izari

Hello
Currently I have a 2003 350Z with 18000 miles on it (the car drives well, reliable as a pet rock, but the interior is absolutely horrid) but I developed a need of a 4 door sedan so... I've been lurking around the board for a bit and doing some research...

1. Insurance:

At age 21, insurance seems like a big issue because I'm paying a lot for the Z... will 4 doors, backseats and less rowdy kids driving around in the C32, save money? I say that because... insurance for the Z is extremely high because 2 doors, 2 seater, and young kids causing trouble with it... (i have no points, dont plan on having any, and only received 1 lame ticket on new years eve. after 4 years of driving)

2. Prices

From what I've seen on autotrader, cars.com, here, ebay etc. prices range from $189xx for a 80-90k milage unit to over $30,000 for a 20-30k milage unit...
How is the reliability on the higher milage cars because for 10grand saved, I think i should be able to purchase an aftermarket warranty to cover my *** in case of breakage?

3. Reliability

I think i narrowed it down to this car because buying a pre-owned E46 M3 is very risky of manual transmission over-revs, abuse, high-revving engine dying (losing compression) as milage piles up etc. etc.
But there are also problems specific to this car ie. Intercooler pump failure, radiator failure etc. etc. on top of German electrical issues...
If I buy this car, its intended to be a daily driver... would it be as good as it sounds or would it be the worst nightmare?

*btw* im thinking of getting a tad higher milage one, so I can go for an even trade with my z ... along with aftermarket warranty ***

Thanks
Zhan

Eurocharged Rick

i bought mine with 81,000 miles on it...only issues were the intercooler pump and the front thrust bushings for the control arms...other than that, it has been a great car, fixing to turn 100,000miles and still running strong...

izari

^^
is that one of the rare examples?
how many owners did your car have before?
^ i say that b/c all of my friends who had German cars before had bad experiences that cars break down soon after passing 50,000 miles on the clock... and they are against the idea of getting a high milage high end vehicle

m444

If you are going to buy a C32, get a 2003 or 2004 model. The 2002 model had some issues. I have been pretty lucky with my 2003 C32, it has been relatively reliable.

If you are worried about warranty and miles, get a Starmarked one from a dealer and then get an extended warranty, beyond that.

The IC cooler pumps go out, every 35k mi, but are cheap to replace DIY.

If you really want to minimize maintenance costs, then maybe a German is not best.

It is generally a tradeoff between a nice enjoyable car and a reliable car. The Toyota & Lexus are probably more reliable, but they do not appeal to me.

Eurocharged Rick

you are buying an AMG, if it was a regular production model, then i would agree with you, but the quality that goes into the AMG line is the best...vadim has 130,000+ on his evosport stage 2 car with 0 issues...

amgmark

I personally think getting at 02 with higher miles is totally fine. I bought my car with 85k miles two previous owners.. They got to fix all the bugs and I get to enjoy the car.. I have had to get a few things fixed, but mostly small issues. I am now at 98k miles and still love the car.. Make sure you get a warranty if possible no matter the year..

ebp

If it's under warranty, get the Intercooler pump replaced no matter what, first thing.

I got mine at 49k, so I tried to get issues like that handled right away while it was still covered.

Fifth Ring

1. Insurance may be better, but maybe not. Believe me, the insurance people know what "AMG" means. Still, it's not a Z. Call your agent and confirm.

2. Lower mileage will make your warranty much cheaper. Don't expect any aftermarket warranty companies to cover this car -- parts are just to expensive. If a dealer is selling it, they should be able to sell a warranty. Repairs on any German car (let alone an AMG) are going to be much more expensive than on a Japanese car. You'll get a taste of this when you price out the warranty.

3. It's plain wrong to say that German cars go bad at 50,000 miles. On the contrary, things may break, but it's predictable and very fixable. I got mine at 30K and have 40K now, with no major problems.

Not to steer you wrong, but if you are looking for the nicest interior, have you looked at the Audi S4? Recent vintage has a V8 and a manual transmission if you like it; and older ones have a twin turbo V6 that can be CHEAPLY tuned to 350+ horsepower. And like all Audis, the interior is first rate (better than Benz IMHO). There are far more S4s on the road than C32s, which makes it less unique, but the benefit is cheaper parts and more tuning options.

izari

^^ Local MB dealer has one certified with 1 year warranty for 28500
2002 with ~47000 miles.......
How much bargain can I expect?
I scheduled a test drive on for wednesday afternoon... so thats the first C32 for me... I will bring the pre-purchase check list i found somewhere on this site.
Any test drive hints?

NY C32

Where are you located?

izari

philly region ^^
im heading up to North Jersey tomorrow looking for trouble haha

ScottW911

A price of $28.5 for a C32 with that milage is really a great price if it has most of the options, including Nav. If it does not have a nice array of options, that is a good price. StarMark adds about $3000 to the cost of a C32 with that kind of milage, so you are really getting it for $25.5 with a decent warranty. Don't expect the dealer to come down too much more. In fact, that may already be a loss leader for them. Mine was (a loss leader), to the tune of $3550 dollars to the dealers bottom line. I saw the numbers on the computer accounting system myself.

m444

The main reason for suggesting a 2003 or 2004 is some of the people have reported a 1500rpm torque converter lock-up clutch jolt on 2002 models, due to 2002 ECU program. It's not really a big deal, but it annoys some people. There was a recall, but the results for some owners were not satisfying.

If someone was good at programing ECU adjustments for the transmission, they could change the lockup RPM or torque level where it locks.

A 1 year starmark warranty is a good idea for any year C32.

NY C32

I'm looking to sell my C32 within the month. PM me for details if you're interested. I've got half the miles and its CPO to 100k

albanianbenz

my 2002 has about 64k miles on it and its starmarked until end of Dec. 06 or 100k miles. I was wondering if I could extend it with starmark for at least another year or so. Not sure if anyone knows or has done this.

I just recently sent it in due to check engine light. It was the fuel pump, sensor and relay. I guess its supposedly upwards of a $700 repair and they also fixed my turn signal ground as that was bad (a $100 repair). So I paid $0 and was also given a loaner even though the car was private party.

Also was told by a NJ benz dealer that thrust arm bushings needed to be replaced but i was in NJ for only a couple days to get car. Now this dealer says they look okay by visual inspection ???????????

derrick_lui

how about you buy my 04 c32 that already has 400hp =D
its got only 27000 miles

Im looking at an S600 lately..2003 model..

FrankW

I think there's a list of typical problems for the W203 in the W203 forum. For the C32 the major problem is the intercooler pump which is bond to die around 50k miles because of crappy design and some people have problem with glycol containmanation which the coolant mix with the trans fluid and kills the tranny. Other than these two the rest are pretty typical amount W203 problems.

luckily I don't have to worry about anything till 2009/100k miles.