Or WIBU to buy this car?

[Jacketspudtunamayo]

I’m in need of a car asap. My one is on its last legs even though it’s 67 plate. It’s just not fixable.

My brother has a Mercedes CLA 200d 65 plate with 119,182 miles on the clock. It’s a diesel if that makes much difference. Most of the miles clocked up were from before he bought it.

WIBU to buy this for £5750? I’d be paying the lump sum off his finance then it would be mine? He’s my brother. I haven’t got a clue about cars, I’m aware that’s high mileage though. I’m sure he wouldn’t con me, I’ve drove it quite a few times. Always drives smoothly. But with my car breaking today I wouldn’t have time to look around. So thought this would be ideal.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

What's wrong with your car that it's not fixable for <£5750?

@Thebestwaytoscareatory Engine problems amongst other problems. Mechanic today said it’s a problem my car will always have so I’d just be paying often for repairs.

I wouldn't buy a diesel, personally.

I would check online to see how much your brother's car is actually worth with that mileage. Just because that's what he owes on it doesn't mean that it is worth that. Do you actually want that sort of car? Also check what the insurance is and road tax. It could be high.

@BewareTheBeardedDragon How come if you don’t mind me asking?

Also servicing and parts costs may be really high. You can usually check this on What Car

Diesels aren't good for short journeys like twice a day 10 min school run. I wouldn't buy a diesel for that reason. Plus I don't like the particulate emissions.

Unless you're doing long motorway runs frequently I'd avoid a diesel.

Recent diesels particulate emissions are no more than petrol cars, and even electric cars have particulate emissions. The car in question will have a particulate filter and other emissions controls making it no worse than a petrol and actually better as it's Co2 per mile is less.

@Toooldtoworry Good point. I won’t be doing long motorway journeys often so I suppose that answers my question 😅

Thanks for the advice!

OP needs a new mechanic, not a new car.

Mercedes aren't especially reliable.

(I drive a 2003 Mercedes)

I wouldn’t spend that much money on a car with that many miles personally.
Its at the mileage where things start to need replacing!

Be very careful with a car like that unless you have it professionally assessed. It takes very little to trigger staggering repair bills. Look at the last MOT online.

There is an astonishing number of things to go wrong and they all cost a lot. It's the trouble with high end cars - you have to be comfortably able to run the things too.

If you want reliable but boring motoring buy a Toyota. Not a diesel though.

You could probably put a new/refurbed engine in for less than £5k but appreciate that you may not want to and tbh once your trust in the car has gone you'll probably just get more and more pissed off at it.

A 8 year old merc with 120k on the clock could easily do the same again IF it has been looked after and will continue to be looked after.

You'll know better than us what it's history is like but you'll want to know it has had regular engine oil changes (as these are on timing chains) and transmission oil changes (if an automatic) throughout it's life to minimise wear and tear.

120k is also potentially getting close to the DPFs (diesel particulate filter) end of life, which aren't cheap to replace, however that will be greatly impacted by the type of journeys it has been used for (as others have said frequent short journeys are not good for a diesel).

You'll also want to consider how you'll be using the car as these are "executive" cars designed for long journeys and mpg on shorter trips can be on the low side.

Other than that they're not bad cars imo, look quite nice, are pleasant to drive, etc but mercs are still considered a premium brand so it will be relatively expensive and maintain.

Can’t go wrong with a diesel Mercedes tbh

I wouldn’t ever buy a car from friends or family. If something goes wrong, the propensity for difficulty and unpleasantness is almost unlimited. Much better to be involved in an arms length commercial transaction in my view

The mileage would be way too high for me.

I'd look for a different one

And take your time looking

Dont just rush into this

So you're going to pay £5750 for a car with an extremely high mileage that is also 2 years older than your current car?

No sorry OP. That's just crazy.

What car do you have and what are the engine problems? Ask friends for recommendations of mechanics and go get a second opinion.

Firstly if you don't do long runs getting a diesel isn't a great idea. Both me and DH have them as we used to do a lot of driving, since covid we are both mainly WFH and do far less. Both cars have had issues as a result which has been costly.

For an idea of the value of your brother car go on auto trader and a couple of other such sites and stick the reg on and milage as they will give you approximate valuations. If its less than he owes you could make him an offer

Mercs are good but at that milage even they are likely to start having problems. How would it impact your relationship if you did by your brothers car and it had issues? Would you be resentful/frustrated. What would it do to your relationship?

The mileage wouldn't put me off, as long as it has some service history. I've had a series of large diesel cars and they have all been brilliant and all done well over 100k miles. I do a high mileage though and need a big car for my job. No idea about Mercs, but Google the model and see what comes up. It could be an excellent buy, it could be an absolute dog. Has your brother had any problems with it? Do you trust him? Why is he selling?

I think other pp's have pretty much answered your question in respect of your brothers car.

It sounds like you are coming at this from the wrong approach.

If you need a new car, you need to think about what for/how you will be using it and not making a relatives car fit the bill just because it's available.

For the money you are quoting for your brothers car, there are lots of choices available.

Questions you need to ask:

• what type of driving are you doing?
• what annual mileage will you be doing?
• what are the servicing costs?
• what do you value - reliability or a lux brand? (Ie your money will go much further on a newer, lower mileage Kia/Skoda than a Merc or even simply a much smaller car like a VW Up)
• how much passenger/boot space do you need?
• what options are really important to you (if any) eg sat nav, dab radio, heated seats, parking sensors?
• do you have any preferences in terms of manufactures you like?
• do you want an auto or manual?

Start with these questions then you can whittle down your options.

No. Never buy a car with that many miles. Buy something else with low mileage that is the key to having a good car