Mathew Taylor

My brother and I purchased a 2004 C230 Kompressor coupe hatchback for a client. The dealer we got it from said that the taillights didn't work but we figured we'd buy it and take it to the shop and fix it ourselves to save our client some money. Well we have discovered that the wiring harness was melted completely and the car had multiple other problems. Starting over to trace the origin, we started in the back (with the taillights). The fuses and relays were hot to the touch so we disassembled the rear SAM and noticed the Anti theft module (part #A211 820 9126). Upon opening it, we see this (pic included). Is it supposed to look like this? The car runs super rich (smell gas when idling) and doesn't have much power to move. Can anyone help us get this car back on the road? We need to sell it to recoup our money or get it running and use it as a ship car. I personally love the car but it just doesnt want to cooperate.

Plutoe

Well brothers grim, I sure hope you learned your lesson of not buying a used MB without a full scan----now the car is in pieces and you still haven't determined all the faults----my suggestion is find another bro who has aces to DAS, run a full scan and then you will have the starting point for a map to correct all the issues--otherwise you own another unsalable car!

Mathew Taylor

This is the first client car that has given us trouble. So far with the 6 I've personally owned, the 2 my brother owned, the other 2 my OTHER brother owned, and the 9 client cars (19 total), this coupe/hatch is the first major issue. I know that used cars are used cars and they all have issues. I just didn't think that it could be this bad. But I guess I can't hit a home run every time huh?

But in my defense, I did scan the car. I dont have a MB scanner or anything really high dollar and maybe I need to invest in one. Which one do you suggest?

Also, how does making fun or giving me a "shoulda, woulda, coulda" answer help in any way? I thought this site was for help between fellow owners. Not high school all over again.

Plutoe

Well Mathew you are about to graduate from the bush league to the farm team--purchase a Xentry diagnostic set and then spend three or four months learning the system or find a pro who dosen't sellem but knows how to diagnose them--your margins will go up so will your customer satisfaction scores!!

RedGray

Fwiw, I have a number of friends that own/have-owned garages, along with buying/selling cars.

And, "your defense", is that you don't have a brand-specific scanner, or know the basics, about properly scanning a specific brand that is well known to have unique scan requirements???

Do you do the same for BMWs?
If someone asked a similar question on a BMW site, another car with well know unique scan requirements, what would your view be?

Sorry, I'll agree with Plutoe's assessment of your operation.

With ~10mins of effort, there's a new site called Google that will lead to what scanner you should get.



Some help:
For ~$1,200 you can get a tablet-based China-clone of STAR software.
**** Note that the items you buy on ebay are China-clones of the STAR software.
For a business, even an LLC or DBA, I suggest that you consult a lawyer before buying or using a China-clone scan tool.


For other MB specific scanner options, other than the $30K - $100K for an official STAR system, see the following thread:
https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...umstances.html

EDIT: I do not know if the items mentioned in thread above, or if any other items, have the legal right to use the software they use or to sell their tools.
***** Or, if a business has the legal right to use those non MB tools.


Fwiw, for the past 10+ years, cars have required special scanner software for many common functions/errors.
In fact, to access/diagnose many issues, GM (familiar with that small car company ) has always required Dealer-only/dealer-licensed scan equipment on their cars that have a diagnostic port.
Imho, GM was one of the reasons why the OBD-II standard was defined and made law. However, the OBD-II law only covers very basic functionality and diagnostics.
Btw, good luck trying to change a caliper on a Prius without a dealer-level scanner or "scanner clone". I could go on and on.
But, I already touched on GM and Toyota - the biggest car companies. Also, MB and BMW - similar German Luxury brands. Fwiw, people should not think any other car is different than scanning a GM, Toyota, MB, BMW, etc. Every car made with any electronics likely has some functionality or diagnostics that are only accessible by dealer-only or dealer-licensed tools.
If people don't like that fact, they are free to go live on another planet.


Fwiw, I'm just telling you how things really are, so you can hopefully gain better insight into the business that you claim to be in.

Good luck.