js81

Hey all:

This is my first post after lurking for some time... :-) Need some advice concerning my C220. Car is a 96, just turned 140k miles. I purchased it in September '13 with 131k. Has ran great the entire time I've had it until about 800-1000 miles ago. At that time, I noticed chocolate milk looking coolant - I was getting oil into my coolant. Luckily, it was only the one direction at the time. I flushed the coolant and decided to try some head gasket repair stuff from Bar's Leaks. It worked like a charm!... for about 800-1000 miles, that is.

On Monday I noticed the tell-tale oily-greenish puddle under my car again and sure enough, the problem had returned. I'm almost certain its the head gasket (anything else it could be?). Engine oil and ATF are both still coolant free, but oil has been starting to get low again.

Basically, my question is this: I really like the car, but I'm afraid the repair is going to be too much to handle... I paid $2500 for it last September; I've read the horror stories that the repair can push $2k. The car has another oil leak (around oil pan or rear seal) and the transmission has just started shifting slightly rough between 3rd and 4th gears (though I don't think this is a big deal; may just need new fluid, as it looks kind of old). There's a crumpled spot that was not fixed well on left front fender from a parking lot bump and it needs brakes all around. I'm currently waiting to hear back from my mechanic, but I already know what the news will be. At what point should I cut my losses? The car was running great before all this started - actually just moved from FL in November and drove it home (almost 1k mile trip) and I drive it every day to work (100-mile commute, round trip).

ptcruiser

It would seem logical to me not to put money into something that won't have any real value once the work is done.
You can buy a nice C230 for around $4000.00 to $4500.00 (1998 preferred)
and expect at least 250,000 basic trouble free miles if the car was maintained.
You can spend that much on the repairs.
Sell the parts off the old car on Ebay, and you can probably raise half the money for a nice C230.
That's my humble opinion.

js81

Just got the estimate back from my mechanic... his "friends and family" price to me - $3,000. And that's if its JUST the head gasket, not a cracked head. He believes the previous owner let the car overheat pretty badly when the water pump failed. I only paid $2500 for the car, so a $3000 repair is useless. He has already found a guy to buy it off of me for $1500 - time to cut my losses and move on.

Now I'm just wondering whether to buy another 202 or not... I want one, but I'm quite leery now. I know it was just bad luck, of course, but I can't help being human lol. I sold my 94 Toyota Camry that had 221,000 trouble free miles to buy the C220 - any suggestions on what to look for if I do buy another 202? Any particular years/engines? I saw the previous post about a 98 C230 (non-Kompressor, I assume?). What about the 6-cylinders? I have seen a pretty good price on a LOW mileage C220 (a 95 w/79k miles!).

ptcruiser

If you check the consumer reports and owners comments, you will find the 202 is an excellent vehicle. I bought my 1998 C230 off Ebay, and although it wasn't really as described, I went through it with a fine tooth comb and brought it back to as new condition. My advantage is my mechanical ability, so I didn't need to have a shop involved except to run a good Star diagnostic. From that point, I did the majority of the work.
I have the 4 cylinder, and was able to reach 36 miles to the gallon on a road trip, and about 25 around town.
As far as I am concerned, it is an outstanding vehicle in all respects.
Actually the way they are built is so superior, I wonder how the engineers could be so detailed compared to other manufacturers.
Keep looking, and Ebay is not a bad place to begin. A decent one should run in the low $4000.00 area.
I will say that with regular maintenance, you can get around 300000 miles out of it.
So that is my opinion.

Jaren

How in the world did you get 36 on a road trip?? My 95 C280 barely manages 20 on average around town. Did you do some engine tuning?

ptcruiser

Current mileage around town is (5 tank average) 25.6 MPG.
The road trip was flat road and cruise set at 65 MPH, with no stops (Interstate type highway).
I found it hard to believe on the first fill up, but it was constant.
As you can see by my sign in "PT Cruiser", I have one of those also (2005 Convertible Turbo 38,000 miles) That thing is a real pig on gas (13 to 14 MPG at 65 MPH), and always something needs to be fixed. Wanna buy one :-)