jimsaco

Well today I went and gave the 1996 C220 I mentioned earlier a hard look over and pretty hard test drive.

Now, I have Never driven a Mercedes of any type before. In general I was pleased... I didn't notice any major faults. Everything seemed to be working fine. I'm still having it checked out on Thursday by a guy here in my (small) town who only services M-B, BMW and Audi.

However, I now have a couple questions.

1. When I stepped on the gas, the car seemed to hesitate for a moment on acceleration from a dead stop... but then it would go pretty decently (for a 4 cyl engine in a 3150 lb car anyway). Is this typical of people's experience? Or is this a flaw, indicating problem in fuel system, need for new fuel filter etc.

2. The ride seemed a bit harsh... not as smooth as I was expecting. It definitely was not as smooth riding or handling as the Audi A6. Is this also typical? Or does it indicate need for alignment, new tires etc? Which is fine, rather know up front... might help in bargaining.

3. There is no service record. Should I assume that nothing (other than periodic oil changes maybe) has been done? This is (per CARFAX) a one-owner, leased car, now with 76,000 miles. Were 72-month leases done in 1996? And if nothing has been done other than the oil, should I tell the mechanic to pay special attention to certain potential trouble spots?

4. I noted in one of the posts that many of the people on this site do at least some of their own work on their cars. I am willing to do this, as well; I am relatively handy and a quick learner. Are there resources out there that would help me learn (books, CD-ROMSs etc). Also some sense of required tools and such would help.


Apologies for the length of the post but would be grateful for whatever counsel could be provided.

Cheers,
Jim

Rincewind

Mercedes throttle acceleration has slight delay. I think its made like that so you dont jump out upon acceleration. You get used to it eventually though. I heard you can get rid of it entirely by reprogramming the cars cpu or with some addon chip.

Is the car lowered and riding on 17-18inch rims? if so, that might be the reason why you are getting a harsh ride. the stock setup should feel very smooth. you should be getting better handling and less body roll with a lowered car and bigger rims tho.

You can find service records for your car by providing proof of ownership and your cars VIN number. contact 1800formercedes and ask for service history. you might get referred to the actual shop who serviced the car before you find the exact infos.

most service history after 50k is done by independant shops or mechanics, not the dealer (its expensive). so i wouldnt be surprised if you cant find any service records after 50k miles (the end of warranty for these cars)

if you can pay a little bit more I'd get a 98-00 W202. I know from reading numerous posts that there are a few issues with the headgasket, wiring harness (very expensive items btw) with the 94-97 W202. problems with these components occur at around 75-100k miles too, so you'd be paying alot of cash for those, if the previous owner didnt have it fixed. those issues have been fixed in the 98-00 w202. 98-00 w202s have an upgraded exterior too

DougandhisC280

I don't think the C220 has the issues with the head gasket. It should definately not feel rough. It should feel like your gliding on a cloud. I would imagine the shocks are worn out or maybe a bent suspension component. My car has no hesitation when accelerating. The pedal feels stiff when you push it down if that's what you mean but as far as an actual engine hesitation there is none. If there's any car out there that can take a beating from lack of fluid changes, it's a Mercedes. I've seen a 96 S320 go 40,000 miles without an oil change and still ran perfect. When they dropped the pan it was filled with nothing but sludge, so basically it was running without oil. There are CD's on ebay that you can get that show the breakdown of the car. I would recommend one of these. As biased as this may sound I would recommend the C280 over the C220. It runs smoother and will have less wear on the engine because it doesn't have to work as hard. If you are going for speed I would also recommend the C280. Both are great cars so I don't want to bash the C220. Oh as far as the maintenance goes, the way I figure it when buying a luxury car, if someone was able to afford to buy it, they can probably afford to maintain it.

Rincewind

i dont know if money is an issue for you in purchasing a mercedes, but doug is right by saying if you can afford a luxory car you should be able to afford the maintenance. these are nice cars, but when something goes bad... you can bet fixing it will cost more then a domestic.

if you want speed
get a 99-00 c230 (comes with factory supercharger)
or c280 from 98-00 (v6 version rather then inline 6, faster then previous c280)

there shouldnt be engine hesitation with a mercedes, but the throttle response intially is slightly slow a bit, wouldnt you agree with this doug? at least thats what I notice, coming from an import car as my previous vehicle.

ride quality in a benz should be vary smooth, not harsh!
unless your like half an inch off the ground with like 18-19 inch rims

funky102

Just recently purchase a 98 C230 and also had a couple of questions.

The shifter seems very flimsy or sloppy, it doesn't feel as solid as the one on my CLK. The sound when shifting from P to D, etc. doesn't sound too good either. The MB dealership said that this is normal, do you guys feel the same about your shifters?

Also, Service B is coming up in 800 miles. Do you guys do your own services or should I bring it to a shop. How much does it cost for this type of Service? What kind of oil does it use?

