2002-2004 Mercedes C180-200 or BMW 5 series 2003-2006

[ahmedali.kas9]

Looking for a fun and comfortable European car, or German I should say. Budget fits these two cars. Need advice on which one. Looking for something that is comfortable fun to drive, can take a little beating and is more reliable out of the two. and for each what the cost of ownership looks like. Anything to beware of? This'd be our first European vehicle. As far as I know the n52 engine in the BMW is a reliable one, and the electronics in both cars can be fuzzy considering their age. Anything helps!

[tmuzammil05]

1.As far as I know Mercedes in the decade of 2000 has numerous manufacturing faults. Therefore big bucks are required to maintain the car in order to keep running a vehicle that has run hundreds of thousands of miles and has been abused by local mechanics with their jugaars. One must go through the part prices atleast in the used car market to get the know how of the level of blackmailing going on. Since you are looking at the old models of German beauties that can now be bought in the price of new Alto or Cultus I must warn you that the part prices will make you regret. Hence, if your pocket allows you to bear that burden then you can think of it.
2.As far as bmw is concerned it is wise not to go near it in Pakistan. You will only regret your decision due to Inavailability of parts and mechanics in Pakistan.
3.In my personal opinion, It will be a better decision to invest on some SUV like 3rd gen Surf or 90 series Prado or some Vigo as they are easy to maintain and have more road presence and respect on raods than these old German cars. Moreover, the driving pleasure of a 3.4 Surf or Prado is far better than an old German car because the fear of breaking down of the German car won’t be consistently haunting you in the back of your mind while driving it.
4. If you still want to buy a German car then Mercedes can be your choice but keep the above mentioned things in mind.