Used Mercedes-Benz C-Class L Saloon

The China built C-Class, stretched 80 mm in the wheelbase with all of it going to the back seat, and every engine below the 2,000 cc green tax line. Rear wheel drive, nine speed automatic, left hand drive as built. One unit is a normal order.

Description

Nigerians searching for a used Mercedes saloon type C300. The car we source is not a C300, and the difference is worth understanding before you compare anything.

Mercedes builds the C-Class in China through Beijing Benz, and it builds it long. The Chinese V205 runs a 2,920 mm wheelbase against 2,840 mm for the car sold everywhere else, which is exactly 80 mm more, and all of it went into rear legroom. If the car will carry your family, your parents or a client, that 80 mm is the most useful thing on this page. If you drive alone, it is 80 mm you did not ask for.

The engine range is the second difference. China sold the C 180 L at 1,595 cc, the C 200 L at 1,991 cc, and from the 2019 facelift a C 260 L at 1,497 cc with a 48 volt mild hybrid system. Every one of them is a four cylinder and every one of them sits below 2,000 cc, which since 1 July 2026 means nil green tax where a larger engine pays two per cent. America's C-Class was sold only as the C 300, only on the short wheelbase.

The volume car is the C 200 L: 135 kW and 184 PS, 300 N.m, nine speed automatic, rear wheel drive, 6.3 litres per 100 km on the Chinese cycle. The C 180 L makes 115 kW and 250 N.m and drinks slightly less. The 2019 C 260 L makes the same 184 PS as the C 200 L from a 1.5 litre engine with electrical assistance, which is impressive engineering and one more system to maintain.

On dimensions there is a discrepancy worth naming rather than papering over. The car's own vehicle certificate gives the length as 4,783 mm. Published European sources give the long wheelbase car as 4,746 mm. We quote the certificate figure because that is what is on the car's paperwork, and we do not average two numbers to produce a third that is true of nothing.

Trim names translate as Fashion, Sport and Luxury, badged C 180 L, C 200 L or C 260 L. There is no C300 badge anywhere in this range.

It is left hand drive as built. Under the twelve year rule 2014 is the oldest year that can legally land in 2026, and we work to 2015 and newer.

One engine fault worth naming, and one badge that will not match

The camshaft tone ring can slip. On the 2.0 litre M274 the pulse disc is pressed onto the intake camshaft at the factory and can rotate on the shaft under repeated heat cycling. It throws fault codes P0016 and P0341, with rough idle, hard starting, stalling and reduced power. It affects the 2015 to 2021 C-Class.

There is no year at which it was fixed. Mercedes never issued a bulletin specifically for the tone ring slip. It is handled as a pattern failure and repaired by replacing the part. So there is no safe model year to hide behind, only a car that has been scanned and driven.

Which is why we scan every unit and start it cold. Stored codes, a cold start and a drive tell you more about this engine than any mileage figure. The scan report goes to you before you commit.

And the badge you were searching for is not here. If you have been looking for a C300, understand that China did not sell one. What you get is a C 200 L: fewer horses, a longer back seat, less fuel and no green tax. Some buyers prefer that trade and some do not. It should be a choice rather than a discovery.

Mercedes parts are at Ladipo and Weststar is the authorised distributor here, so availability is not the problem on this car. Cost and specialised labour are, and both are running costs to plan for rather than reasons to avoid it.

Specification

Figures are Chinese-market manufacturer and homologation data for the model years we source. Where the Chinese certificate and published European figures differ, we quote the certificate and say so. The specific unit is checked against its own paperwork before we quote.

Body	Four door, five seat saloon, long wheelbase. Rear wheel drive
Model years sourced	2015 and newer. 2014 sits at the legal edge of the twelve year rule and we stay clear of it
Wheelbase	2,920 mm, which is 80 mm longer than the car sold outside China. All of it is rear legroom
Engine, C 200 L	1,991 cc turbocharged four, code M274.920
Engine, C 180 L	1,595 cc turbocharged four, code M274.910
Engine, C 260 L from the 2019 facelift	1,497 cc turbocharged four with 48 volt mild hybrid, code M264.915
Power and torque, C 200 L	135 kW, 184 PS, and 300 N.m
Power and torque, C 180 L	115 kW, 156 PS, and 250 N.m from 1,200 to 4,000 rpm
Transmission	9G-TRONIC nine speed automatic on the C 200 L and C 260 L, 7G-TRONIC on the C 180 L
Fuel consumption	6.3 litres per 100 km on the C 200 L, 6.1 on the C 180 L, 6.0 on the C 260 L, Chinese NEDC cycle
Dimensions	4,783 x 1,810 x 1,442 mm per the Chinese certificate, on the 2,920 mm wheelbase
Green tax band	Nil on every engine in this range. All three are below the 2,000 cc threshold
Built by	Beijing Benz. This is a locally built car, not an import into China
Trim naming	Fashion, Sport and Luxury, badged C 180 L, C 200 L or C 260 L. There is no C300 in this range
Drive side	Left hand drive as built, which is what Nigeria registers
Ground clearance	Not published on the Chinese certificate. We measure it on the unit rather than repeat a figure we cannot support

