Regarding the claim of "too expensive to repair" ... used diffs can be found for $150-300 online ... I imagine rebuilt ones aren't too much more. Flex discs and driveshaft bearing are standard replacement items. And I can't imagine the tranny having rotational play at the rear shaft so I wouldn't immediately suspect a tranny rebuild is needed.

I think the dealership price for a new diff is > $2k ... so yes with a stealership you may be talking $3-4k for repairs. But with an indy and used/rebuilt diff, maybe $1k or so? And DIY about half that?

I'm not there and I wasn't listening in to your conversation with the dealer... but if they don't even want to discuss the solution because it isn't worth the money... my guess is they just don't want to deal with it anymore. They've got your $2,000 and since you haven't offered another $2,000 check.. maybe they are moving on to an easier target.
I understand your issue in finding an indy that you can trust... believe me, I get that. I watched an indy drain my father's pockets dry and that indy was the good one. Too bad you're not down south as I'd be happy to help you out. If you can't do the DIY yourself, maybe you can find someone in your area that could help you?

I was looking around and did come across some used and fairly low mileage differentials for roughly $250. However, they are being called "Axle Carrier Differential" which I assume is the same thing. Labor doesn't seem too complicated, when I looked under the car, it seemed like a straight forward job. I wouldn't imagine more than 2-3 hours labor to do it.

I'm just not sure if that's the route I'd want to take. I could just say to heck with it and spend the (maybe) $800-900 bucks, but then I'd still have to tackle the two front upper control arms, the suspension all around, etc.

I don't know if it's worth it anymore.

It all depends on how much you have invested in the car, and how much you want to keep it vs getting something newer.

I have the 2005 with facelift interior, am not a great fan of the W204 rear end or interior design, and have spent a great deal of time installing my stereo system including in-door wiring and Dynamat ... so I'm inclined to keep my car for as long as possible. Plus the financial alternative ... $25k or more to trade in for a new car? I'd rather spend a few thousand a year to keep mine :)

If the body and interior of your car are intact and you really like the way it looks and feels, then consider all of the mechanicals just parts that eventually have to be replaced.

Honestly, I love the car. The body is great, 8/10. The interior is in immaculate condition, an easy 9.5/10. It's really a shame that under the hood things are not as great. Aside from the rear end, I have to replace the entire suspension, those control arms, the rear sway bar bushings, valve cover gaskets, and there is a slight chance the head gasket is leaking as well.

The list is long and expensive, even with an indy. I've already poured roughly $3500 into her, and if it were a facelifted model with lower miles I'd probably do it in a heartbeat but being a 2001 pre-facelift with high'ish miles, I don't think it'll be worth it any more.

I'm going to ask around a little and see prices for these things and go from there. But honestly, I think I'm just going to save up my change and look for a facelifted 2007 C230 Komp or an E500 2007 and call it a day. :hammer::smash::confused:

Fyi I think the 1.8L Komp was replaced with a V6 in 2006. And the facelift appeared in 2005. So if you want the 1.8L and facelift interior, 2005 is your model year. I feel lucky ... I wasn't even looking at Mercedes at the time, but just so happened to be the year that I switched cars.

Also fyi, regarding suspension parts replacement costs -- if you DIY you're looking at
* $400 for control arms
* $500 or so for shocks/struts all around including shock mounts and mounting hardware
* $100 for front sway bar links and bushings

So another 1000 if you DIY ... double that if you take it to a shop.

I don't know about the rear links and bushings ... the rear on my car is still pretty tight

... OR ... as you mention ... find another later model W203 that someone else has already done this work on.

You also have to keep in mind what happens when someone rear ends your car and the cost to fix it is more than the book value and your insurance company hands you a check that barely covers what you paid for the car and doesn't come close to covering all that you've been putting into it.

Transmission
 

Hey Neurodave,

I had similar issues as yourself and we chatted a few months ago regarding this subject. Just to refresh on what we spoke about a few months ago I got the transmission fluid changed by an independent Euro shop (full flush, filter and fresh fill). At the time he gave me 2 choices; 1) Change the fluid for $420 or 2) Change the conductor plate, transmission connector and new fluid for $975. He hooked up his computer to the car's OBD port and it showed 3 codes along the lines of P02500 indicating gears 1, 2 and 3 were "implausible or slipping". No CEL was on and when I plugged in my regular OBD 2 scanner no codes would show so good thing he showed me that with his computer. I still opted for choice 1 and the transmission shifted beautifully for a few weeks after the service but the same crap started happening again where the transmission would clunk when shifting down to gear 1 when coming to a stop and also clunk when I go to get back on the throttle from slowing down from say 70 kmh to 40 kmh. Most upshifts were totally smooth and so were kickdowns when merging on the highway.

The issue was minor but I was kicking myself for not taking choice 2 and from last August to now I kind of ignored it and babied the car. Last week I decided to go back to the indy mechanic and paid the money (he gave me a discount because I sent 2 other MB owners his way) and had the conductor plate and connector replaced. He also found fluid in the transmission computer under the floor board so he cleaned it. He only put a few liters of fluid in because the fluid was fresh for the most part and he only filled up what was lost when the pan was dropped. THIS worked and now the transmission is buttery smooth exactly like the day I test drove the car back in 2013. I decided to drive around for a week to see if it would act up and it's been fine. The car feels like brand new and keep in mind I still have original motor and tranny mounts when the car was new in 2006. I even try to replicate the situation to make it clunk and it just either holds the gear or down or upshifts into an appropriate gear smoothly.

Even though you changed things that probably needed changing anyway the plate might be the only solution as both of us seemed to have the same issues.