mtnman82

Hi all. I'm new here and looking at taking the plunge into Mercedes ownership. Our in-laws are selling an '03 C230 kompressor 4-door, sport package (? - it has the 17' wheels), automatic, 40K miles. They'll give it to us at low kbb. We're looking for a reliable daily driver. Are there any problems I should know/think about before I do this? I like the car, but the wife's concerned about expenses and was thinking more along the lines of a Honda/Toyota/Nissan. Pro's/Con's? Advice? Opinions?

I've also been offered an extended warranty through the MB dealership, but it's not a MB warranty. ~$3K for an additional 4 years, up to 100K miles. $100 deductible, but of course most of the common wear/tear items (door mechanisms, exhaust system, etc.) aren't covered, as well as the routine wear/tear items (rotors, brakes, etc.). I'm thinking no on this (mainly because MB are supposed to be reliable cars).

Thanks in advance!

WyattEarp

Unless you are willing to part with some heavy cash when something goes wrong with the car I would stay away from a benz. I have two of them one a 2002 c230 coupe and the other a new 2006. I love bot hcars but just last week the AC stopped working on the coupe and the check engine light came on. The car has 70K miles on it and has been maintained and cared for. To make a story short the repair bill came to 1600 for replacement of a wire harness which was creating the faulty check engine light and burning fuses and causing other problems. The AC required an evaporator sensor and I have to take it back because now only one side is mildly cold the other side blows hot air.

If your wife wants to save money let me save you the grief now stay away from a Benz until you can afford to throw cash after that which you fancy. Bottom Line if saving money is your goal buy a used toyota between 15 and 30K miles. If you can afford to, buy something you can pay cash for.

If you do decide to get the Benz get as much extended warranty as you can buy. There are some repairs on a Benz (i.e. removing and replacing the evaporator exchange unit) that will set you back 3 to 4K at the dealer, if you take it to an outside mechanic you may not get a whole car back.

Ru4Rl

my decision would rest on how much of a discount are they offering? if you want long term reliability, i'd say toyota. if you want some performance and fun in your daily driver, get the mb, esp if the price is right. you should get remainder of warranty (till 2007 depending when they bought it) as well as maint till 50 thousand miles. if you decide against it after driving for a bit and you got a good deal, sell it and get the toyota.

mig888

reliablility in my '03 hasn't terribly been an issue? i STILL believe '03s were the good years. .

flip

slammer111

MY 2003 here (coupe though). Only problem was a cracked cup holder button and a leaking transmission gasket, both fixed under warranty.

2002 had a lot of glitches that appear to be corrected in 2003. Especially the ones involving cooked wires.

WyattEarp

You may be right slammer, however under warranty I've also had the transmission (manual) replaced and the supercharger. The O2 sensor has been replaced three times or so. Maybe they fixed everything in 03 they got wrong in 02 but the probability of that is highly unlikely.

Brunelleschi

Mine isn't a 230K, but as an 03 I have never had a mechanical problem with it.

Turbo2

I would never buy a car from in-laws, if something wrong goes wrong with the car, it could put both you and them in an awkard position.

Plus, as others said, if you don't have a ton of money to dump on repairs, go with a Japanese-brand.

03see2thirtyk

My 03 ss komp has not given me any problems at all. It's an awesome daily driver. My opinion, you can not go wrong with the extended warranty.

HoustonC230

My '03 (C230k) hasn't given me any major problem. The biggest was having the coil packs replaced - which was done under warranty.

It's getting close to the end of the year, the dealer is going to really want to move inventory. You'll have some decent leverage here, try and get the warranty thrown in for free (or discount, etc). If you pay $3k for the warranty, I'd say you've got about an 80% chance of getting your money's worth - because as others have mentioned, they rape you on repairs at the stealership.