KevinH2000

I had an uncomfortable few months with my C230. The center display was showing SRS and Cluster Malfunction messages that I thought might lead to an expensive repair. Fortunately, the solution turned out to be a relatively inexpensive DIY.

In a few weeks, I will have owned it for 6 years and driven it over 80,000 of the 190,000 miles currently on the odometer. I've been wondering how much longer I can hold on to it at a reasonable cost. It seems that I have to spend at least $1000 per year on repairs and maintenance. Some of these items such as oil changes, brakes and tires would occur with any car. I think we all know that a Mercedes is more needy than a Toyota or a Honda. I’m wondering when I will run into the “big one” that would cause me to reach the conclusion that I am throwing good money after bad.

I have looked at other options. One of my “must haves” is a manual transmission and there aren’t many cars that offer sticks. Mercedes doesn’t sell them in the U.S. anymore and I think BMW is down to one or two models that allow you to shift for yourself. I briefly flirted with the Volkswagen Jetta GLI and the Acura Integra. They seemed to offer a good combination of a manual transmission and upscale interiors. I haven’t looked at an Integra in person, but I did check out the GLI.

At first glance, the GLI seemed to check all the boxes. It is available with a 6-speed manual. It is available in only one version called the Autobahn edition that has leather seats and a lot of nice options. The on-line reviews state that it is fun to drive and fairly economical to operate. The list price is around $33,000. That is about the MSRP of my C230 back in 2005 according to the window sticker the previous owner gave me.

Further review showed a slightly different picture. First, dealers are still factoring limited availability in their pricing. I saw one car with a sticker price of over $40,000 due to a $4000 “market adjustment” and $800 paint protection. One dealer did offer me a car for an out-the-door price of $37,500. I may have been able to bargain on the price a bit, but price isn’t the only challenge.

The limited availability also makes it difficult to buy a car with the color and options I prefer. I would be presented with a “take-it-or-leave-it” choice when a manual car showed up in inventory. While some of the color combinations look good, some of them are not to my taste. The option list is small, but I believe you need to buy an additional package to get a Homelink garage opener. If the car the dealer received didn’t have the Homelink I would be out of luck.

I think I could have worked out some of the issues described above, but the biggest issue was the car seemed like a step backward from my Mercedes in terms of intangibles like the feeling I had when I sat in the car. I understand that the W203 has detractors on the issue of interior quality, but those detractors should sit in an economy car that the manufacturer was attempting to turn into a luxury car. There were some areas where it was obvious they were cutting corners. For example, most of the interior is hard plastic instead of the padded interior to which we are accustomed in our cars and there are no HVAC vents to the rear seats. If you ever have time to just sit in your W203, look at the way Mercedes treats the doors. There is quite a bit of extra material that you won’t see in a car like the GLI. I might be a little spoiled in this context because I added front seats from a C63 AMG to my car and I find them extraordinary. My C63 Seat Swap

I’m not saying the GLI is a bad car. If I owned one, I think I would be happy with it. It has a lot of technology that wasn’t available in 2005. I added a head unit with Apple Carplay to my car, but that doesn’t fully close the tech gap with a 2023 vehicle. However, I do wonder who will repair all the tech if it breaks.

I think the bottom line for me is that I would feel like I was paying a lot more money and receiving a small benefit in return. My credit union charges 5.20% APR. Using this figure and making a $10,000 down payment the monthly payments would be:

60 months - $521

48 months - $635

36 months - $826

24 months - $1208

So now that I have convinced myself the C230 is worth keeping, I'm back to the original question – Can I expect my C230 to serve another five years, or should I prepare to move on?

