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oldeskewltoy
oldeskewltoy SuperDork
12/9/14 5:02 p.m.

Sales BS: said: Year: 2002 Make: MercedesBenz Model: C230 Coupe Trim: RWD Miles: 155,000 Transmission: Automatic Tiptronic Engine: 4-Cylinder 2.3L Supercharged Kompressor Color: White Interior: Black Title: Clean Runs and Drives Great Power Locks / Doors / Dual Sunroof CD Player Premium Sound CD Changer Key Less Entry Fog Lights Nice wheels & Tires Fold Down Seats For Storage + Much More

So what am I looking for? Tell me all I should be checking over... any issues to make me ran away?

Its $3900

turboswede
turboswede GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
12/9/14 5:19 p.m.

Electrical issues, expensive part costs and if it has the electric clutch on the supercharger they like to fail and are expensive to repair.

Outside of that I'm not aware of anything specific.

oldeskewltoy
oldeskewltoy SuperDork
12/9/14 5:43 p.m.
turboswede wrote: Electrical issues, expensive part costs and if it has the electric clutch on the supercharger they like to fail and are expensive to repair. Outside of that I'm not aware of anything specific.

thanks for your response.....

electrical issues... known failures... like CD player in IS300 (70%), or just heard of things here and there?

I just checked out Rockauto... oxy sensors are $50-$80, mass air flow sensors are $180-$200

S/C clutch.... check

Mezzanine
Mezzanine Reader
12/9/14 5:46 p.m.

This is relevant to my interests solely because it is one of the few MBs of the era that you can actually find with a manual transmission. I've looked at parts cost from a few supply houses and most things were normal for euro cars, but there are a few weird outliers that are stupid prices... Can't think of a specific example right now.

The styling of these cars has aged much better than I anticipated.

SlickDizzy
SlickDizzy GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
12/9/14 5:57 p.m.

I would be worried if the slushbox hasn't had regular fluid changes at that mileage, may be the dreaded "lifetime fill." Otherwise they are pretty much like any other post-decline Benz, from what I hear.

turboswede
turboswede GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
12/9/14 6:04 p.m.
oldeskewltoy wrote:
turboswede wrote: Electrical issues, expensive part costs and if it has the electric clutch on the supercharger they like to fail and are expensive to repair. Outside of that I'm not aware of anything specific.
thanks for your response..... electrical issues... known failures... like CD player in IS300 (70%), or just heard of things here and there? I just checked out Rockauto... oxy sensors are $50-$80, mass air flow sensors are $180-$200 S/C clutch.... check

A friend paid $300 for a crank sensor from Mercedes which failed again. Luckily the third one seems to be holding in for now. I think the power window also had issues on his.

oldeskewltoy
oldeskewltoy SuperDork
12/9/14 6:23 p.m.
turboswede wrote:
oldeskewltoy wrote:
turboswede wrote: Electrical issues, expensive part costs and if it has the electric clutch on the supercharger they like to fail and are expensive to repair. Outside of that I'm not aware of anything specific.
thanks for your response..... electrical issues... known failures... like CD player in IS300 (70%), or just heard of things here and there? I just checked out Rockauto... oxy sensors are $50-$80, mass air flow sensors are $180-$200 S/C clutch.... check
A friend paid $300 for a crank sensor from Mercedes which failed again. Luckily the third one seems to be holding in for now. I think the power window also had issues on his.

looking up Rockauto....

Rock auto shows crank sensors for $30-$70... power window motors are $60-$165.

I know for many in this group an auto C230 kompressor coupe isn't exactly a GRM classic... but for swmbo this would be a significant change. I'd like to put her in something about more modern than a 25-30 year old Corolla WITHOUT going big... oddly, the little MB might be just about perfect... hatchback, decent economy, safe, rwd.....

any others with similar, or other knowledge out there to impart????

ccrelan
ccrelan Reader
12/9/14 6:50 p.m.

Plenty of opinions here:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6910717-Why-don-t-people-modify-Mercedes-C230-Coupe-%28i-e-Hatchback%29&highlight=c230+coupe

SlickDizzy
SlickDizzy GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
12/9/14 7:14 p.m.

In reply to ccrelan:

"The I4 M271 1.8L has a timing chain that likes to stretch and let the valves crash into the pistons with little to no warning. I rebuilt the top end of mine after such an incident, then sold it."

Ouch!

