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CONSIDERATIONS FOR BUYING A 100K km DRIVEN W203 BENZ
hello everyone, i have just signed up on this forum. i currently drive a toyota corolla E140 and i’m deciding to shift to mercedes benz w203. i wanted to ask a few questions before i actually make this move
1) how different will it be on my pocket compared to a corolla on monthly basis?
2) what things should i keep in mind before i buy this car? (have a few good pieces short listed)
3) will it last for another 10 years if maintained and driven well?
4) i am from pakistan, what further things have to be kept in mind considering our tough climate conditions?
thank you people!
Last edited by Saad Aziz; Apr 10, 2019 at 01:54 AM.
what about its fuel economy? i get around 14km/l from corolla simce i drive it with a very light pedal.
also, is it recommended buying a 2005 model in 2019 even if it is in a good condition?
I wouldn’t expect a W203 to do quite as well as a Corolla since its a heavier car. My 2003 C230K auto trans would do about 31mpg on long highway trips and about 21 in the city if I didn’t push it to hard. What’s that—about 9-13 km/l.? If mileage is important I’d look for a diesel with a manual gearbox.
The key to avoiding maintenance expenses is just like any car—find one that’s been well cared for and keep up on the preventive maintenance. MBs are high quality cars and will last a long time if you care for them. I just bought a 2005 C240 4matic with 137k miles. It’s in very good shape and I hope to get another 60k out of it as a daily driver.
My biggest concern would be the cost of imported parts. Are MBs considered special or exotic in Pakistan or are they commonly used as daily drivers? Are they used as taxis? That would be a good sign.
Each model and engine has its own idiosyncrasies so post the VIN for any cars you look at and perhaps we can tell you what to check. Good luck with your search!
5by5
Last edited by 5by5; Apr 10, 2019 at 02:16 PM.
Reason: Typo
here in pakistan, mercedes is considered a status symbol. it is very difficult to buy a brand new benz and even more difficult to maintain it through official dealership because they rip you off.
the car i have shortlisted is a 2005 model W203 C200 Kompressor Elegance with 106K km on it. looks like a well kept car. will go and see tomorrow.
VIN number is not available at the moment sir.
i kept my corolla for 8 years and drove 100K km. it is just like new. you can go a little careless with these vehicles too, they are very reliable. but like you said, MB is a quality vehicle, it tends to last.
also, i’m concerned about the Air Conditioning because we have bad traffic and a terrible climate. the cars are stuck in jams in 50 celsius with the AC on. so will it be as good as the toyotas?
can you also tell me what things will most likely be needed to change in this benz at this mileage?
According to the Wikipedia listing for MB W203, your shortlist car probably has the M271 engine. Running a search on one of the VIN lookup sites would confirm. Depending on where the car was manufactured, the switchover dates can change. This is why everything depends on the VIN for MBs.
For the M271 engine, you’d want to inspect the connectors to the cam position sensors. It seems that the seals are prone to leaking and the engine oil can contaminate the wiring harness. Left unattended, the oil can wick through the harness and interfere with the operation of the oxygen sensor or ECU. There are are many threads on this so just search for M271.
MB aircon has always been pretty reliable for me. I had to replace the compressor on a 1990 190e2.6 but it was 20 years old at the time it failed. A 1999 C230K developed a leak in the evaporator but it was totaled before I had a chance to fix it. It was also about 20 years old. The other three have been trouble free.
If you look up the specs, you could check the outlet temp with a digital thermometer to confirm AC performance. I think a good performing R134a system should give you about a 40 degree F temp drop from ambient when the car is moving. A bit less if stopped and idling.
5by5
Last edited by 5by5; Apr 18, 2019 at 03:48 PM.
Reason: Typo
Aziz,
It looks like a nice car. Black with the light colored interior is really great looking--my personal favorite. It has pretty low miles for its age by US standards. Based on your comments that's probably because it's sat in traffic a lot.
Engine looks clean and sorted. I can't tell if it's had the wiring harness extensions to the camshaft position sensor--that's the fix and preventative measure for possilbe oil leaks into harness.Fairly low cost though if it's never been done so long as the oil hasn't been leaking into the harness.
Based on the non-stock hose clamps on the left side of the engine, it looks like the cooling system has been worked on.I don't know what to make of that--do you have service records you can review? You might want to do some detective work to make sure it's never overheated. That can cause longer term problems like head gasket leaks.
I found your car on PakWheels--it's surprising to see how expensive used MBs are in Pakistan! There must be really high import duties there.
yes, this one is on pakwheels; the import duties are sky high here. the owner would never mention anything like that. because he said there has never been any issue. but i remember him telling me that the coolant he is running is still original, i didn’t ask him if it was original or not lol.
It’s always possible that the hoses were removed for another reason such as replacing an alternator—I did this on my 2003 C230.
I dont know know your plans but on a car without service records I’d look it over very closely or have it inspected. You could also have it tested for exhaust in coolant, coolant in the oil or trans fluid, etc.
Engine and trans are the most expensive things to repair or replace so focus on them first.
we have official dealership and some other trained experienced officials who have good know how about these european vehicles. will get the vehicle evaluated by them.
they check engine compression, A/C, gear, mounts and mileage using fob key for tampering. let’s see
btw, how many people are actually free of worry while using these cars? do these cars require extra attention and care than a toyota, nissan or honda? because we all know how reliable these cars are
I don't worry too much day to day. I've put over 200,000 miles on 6 different C class cars over the last 20 years and only been left by the side of the road once. The youngest one was 8 years old when purchased, the oldest, a 1992 190e 2.6 was almost 20, so these were not brand new cars.
Usually you get advance notice of problems if you listen and observe carefully. The key is to fix little problems before they turn into big problems.
Another thing to consider is that MBs are very safe and tough cars if you get in an accident. Recently, my daughter was hit by a Ford F150 4x4 truck. The airbag deployed, she was OK, the car was totaled. But it would still start and move under it's own power! The truck had to be dragged away. Needless to way her replacement car was another MB. W202 after the tow truck driver got in the car, backed it off of the curb and pulled it forward for the hookup. Ford had to be pulled out of the intersection.
Saad,
There's no comparison of Corolla and Mercedes. In terms of resale value if you are planning to buy mercedes to sell it later then don't buy it.
If you are looking for drive pleasure and planning to keep the car for a longer duration you need to have parts supply sourced from outside Pakistan e.g UK or Dubai.
Here's a checklist that you need to look.
1. Is the car you are looking for Shahnawaz import? Add 5 points if it is and subract 10 if it was London or european model.
2. It is extremely important to have the service record available. Where it was maintained. If it has no service record then I would advise you that before making a deal get hold of MB scanner to plug into the car. This way you'll know all the errors logged in car's computer memory uptill now.
3. If you don't have access to scanner, i would suggest that you agree on a price with the buyer on the condition that you'll take the car to the dealership, they'll charge you 20k for their services (negotiable) which you can offer to pay and if the car is without problems just like as the seller says then you can close the deal.
C230 Sport Coup + 2006 W164 ML350 + 99 Ford Escort RIP
Hilarious! You Google "W203 Forum" and this thread shows up in the search results.
Why does ANYONE buy an older Mercedes?
Because it's a MERCEDES! Period.
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