cali108

Newbee here! I found a C230 Coupe 135,000 miles 6sp Manual,

I'm going to take a look at the car tommrow, Owner says the engine light is on and needs about $200 worth of work, lol whatever that means. Anyways what should I look for? what questions shoud I ask.

price $4,000

Thanks...

sammydragon3

i wouldnt buy a car from someone who has check engine light and doesnt fix it....says alot about the seller didnt take care of it

ask about transmission services ask for receipts of maintenance and repairs...if the trans was never serviced then run for the valley

2002 is a hit and miss on reliablity

cali108

ok, good advice, also owner is out of town and his friend has title and showing me the car...

What are the good years? 05 06? Definitly want a manual.. i dont care how many doors it has, it could be anything 2d 4d conv

sammydragon3

2005 is a good year...they worked out most of the problems

2006 and up have this balance shaft problem

would this b ur first mercedes?

cali108

well yes acually, my parents always had them back in 80's 90's but I'm coming from mostly a nissan backround z's 240s etc

sammydragon3

nice...u just gotta be careful with cars over 100k ...

03-05 have timing chain problems that skip time and destory valves..costs about 500-700 to get a new chain and tensioner which saves about 4k in repairs

02 has problems with the radiator causing the trans failure. common head gasket leaking

C230 Sport Coup

That's a good price. Find out what's wrong with it.
It has the sport package which is cool.
Anything that's causing a CEL is likely to cost more than
200. Read the codes and post 'em.
Sammy, stop giving this guy BS advise.

"02 has problems with the radiator causing the trans failure"
uh, he has a MANUAL transmission.
No issues with trans failure since the manual DOESN'T USE the trans cooler in the radiator.
Service is only an oil change.
Every village has an idiot. Sammy is ours.

02 is a good year if properly maintained.
Stronger engine 2.3L vs. 1.8L.

I will agree that if he's selling it with a CEL, that yeah, he's probably not taking care of it. BUT I would find out what codes are.
There's a common issue with oil wicking into the engine harness and it's a lot more than $200.

Capn

Definitely get it checked for like $90 at an independent MBZ shop. The check engine could be anything.

cali108

WDBRN47J92A314854

OK I took a look at it today. Still on the fence. seemed to drive well, shifts smoothly. little rough idle at start up but that could be because it has not been started in a few weeks. seemed to smooth out after 30 seconds.

VIN # posted at top.

This car was definitely involved in an accident. Owner says codes are flashing since accident. He said sometimes there are cods malfuntions or erorrs. My experience there were 2 malfunctions on the first startup then on 2nd start up there was only 1. Lots of little things wrong with the car like hood doesn't open, prop rods are broken; very minor clear coat peeling and a little clunk in front going over big bumps.

MBfinatic

Must have been a bad accident or they would have fixed that when it got hit. Maybe they cant figure out how to fix it or cant afford it.

cali108

Thats what I was thinking.. Because why would you not fix the hood shocks.. they werent even connected, and were broken in half! must of been in the accident..

looks like mess..

but a good price and seems to run well,

I googled he vin and only came up with a local dealer that sold it a month ago! very strange with 20,000 less miles.. Man I need help with this decision! theres a private shop here I will call them tomorrow. plus he has no INS on the car dosent want it driven far. the owner has already moved to vegas, I'm dealing with a roomate or something that really dosent know anything.

How do yo uknow it has the sport package? it loooks like a base car no sunroof leather or power seats,

Also the mpg display said 15.9mpg I have no idea how that is calculaed, maybe he let it idle in his driveway or barly drove it recently

SeaCoupe

Sammy dragon, please shut the F$ck up. You don't have a clue about cars, and your advice is for ****.

I'm not liking what I'm hearing. You can't deal directly with the owner, you have a CEL, who knows what accident damage. This is a huge no go to me.

Ed

MBfinatic

Lol bluntly said.

cali108

ok I wont even bother with it then. save my time and $

Thanks for all the advice...

