Jay11

Newby to the forum, looking for buy advice, hope this is the right spot.
Have owned a 1984 190 before and I love these cars.
Came across a clean title, 2004 C230 95k miles for $2800, Dallas TX 75062

Is this a fair price for the year and mileage to pursue? What do you think is fair? What your opinion on price?

What would you be looking for, even though I will take it in for pre purchase inspection, I will give it my own test even before that to determine whether to fork over the $95 (I am an under the tree DIY wrench enthusiast)

KBB, EDMUNDS



Deal or Pass?

KevinH2000

I paid $4300 for a 2005 with 112,000 miles in August. So, $2800 sounds like a good deal to me. I was looking for a car with specific equipment (6 speed manual transmission, sun roof package and heated seats). I think I could have found a better deal if I were able to consider more cars. You can read about my experience here: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...0-revival.html

I had a couple of surprises that cost me more than I thought.

Is that 2004 a "pre-facelift" model? If it is, I like the dash lay out on the face lifted cars better, so I would have paid less for a 2004.

The only flaw I can see in your pictures is a broken driver's side front marker light.

If it is equipped the way you like and it passes a PPI, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

Jay11

I am not very familiar with facelift angle. I Googled C230 issues and some persistent problems about camshaft sensor seems pandemic with these cars, to the pint of a class action? Are these known issues with these year models? What were the costing surprises?

RedGray

See:
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ndie92110.html

Fwiw, check the original price of a C230 verses a loaded Camry (same years for each car). Now, look at the resale values for 90K, 120K, 150K, 170K miles.
Conclusion: Maybe the reason why C230 (and C-class in general) resale values are so low (especially verses a Camry), is because these other people know something about these models.


Fwiw, like Kevin, I was looking for a very very specific car/model.

However, I was not looking for a daily driver. And, I was planning to do any needed maintenance on the car to make it a reliable 50K & 10+ year car . Fwiw, my restoration budget was over twice the cost of the car. And, I paid a premium for my car, since I wanted a very very very specific toy (oops, I mean car ).
Just some of the things I bought: new head, new supercharger, porting for super charger, new intake, new timing chain, new "lifters", etc, etc, etc. That's not even counting the $$$ I have in the brake upgrade.
Fwiw, by the time I was 18, I already did 3 solo engine rebuilds. I've also been doing/designing high reliability items for well over a dozen years (multiple degrees). So, I do think the C230 is a nice car. But, like the POS GM cars, the engines have a lot of cost saving design decisions that greatly effect the reliability.
However, unlike the POS GM cars, the frame/body/etc are generally of higher quality.
Before the GM leg-humpers give me *******, I've owned at least 2 GM cars since I was 17 years old. I know the brand. I can pick them up cheap. I can fix them up, and keep them on the road a long time. I like the way GM cars drive, handle, and how they look. Yes, I'm also a typical shallow male. Looks are important to me.

RedGray

Btw, the camshaft position sensor is cheap and easy to replace.
The camshaft adjusters are a different story. Also, there are three main parts of the variable camshaft. There is a chance that after one part goes, all three main parts need to be replaced. That gets very expensive.
Also, if the car doesn't have the extension harness on the wiring to the camshaft adjuster, then oil might seep down the wiring (from when/if the adjuster leaks oil), and cause a lot of $$$ damage.

Also, the W203 C230s have three different engines.
The M271 has it's issues.
The V6 has balance shaft issues.
The earlier 4cylinder also has it's own issues. However, imho, the earlier 4cylinder is likely the "best" of the "not so great" W203 C230 engine designs.

tjts1

An M112 engine under the hood. Every other engine option for those car is a maintainance *****. The M112 is by far the cheapest to maintain with the fewest common problems, the easiest to wrench on yourself and the least likely to leave you stranded. There's no stretchy timing chain, no VVT solenoids, no supercharger issues, no intermediate shaft failures.

Besides that, the inspection is a good idea. Make sure they hook it up to a STAR diagnostic tool or icarsoft to check all the onboard computers for faults, not just the engine.

KevinH2000

Good point.

Up until about 15 years ago, I only bought new cars and I chose the ones that had the best reliability ratings in Consumers Reports. That is a great strategy for finding a car that will get you from point a to point b with a minimum of fuss and expense. It can also be a little boring.

Lately I have been taking a few risks and buying more engaging cars that are for sale by owner. You can mitigate some of the risks by following the advice you see from the more knowledgeable members on these discussion boards. For example, I've changed the cam magnets and installed the extension harnesses on my car to prevent oil migration into the engine wiring harness. It's also likely that I will replace the timing chain at some point in the next few months even though it isn't making any noise right now. I understand that you don't want to just throw away $2800 or get stuck with a car that turns out to be a money pit, but it doesn't seem like there is a huge downside to buying the car.

The sticker price on my C230 was about $33,000. I think the car had 3 owners before me. So the three of them experienced about $28,000 of depreciation expense to use the car for about 112,000 miles. If I can get another 100,000 miles out of the car without having to replace the engine, I'll be satisfied.

As a rough comparison, I bought my daughter a used 2006 Honda Civic EX with 30,000 miles on it for $11,200 about 6 years ago. The car has only needed maintenance items like oil changes and new tires and now has about 70,000 miles on it. I could probably sell it today for more than the cost of my C230. The Civic is a nice car and it handles well, but it just doesn't have the same feel on the road, interior quality or style of the C230.

You can tell if the car you are considering is a face lifted model by looking at the dash. I have attached a picture of the dash in my car for reference. I've posted a picture of the dash board and steering wheel of a "pre-face lift" car below that. The earlier cars have a large half-circle central speedometer. I like the face lifted configuration, but it is a matter of taste. I'm not sure when Mercedes made the transition. It may have been half way through the 2004 model year.

"Face lifted" dash - 2005 C230



"Pre-face lift" dash board and steering wheel

Jay11

Hey guys a good friend is tossing me a deal - 1999 C230 with 55k miles 2500 bux. I would like to get it if all checks out. I am told it has an M111, are those aok without their salient issues and is this model free of these camshaft, etc issues?

Quote to track it to Texas from Florida is 450 bu, or 300 to fly and drive it back, plus 150 for PPI. What other options do you guys know of for getting cars across state lines for the best $$$ possible?

KevinH2000

I'm new to Mercedes, but I believe a 1999 C230 is built on the W202 chassis. You may find more detailed information on this part of the forum: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w202-27/

Otherwise, $2500 for a car with 55k on the odometer sounds like it could be a good deal especially if it was kept in a garage.