scottonfire

And I thought my ex was high maintenance. I've owned the '05 C230 for 8 months. She had 80,000 miles, now she has 91K. Since then, here's what I've done and what it cost.

Services $1K
Vacuum Pump gaskets replaced $0
Camshaft solenoids replaced $100
Transmission mount replaced $30
Front rotors/brakes replaced $300 including labor
Oil Changed at 87.5K $50
Ambient temp. sensor replaced $15
Control arms replaced $350 including labor
Int. coolant therm. replaced $30
Back rotors/brakes replaced $130

Interior $140
Steering column manually locked $0
Power window cluster replaced $50
Int. door handles replaced $80
Leather gear shifter replaced $10
Steering wheel control buttons refurbished
Radio button repainted
Cup holder ring repainted

Exterior $100
Tail light bulbs replaced
Paint chips touched up $50
Fender liners replaced $50

Modifications $150
Auxiliary input installed $50
Clear side markers $30
Chrome door handle inserts $20
Chrome mirror strips $10
Chrome lock pins $20
Chrome lic. plate holders $20

Plus the $150 for a new key when the old one got run over (don't ask). All and all, I've spent around $1,500. Some things I could get away with not fixing, most needed it. If you like DIY, this is the car for you. Thankfully, nothing too serious has come up that I couldn't diagnose or afford.

LILBENZ230

Considering what all you have had done and done yourself, this is actually not bad.

C230 Sport Coup

Are you complaining or bragging? Thats a lot of stuff for 1500.
Brakes including install and rotors on the front for 300? Sweet!
Where did you get a key for 150?
I need one.

tommy

Though, compared to your ex, the car must seem like a bargain.

Don't worry - at that mileage, big repairs are just around the corner. I'd get a slush fund ready.

Khan28

That seems quite good. I mean there is a good chunk of things there that you didn't really have to do but even then they improved the look of the car and didn't really break the bank and a good amount of those items won't break again so at least many of those services/mods are one time costs.

BTW which control arms did you do and how do you know your control arms are crapping out? I have no clunks or anything coming from my car even on the nastiest of roads or when turning but I feel that my car feels a tad "abrupt" on certain pavement cracks. I anticipate some suspension work will need to be done in the near future so that slush fund I have will be coming handy soon.

neurodave

I'll be on the same boat as you soon. I have at the very least to do the control arms, the CMPS, an oil change, transmission service and new tires. It comes with the ownership of the car!

LILBENZ230

As long as he doesn't suffer a timing chain issue, he should be good! I had significantly more miles than him without any major repairs (though the timing chain was needed)

scottonfire

Symptoms are when you go over a speed bump, you get a SHLUNK! sound. How I knew for sure was, when I had a mobile mechanic do my front brakes/rotors, he pointed out that the bushings on the control arms needed replacing. I went to a mechanic in Atlanta who said for the cost of replacing the bushings (need a special machine to push them out), you may as well get new control arms instead (bushings come already in the control arms). He then showed me how the control arms on my car were loose (car was in the air, wheels off), by wiggling them and saying they should be tight. For $50 more, I figured why not since, what if it needed replacing 10K miles later. Afterwards, the steering was a lot tighter.