C230 Sport Coup

You can get a nicely cared for one with less miles for around 6K.
Really, that would be worth it and even if you financed, that would be what, another 50 bucks a month? At 135K it will need a lot of maint. to go the distance. I'm guessing they don't have any receipts? With no repair history and it being salvaged, you have no idea where to start if
it has problems.

See, like though I have 194K on mine, I know the history, and can assume what it's not, since I know when things were replaced. At around 120K I dug in and rebuilt the alternator, new belts, new supercharger, fuel filter, flushed the (AT) trans, diff oil, exhaust gasket, battery, flushed the radiator (Every 50K miles) and so since then it's been reliable.

Since then I've replaced the fuel filter, flushed the rad again, flushed brake fluid, many oil changes of course, and flushed the trans again (AT needs to be flushed every 40-60K miles), and replaced spark plugs, but nothing major has happened. I keep a spreadsheet and perform all services on time which makes it a reliable car. I do most of my own work.

The one thing that's never failed that's due is the water pump. Need to get one
at some point, and replace it before it fails.

I know it has the sport package since the door handles match the color of the car, + the 17" wheels which were both part of a package called the C7 options package. The other bits are an upgraded steering wheel with 'nubs' that stand out, a leather shift knob, exhaust resonator delete, and
different running boards.

Really, pass on this one, but don't give up.
There are some things to look for, and if you decide to keep looking, we can guide you a bit.

cali108

thanks, I really appreciate that

sammydragon3

lol seems u dont like what im saying

c230sport i could of swore u posting before u have a small head gasket leak and u have to top off the coolant

buying a 13 year old isnt a big risk?

tommy

Oy.

Sounds like the OP has dropped this from contention - I know I wouldn't want to inheirit someone else's headaches like this car. Does make me laugh at the cloth I used to have as well, still have no idea what MB was thinking.

C230 Sport Coup

Yes, I have a small coolant leak at the #4 cylinder which is common with this series engines M104 (leaks at #6) and M111.
I just put coolant in every once in a while. I have 194K miles.
I don't think it's the age of the car in terms of years. It's mileage and how it's been cared for.
I may very well buy another 2002 coupe, and transfer some parts over. But one that's salvaged with no history, at 135K is going to need a lot of work and $$$. But then I'm just repeating what I already said Sammy so.....
Whats your point? 13 years old? Is it not still 2012? I'm coming up on year 11, true. Not 13.
Is that how old you are?

By the time the head finally goes hopefully it will be a few years, 2002 coupes will be at pick and pull and I'll just grab a whole drivetrain with less miles for like $300 and slap it in. Ha, we'll see.
It's probably cheaper to just replace the whole engine than rebuild the top end.

It would be nice to find one with about 60K miles. Blue of course.

jetta02awp

Just my $.02 I paid $4900 for my coupe with 66k back in July. 6 speed as well. Which I might add was kbb in fair condition but the car is in good condition and I got two sets of wheels and tires.

Javvy

now jetta02awp that is a steal............I paid $6350 for a 86K miles well cared for car in good condition, with complete history of the car. It belonged to one of the forum members........I loved these coupes ever since I saw them and then to get one with 6MT it is a real treat.........am loving the drive.......some issues I will tackel as they come on........C230SportCoup...will need your guidance as you seam to have more experience with owning these beauties......

javvy

jc1kz

Any car that has been in an accident and not repaired correctly is a BAD deal, and you mentioned it was sold and there seems to be a mileage discrepency? Either the cluster was replaced or the owner dogged the car hence the accident (who puts 20K in a couple of months? I drive Dallas all over and only put 1000 to 1200 a month on my MB) I WOULD PERSONALLY WALK AWAY.....$4000.00 is a good deal for a decent car NOT a mis-repaired wreck !!!

C230 Sport Coup

Thats what I'm talkin' about.

cali108

Thanks for everyone's help. I walked away from it, and I will find something much better...

shadykilla

Dude, you'll be fine too. I remember when I was looking for a car. And I started looking at c230's 6spd. I was finding them pretty good. I found about 2 or 3 that were same year as the one I currently have. And a couple coupes as well. Dont stress it. Search all the sites and even on here there are a few really good priced cars for sale. And forum people USUALLY look out for each other.