cost to own 1998 C280
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Joined: Jun 2013
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1998 C280
cost to own 1998 C280
Hello all.
We bought a 1998 C280 Sport from the third owner five years ago, with a low 25,000 miles on it. The mileage was authenticated by repair receipts and by meeting two of the three previous owners. The last guy had bought the car from the local BMW dealership which somehow (ahem, they knew) failed to tell the buyer that there was oil in the coolant. poor kid dropped $4500 getting that fixed. The current mileage is about 76,000; the wife drives less than 9,000 miles per year on this 20 miles by 30 miles island.
I just summed up the repair costs over that time. I do almost all my own work, and the car has cost $1081/year to maintain. This includes oil, filter, brake pads and tires, plus the usual drag link, water pump, A/C evaporator temp sensor, etc. Big ticket item was a trans conductor plate and one solenoid, not an unheard of item in these cars. It also includes a $500 deductible for body damage sustained at the local Sam's Club where we went for a set of tires. Those b*stards never owned up; maybe my insurance company caught up to them, I dunno. But one "accident" over 5 years ain't bad.
This is our second '98 C280, the last one was totaled at 158,000 miles. I made a similar cost spreadsheet and posted to the list, maybe you can find it under my username. The costs for that car, with rather higher mileage, were pretty close, so it appears that repair costs may level off after some time.
Just thought you oughta know...
We bought a 1998 C280 Sport from the third owner five years ago, with a low 25,000 miles on it. The mileage was authenticated by repair receipts and by meeting two of the three previous owners. The last guy had bought the car from the local BMW dealership which somehow (ahem, they knew) failed to tell the buyer that there was oil in the coolant. poor kid dropped $4500 getting that fixed. The current mileage is about 76,000; the wife drives less than 9,000 miles per year on this 20 miles by 30 miles island.
I just summed up the repair costs over that time. I do almost all my own work, and the car has cost $1081/year to maintain. This includes oil, filter, brake pads and tires, plus the usual drag link, water pump, A/C evaporator temp sensor, etc. Big ticket item was a trans conductor plate and one solenoid, not an unheard of item in these cars. It also includes a $500 deductible for body damage sustained at the local Sam's Club where we went for a set of tires. Those b*stards never owned up; maybe my insurance company caught up to them, I dunno. But one "accident" over 5 years ain't bad.
This is our second '98 C280, the last one was totaled at 158,000 miles. I made a similar cost spreadsheet and posted to the list, maybe you can find it under my username. The costs for that car, with rather higher mileage, were pretty close, so it appears that repair costs may level off after some time.
Just thought you oughta know...
Last edited by cgshawaii; Mar 11, 2018 at 09:21 PM.
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 25
Likes: 1
From: Eureka Springs
2017 S550 A217,2006 SL500,2002 CLK430
I have enjoyed finding low mile W202 for the past ten years. December of 2016 an ad for a 1999 C280 sport in silver posted. The eye catcher was 18,000 miles and one owner. I paid $5800 sight unseen from large dealership in Houston Texas and what a find. I was driving a 17 year old automobile and watched it roll over to 20,000 miles. As for cost it needed tires, oil change and a/c repair. A/C cost was high due to the fact I took it to a dealership! Still have the bad taste in my mouth from trusting them. I love the C280 as it’s a wonderful example of the Mercedes Benz era when I found out why people buy them. I have two for sale and one replaced MAF, battery and the other one around $3200 for normal recommend work as i have owned it for six years. Great automobiles to drive is my thought on the W202
