Captain Slow

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this board, and did some searching but still don't feel I got enough info so that's why I'm asking. I have an opportunity to pick up a mint 05 c230 kompressor sport sedan with 11,000 miles on it for a very good price. I've always liked the way these cars look, even if a bit underpowered. So my questions are: 1. How reliable of a car is this? 2.I drove it, and it's slow. What can I do to make it driveable? 3. Would modifying it with, say an Upsolute chip ruin any reliabilty? 4. Overall, is the car worth the trouble?

Thanks again!

MJ50

if it's slow for u, then get c320 or c350...

C230 Sport Coup

For little more than the price of a used 2005 C230 you could get a C32.
As far reliability, there's been some issues with these engines.
Search on $12 hose, leakking cam sensor, and head replacement.
A number of people have had issues with this particular engine.

But the hose thing can be fixed for free, the cam sensor isn't likely to be leaking on a car with 10K miles, and there's a simple fix to prevent that,
with the addition of a small in between cable, and as far as the people who ended up having the head replaced, you'll have to read the thread.

Kristen

Stay away.

1. These cars aren't reliable enough, the M271 is turning out to be a dud of an engine.

2. There are no reasonable priced mods for the M271 that make it drivable. You'll get 10-20hp for $2-4K, not a wise investment considering what $2-4K extra buys in the used car market.

3. Any ECU tune for the M271 has minimal gains. MB maxxed out this engine and put ECU nannies inside to prevent easy big gains.

If I had it to do over again, I'd be in an Audi.

tozfeekum

+1

ChuckinTucson

I bought one about a month ago with 28,000 miles on it. I replaced the tires Yokohama S-drives, which I'm very happy with. It's consistently getting over 30 mpg on the freeway, with decent city mileage. It's got plenty of power when merging onto the freeway. I took it to the dealer the other day for some minor issues and was told there was outstanding recall on something called the Jvent(?). All was done at no cost with a free loaner thrown in for good measure.

If I had to do it over again, I'd still get it. No buyer remorse here.

polarbexar

I wish we could still get the M271!!! I've got nearly 70K miles with no problems on my 2005 and great fuel economy. I've had less problems than my 2001 Jetta. Come on, you know. coilpacks, relays, etc...
If you want speed then get an AMG, you want to mod stay with VW.

dmatre

I'm at 96k miles now, and except for the leaking cam sensors, I haven't had a bit of problem with it. I'm averaging 29.7 mpg over the past 3500 miles or so. With Premium at $3.70 here, I'm not complaining about the slow (8 sec to 60) acceleration. (Hell, in the late '70's TransAms & Vettes were over 10 seconds to 60)

JonathanMax

I wouldn't complain about your $3.70 a gallon.

JonathanMax

I think the c230 is definitely worth it. Any alternatives you were looking at?

Captain Slow

Thanks everyone, I wasn't particularly looking for any car, as my R32 is 4 months old but I'm kind of getting bored with it so this came into the dealer I work at, and the price is right ($18k) so that's why I'm asking. It definetly is a nice looking car. The dillema I have is that the R32 is better at being a car-- it goes faster, stops better and turns better. But, the C looks beautiful and I like the fit and finish of the interior. But that's where it ends. I almost feel like I'm buying the price, not the car. Again, thanks again for everyone's help.

Shake

I would stick with your R32 if I was you. The C230 is an awsome car and I love it but it has no power. It's not worth modding for performance in my opinion because you'd have to put in significant money to get minimal gains. They do look great and mine has been reliable so far.

DmitryS500

Get a stick, look for one and get it. They're rare, but you'll enjoy the car muchmore. And if I were you I'd look for coupe but that's just me (I hate 4 doors, not a family person).
Anyway, I bought mine with 17K, now I got 39K
Only problem I had was a leaking transmission. Not really transmission but one seal was cracked and it was replaced for free under warranty.
And don't worry about the $12 hose. It is on recall already. Go to any Mercedes dealer and they'll do it for free. I got mine done during last service.
But dude, seriously, R32 is a great car. I wouldn't sell it. How many were they made? It is trully a unique car

dmatre

You don't say how old you are, but from some of your comments, I'm assuming that you're fairly young (pre-children).

If that's the case, I'd recommend to keep the VW, enjoy the fun of driving, and when you get older and need a great vehicle to transport the crumb-crunchers around (and it's not as slow as you make it sound), stop back by the Benz dealer.

Captain Slow

Thanks for the responses everyone! I ended up passing on the deal. I already have the R32 for another 1.5 yrs (lease), so I figured I'd just enjoy it now that I can (no kids) and worry about it later.

Thanks again!
Danny

acr2001

OK, I could easily be wrong here...

But I think you guys are a bit spoiled. My C240 which has the least power is 168 HP.
If you look at current offerings from Nissan for example, the Altima is 170 HP.

I really don't consider a 168 HP C240 to be bad, and I'm young.
When I stomp on the gas I get a decent amount of power.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's a fast car!! But really, its fine!


...the Honda Civic is only 140 HP if that makes you feel better.

dmatre

. . . and my wife's Salad Shooter has more torque!

Captain Slow

In a strange turn of events, my best friend saw the car and had to have it. So, I guess I will be hanging arround to search for info if/when his car gives him crap. First on the list is, how does one go about hooking up an i-pod in this car? Is there something I can get thru the dealer?

Thanks again,
Danny

acr2001

Yes there are two choices:

- ipod integration kit - its somewhere around 400 bucks from the dealer plus installation - you can do a search to learn more about it. You can get it a lot cheaper on ebay - around 250

- Aux cable - you can buy the aux cable which gives you an input jack in the glove box which you can plug anything with an audio output into I think this is around 50 bucks from the dealer if I remember correctly. Again, do a search.