1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG

First registered in March 1999, this Mercedes-Benz C43 T AMG has had 9 owners, who have collectively taken the car to 115,300 miles.

The current owner bought the car in September 2019 from the boss of Mercland in Nuneaton who had run the car as part of his collection of interesting Mercs for the previous 5 years, never scrimping on maintenance and always buying genuine MB parts, as has the current keeper.

He was looking for an interesting and practical modern classic and this fit the requirements to a T - 5 seats and room for the dog. The fact that it had been so well looked after by Mercland was the icing on the cake.

The C43 has been kept garaged and used mostly in fine weather for runs around West Sussex - it would have been used further afield had the pandemic allowed. The C43 is one of three classic cars that the vendor is moving on; he feels that a fresh start is needed in his collection post-covid and is pondering what to buy next.

The outside of the car is painted in Titanite Red metallic. It’s lovely to see a Mercedes-Benz presented in something other than the usual white, grey (silver) or black - we need more colourful cars out and about on the roads. There is a smattering of small stone chips on some of the leading edges like the nose, bonnet and mirror caps and the odd light scratch as you might expect - but those insignificances aside, the exterior finish is very good indeed for a 22 year old car.

The AMG styling additions, namely the front and rear bumpers and the side skirts, all look intact and in good condition and the other exterior fittings and trims, like the chrome grille, 3-pointed star and roof rails appear in good order too with just a small scratch on one of the black window surrounds.

The car sits on its original 17-inch 5-hole AMG alloy wheels, which are finished in silver with diamond cut outer rims. In February 2019, they were fully refurbished and refitted with new Continental Sport Contact tyres all round.

The interior is trimmed in black leather with light grey leather seat facings and steering wheel top rim. Whilst the steering wheel and driver’s seat show a bit of patina and usage, the upholstery doesn’t appear to show the same degree of wear that less cared for cars show at even lower mileages - it is in very good order.

The dash top, centre console and door trims are finished in a carbon fibre weave and the car has an upgraded Becker Indianapolis CD Radio Nav unit fitted. The white-faced AMG instruments remind you that you’re not in a bog-standard Merc.

As far as we’ve been able to test, all the electrics and interior equipment works as they should.

The dark grey carpets are clean and intact throughout and are further protected by mid-grey AMG branded overmats- the driver’s floor mat does have a heel-wear hole though. There are also rubber overmats for the interior in the boot should a new owner wish to use them. Up above, the light coloured headlining appears spotless and well fitted.

The engine compartment seems clean and in good order. Whilst the AMG V8 is hidden underneath a large plastic insulative cover, the neighbouring ancillaries and engine bay itself appear undamaged and well looked after. The bonnet lid is in a reasonably good condition too with no apparent rust and its acoustic liner intact.

Underneath the car there are a few early signs of rust, particularly around the jacking points, but mostly the underfloors appear sound. The undersides were thoroughly Waxoyled in 2016. The working parts carry the road dirt and grime that you’d expect and there’s a couple of slight fluid leaks but there appears to be nothing of major concern.

The tailgate lifts smoothly and holds up on its own and inside, a plastic fitted boot liner has ensured that the carpet below remains in very good, clean condition. To one side the CD-changer is installed, to the other a first aid kit and underneath the floor is the battery plus a spare wheel with warning triangle and jack. The car’s original pull up dog-guard/luggage guard and roller-blind load space cover are present and appear in good order.

Check out the detailed photographs in the gallery and the walk-round video and you’ll see the amazing condition that this car is in. If that still doesn’t convince you, why not use the ‘Contact Seller’ option to arrange a visit to our HQ and inspect the car in person.

The car has a brand new MoT valid until June 2022 and a good online history of annual testing back to 2005 when records were digitised.

The car comes with the owner’s handbook and its original service booklet which contains 9 stamps as follows:

Jul 2000 - 2,149 - Mercedes-Benz Bournemouth

Jan 2001 - 24,257 - Mercedes-Benz Norwich

Jun 2003 - 35,090 - Mercedes-Benz Norwich

Dec 2004 - 46,162 - Mercedes-Benz Norwich

Jun 2006 - 58,502 - Trefnant Garage North Wales (MB specialist)

Aug 2007 - 67,120 - Trefnant Garage North Wales (MB specialist)

Aug 2008 - 72,976 - Trefnant Garage North Wales (MB specialist)

Apr 2009 - 77,238 - Mercedes-Benz Blackburn

Oct 2013 - 101,793 - Dedman Garage Bishops Stortford

There is also a typed up servicing and maintenance log summarised up to 2014 and then detailed to 2019, during which period it belonged to owner of the Mercland business in Nuneaton, along with all the major parts invoices from that period.

These notes and further invoices add the following to the car’s service history:

Apr 2014 - 102,899 - Mercland Nuneaton

Apr 2015 - 105,412 - Mercland Nuneaton

Mar 2016 - unknown - Mercland Nuneaton

Jul 2017 - unknown - Mercland Nuneaton

Sep 2019 - 113,486 - Mercland Nuneaton

Sep 2020 - 114,607 - Mechanical Engineering Services of Cranleigh Surrey

We understand that both front wings were replaced in 2016-17 and there has been some more recent work on the body - all done very well and blended in nicely.

The car comes with 4 key fobs, an AMG sales brochure and a small crate of spares and removed parts including the original radio, rear view mirror and pedals.

Any Mercedes-Benz AMG model is going to be of interest, but one that combines performance with estate car practicality opens it up to a wider audience of buyers. Ones that need to accommodate a dog or lots of gear who otherwise might only be looking at Audi RS Avant models.

This C43 Tourenwagen is in great shape and it runs and drives beautifully with a great turn of speed if you’re in the mood for it. Just as you would expect of a well looked after Mercedes-Benz. In fact it was driven from near Haslemere to The Market HQ in Oxfordshire to be dropped off for sale with no issues whatsoever - often the cars we sell arrive on a trailer.

We think it will fetch between £11,500 and £13,500 - which we think is a great price for a very practical - and somewhat rare - Mercedes-Benz estate with muscle-car AMG performance.

If any of you baulk at a mileage over 99,999 - remember that the continental Europeans measure in smaller units and don’t get upset by much larger numbers. This car has a full service history with main dealers and marque specialists and as it’s a Mercedes, it’s probably good for at least another 115k miles if kept well maintained.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.