Basil Exposition
Basil Exposition Dork
12/9/14 7:18 p.m.

My wife had an '03 with the auto transmission. We got rid of it the second time it puked all of the transmission fluid. I was not impressed with the build quality of that thing.

turboswede
turboswede GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
12/9/14 8:42 p.m.
oldeskewltoy wrote:
turboswede wrote:
oldeskewltoy wrote:
turboswede wrote: Electrical issues, expensive part costs and if it has the electric clutch on the supercharger they like to fail and are expensive to repair. Outside of that I'm not aware of anything specific.
thanks for your response..... electrical issues... known failures... like CD player in IS300 (70%), or just heard of things here and there? I just checked out Rockauto... oxy sensors are $50-$80, mass air flow sensors are $180-$200 S/C clutch.... check
A friend paid $300 for a crank sensor from Mercedes which failed again. Luckily the third one seems to be holding in for now. I think the power window also had issues on his.
looking up Rockauto.... Rock auto shows crank sensors for $30-$70... power window motors are $60-$165. I know for many in this group an auto C230 kompressor coupe isn't exactly a GRM classic... but for swmbo this would be a significant change. I'd like to put her in something about more modern than a 25-30 year old Corolla WITHOUT going big... oddly, the little MB might be just about perfect... hatchback, decent economy, safe, rwd..... any others with similar, or other knowledge out there to impart????

Lexus or Toyota Camry. If a hatch is needed, the "SUV" versions of those; aka RX3xx and Highlander. Our 01 Highlander base is a decent commuter and hasn't had any issues in 200k other than routine maintenance and repairs due to other drivers (two rear bumper repairs and a bent suspension arm because other drivers are unable to see a white SUV with its brake lights on).

Basil Exposition
Basil Exposition Dork
12/9/14 8:47 p.m.
turboswede wrote:
oldeskewltoy wrote:
turboswede wrote:
oldeskewltoy wrote:
turboswede wrote: Electrical issues, expensive part costs and if it has the electric clutch on the supercharger they like to fail and are expensive to repair. Outside of that I'm not aware of anything specific.
thanks for your response..... electrical issues... known failures... like CD player in IS300 (70%), or just heard of things here and there? I just checked out Rockauto... oxy sensors are $50-$80, mass air flow sensors are $180-$200 S/C clutch.... check
A friend paid $300 for a crank sensor from Mercedes which failed again. Luckily the third one seems to be holding in for now. I think the power window also had issues on his.
looking up Rockauto.... Rock auto shows crank sensors for $30-$70... power window motors are $60-$165. I know for many in this group an auto C230 kompressor coupe isn't exactly a GRM classic... but for swmbo this would be a significant change. I'd like to put her in something about more modern than a 25-30 year old Corolla WITHOUT going big... oddly, the little MB might be just about perfect... hatchback, decent economy, safe, rwd..... any others with similar, or other knowledge out there to impart????
Lexus or Toyota Camry. If a hatch is needed, the "SUV" versions of those; aka RX3xx and Highlander. Our 01 Highlander base is a decent commuter and hasn't had any issues in 200k other than routine maintenance and repairs due to other drivers (two rear bumper repairs and a bent suspension arm because other drivers are unable to see a white SUV with its brake lights on).

Oh gawd, does that mean I've got to live with the beige appliance hell of my Highlander for another 120k+ miles? And I was so looking forward to it self destructing so I could buy something low to the ground that handles instead of wallows. Anything. Please.

amg_rx7
amg_rx7 Dork
12/9/14 9:15 p.m.

I had a '98 SLK which I thought was a fantastic car and held up well. I bought mine highish mileage ~150-180k and everything worked. Treated it like a Japanese econobox. Didn't do anything but oil for 2-3 years that I owned it. My aunt in Europe still has her SLK which she bought new. The car treated me much better than the E36 I bought with 18k miles on the clock. What a poorly engineered POS that was...

The reference SlickDizzy mentioned doesn't apply to this car. The 230 of all generations is a 2.3L 4 cylinder, not a 1.8.

I'd probably get it but I'd reckon it's worth researching in a more knowledgeable forum. Try BenzWorld.org.

SlickDizzy
SlickDizzy GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
12/9/14 9:23 p.m.

In reply to amg_rx7:

I was just quoting the link ccrelan shared. These have always piqued my interest but I am kind of scared of any early 2000's Benz because there are a lot of horror stories out there. Seems like the poster in the link had his engines mixed up, because he was a US C230K owner and some pretty graphic post-valve/piston contact pictures were shared.

