420 CDI Sport

Big presence with big bills

A bit of a splurge in the days when diesel was cheap. 420 has V8 and goes like stink with bags of pulling power. Diesel remained disappointing in so far as economy was barely 27 in town and 32 on the highway. Pulling a big lump around takes its toll.

Inside was adequate - a big car with big space but when I bought it, it already felt out of date. Sat nav antique and it took 3 years for local data to be anything approaching reasonable - even then I never trusted it. In my local town there were several roundabouts that it wanted me to go the wrong way around. Radio speakers weedy.

Good points - lots of space and lots of presence on the road - you could intimidate people in it. Not helped by the bling drug dealer versions of the mark 2 W164. Only ever saw them in black and silver (mine)

Not so good - not really that many. Never broke down. I got a good deal on the purchase of the car ex stock but there after the bills were eye watering combined with the awful service from MB dealers - it really did feel like you were there only because they allowed you to cross their threshold. MB in Harrogate were extremely mediocre.

Even after 6 years legacy elements of the service continued. Even though I purchased the car in March, the service was due in November because they failed to reset the service indicator when they did the pre delivery inspection. I always remember the handover when sitting in the car the MB dealer logo on the sat nav was at the golf course around the corner - est 1906 and the golf course another mile up the road in some ones garden. They tried to fob me off saying that they had another address. A towing eye cover was stuck on with double sided sticky tape etc etc - all for a £60k car!

At one service the lid was left off the power steering reservoir and water got in causing stiff steering which I only discovered several months later. The final straw was a lamp failure which apparently is common due to corrosion. Well documented on the web and I went to the dealer - £12 for the kit of a bulb holder and a wire - another £55 to fit. Their agent looked aghast that I might have gained information from a owners website. and then told me that they had not charged for two new bulbs - £1 from halfords - God knows what from MB.

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