Mark.D

I'm currently in the market for a used W203 C55 and am wondering how these particular models are holding up with age as 2005's are now 5 years old. I'm familiar with the quality of MB's, especially with the (now) old W124 cars, but am unfamiliar with the newer models. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Are CPO'd cars "worth it"? They typically fetch a pretty large premium over non-CPO's vehicles.

Thanks!

Mark

RLx02

CPO's are definitely worth it. I had zero problems with my car up until my PS pump died...but thats really rare that it happens, but it still set me back close to a grand to fix. :/

Viper98912

2005; non-CPO; no aftermarket warranty; had it since July 09; 55,000 miles; daily driver; I really haven't had any major issues with it (knock on wood).

IMO, CPO and extended warranty is really a personal decision on the C55, unlike a must on some other MB's and AMG's.

F1Bobby

I've had mine about a year and a half. The thing so far is bullet proof. I've got the 100k warranty for a bit of peace of mind...

JonMBZ

I have 96k miles on my car and haven't really had any problems. I only had an issue when the detailers wet some of the electrical items in my car, but after it dried out everything was ok.

1V8C55

I'm going on my 5th year of ownership and all has been good. I had to take care of some alternator and electrical issues last year. It was covered under warranty so no worries. I also have the extended warranty for the extra piece of mind.

52k miles and still driving strong

Quicktwinturbo

Electrical issues are prolly the most common (Alt reg, alt, CPS, Seat heater, cd player, changer, etc). Repair cost 60-600.

Then there are some common tear n wear issues such as engine / tranny mounts / AC / PS
500-1000

Overall, great car but seat heater is a pos. (changed it 4 times)

JonMBZ

oh yea my cd changer is broken too, but they break on every mercedes, not just a C55

Viper98912

96k!!! Oh the abuse!

One thing you're going to notice is that while many of these problems are somewhat common for MB's, and you're definitely going to see them on the C-class, there is no clear, defined, "this is absolutely going to fail on you and cause you much grief".

CLKBSVegas

Does anyone else feel the jinx while typeing here? Here goes, my 05 has no issues at all of any type. But then again, I only have 16k miles on her.

Great cars

F1Bobby

OK!!!!! You had to bring that up.......................!

lookin4ac55

Well, looks like I have one of the common MB C55 AMG's. My driver side seat bottom heater is out, and both valve cover gaskets leaking like a siv. Oh well, $100.00 deductible, going in next week. I wonder what else they'll find. I bought it in Nov. with 19k miles on her, and now have 30k lol.

Kompressor21

I haven't had any problems with my car since i had it just normal stuff..
Does anyone know of a good Warrant company that wont kill my pockets?

Mark.D

Thanks for the replies, these are very helpful.

Also, if a car is purchased without an existing factory warranty, can one be added by the dealership at a later date? Aftermarket (ie non factory backed warranties) are, in general, a scam from what I've read.

c5581

I'm in Moorestown as well.

Out of curiousity, where do you take it for service?

RLx02

I bought my 05 with 26.4k on the clock...put 18k in one year and the only thing that went bad was the PS pump...but thats really uncommon.

hooleyboy

My power steering pump took a crap too. I was doing a doughnut though. My alternator took a crap as well. Also at 480whp my transmission said enough was enough. I just got it back from RENNtech yesterday.

Tump43

With 66k on the clock and all my mod's, the only things that really broke on my car were the seat heater (broken for the 3rd time, not going to fix it this time), both valve cover gaskets and the coolant temperature sensor (both repaired under warranty). My Harmon Kardon Comand system, as well as the Tel.Aid system, had to be rebooted and udated once by the dealer under warranty. I've had the CPS, MAF, VR, accessory belt, tensioner pulley, engine mounts, tranny mount, tranny filter & fluid, fuel level sender/filter and all other fluids and filters replaced prophalatically. Besides the above two items, the C55 seems to be bullet proof if properly maintained. Eventually, you will have to replace all the other items I mentioned -- they are known trouble spots.

However, after owning a C43 AMG and a 300E, I would not own any Mercedes, especially an AMG without a factory or aftermarket warranty.

Currently I use Mercury Insurance through autowarrantybroker.com, great co., insurred with $0 deductible up to 100k.

mkonei

3 C55s in a 5 mile radius? lets do something.....after i fix my cracked windshield of course

mkonei

and to the OP....62k with just a rocker cover leak, and a trans harness leak..not bad imo

91RS

I suppose the CPO was worth it for me since otherwise I wouldn't have had a warranty at all. I've got until December to decide if I want to extend the CPO warranty to get an extended warranty. I work on cars for a living, so there's plenty of stuff I can do myself. If the transmission takes a dump or if something happens where DAS is needed for diagnosis, it'll have to go to the dealer though. I'm still very on the fence about whether or not to extend the warranty, especially since I don't put tons of miles on it. I think they told me I can do one more year for $1k and two years for $2k.

So far in my ownership I've only had to replace the valve cover gaskets and an idler pulley (it wasn't making noise, but it was a little loose). My SA at the dealer told me the car only had a few things fixed under warranty, some sensors for the HVAC and I forget what else. Nothing major though.

Quicktwinturbo

When are we supposed to change pully and belts?

Mark.D

Thanks for the detailed reply. Have you ever made a claim with Mercury Insurance?

Phil C55

I just copied this from the Mercedes AMG maintenance book. It never did give a mileage for a C55. The supercharged cars get a belt every 40k miles, but the NA motors like in a C55 seems to be based on age and condition. RM European lists the belt for about $27, if the tensioner is bad it's about $100.

1351 Check engine poly-V-belt condition

The poly-V-belt is subject to wear and aging.
It must be checked for cracks and wear at

every B-service. Replace poly-V-belt if necessary.

Jons95c36amg

My 02 Clk55 52k miles has the original poly-v belt no cracks looks new.