newbie checking in, thinking of purchasing a C3's
 

Hey guys,

I'm coming from a 2001 MK4 VW. Some background about me, I work on all my own vehicles, from minor to major things. I have finally sold my VW, and eyeing the 2009-2010 - C250, C300, C350s. My questions are:

1) What are common issues to look for? Are there any major problems with these years? (recalls etc.)

2) I worked on VW, is it considerably harder to work on Mercedes?

3) Anything else I should know

Thanks for all the help

Welcome!

I dont have VW experience, but I've found working on the Mercedes just as much fun as working on my BMWs. You're coming in at a good time with the W204 where there's great DIY guides, member familiarity and ubiquity of Mercedes-specific software on the cheap.

Speaking to the '08 C300 specifically, I think the M272 and the 7G-Tronic have been reliable companions since it's the car I put my wife and child in. 110k miles and I have no doubt it still has a lot of life left.

I had a MKV. They are put together far better than a VW, especially compared to MK4. However, I've had more issues in 5 months with my C-Class than I did putting on close to 150,000 miles on my VW. I'm attributing it to some random bad luck.

The downside is there are less DIYs and the software programming is near impossible for the most skilled of hackers and more expensive.

If you go for those model years you'll be looking at the pre-facelift designs. Which are a little more dated. From 2012 on gets you the newer design. Many people with the older model years put some work into upgrading them with the facelift designs.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I don't mind doing my own facelifts, I find it very fun and being able to customize the car a bit more to my own liking.

I've been doing some preliminary readying about these years, and read there is a huge issue on the 4Matics AWDs, is that a pretty fair assumption? If I'm buying a C3,350, would i run into this issue on a 100K car? Not a fan of having to have the 4matic entire system redone, costs about $3000 :eek:

Generally speaking, don't get what you don't need. So unless you're in snow country, skip the 4matic. You remove the probability of failure from two more axle shafts and a transfer case, no matter how small it may be.

The unfortunate case is I live in a country area (5 minutes out from the city), so 4 Matic is undoubtedly a option. Are the newer model 4 Matics more reliable? 2010+?

I have a 2011 C300 with 70,000 miles on it. I purchased it used certified and have had not one problem. I follow the maintenance I do the oil changes my self, brakes, filter. I have the dealer to the oil change transmission for me.

If you look on True Delta they have a pretty good amount of info on so you can see what years have what kind of problems.

Also the car is my daily driver, 50 mile round trip over mix types of roads and conditions. I like the car very much.

Thanks for showing me the True Delta website! I didn't know about that!

So i've finally decided to have a look at a car guys, 2010 C350 4Matic with 138K on it, asking price is $15,500. Anything I should be looking out for Maintenance wise? Like switching into 4Matic mode (know on the Jeeps, a slight stutter, meant the tranny was going out).

I wasn't aware you could "switch" to 4matic, other than the C or S settings.

Isn't that all computer managed?

4matic is permanent/full time AWD, it can't be switched on/off. You should be looking for a service history that includes a transmission fluid and filter change around 39-40k miles, especially with 4matic as the transfer case is integrated into the transmission. 138,000km or miles?

See if the transfer case is leaking (common) and make sure transmission fluid service was done around every 40k miles.

I just purchased an 09 C300 with 90k miles. I test drove a few 09 and 10's (and took them all for PPI's at a Mercedes dealer) and all 3 had leaking transfer cases. The one I bought had a pretty full service history at the dealer I'll be taking it too (not where I bought it though). I negotiated with the used car dealer to pay the Mercedes dealer to re-seal the transfer case (I think the dealer wanted around $900). Mine had a transmission service at 40k miles, so I just did another one since it was due.

Hoping we'll be good for a while now, except maybe spark plugs (which don't appear too difficult on these)