C230 Sport Coup

I don't know how people afford all these new cars. Wages haven't kept up with inflation by any means, and I guess everyone is pulling equity from their houses or something. I mean payment and full coverage insurance = huh? Like $600 a month for a sh*tbox and $1000 for a normal car. I'm paying like $100 a month for liability on 2 cars and a perfect driving record. Probably $300 a month with a new car and in an area with low risk of an accident. Selling my C230 the thing is worthless, so I fix it. We have 3 cars so always at least one is working!!!
So 1st off. Do you have any of the common issues with the M271 engine?
I would replace the timing chain if it were me. Check the compression etc. Boroscope the inside of the cylinders
to see if the valves look ok.
#2- You can expect to replace at ~200K (not counting tires and brakes etc BTW use Akebono Ceramic Pads f'in the best pads last forEVER!)
a. Fuel Pump
b. Water Pump
c. 2nd round on the alternator and starter around 240 to 250K.
d. AT Floor Shifter- Be prepared for this one in advance. If you have a PicknPull nearby, set up account on row52 and set search for 2005 C Classes (any iteraton will do) but the shifters vay slightly with connectors etc by year and try to get be 1st at the car because
that is one of the 1st things to dissappear off a vehicle. It's not hard to remove you just need to know how, as it requires a
few tricks to get at it, and remove the center console. Takes about 10 minutes and just a few hand tools. I posted directions around here somewhere.
I have a spare I keep, got it on 1/2 price day for SIXTEEN DOLLARS vs. 1200 wholesale at Mercedes or $700 on Amazon.
Now I don't live near a PP so glad I have it. PS I've seen some articles where people put the circuit board in the shift module in a oven and it fixes itself, but I haven't tried it. AC Delco makes the electronics portion LOL.
e. MAF. You will likely need a new MAF and you want an OEM one. Forget all the aftermarket brands. Trust me. Nothing but trouble.
f. KEEP THE CAR DRY. Water plays havoc with the electronics and it seems to get in more as the car gets older. Park it in the gargage if at all possible.
Other than that, normal maint. Ever do the fuel filter? Here's the scheduled maint. sheet, though it's the one that came with DVD in 2006 or so.
Of course we all know the automatic is NOT filled for life. Do a fluid change every 50K max. 722.6 transmisson is the best damn trans ever made.

slammer111

The car should last. No reason why it won't. Just keep replacing parts as they break. The main components that come to mind are the plastic coolant pipes and anything rubber such as the engine mounts and flex discs. Then there are things such as regular fluid changes.

Unfortunately there will be "one off" type replacements for parts such as the fuel pump and starter, but these only require replacement every 200k km or so.

Personally I'm still on the original timing chain. Might look into getting that one replaced at 300k or so.

KevinH2000

Thanks for the response and the suggestions. I think I'm on the right track with maintenance. I've commented on your suggestions in the quote below.

KevinH2000

Thanks for the feedback. I think I followed your instructions when I replaced the plastic coolant pipes.

The timing chain is the big-ticket item that keeps nagging at me. I change the oil every 5000 miles. I heard that following the Mercedes recommendation on oil change intervals contributed to the chain failure.

C230 Sport Coup

A grand seems rather high but it still would be worth it compared to the price of a new vehicle or waiting until the car needs new gears and valves and a chain. That's like $2,500 in Parts I think people said. And of course you have to pull the head so that's part of the expense. It really is the only downfall of that engine. There was that guy from Texas who was a prison guard who had like 275,000 miles on his car and finally got crunched in an accident so we never got to find out what the limit was. But the main thing is to not wait until the gears start getting chewed up and definitely don't wait till it makes noise. I of course do not own that engine but I think if I did I would agree with the people who say it should be a 100,000 mile maintenance item. And as far as what Slammer said about replacing things as they break I think if you can replace all the things you know will break in advance and you will have a reliable piece of Transportation. For the first 200,000 miles I did sort of Follow That philosophy but money got a little tight and repairs for things I'd never had to fix before on any other car, but then never had a car for this many miles before. I I do need new engine mounts as well. While Fuel pump is not hard but you have to dip into the gas tank. Also you need to get some oil petroleum proof zip ties and when you connect the gas connections on both sides zip tie them in tight. This was told to me by a mechanic and I failed to do it and sure enough the hose popped out in the car died but only about a half a mile from my house. Lucky me cuz I've been out traipsing around all day along the ocean far from my home. Just make sure you have the windows open and no sources of flame nearby including your water heater. We have two Benz's and both of the fuel pumps died at 200k miles. It will leave you stranded and not leave any codes. Better to just replace it in advance. You will know when there is no fuel pressure.

slammer111

Yup, I posted about the coolant pipes. You'll also be looking at my DIY posts if you ever decide to replace the starter, flex discs, differential fluid, or $12 hose (crankcase hoses and check valve).

To be honest I'm not sure what would cause chain stretch other than something that stresses the chain, such as rough shifts (extreme changes in RPM), constantly driving near redline, or some type of neglect such as excessive oil intervals (I imagine the MB intervals are fine), or using non MB-approved oil.

The timing chain job itself is actually not terribly difficult with the correct kit. Only the valve cover has to be removed. The bigger problem is that the kit itself is $$$, and there are horror stories of cheapo kits out there that simply don't do the job - the tolerances for things such as holding the cams at the proper angles are tight, and many of the cheap kits are made of plastic parts (danger of flexing/breaking) instead of metal. For this reason I would be paying a shop to do the job. No point forking out for something I might do once every 25 years.

My understanding is that for the M271 the tensioner is a simple spring return design, and does not have any type of ratcheting mechanism (unlike other MB engines). The only reason to replace is it is if the spring can no longer provide enough force.