ekk20

Hi MBWorld, the time has come, I must part ways with my GTI. I've searched MBWorld via google but haven't came up with much information I am looking for, so here I am shooting my questions away. Any bit of information is greatly appreciated.

1, For C230 Kompressor, at about 200,000KM, what sort of issues/problems should I pay attention to when I inspect/test drive the vehicle?

2, How reliable is w203 motor? Given proper/on schedule maintenance will be performed when I take ownership of the car, can it easily last me another 200,000KM? I am in hopes that this little car will keep me satisfied for the next foreseeable 5 years.

3, Anything I should look out for when it comes to transmission/clutch?

4, Any common problems/issues that I should take note of? Coming from a VW, I must say I hate the little electrical problems here and there, oh, and rattling!



My apologies if these questions have been asked before, I must have missed it in my research.

Thank you MBWorld

pcy

What year C230K are you looking at?
Most important part of buying an used vehicle (especially when buying a car with 200K km) is to review the maintenance records. Without having the maintenance records, you'd just be gambling. If properly maintained, engine and transmission will last many years. Has the transmission ever been serviced?

ekk20

Thanks for the prompt reply. I agree with you, I have sent the dealership an email requesting for service records. The car is 2002, I do not know anything about it yet. In fact, I haven't seen it yet. I will be stopping by the dealership during the weekend to look at the car.

It's a small local independent dealership, excuse my ignorance but I always find them a little bit sketchy, so I can only hope for the best as of now. The car is for sale at about $6000 CAD.

pcy

True cost of the used vehicle is the price you pay for the vehicle PLUS the amount of money you will need to put in to bring it back to fully operational (including all the necessary maintenance).

Before selling the vehicles, lot of people stop doing preventive maintenance (and necessary repairs) because they are planning to sell the car. Over time, that neglect can cost the new owner.

ekk20

I will definitely look into it, Thank You pcy. I'm reading about radiator problems, and pan roof problems on 2002 coupes, what specifically should I look out for? As well, I'm reading that members prefer m111 engine, what are some ways to specify my engine type?

Thanks

pcy

the following link to Wiki has all the details about various types of MB engines in W203 -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W203#W203

M.L.X.

long as the car has been kept up with the strict maintenance regiment, it should be ok.

I own a 2003 c230k sedan. I drive alot with music off, just listening to the car.
cabin is quite. no squeaks, no rattle...

this is one of the aspects of my MB that has impressed me the most.

car is now 8 years old and yet it's just as quite as the day I bought it(brand new).

these cars aren't completely trouble free mind you but overall, pretty good build quality.

it's a Mercedes Benz so upkeep isn't going to be cheap, but they are good cars.

I love mine.

good luck to you.

C230 Sport Coup

Man, I need to do a full write up once and for all and link to it.
Issues for 2002 coupes. FYI, you have an M111 engine, only year for the coupe in the US.
1. Dreaded Valeo radiator, see last page of stickies Tech service bulletins in this forum.
2. Leaky cam sensor. Use the search button. There is a service campaign for this, but it doesn't pay for the damage after the fact, so make sure there's no oil in the engine wiring harness, if it gets into the ECU, very bad. A small pigtail connector isolates the wiring and can prevent problems if caught in time. If you pull the white cover up in the front of the head, you will see if the pigtail is installed or not. If not its expensive to remove and replace the harness, though one guy here did it DIY, soaked the harness got the oil out and put it back, but was like 8 hours of labor.
3. Transmission electrical connector, same problem, you need to replace the orings from time to time to keep the oil from wicking to the tranny computer, known as a TCU.
Check installuniversity.com for a write up.

These are the biggies, if these are dealt with, you might be ok.
So far, I'm ok, apparently caught these issues in time.

Late in the life the M111 can blow a head gasket on the right rear of the head.
I've got some leakage, but so far no mayo on the oil cap.
There's a nice writeup for DIY here, something I'll be doing sometime down the road.

http://www.kokes.net/slk/Engine_head...ead_remove.htm

The bottom end seems to be very stout.
The tranny fluid needs to be changed every once in a while, and flush your radiator
with Xerex G05 and distilled water, and you will have few cooling system issues.
I just clocked past 166K miles and still have the original water pump, knock on wood.
200K kilometers seems high if the owner didn't stay on top of stuff you could find yourself with some real expensive
problems. My car runs like new, but I am very on top of my repairs.

Recently someone wrote a fix on the pano roof that involved just putting in some washers if the gear isn't stripped.