AlanG

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Alan and I have recently been looking for a c32. Hopefully I will be able to pick one up in the near future and officially join the community. I have had an Audi a4 and more recently, a bmw 335i. Those cars were both purchased new and had warranties, so I have a few questions about buying an AMG that is older than anything I have ever owned. I have read about common problems such as the IC pump, seat modules, radiator leaks, glycol contamination, etc. My main question is what are the major services that need to occur once the car hits 60, 70,or even 80k miles and how much do they cost? I am just trying to find out if the car I am looking for has any costly services coming up that I should be aware of (car I am looking at has 58k miles). What kind of annual cost of ownership should I expect? Obviously this varies from car to car, but I just want to get a rough estimate. I am sorry for all the questions, but I just want to know exactly what I am getting myself into. Thank you in advance for all the help.

moosejaw

Looking for a C32
Buy an 03-04. Black and Silver are common colors and once in a while Black Opal, Pewter, & White turn up once in a while. I think White is the rarest color that is commonly available. Others such as Tectite Grey Metallic and a really deep blue are also really desirable.

Intercooler pumps will need to be replaced as well as the HEat Exchanger. Hit up Eurocharged's Website for all hardware and LET for your software stuff.
Seat Modules are a DIY.
Do a tranny flush with MB Fluid or Redline Synthethic (at this cars age, its a must)
Replace Supercharger Bearing
Gylcol Contamination is common in 02's. Stay away from the Behr Radiator. they leak into the tranny. I know of some E55s that hooked up an independent cooler to combat this problem.

The C32 is easier to maintain that your two other cars, I dont think you wont have a problem.

What happened to your 335i? You would have to get some MODS stat to keep up with a tuned N54.

AlanG

335i only had a mild tune (to about 370hp), so it would probably run about even or maybe a little slower than a pulley and tuned c32. It went back on a lease return. Just trying to cut down because of tougher times, yet still buy something cool that I would enjoy just as much. I will be doing most of the basic maintenance myself, as my friends and I are all gearheads and have been working on our cars for a little while. Not terribly worried about stealership prices as I am about cost of parts.

CLKCLK

Buy Jake's (loungn14) car so you won't have to do anything. It's white and it's quickest C32 out there
If you want a quicker C32 than Jakes, don't buy his car so he has to stick around with us C32s to continue doing the developing

jturkel

lol. interesting logic

AlanG

Haha, not sure what his car is listed at, but I am looking for something around 14k. I found a white one in Florida thats a 2003 with almost 60k miles listed at 14500. Any more opinions on estimated cost of maintenance or any major expensive service intervals I should know about?

320 dreamer

if you stop to think about what jake has in his car , if you did all that yourself you would have a ton in it! that is a sweet car

AlanG

Yea i understand that its a good value, but still trying to keep initial cost down and slowly adding mods as I save up to install them.

320 dreamer

check it out. addons may change your mind

https://mbworld.org/forums/mercedes-...out-there.html

AlanG

Its a beautiful car, but 1.5x more than I am looking to spend.

Newzchspy

+1 its a nice car and well maintained. I've seen its tailights many times ( BUT no more!!!)

Oh, the gorgeous blonde does not come with it.

320 dreamer

thats what the art of negotiation is for!!!

moosejaw

grab that white one in florida
Its in St Augustine

Looks beat to hell

http://daytona.craigslist.org/cto/1388920697.html

if u want a fixer upper, offer him sumthing
he already dropped it from 14.5K to 14
get more info first

AlanG

I believe it is Daytona Beach. I still havent contacted the seller to see if he has the service records, etc. Not sure exactly how far that is from you, but if I can arrange to buy that car pretty soon I would really appreciate you taking a look at it before I made a trip out there. I will be sure to let you know. I am still trying to figure out if it makes sense though.

moosejaw

i was going to offfer but Daytona is five hours plus from Miami
If your in Atlanta thats halfway

WOrth a drive to Nascar Headquarters and the hard packed sand

TemjinX2

if your a gear head and decent with a wrench then its relatively cheap to fix the common problems. The high cost comes mostly from the stealership marking up parts 200% and charging 4-6hrs of labor for a 2hr job.

example...johnson pump is $150, new radiator is $150, the seat control module can be fixed with a $5 relay. If your willing to do your own labor, its relatively cheap to fix.

If you buy the oem parts online you'll save 60% instantly.

moosejaw

And the most importantly
you have an online community that is willing to help and offer advice a few clicks away

just steer clear of the C63 forum

Newzchspy

and Beach Bunnies too!!!

Headlights look faded??? maintenance????

$14 K, parts alone are worth that?? I'd drive it first for sure before making offer. Ask for some more photos. Problem in that area is rust (undercarriage too) and fading from the sun (seats, dash, headlights). No xenons on that one?? Mileage is not that bad.

moosejaw

"Beach Bunnies"
i see them everyday in so fla
so i forgot LOL

loungn14

Yikes, compression and leakdown are almost required when purchasing one of these cars....

Just my 2 cents...

If your interested we can always negotiate, some of the things on the car can be put back to stock for a different price point (rims/carbon fiber, etc)

Newzchspy

[QUOTE=loungn14;3739232]Yikes, compression and leakdown are almost required when purchasing one of these cars....

Just my 2 cents...


+1, 60 K miles, could be "hard life" car?? Looks like some fade on the front?? I'd ask for more photos too. Daytona= Salt air, sand and you can drive on the beach too which is hard on brakes, rotors, bearings, undercarriage (salt salt everywhere, BUT not a drop to eat!! )

AlanG

I will post up the autotrader ad for this car, as it looks a little better in the pictures he posted up in that add, including interior pics, etc. Why do you guys assume the car has been beat to hell?

moosejaw

If i sold a car like a c32 that i owned
it would be ibeeter photos than that

Most of the guys around here keep their car in better condition
a price that cheap i do have to wonder

Im almost tmpeted to buy that car and put everything from mine into that one

Newzchspy

The Wankel too???

AlanG

Here is the autotrader ad for the same car. To be honest it doesnt seem to be in bad condition from the pics he postd here. I might give him a call just to see what the deal is. Let me know what you all think.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false