrewTyler15 Thanks man appreciate it. I’m just tryna compare W204 C class and BMW F30 328i, cuz u know these are the two competitors u can’t ignore with a 20,000$ budget.
@@lijerry8722 Get W204. One of the most reliable cars ever made, even more reliable than Toyota's. Just check the rear subframe for rust before you buy.
I'd 100% recommend this car, I absolutely love driving it. We've decided to get the A/C fixed up with aftermarket parts, no sense using OEM at this point. Our service department has been swamped so this won't get worked on for a bit. In the mean time I do have something I'm adding to the fleet which I hope to share a bit on this weekend.
I have a w204. It’s a really solid car, but it’s not as reliable as a Toyota. But this is way better to drive and be in than a Toyota. So it’s worth the extra maintenance costs to me.
w204's are great cars. fix the AC and enjoy it longer
That's what we've decided to do, I spoke with my technician again and they recommend getting it all done up with aftermarket parts, she's not sure why the service advisor quoted OEM but I've got some options.
Fix the problems bro its. A great car😮😮
We will, that's the plan. Right now it's being used as a leave behind vehicle as I swap press cars around.
I'd say these cars are worth it if you are mentally and financially prepared for it and do a lot of driving, at least 15...20k km per year, only then does the cost per km come down to a point where you can do some mental gymnastics to justify it over something reasonable like a Toyota. Although during the last 5 years or so Toyotas and other mid-level brands have stepped their game up so much that i couldnt justify the steep premium Germans charge for their (new) cars.
Looks like you bought a decent example, and it kind of sucks letting it go because you will have to sort out all of the little things with the next one you buy , very rarely are these cars sold when they are running fine.
Not a expert on the 204 but i did own a W203 for a while. Oh boy, i still have nightmares about it. In the early 2000s MB decided to put plastic panels throughout the underbody, so the state of the body itself cannot be examined just by looking at it. Once i was doing some repairs and started taking them off little by little i realized what i had bought. I am not exaggerating, there were no rocker panels and no floor. To this day i wonder what held the car together so that it didnt fold in half. From the outside it was immaculate, beautiful dark blue exterior with a cream leather interior, facelift model, one of the smoothest automatics i've driven. Looks can be deceiving is what i learned from all that.
Lol, Toyota's are inferior in every way. I was in one last week and couldn't believe how cheap everything felt.
It seems the W203 was a bad chassis overall, lots of problems. According to The Car Wizard he recommends the W204 and avoid the W203. Interestingly he recommends the W221 S-Class. Either way the car doesn't owe me anything and you're absolutely right, finding something else trouble-free around the price I'd get for this is impossible. We've decided to keep it, but just not drive it for a bit while we work out the A/C.
@@PRNTestDrive The car "wizard" is full of shit and rips off his customers, as i have called him out many times and would think at least twice before taking any of his advice.
As for the W203 the only real downfall was the body. There isnt much to go wrong apart from that, it didnt have the complex electronic systems that the E and S class had. The 5 speed auto and engines are very long lasting. One thing i will add though regarding the W204, the interior quality is a noticeable step down from its predecessor in terms of material quality and overall rigidity, if you ever get them side by side you will see what i mean. Good luck with the car!
The eco not work because there a second battery in the trunk
That's interesting! I don't remember seeing one on the C-Class. The S-Class I have has 2 full size batteries, and from what I've found online the W212 E-Class has a very small secondary battery under the trunk carpet which operates the Eco function, however I can't find any documentation on that being the case for the C-Class. I always figured it was a fuse that someone removed to disable the function, as the brake HOLD feature works, as I replaced the main battery last year.
I'll have to look into this further.
How about oil mix with coolant
You shouldn't mix your oil and your coolant, it's bad for the engine.
Mann I miss my aunt Benz and now she doesn’t has it because she totaled it😢
Sorry to hear that.
Nice cars but expensive to maintain as they get older . I would dump it now before you end up spending a lot of cash on a 10 year old money pit as always a nice review .
These cars are extremely reliable, my friend has this exact model with 600,000 km. W204 is definitely not a money pit
So far the costs haven't been any higher than when I had the 2001 BMW 740iL, and outside of the A/C the rest of the car seems in sold mechanical order. So far we've decided to keep it, although I won't be driving it for a bit while we source the parts needed and do the full A/C refresh.
@@PRNTestDrive Good luck.