We do not publish prices, because the landed figure depends on the specification, the Customs valuation and the exchange rate on the day you pay.

Minimum order

One unit. Vehicles carry no minimum order quantity, so a single car is a normal order and we handle it the same way as a fleet purchase.

Where you are buying several, consolidating into one shipment reduces the cost per unit. A forty foot container ships at a flat rate whatever is inside it, and that rate divides across the cars in it. Freight also forms part of the CIF value duty is calculated on, so the saving reaches the duty bill as well as the shipping invoice.

Saloons of this size pack efficiently, so this is where the per unit figure moves most on a small fleet order.

Lead time. About six to eight weeks quay to quay on the Lagos route, plus one to two weeks at origin for inspection, diagnostic scan, export paperwork and loading, and a further period for clearing and the drive out of the port. On used units the time before shipment depends on finding the right car rather than on manufacture.

What decides the right one

Who sits in the back. This car exists because Chinese buyers wanted rear legroom, and the 80 mm is real. If the back seat is used, this is a better car than the short wheelbase version at the same money. If it is not, you are buying a longer boot lid.

Then the engine, which is really a question about tax and fuel rather than performance. The C 200 L at 1,991 cc and the C 180 L at 1,595 cc both pay nil green tax, and the C 200 L is the one to have.

Then the diagnostic scan, because the M274 tone ring fault has no safe model year and only a scan and a cold start will tell you where a particular car stands.

Then the year, because twelve years from manufacture is the legal ceiling and a car bought near the edge loses that margin every year you own it.

If the running cost of a Mercedes is the real question, ask it out loud and we will answer it against a Camry or an Accord rather than around it.

Common questions

What is the minimum order?

One unit. Vehicles carry no minimum order quantity, so a single car is a normal order and we handle it the same way as a fleet purchase.

Does ordering more than one reduce the cost?

Yes, on freight and clearing. A forty foot container ships at a flat rate whatever is inside it, and that rate divides across the cars in it. Freight also forms part of the CIF value duty is calculated on, so the saving reaches the duty bill as well as the shipping invoice. Two saloons this size fit comfortably.

Is the long wheelbase a good thing or a bad thing?

Good if anybody sits in the back regularly, because the whole 80 mm went there. Neutral if you drive alone. It does not change the car's footprint on the road in any way you will feel in Lagos traffic, and it does not affect where it can park.

Why is there no C300?

Because Beijing Benz did not build one. The Chinese range is C 180 L, C 200 L and C 260 L, all four cylinder and all under 2,000 cc. If a C300 specifically is what you want, it is a different sourcing route, it is short wheelbase, and it pays green tax. We will price it if you ask.

Is a Mercedes sensible in Nigeria?

It is the German brand Nigerian owners speak best of, and forum consensus favours simpler, better known models over complicated ones. This car is at the sensible end of the range: four cylinder, rear wheel drive, no air suspension. It still costs more to keep than a Camry and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling.

How do I know the mileage is real?

You get the VIN, the recorded mileage, a diagnostic scan, the service history and an accident check before you commit. Where the record and the car disagree we say so and move to another unit.

Which model years can actually land?

Used vehicles more than twelve years old from year of manufacture are prohibited, which makes 2014 the oldest legally importable year in 2026. We work to 2015 and newer.

I am looking at a different model

Send us the model, or a photograph, or a link. Tracing a specific vehicle, checking its record and telling you what it costs delivered in Naira is the service. This one is an example of it.

Tell us who the back seat is for

Whether the car carries passengers or just you, which engine you want, how new it needs to be and roughly your budget. We will find units that match, send you the VIN, mileage, diagnostic scan and record on each, and tell you what the car costs delivered in Naira with every line itemised.

There is no charge for it, and it commits you to nothing. If importing does not beat buying locally, we will say so.

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