Hey everyone, new to this site along with a new MB owner. I bought a 2004 C240 4matic with 60,000 miles on it for $5000 through a mutual friend in June. He buys auction cars, does some work on them and then sells them. Typically has a good reputation for his work.

In July I drove it from Kansas to Nevada, up to Utah and then back again through the Rockies to Kansas. I ran into virtually no problems, minus the driver headlight going in and out (wiring issue I’ve identified) and loss of acceleration through the Rockies, I figured from the steep elevation climbs.

My problems arose after I’d parked it for two days after and found a sizable puddle under the front passenger side just behind the wheel. I moved it from my drive way to the street to clean up the spill. A few days later I went to move it, puddle having gotten larger in the street (I feel like a jerk, the cardboard blew away and now it’s on the asphalt) but now all electronics are out in the vehicle. The doors only unlock manually, even from inside, I can’t even get the key to turn in the ignition. I picked up some jumper cables but haven’t been able to get to it in the last few days. The guy I bought it from says it’s a brand new battery and he’d be willing to look it over if I could bring it to him, but he lives almost 2 hours away and it’s not entirely reasonable for me to tow it there if I could just work on it in my own garage.

Before I forget, I can’t exactly figure out what type of fluid it is. It has the feeling of motor oil, though it doesn’t have the smell. Keep in mind, this is my first project car in several years, I haven’t done much wrench turning in about 5 years now. Just wanting to see if anyone has ran into anything like this before and maybe have some suggestions. I’ve spent the last two days sifting through the forum but couldn’t find anything. Thanks again. I love the car, would just like to get it up to speed to what it truly can be. A VIN search showed it was totaled in a rear end collision about 3 years ago with damage to the front end, wondering if this heavy leaking is an after effect of that.