Swank Force One
Swank Force One MegaDork
12/9/14 9:29 p.m.

In reply to Basil Exposition:

Well... the bad (?) News is that Highlanders seem to be extremely well built.

Swank Force One
Swank Force One MegaDork
12/9/14 9:38 p.m.

In reply to amg_rx7:

Changed to 1.8 for 2003 model year.

irish44j
irish44j PowerDork
12/9/14 9:44 p.m.

Just get your wife and Impreza. Hatch, not too big, fairly fuel-efficient (if not a Civic), RWD (+FWD!)

amg_rx7
amg_rx7 Dork
12/9/14 11:18 p.m.
SlickDizzy wrote: In reply to amg_rx7: I was just quoting the link ccrelan shared. These have always piqued my interest but I am kind of scared of any early 2000's Benz because there are a lot of horror stories out there. Seems like the poster in the link had his engines mixed up, because he was a US C230K owner and some pretty graphic post-valve/piston contact pictures were shared.

Understood.

I will say that I really didn't like the 2.3 engine. It made ugly noises and wasn't exactly powerful. Could have just been mine so YMMV

spork
spork New Reader
12/9/14 11:53 p.m.

Not a fan of the four banger. New belt tensioner fixes alot of the chatter coming from the motor. There is a year of c class that had auto trans cooler failures in the radiator and there is abulletin for that, fix is a new radiator but coolant destroys the trans. The sunroof breaks and the only serviceable part is the motor, the assembly is $4k. 722.6 trans lasts about 150k.

clutchsmoke
clutchsmoke Dork
12/10/14 6:51 a.m.

In reply to oldeskewltoy:

Get her a Lexus is300 sportcross. She will love you forever! And you will be glad you didn't get the baby Benz.

oldeskewltoy
oldeskewltoy SuperDork
12/10/14 12:03 p.m.
clutchsmoke wrote: In reply to oldeskewltoy: Get her a Lexus is300 sportcross. She will love you forever! And you will be glad you didn't get the baby Benz.

had one......

Piece of CRAP..... what a waste of a wagon... Shineola access to the rear area... couldn't fit anything with edges like a new TV, or a new lawnmower, even medium sized boxes don't fit never the less something like a christmas tree....

clutchsmoke.... she'd much rather have the Volvo 122 wagon (in your sig) then the P.O.S. Lexus

oldeskewltoy
oldeskewltoy SuperDork
12/10/14 12:08 p.m.
spork wrote: Not a fan of the four banger. New belt tensioner fixes alot of the chatter coming from the motor. There is a year of c class that had auto trans cooler failures in the radiator and there is abulletin for that, fix is a new radiator but coolant destroys the trans. The sunroof breaks and the only serviceable part is the motor, the assembly is $4k. 722.6 trans lasts about 150k.

Is the bulletin/fix proper... or does the fix fail too?? Concerning the sunroof.... if we don't open it... is it a problem?

spork
spork New Reader
12/11/14 1:16 a.m.

I've manually closed a couple sunroofs, and disconnected the buttons. No big deal there. The bulletin identifies which vehicles and radiators are faulty, and explains how to test for glycol contamination. The fix for a glycol contaminated trans is all new friction discs (basically rebuild it). I flushed one that had contamination and replaced the radiator, it lasted two months. I did another that was less severe, substituted a standalone trans cooler, still going over a year later.

oldeskewltoy
oldeskewltoy SuperDork
12/11/14 1:13 p.m.
spork wrote: I did another that was less severe, substituted a standalone trans cooler, still going over a year later.

What I was thinking....

If I bring the vin into Mercedes, will they tell me the TSBs and services performed? As to the sunroof... neither of us cares if it opens... keeping it shut will do us fine.

We aren't looking to buy a Mercedes... we are looking at buying a rwd hatchback with a a decent ride, good fuel economy, isn't too large (Lexus was just a BOAT) and good safety.

Tell me what else is like the MB coupe??

As to us buying a BMW... not in this family... my wife refuses to own one... too many buttocks wipes own them, she'd rather stay in a Corolla then move to a BMW.

SlickDizzy
SlickDizzy GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
12/11/14 1:39 p.m.

In reply to oldeskewltoy:

Wait, so BMW owners are asswipes but Benz owners aren't?

Color me truly confused at this point...

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