TIA

DougandhisC280

Look at you bashing the most powerful non AMG C Class ever produced. Here is the Horsepower and Torque ratings for each car. THe C220 that you are looking at getting produces 148 horsepower and 155 ft. lbs. of torque. The C280 of that year produces 195 horsepower and 199 Ft. lbs. of torque. The non supercharged C230 produces 147 horsepower and 162 ft. lbs. of torque. The 1998 through 2000 C230 Kompressor produces 185 horsepower and 200 ft. lbs. of torque. The 1998 through 2000 V6 produces 194 horsepower and 195 Ft. lbs. of torque. Mercedes didn't switch over to the V6 for performance reasons, it was done to cut costs because it was built on the same platform of the V8's and to enhance the ability to make more controlled crumple zones in the front fenders. It was actually the first time in Mercedes history for them to do something to cut on cost to make a car cheaper. It's really not that big of difference in power so it doesn't even really matter. I agree that there should be no hesitation. If you put your foot to the floor and click the switch under the pedal, the car should move to first gear instantly and fly.

DougandhisC280

Oh yeah, a couple other things that may sway your decision. The C220 comes with an 8 speaker sound system which a believe is made by Panasonic. The C220 comes with a 9 speaker sound system made by Bose. The other difference is the C220 comes with driver side 10 way power seat and the C280 comes with driver and passenger side 10 way power seats. Well with that said, I guess the only real difference is the Engine. Enjoy your new C220.

DougandhisC280

I'm sorry, I didn't even see the post from funky102. No, it should not feal sloppy, It should actually feel quite tight. I can almost guarantee your shift linkage bushings are shot. Here's the good news: The part costs about 2 dollars. Here's the bad news: It takes the dealer about two hours to change.

DougandhisC280

Actually they're 90 cents.

Rincewind

how come edmunds has a fairly big 0-60 tested time on the inline-6 c280 and the v6 c280... its like 1.5 sec diff

funky102

Thanks Doug. Yea, the sales advisor did mention those bushings and he said something like it would cost $100. But if you say its 2 hours for labor, then it should cost more than $100. Has anyone or would it be possible for me to change those bushings or would I be lacking certain tools? If its a tinkering thing, I should be able to do it as I enjoy doing those, given the chance of me severely breaking something is low.

DougandhisC280

I think it cost be about 100 dollars to get mine replaced. I have never done it myself, mainly because I don't have the time. I would crawl under the car and see if you can see the old ones. I'm sure it's just nuts and bolts. Can't be too hard.

DougandhisC280

I think they're off a little bit. The only reason I can think of is because the V6 starts in first gear. All you have to do on the inline six is press the kickdown switch and it starts in first gear too. Who knows. If you compare magazines and tests, none of them match the other. Every driver does it different. I think it lists my car as like 8.1 seconds or something like that. I have done it in the sixes easily. And I really don't have enough engine mods to make it that much quicker. Maybe it's the paint.

95c220

Couple of things-

1. The C220s are not prone to head gasket problems or wiring harness issues- those issues tend to plague the 94-95 M104 engines, the C280s.

2. The 722.4 transmission on the 95 W202s (And I think the 96 W202s) are significantly easier to service, as they do not have this alleged "lifetime fill" fluid that is in the 722.6 transmissions. Independent shops are much more willing and able to change the fluid and filter on these. Several techs have also told me that this transmission is one of the sturdier ones that Mercedes has made.


3. The Kompressor engines, while more fun to drive, to tend to be more prone to issues due to the supercharger-- additionally, there is the issue of how a prior owner treated a supercharged engine. The standard M111 engine in the the 95-96 C220s and the unsupercharged C230 is not a speed demon. It is sedate until you get to 40 mph. After that, it is a great highway engine. That being said, it is an extremely reliable engine, with a short double row timing chain that can easily exceed 100K miles before needing attention. Also, how many 4 cylinder 2.2 liter engines hold 6.6 quarts of oil? If the oil is changed religiously, this engine will be happy for a long while.

4. For a general discussion on reliable Mercedes, of which the C220/C230 seem to get some kudos from technicians, see:
Mercedes Reliability Discussion

5. The ride should be pretty smooth. I have a 95 C220 that has been lowered by about 1.5 inches and has sport springs, and it is butter smooth on the highway. A little less forgiving over bumps, though.

6. The head unit on my C220 is not a Panasonic. It is a unit that was made by Beckers (Model #1492). Speakers are decent, but do not handle bass well.

7. Things that may eventually need to get looked at or replaced, depending on the mileage. OVP (depends on where it was made and if it has already been replaced) Front Flex Disc (These tend to start to go bad north of 60K miles. Mine got replaced at 76K) A/C Blower Motor. (I've heard varying stats on how long these last) Brakes. If the rotors haven't been replaced, they might need to be replaced. They tend to last through 2 sets of pads, and Mercedes recommends against resurfacing them, although I have heard of people doing this anyway. (While you've got the rotors off, it might make sense to repack the front bearings.)

8. Shifter bushings. The value of an honest independent mechanic cannot be overstated when owning one of these cars. My mechanic quoted me 15-30 minutes (max) @ $50 an hour to change the bushings.

Parting thoughts? The C220 is not a sports car. You won't win stoplight battles. It's an extremely competent highway car, that if maintained well, will reward you for many miles to come.

Good Luck

DougandhisC280

Nice speech! The only reason why I was thinking Panasonic is because the M Class comes with Panasonic as the base system. I thought Mercedes stopped using Becker in 89'. Maybe not. Here's another problem with the supercharged Benz: INSURANCE. They seem to think if you have a supercharger you will run into a children's hospital who is taking care of the president's baby who is the savior of our entire existence.