2 L Diesel with 109 hk Turbo and CVT Auto transmission. Front wheel drive, with transverse mounted front engine. 5 seats with made from fabric. Not washed in a while with a strong smell of dogs. Some broken stuff like windshield wipers. Welcome to my new 2008 B-Class W245.
“So boring and dull! How can you endure this torture?!? It looks like an egg! It’s not even a real Mercedes! Did Mercedes poop it out from Stuttgart? B for bloopers! I would turn 180 degrees around when seeing this car!”
I can hear some of you thinking this. And perhaps you have a point. It was considered quite ugly when it was first released, however I think the design have matured somewhat and is not that ugly anymore. It blends in with all the other boring cars and it’s still quite dull though. But I needed something cheap, reliable and fuel efficient for commuting to work especially during the winter. And fast before winter starts! A diesel is good since I can save around 2 kr for each liter and it’s more lean than a similar sized petrol engine. I generally don’t like front wheel drive at all, but for commuting during winter in the steep hills around here it’s somewhat of a benefit.
The car has done 250.000 km which is not little, but not super far either. I got the car cheap which means it didn’t come perfect and has a few things to sort out first. The most critical is the front wind shield wiper which is broken. Second most critical is a faulty parking brake which require new cables in the rear. There had also been drainage of the electricity of the car battery while the car was parked, however this could be due to the non-original extra lights or something with the broken wind shield wipers. Both front and rear are not currently working. The rear one not working is not required by an MOT, but it is annoying when the side mirrors are so small you can’t really see what’s straight behind the car.
Cosmetically there is some rust on the wheel arches and below one of the doors. Thankfully there are no holes and the rust can be stopped quite easily. Actually the amount of rust on this car is quite little compared to the age and mileage of such a car in Norway due to all the road salt it’s exposed to during winters. It could also do with some standard service, such as changing the oil, diesel filter, air filter and the pollen filter. Oh, and did I mention it’s not even approved for the MOT haha!! So it could potentially have some more unknown issues!! Exciting!
TODOs before it can be MOT approved is as follows:
- Replace front windshield wiper mechanism
- Fix parking brake
- Stop rust on wheel arches and paint
- Replace rear wiper motor
- Engine Oil and filter change
- Air intake filter
- Cabin pollen filter
The summer tires are extremely worn, however the winter tires are in good condition with steel studs which is required around there. And winter is just around the corner. Will not bother to get the new summer tires until the spring. The 280CE also needs new tires and will get the priority now. I will keep you updated with follow up articles.
Robs Out!