My story so far..

I always have a thing for European cars, be it MB, BMW, audi, Vw.. You name it.

But not until recently have I dwelled with arguable the two best known European car brand in the world. The MB, and the BMW. The high tax and the unreasonable prices had me waiting for a while. And I was torn between two decisions..

My first European car was the e46, black, 2002, 318i. It was a car I have always dreamt of, but never acquired. It was in pristine condition, flawless I might add. Along with it, came all the mods I always wanted. I retrofitted the projectors into the headlamp, had a black 19" breyton with polished lip, duck tail, mtech body kit, you name it. It was one dashing car. The only thing I hated from the exterior, was the colour. Metallic black. Don't get me wrong here, but I think solid black is much much better. And metallic black tends to look dirty on some angles.

Long story short, as much as I loved the car, malfunctions kept popping up. Either the speed sensor, the Abs sensor, the wtf wth I don't car sensor. There is always some minor ninggles that I need to address every now and then.

Sure you can say a preowned car has always some drawbacks, but its a bit repetitive. I don't want my time wasted on maintaining the car.

And somehow, the final blow that got me off the e46 was the transmission. I kept having my engine revving at some point and it wouldn't change gear until I turn the AC off. Why? Beats me if I know. The Indies I visited and the stealership didn't and couldn't find out why either. So I didn't bother.

So I was on a quest for a new (preowned) ride..

I thought of getting another BMW, since my budget is also limited. Mb here of the same "class" is about 30% more expensive than the BMW counterpart. Hence the budget thing.

The w203 has always been in my heart (and my wife's as well). But the condition and price that we found was always intimidating. Its either too expensive, or too ugly and dirty.

I think the w203 is probably one of the most unique mb models ever produced. It has the distinguished headlamp, and the unmistakeable mb curves. The aura of mb is so thick that no matter how you modify it you can always tell the class. And we give it a kinda cute name for it too, the "peanut eye" mb.

So one day, I was visiting a friend's used car showroom and turns out he has a c240, 2001, silver - for sale. At first I was not really interested. I was aiming more for a c180 or c200. Why you might ask? Simple reasons, cheaper price, better fuel efficiency, and some said is cheaper to repair if anything goes wrong. But despite that, I took a look at it, and I was sold. The car was in mint condition, sure there are minor stone chips on the hood, but aside from that, its extremely clean.. The interior is bright gray, very clean also. The milage? Only 55k km.. Which translates to about 35k miles. And the price was also very close to what I was willing to spend.

So I thought, with just a little extra, I'm getting a better engine, sunroof, and all the goodies.. Why not?

I took the car to a trusted indie, and all checks out good. All I needed was some oil change, and a pulley/alternator check. Everything else is tip top.

So I haggled a little and made the payment.

Once I took it home, I instantly noticed several things different compared to the late BMW. And I instantly wanted several things to mod as well!

First of all, compared to my e46, the mb material is much lighter. I'm not saying which is better, but I feel I'm getting more steel from the e46 and feels more solid. The low gear power is also less responsive compared to my 2000cc binmer. But over 60km, the engine runs smooth as silk and powers up easy. I talked to a few friends and they confirmed that it is "a drawback for mb". Well I won't put it that way myself, I will just say its different. A few friends installed a soewhat plug and play electronic device that addresses the issue, but I couldn't be bothered. It felt fine with me.

I also noticed that the fuel consumption is very efficient, I get about 1liter for every 6-7km.. And Jakarta here is a very bad place for traffic. On my BMW, I get the same ratio, perhaps only slight better at times.

The next few days, and until today, is spent on maintenance and exterior changes. Already changed all the fluids, including engine oil, transmission oil, coolant.. The only thing I haven't changed is the breake fluid, but I think I don't need to anyway.

The exterior part now is very very very exciting.

I always liked rims, but alas, no more 19 or 18.. So I decided on 17.. And just decided on the amg rep yesterday.

I have also installed the motorized side mirror so I can fold it.. I installed the OEM bosch bix with 6000k bulbs, also installled hid on the fogs, at 6000k as well. Heavily tinted windows (safety reasons). Also updated my tail lights to the crystal facelifted version. And just today, I stickered my top panel with black glossy sticker so it kinda look like its panoramic... Hahahaha.. I find myself liking it. Oh I also changed my grille.

I also gave in to several member's suggestion, and ordered the amg body kit, with the duck tail that should come early next month.

Here she is right now..








And I couldn't be happier.. No errors so far and I hope it stays that way! Thanks for reading!

 

Nice update... I like the wheels, but have never been a fan of that style grille. Have you ever thought about keeping the 4-slat sport grille?

Btw... Where did you get the folding mirrors? I've always wanted a set

 

The grille eh? I guess not many people in this forum likes my style of grille. But I personally like it, perhaps I'm an oddball.

Regarding the folding mirrors,I got it off my indie accessories supplier for about 320usd.

I can help you buy them, but I'm not sure about the tax and the cost of sending them to you..

 

as long as you like it... thats what's most important!

folding mirrors: that will be incredible... you got PM

 

Replied the pm buddy.

Oh Im also planning to re wrap the interior with leather again..

 

thanks!

 

Looking good! We're 2001 brothers haha, can't wait to see the body kit on it!

 

Yo brother! Hehe..

I can't wait for the body kit to arrive as well!

 

Nce the day I changed my wheels something doesn't feel right when I drove around. So I decided to visit the wheel shop today and have them checked. Turns out there is a slight defect in one of the front rims that makes it slightly wobbly when turned.

They offered me a replacement, but there were no more 17" of the model I liked. So I upped to the 18” with Toto proxes4 tires 225/45.. Hopefully it will stay comfy.

 

Here's the 18.. Also I painted the calipers black..

 

I just installed these yesterday. They call them sill plates down here, not sure what its called by you guys..

They light up blue when the door is opened..

 

I'm gonna install my audios today.. The ones I have moved from my late BMW to this one.. Gonna change the head unit to a double din pioneer avh 4350 though.. Let's see how it goes.

 

Looks good.

 

Looking good

 

Thanks guys, installing the audio today!

 

Nice car, i love it. Every single thing u have done to the car makes it look like a beauty. Good job mate.

 

Thanks akber, can't wait for the kits.. And ducktail especially. Wonder if it will be nice to add a roof spoiler..

 

u getting the Amg or after market???? add the roof spoiler, it will enhance its beauty

 

The amg one! Hehe..

 

are u gonna self import it?? or buy it locally. Cuz i am taking my Amg kit with me all the way to my country from USA and its costing me 2 times the price i bought it for, just for shipping it internationally. Watch out for cheap fiber glass one's go for the real deal, will cost a hand and leg but its worth it.

 

Buy it locally.. Well my indie imports them for me actually.. They usually have them in stock but theyran out.. And these are definitely non fiberglass, plastic all the way. Moneyback guarantee. And I get to inspect them before they paint it.

 

So far so good.



Installing the power amp and woofer now..

 

All good now, enjoying it!

 

very nice!

does it have video input?

 

Thanks man, and yes it has video input via DVD or USb, haven't tried either of them yet though, will let the wife try it tomorrow.. Haha..