Ghost410

Hey,

I'm thinking about picking a C32 up for a daily driver. My biggest concern is how reliable they are. What issues has anyone had? What mileage does everyone have on their C32's?

Also, how is the gas mileage on these when not floored? Highway/ City?

Thanks, and anyone who can share their experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Kotcho

my car is an 03 with 27000 and its runs perfect, the only problems i have had have been electronic ,most likely due to it sitting for a few months. i had the sunroof recalibrated and the seat heater on the drivers side changed under warranty. i would recoment getting an 03 or 04, with low miles and maybe an extended warranty.....just in case.

bud4ya

+1 on the seat I have 32K on my 03.

gnma

I was researching C32's before I bought my E500 bec. of space requirements. From my limited reading, the Achille's Heel of the C32 is the stock radiator (Valeo) leaking coolant into the tranny, which is a $$$ repair. U can verify what type of radiator the C32 u're looking into has (search for that tip).

Actual C32 owners will chime in I'm sure with more detailed answers, but that's something to start off with, and search is your friend.

U'll also read that the C32 when properly maintained, is one hell of a car. Good luck!

MRAMG1

Besides the dreaded seat heater, Mine has been perfect, even with track usage. Its an 04 with everything, and about 20,000 on her.

I average, lifetime 17.6
St Louis home 23.4
Work rides 22.8
Track 7.2

See yeah

Fifth Ring

I'm at 53,000 miles (I think) and have had the seat heater, and the bearing on the supercharger go bad. Both warranty claims. Neither would be very expensive if I had to pay.

As to the radiator, you can't just go by the brand. There are Valeos that go bad and Valeos that don't go bad. Some here have had their Valeos replaced for fear of a leak, only to find that the new one is Valeo.

FrankW

i never had any problems with my valeo radiator. 85k miles and strong 2002 March built. been there done that with the seat heater, seat memory module, and clutch bearing. valve cover gasket also replaced.

15k mile and 1 more year to go before extended warranty goes.

RiomJ

My trans is slipping. Bogs down occasionally. Dealer can't find anything wrong. No fault codes, no glycol in the fluid and no ecu upgrades. Going to take it to an indy mb repair shop. Maybe a double flush?

Seat module and door pops.

Fifth Ring

Can you give more info on slipping/bogging. What are the actual symptoms. Slipping and bogging are kind of opposite symptoms. I had my trans fluid changed at about 40,000 miles.

timberman

I had problems with the tranny slipping,
turned out that it was low on oil due to a leaky plug on the gearbox and was easily cured.

I also had the radiator changed at about 50K miles after the original Valeo cracked and dumped coolant/oil all over the road about a hundred miles from home.
I was pretty worried that the tranny would be damaged but it was ok, so even if the radiator does go bad it's not a guarantee that the tranny will go too. + mine was replaced with another Valeo


also had the heated seat go bad on several occassions + the s/charger clutch bearing and a few other minor faults along the way, still hasn't stopped me enjoying my car though

RiomJ

Here it is in a nutshell.
Jerky 1st to 2nd when light on the throttle (occasionally)
I can deal with that, but a severe loss in power at highway speeds.
Example shooting it up to 60 - 70mph let it idle for a few (foot off the pedal)
foot back on the pedal. Rpm's go up, but she really isn't moving.

Same thing happens occasionally from a stop going up hill.

dkflipse

Proly your intercooler pump - which has been well documented all over this board. It's a $90 repair if you DIY.

Kirby

This valeo radiator problem, it sounds like a huge pain in the ***. Is there a link to a specific thread someone can give me, so I can better understand this? I've read about it a lot, but dont really understand it.

timberman

This is a problem which seems to afflict a few of the earlier cars although some people have reported problems on later ones, personally I don't believe its as bad as it's made out to be with very few cars actually being affected,

But if this is something that concerns people my advice would be do a bit of preventive maintenance and just replace your rad with a the latest version
it won't cost the earth and will take away a worry

dkflipse

Search is your friend. A few minutes will save thousands of $$. Here is one...


https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c55-amg-w203/146457-1fastc32-s-cheep-intercooler-pump-replacement.html