Is there a buyers guide thread, can't seem to find one using the search.
I’m currently out of the country for a month or so and local dealer (non Mercedes but quality dealer) has a 2003 Pewter C32 AMG for sale. I'm planning on having my old man go drive it and look it over.
The car has 42K miles and they are asking 27,500. The sales guy sounds pretty willing to move on that price. I have a lot of pics and it looks pretty mint.
Besides the obvious stuff what should I have pops look for specifically as a problem on this year? Also what is the factory warranty on this car?
Thanks so much for the help. I'm a Benz noob but a hardcore VW/Audi guy and I can't wait to own one.
I’m currently out of the country for a month or so and local dealer (non Mercedes but quality dealer) has a 2003 Pewter C32 AMG for sale. I'm planning on having my old man go drive it and look it over.
The car has 42K miles and they are asking 27,500. The sales guy sounds pretty willing to move on that price. I have a lot of pics and it looks pretty mint.
Besides the obvious stuff what should I have pops look for specifically as a problem on this year? Also what is the factory warranty on this car?
Thanks so much for the help. I'm a Benz noob but a hardcore VW/Audi guy and I can't wait to own one.
Member
Check if the radiator is a Valeo brand. If so, you may want to have the tranny fluid checked for glycol contamination since these radiators were found to have a defect that could cause this. My '03 C32 had a Valeo radiator and did not have the glycol problem, but I replaced the radiator with a Behr one just to avoid the possibility of screwing up my transmission. If the tranny fluid is contaminated with glycol, the car may shift harshly or make jerking movements around 1500 rpm while you are moving slowly.
Make sure the intercooler pump is working. You can hear it buzzing for about 10 seconds right after you shut the engine off if you are in a quiet garage or get out of the car and put an ear under the front bumper. If the IC pump is not working right, the supercharger will overheat and shutdown and the car will feel like it has no power. So have your pops get it warmed up and run it hard a few times on the freeway to make sure the supercharger is working while it is hot.
Listen for squeaky bushings in the front or rear suspension while going over speeed bumps. Not a big problem, but common and annoying.
Make sure the heated seats work as this can be expensive to repair out of warranty.
Factory warranty is 4 years or 50,000 miles. I would recommend buying an extended warranty. Even if the car is a CPO, I believe the CPO warranty only adds one year or 100,000 miles after the factory warranty expires and the CPO warranty is not as inclusive as the original factory one.
Check tire wear for any allignment problems. Even when new, my MB was out of allignment and needed adjustment.
Make sure the intercooler pump is working. You can hear it buzzing for about 10 seconds right after you shut the engine off if you are in a quiet garage or get out of the car and put an ear under the front bumper. If the IC pump is not working right, the supercharger will overheat and shutdown and the car will feel like it has no power. So have your pops get it warmed up and run it hard a few times on the freeway to make sure the supercharger is working while it is hot.
Listen for squeaky bushings in the front or rear suspension while going over speeed bumps. Not a big problem, but common and annoying.
Make sure the heated seats work as this can be expensive to repair out of warranty.
Factory warranty is 4 years or 50,000 miles. I would recommend buying an extended warranty. Even if the car is a CPO, I believe the CPO warranty only adds one year or 100,000 miles after the factory warranty expires and the CPO warranty is not as inclusive as the original factory one.
Check tire wear for any allignment problems. Even when new, my MB was out of allignment and needed adjustment.
