chriswhitsett

The other day I was driving to school when all of a sudden my car felt like it
went into neutral. It would go in reverse, but none of the drive gears would
work. I had it towed to a mechanic where he told me it needs a new
transmission, and will cost $2500 for a rebuilt one. My car is 94 C280 with
96000 miles on it. In the year and 30,000 miles that I have owned it I have
had to replace the water pump, strut bars, brakes, control arms, rear bushings, winshield
wiper motor, o2 sensor, wiring harness and the battery. needless to say, I
am sending this car out to pasture. does anyone have any suggestions
or tips on my tranny? And has anyone else had as bad luck with these cars
as I have? I am about to just settle and buy a (eecchh) lexus. I would
appreciate any feedback thank you

chris whitsett

DougandhisC280

Are you sure about the amount of miles on the car? Most of that stuff should make it past 150,000 miles. Shop around a little more for a transmission rebuild. There are much better prices out there. MR. Transmission and Aamco usually charge around 1500 dollars for the rebuild. I know your mad at your car. I had a 190E that always seemed to have problems. Lexus has enough problems of their own, so I wouldn't go that route. Who knows how the original owner treated it either. Don't give up yet, not too much else can go wrong. (knock on wood)

chriswhitsett

yeah, I bought the car from a man who seemed responsible, but then found out it was his sons car, which he had bought new for him when he turned 15!! That would explain the ragged factor of my car. Does anyone know if other benz transmissions fit my car? like an E320 tranny? Also one alternative I was thinking of was keeping my car, getting it fixed, and buying one of those online warranties, I found one which would cover my cars engine, transmission, steering, and electrical for two years/24,000 miles for $1900 considering my luck so far, that sounds like a wise investment to me. tell me what you think.

DougandhisC280

After you rebuild the transmission, do you really think you will have $1900 worth of repairs in the next 2 years?

kerr4ng

can u give me the website that sells that warranty pls??? thanks

chriswhitsett

considering that I have had $5000 worth of repairs on the car in the year
I have owned it, and I have no choice but to keep it until I am not upside
down on what I can sell it for and what I owe....... I think paying $1900
now isn't such a bad idea. I don't have the website name right now, I think
it was warranty brokers or something like that. There are tons of them though, search for auto warranty on google and several will come up.
some don't do higher mileage cars though. Does anyone know if a 1994 E320
tranny will fit my 1994 C280? If anyone knows I would like to know. thanks.

kerr4ng

thanks for the info. im not sure abt the e320 tranny fitting into ur car, cos it's a totally different car, u know different engine size etc, but then i could be wrong. try posting in the e320 forum, maybe some1 knows the answer. i know how u feel, i have a 96 c280 which i bought used 2 years ago, and the repair bills have been a real pain. hope everthing turns out well for u.

JasonH

Sorry to hear about the trouble you are having... that really sucks!

Be very cautious of after-market warranty companies, as I have heard many nightmare stories of problems with claims getting paid. Read all the fine print, and be sure to check with the BBB prior to sending any money.

Good luck,
Jason

BrabusCClass

That sucks. I dont think the E class tranny will fit on your car. Maybe you can find a wrecked C280 at the salvage yard and use the tranny from that. I would think that would be the best alternative. Also, even if the E class tranny does fit why would you want it? Im pretty sure the gearing is very similar and there isnt a big difference.

DougandhisC280

If it were my guess, which it is, I would think that the E320 Transmission would fit. They are virtually identical engines. The only difference that I know of is the displacement...2.8 vs. 3.2. I would find it hard to believe that Mercedes would make two different transmissions for virtually the same engine.

chriswhitsett

ok, Here is what I found out..... an E320 transmission won't fit, but a 190E tranny will..... if anybody knows where I could find one of those in good shape, I would appreciate the information.

thanks

DougandhisC280

Where do you live? I could probably help more if I knew. Another thing, transmissions don't last forever, if you get a used one, who knows how long it will last. If I were you, I would just try to get it overhauled. It would save you money in the end. The newest 190E transmission is going to already be at least nine years old with over 100,000 miles or so. I am asking where you live because I totalled my 190E 2.6 1,200 miles after having the transmission rebuilt on it. I can still probably track down the car but shipping will be outrageous I'm sure. Let me know. ~Doug

chriswhitsett

hey doug, I live in Nashville, TN. How far is that from where you are in alabama? I may be able to come pick it up. E-mail me at infinitig20clw@aol.com thanks.

DougandhisC280

I go to school at Auburn University. (40 mile east of Montgomery) The car is in Birmingham. (where my parents live) Let me see if I can track the car down. If I can't, there is a Mercedes/BMW salvage yard in town. He has very reasonable prices and I'm sure he would have a transmission. Do you know if it has to be a 2.2, 2.3, 2.5 Turbo, 2.6, or 2.3-16? There were many different engines for the 190's. I don't know if they all have the same engine. I'll check on C-Class transmissions too if you would like. I would email you but whenever I use Outlook, it doesn't seem to work???

chriswhitsett

Thanks for your help doug, Do you have an email address I could contact you at? I could give you some other ways to reach me if you do. I will talk to my mechanic tomorrow and find out what 190 transmissions fit. I know where exactly Auburn is, I know some people that go to school there, so the trip would be no problem if you were able to find the transmission. Thanks again for the help.

David C Klasse

Not sure why you think a 201 trans will fit into a 202 chassis, because it won't without extensive modifications.

Stick with 202 722.4s. Best of luck

C280 Jr.

SOrry to hear that, I bouth my benz about six months ago, and when i bought it i was so happy, but right now i have spent well over $1,500 dollars to fix the car, and it is begining to agitate me, cause i feel i could have been better off buying a $5,000 98 honda civic and have no problems what-so-ever!!

Elvir

tpliquid

u can do a C43 tranny upgrade but u have to swap out all the computers and stuff lots of work