Feed back on E46 320D/318i over Benz C200 kompressor in same era

[Ian Iddamalgoda]

Hey guys what do you guys think of these two cars. Would like to know the general maintenance cost and driving economies.

[Devinda_Z]

From what i gather the 320D diesel and the 318i Petrol despite being on the same platform are quite different on account of the drivetrain itself

The E46 is quite popular and has quite a following locally

 

Are supercharger failures common on the Mercedes? 

Those late 90's early 2000's Mercs aren't known for build quality or reliability afaik

[AVANTE]

2 hours ago, Devinda_Z said:

Are supercharger failures common on the Mercedes? 

Those late 90's early 2000's Mercs aren't known for build quality or reliability afaik

My dad told me that those post 2000s 'kompressor' cars are the ones that ruined the benz name. As everyone was used to the W124s before hand.

Talking about the 320D, from what I gathered they are economical but I remember a common issue is turbo failure & the cooling system components are fragile and deteriorate/break easily if mishandled. Same for suspension as these cars aren't the lightest things on the road and due to age, they'd have deteriorated. Compared to the E36s, these cars are more electronically advanced so you have that to deal with too.

What is your priority OP? economy/maintenace or luxury? Because both don't really go together, especially for german vehicles.

 

Edited January 26, 2020 by □AVANTE□

[iRage]

3 hours ago, Devinda_Z said:

 

Those late 90's early 2000's Mercs aren't known for build quality or reliability afaik

Yes but no....during the time the Americans took over they did not like the fact that Benz (es ?) at the time were over-engineered. So they did a good job in cutting corners and under-engineering the cars that were engineered under their watch. So yes...reliability issues were common to cars of that era...however, the good thing is most of the issues have been taken care of by the previous owners thanks to Benz actually responding to the concerns, so if the car has been properly maintained by its previous owners...you can find a pretty reliable Benz from the era