Hello forum,

I have a 2006 CLK 350 with 121k miles on it which I'd been meaning to sell for the past couple of months. Well, a week before I decided to list it i got CEL and using a cheap $30 obdII reader I pulled only the code P0016. I looked it up and have read pretty much every thread on this forum regarding the balance shaft gear issue on the M272.

Here's my dilemma. I wanted to sell the car, as I am trimming off the fat with my expenses and I have two kids and my coupe is our highest payment. I need to get something reasonable for the family. Although I'm still making payments, the car will be paid off in September, so I have some equity in it. It runs like a champ and there are no indications there's anything wrong mechanically with the car.

From the various threads I've read, most people encountering a p0016 (almost always accompanied with P0017) code have signs of engine trouble they can actually feel. I have had this code for a month now and have not noticed any change in the power delivery or engine note. Somebody wrote that usually if the engine was one of the "bad" engines with the defective gear, the issue would usually manifest well within 100k miles, and if the code is thrown way after that number as is my case, it might be something aside of the gear.

I need some advice. I couldn't in good conscience hide the fact I knew about this code and list the car and try to sell it if it is in fact a $6k repair. I mentioned the code in my craigslist ad. I've listed the car below blue book value. I'm not sure if I should take it to a dealer to have the codes read properly. I really can't afford the car right now, and I want to price it accordingly so someone else can go and get it inspected and do all that stuff. Do dealers charge for a code pull? I'm guessing they do. I also don't want to take a gamble and spend a couple hundred on replacing 4 crank position sensors if that isn't the issue. Here is my ad for the car: https://lasvegas.craigslist.org/cto/4309004990.html I'm wondering if I should list it for even less or bite the bullet and just take it to the dealer. I already got an offer from Carmax for $5700. Just wanted some of your thoughts. Thanks.

 

You usually need a 16 & 17 together but it is not encouraging. Are you sure 16 is the only code showing? Has the car ever had it's cam sensor magnets replaced?

P0016 Crankshaft Position - Camshaft Position Correlation
P0017 Crankshaft Position - Camshaft Position Correlation

 

bro, head to Frank's European on Decatur

http://www.yelp.com/biz/franks-europ...vice-las-vegas

they are indy shop that specialized in MB and stuff, not hurt to bring the car there and ask them about the pricing in person, they are nice to work with.

 

Hey man thanks a lot for the referal! I need to chat with the wife but I'll prbably take it there.

No I have not replaced the cam sensor magnets. I think I came across a post where you (Glyn) had mentioned doing that.
Also, I cleared the code and it came back again, only the 0016, by itself.

I kinda wanted to price the car low enough to be able to avoid doing this stuff myself since we're all strapped on time and cash. I really don't feel like it's the issue with the bad gear. The car is really consistent in power delivery all the time. I'll update with what I end up doing.

 

or get a engine code reader, clear the code, sell the car it sure won't come back on within the next few days

 

When I found out that my '07 C230's engine (M272) was in the range of balance shaft gear issue, I immediately sold the car to CarMax. And within 2 weeks, I bought a '05 C230 Kompressor from a private dealer. Love the four banger, fuel-saving C230!

You can clear the code and sell it to CarMax. Of course, you'll get less money from CarMax than you'd get from the private buyer. Remember, if you sold your car to a private buyer, he/she can "sue" you for selling him/her a car with ticking-bomb engine.

Selling your car to CarMax = less headache, quick sale and no-worries.

Just my .02.

 

I thought as long as you sell the car, the moment the new buyer drive out with the title on their hand, the car is already "sold as-is there is".

if its a ticking bomb engine, all car use internal combustion engine, explosion going on every time the engine run. still no one sue Tesla yet for their non-ticking engine yet their car still catch on fire

 

Yeah sounds like a true beauty, you certainly should be able to bring in offers if you continue to post ads on Craigslist, however I certainly would be upfront and honest about any repairs that it may need.


Also, I recommend that you get offers from other car buying companies that's sumular to CarMax, for the sake of comparing offers - just can't go wrong there. I'll list a few companies that I'm aware of below.
Another suggestion would be online auction sites, such as eBay and possibly Auto Trader (I think they allow users to sell cars on their website in a auction style format for free). If you make a sell, you may have a sellers fee with eBay.


Anyhow, it seems like you're in a good situation, considering the fact that it's almost paid off, so just keep getting exposure to your car and you should certainly find a buyer that will make you a decent offer. Oh, if I may add, Kbb isn't the best place to find out how much a car is worth, as from what I understand, those numbers are 100% accurate in terms of how much they say a car is worth.


Hope this helps, best!


Jason


Resources:
http://www.Ebay.com
http://www.CashforCars.com
http://www.CarintoMoolah.com/sell-my-car/
http://www.BiggestCarBuyers.com
http://www.Backpage.com