Description
Welcome to the sale of my W202 C220 Auto Mercedes with the M111 2. 2 L 148bhp petrol engine, first registered in June 1996 with a recorded mileage of 72k.
The car is in truly excellent condition. All original paintwork which is immaculate, all side panels completely free of any dints, or scratches, and importantly absolutely ZERO rust anywhere including underneath the car. Underneath is indeed as near as mint as possible. The car recently passed its MOT advisory free and judging by the condition and long-standing MOT history, which is exceptional, the car has been a cherished and a well looked after vehicle all through its time on the road. I have always kept the car in a dry garage and by assessing the all-round condition, I would say it is highly likely that this has been the case during most, if not all, of the car’s lifetime.
The car was first purchased from Normand Mercedes, which was the main Mercedes dealership at the time in Park Lane, London. The first owner kept the vehicle for over 23 years. Although I do not possess the detailed service records for this particular ownership, you can easily see by reviewing the MOT history that the car will have been very well looked after. The MOTs were either carried out at Mercedes Benz of Colindale in NW London, or Lodge Garage Ltd, which is a Mercedes specialist again in NW London. The first owner must have specified several expensive options prior to delivery. As well as the usual Elegance features including the unmarked leather seats which are really ‘as new’, the electric sunroof, mirrors (which electrically fold as well), 4 x electric windows, aircon, remote central locking (2 keys by the way), there is the original Blaupunkt Pasadena stereo with a 6 disc auto-changer in the boot, alongside heated seats. I like to keep things 100% original and chose to retain the original, period stereo.
Along with the excellent exterior, the interior is also outstanding. I’ve mentioned the real quality of the leather seats, the carpets as well as having the original Mercedes mats, had over-mats fitted. The photos probably don’t do the interior justice, it is like it just came out of the factory. Headlining is also perfect, unmarked. There is the original spare wheel in the boot as well, which is unused, along with an unopened Mercedes first-aid kit located within the rear shelf. The car also retains its original Normand dealership number plates front and rear.
Following the original keeper, there have been 3 additional owners of the car. 1 of these as I understand it only had it briefly due to the introduction of ULEZ.
I have servicing receipts post the first owner. I acquired the car in January and have had a number of items of work done on the car recently which are detailed below:
- Full electrical diagnosis, principally to fix an intermittent fault with the immobiliser, which transpired to be as a result of 2 units being fitted; the factory fit Mercedes one and an aftermarket Cobra variant. This was carried out by an incredibly knowledgeable true ‘old school’ auto-electrician (Mervyn at Autoelectron, Harrogate – please feel free to check Mervyn's Google reviews).
- A full back to front stainless steel exhaust, including CAT, fitted by Tony Banks Exhausts in Leeds (again, please feel free to check out Tony's Google reviews). The exhaust looks just like the original, with the twin downpipes at the rear, and is obviously backed with a lifetime guarantee. I specified that the exhaust needed to look like this and needed, as well, to be as super quiet as possible.
- 4 wheel Hunter wheel alignment carried out by BRAM Racing in Castleford. The go to place I have used for many years for anything alignment related.
- My trusted mechanic has also undertaken significant work on the car over the past few months to ensure it drives superbly. This includes the fitting of new Powerflex bushes, a full service including the replacement of all filters and quality 5w/ 40 synthetic oil and the fitting of a new auxiliary belt.
- There are matching tyres to the front and to the rear (DOT 2022 with plenty of tread remaining).
To be completely transparent, the original CAT was stolen from the car in 2021. For some reason at the time, the insurance company decided to make the vehicle a CAT-N. I can only assume this was due to the cost of replacement of these parts from Mercedes been very expensive. There was no damage cosmetically or structurally and I have photographic evidence to prove. A new exhaust and CAT was fitted. When I acquired the car, I was not hugely impressed with the exhaust, hence opting to go with completely replacing it with the full new, quality stainless steel system + new CAT.
I would say this is one of the nicest W202s available, it looks and drives better than many a new car in my opinion, no rattles, no creaks, a supple yet engaging drive. I should add, for clarity, that the DVLA have this car registered as green. It is one of those colours that depending on the light conditions does look different, from a dark emerald green-black, to a dark midnight type blue. I have always thought of it as a dark blue in fairness. I did have the car professionally polished at a bodyshop who I have used many times (JS Customs in Thorp Arch, near Wetherby). They were firm in their belief that all the paint was original. They would be able to tell based on my experiences with them over several years.
There is a genuine reason for the sale. I am torn to sell, but current needs must. Please do get in touch. I have endeavoured to be entirely honest in my description and am happy to answer any queries.
