2014 Mercedes-Benz C 2.1L Diesel · YP64 OND

A twelve-year-old Mercedes-Benz C-Class carrying 111,516 miles carries an MOT history that is largely unremarkable but punctuated by minor faults and a cluster of advisories worth taking seriously. The most recent test on 18 September 2025 returned a clean pass with no advisories, continuing the pattern of the 2023 and 2022 tests which also cleared without defect. The only recorded failures are both minor and easily rectified: a non-functioning nearside stop lamp in September 2023 and an ineffective windscreen wiper on the same date in September 2022, both retested and passed on the same day. The single advisory-laden test in September 2024 is the most informative entry, flagging tyres worn close to the legal limit on both the offside rear and nearside front edges, a non-excessive oil leak, and front brake discs showing wear. While none of these items resulted in failure, the combination suggests that consumables on this vehicle are approaching the kind of mileage-driven wear one would expect on a higher-use example, and a buyer should treat the 2024 record as a prompt to scrutinise those exact areas now. At roughly 9,293 miles per year over a twelve-year life, this C-Class has been driven at a fairly typical rate for its age, with no extended lay-up periods visible in the testing timeline. Tests have been conducted annually from 2020 onwards with no significant gaps, indicating that the vehicle has remained in regular use rather than sitting idle for stretches, which generally keeps seals, brakes, and tyres from suffering the kind of deterioration associated with long storage. However, the cumulative mileage is now well into six figures, which on a Mercedes of this generation places meaningful wear on suspension bushes, coil springs, anti-roll bar links, and the flexible rubber sections of the brake lines, none of which are visible in the MOT data but should be assumed to be in the latter half of their service life. The recorded oil leak from 2024, though not flagged as excessive, is the kind of finding that warrants a closer look underneath on inspection. For a prospective buyer, the priority areas for inspection line up directly with what the MOT history has flagged. The 2024 advisory on the front brake discs means the discs and pads should be physically measured for remaining thickness, and the caliper slide pins should be checked for seizing, which on a C-Class of this age commonly manifests as uneven pad wear or a slight pulling under braking. The tyre advisories on the offside rear and nearside front edges point towards possible alignment or suspension geometry wear; on a test drive, listen for clonking from the front suspension over speed humps and observe whether the steering pulls to one side or the steering wheel sits off-centre, both of which would indicate worn wishbone bushes or track rod ends. The oil leak should be traced to its source — on the M271 or M276 engines commonly fitted to this model, the rear main seal, valve cover gasket, and oil filter housing are the usual culprits, and a warm engine with visible drips on the undertray or a strong burning smell would confirm an active leak. On the road, pay particular attention to how the transmission behaves, as a Mercedes of this age and mileage is more likely to develop automatic gearbox hesitancy or harsh shifts than to exhibit sudden catastrophic failure, and any flaring between gears or delayed engagement from cold is worth raising before purchase. The stopping lamp and wiper failures recorded in 2022 and 2023 are both trivially cheap fixes and not indicators of systemic electrical issues, but a quick walk-around check that all exterior lamps function, the wipers clear the screen cleanly across the full sweep, and the washer jets are unobstructed remains worthwhile. Finally, because the MOT record cannot speak to the condition of the subframe, fuel lines, or the inner sills — areas where corrosion can develop on a twelve-year-old car exposed to winter road salt — a careful inspection underneath on a ramp or with a torch, ideally at a Mercedes specialist, would be a prudent step before committing to a vehicle that has otherwise shown a stable and largely clean roadworthiness record.