MBNEWBIE88

I've normally driven random Hondas and Pontiacs but now I'm considering moving up to some type of luxury vehicle. Upon searching my area I found this particular ad which I'm afraid is too good to be true.

http://hamilton.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...AdIdZ405998371

I'm bringing my friend to take a look at the vehicle, since its not safetied I'm a little concerned it's not road worthy.

Aside from that what has everyone's experience been with such a vehicle?

maintenance, parts, reliability?

Thank you.

dgghostkilla

It's not too bad of a price. Def take it for a test drive and really push it to see if you hear any noises, vibrations, etc. anything out of place.

As far as maintanance well just for the name
Brand expect to pay a little more. At the end of the day it's all about what makes you happy. Maintanance on my car is expensive so I'm little by little learning to do basic maintenance on my own.

Glyn M Ruck

Wrong forum. Moving to W202.

MBNEWBIE88

my bad Glyn M Ruck,

to dgghostkilla: I understand parts are a bit more but considering the quality of the vehicle and the price I think it's a good trade off. My worry is that the seller doesn't want to bother with a big repair right around the corner so he's looking to sell it quick, hence the priced to sell headline.

my mechanic buddy is coming with me to look at it, what should I tell him to look for when he gives the car a once over?

aquinob

Couple of things that would concern me. For starters there is the rust. Bad enough what you see on the bottoms of the fenders but what about the floorboards, exhaust and the spring perches. Rust is basically car cancer, like in humans and animals, its very hard to cure. Lots of "surgery" needed to cut it out and replace and paint. Makes a cheap car, not so cheap.

And the other thing that I don't care to see is any car with lots of "mods" on it. Big wheels and skinny tires, monster speakers in the trunk, funky exhausts and tricked out lighting and I want to run fast in the opposite direction. I'm no youngster and when I see stuff like this, I want no part of it (probably like lots of folks over 30 something I imagine). Maybe they cared about routine maintenance as much as making it look cool, but maybe not. I see wheels and a big speaker in the trunk but did the previous owner have the tranny fluid changed, brake fluid changed (every 2 years is recommended) and keep up with the normal maintenance in general? Be wary on cars like this.

These cars are not terrible for maintenance as long as you can do most or all of it yourself. Parts can be expensive, but there is always ebay. The trick is finding a a car with fairly low mileage and preferably one from a warmer climate. Might be tough up in Canada. Older w202's from around 97 to 2000 are good solid rides and less complicated then the 203's, but still have lots of computer controlled funkyness to make life interesting. Start reading back a few months on previous posts to get a feel for what owning one is like.

Things to look for: CEL on, ac switches vent outputs when driving (leaky bellows), transmission shifting, all windows opening and closing, door locks and trunk lock working, rust in spring perches, leaks under the car, engine idles and runs smooth. Check for recent and routine service records, new parts.

MBNEWBIE88

at aquinob

Thank you for your detailed reply. I spoke with a friend of mine who worked at a Mercedez dealership as a mechanic and he gave me some good pointers that sound similar to yours.

For starters:
-He told me the head gasket usually goes on these cars and are a common issue.
-internal and external oil leaking. He wants me to check the catch pan to see if oil is collecting, also check the anti-freeze reservoir for oil seeping in.
-anything electronic, that includes whether the autonomic transmission is slow, to ensure the wiring harness (i think) is in good condition.

He even commented on the sound system, he thinks its some guy selling his sons car and just wants it gone but ill figure the situation when I test drive it. Luckily my buddy is coming along to take a look so I think I'm in good hands.

I'll keep you guys updated, in the mean time could anyone point me in the direction of logs and forums about ppl owning one of these in the past?

aquinob

That car is a 2000, the last year of the w202, so the wiring harness issue is several years earlier as is the head gasket. I think most of the tranny problems with the 5 speed were in the first year or two it was introduced, again this one is a bit later. And the KM converts out to about 83K miles, quite low for a 12 year old car. And if the price is Canadian dollars, that is still really cheap for a benz. But the three things I would look closest at are, Rust, rust and rust. If it's just showing up on the bottom of the fenders and doors, there could be lots more hidden. Also, check the upholstery, it may be MBtex and not leather, that is their version of vinyl.

MBNEWBIE88

How detrimental to the safety and health of a vehicle is rust? So rust is not just a cosmetic issue? If there is more rust what could be done to fix it?

aquinob

From what I read, the critical area for rust on these cars are the spring perches, the places in the body structure that the tops of the springs sit in. If they rust out, then the suspension is compromised. Fixing rust is a matter of cutting it out and welding in new metal. Not cheap and not pretty. And MB's do have a history of having problems with rust. Maybe they just don't use as much salt on the roads in Germany as in the US and Canada, I don't know. I think American cars probably do a better job fighting rust in this instance since we had so many problems with it in the 70's and 80's.

The other way to look at it is strictly in terms of money and value. The car is probably worth somewhere between 3 and 4 grand in good shape (no rust). So you get it for 2500 and have to put in 1 or 2 grand worth of body work to fix the rust and now you may have more in the car that its worth, not good. But say you buy the car and manage to drive it 20 or 30K miles and then it's a complete rust bucket and you dump it. You probably got your moneys worth out of it. It really depends on what you want out of a car and why you want an older MB specifically. My guess is that it isn't to drive a rust bucket of a car.

MBNEWBIE88

I don't really want a rust bucket. I've been looking at this vehicle mainly for its cost and the fact that it's a luxury vehicle