alanmb

According to Wikipedia's C-Class page (http://*******/WLt4TK), such an animal exists, although in limited quantities (100 each model).

I just searched Autotrader and neither model is for sale, which was expected.

I've been looking for a hot-rod wagon, and can't find one that floats my boat. (I currently have an SLK32 and a C55.) While looking for a wagon, I found two high-mileage C320 wagons for sale in the $5k range. I kept looking ... about a month now, off and on. Something about the $5k C320's has been stuck in my head since I saw them, but I couldn't figure it out. Then, today, as I climbed out of my SLK32, it hit me - why not buy a $5k wagon and find a wrecked C32, or buy a used powertrain, and build my own?!

My friend, a professional Mercedes mechanic, does all the work on my SLK32. I bet he'd be willing to give it a shot. I figure $5k (old wagon) + $7k (parts & labor, if direct install) = $12k. Sure beats a Volvo V50! (and I've been drooling over the C63 wagon - check out Drive on Youtube) (cross posted from W203 sedan discussion...)

Are the engine and transmission mounts the same on the C32 and C320 wagon?

I'll bug MIke, my mechanic guru, and post an update. Anyone else interested in something like this? Done it? Challenges? I suspect the challenge will be finding the magical "wrecked C32" or "used powertrain" at a reasonable cost.

matt72

there is also a c30 cdi amg available in wagon form,probably the most common amg here in portugal. you can find a c32 needing a bit of love in the uk for about 3000 pounds,normally one or two for sale on ebay uk

hyperion667

saw one parked next to a Unicorn once

Lenin

Was the Unicorn white or silver?
These were not sold in the US but you can contact rcompart and maybe he can build you one.

Saaboteur

Check the picture thread, there's a member from Sweden if memory serves who has a C55 wagon.

Rcompart (doesn't post much) dropped a C32 engine into an '05 C240 4Matic sedan. Ever since seeing that thread, I've been lusting over the wagons in the local classifieds too - 4Matic wagon with C32 engine would be very cool. I believe he said there was a bunch of coding required, and he had to try several ECUs before getting it to work.

Of the small German sport sedans though, seems like only Audi brought their special over in wagon format. But they've even stopped that now, you can't get a B8 S4 in Avant bodystyle in North America.

$12k gets you into the lower end of the B6 S4 market, I've seen high mileage examples locally for that price, maybe cheaper in the US. They do have timing chain issues though, and servicing that is an engine out job.

As soon as winter rolls around, I get quite bored very quickly in my A4 1.8T avant, I'd really like an S4 Avant for a winter car. Maybe when they get even cheaper I'll grab one, then it'll be a summer project for engine out to service the timing chains and such.

alanmb

Thanks for the references! I'll check them out.

I'm a big Audi fan. In fact, I sold my B6 S4 (biturbo) to buy my SLK32. You definitely relate to what I'm saying about wagons.

I don't require AWD. Don't get me wrong, I love AWD, but it's just not required for my purposes. A good set of winter tires on 2wd is "good enough" for the snow driving I might need to do. Funny, I drove my S4 in the snow and almost didn't get home - summer tires suck in the snow, even with AWD! So, the type of tire is more important than the number of drive wheels when it comes to "normal snow". For "big snow", ground clearance quickly becomes the issue, and you're sunk again with a performance car. AWD traction on dry ground is far superior, of course, but only at big hp/weight. A 350 hp rwd wagon is "just right" by me. :-) Your preferences are likely different.

All that said - I don't need an AWD powertrain coupled to the engine and trans from a C32. Besides, I want to use the entire C32 powertrain, if I can find it, so I get close to replicating the factory setup in the wagon. Imagine a C32 wagon - stock. Make sense?

Saaboteur

Sure, makes sense to me. Different requirements for different people. But I wager that if you live where I live, you'd probably want AWD for the winter months too! Typically from November to April I live surrounded by snow. I bloody well hate it, and if it wasn't for watching hockey I would go insane in the winter months. I did drive my Benzes a couple winters, on snow tires of course. The lack of traction from a stop and getting stuck in rarely plowed residential areas made me give it up - and ever since I got the Audi, I never have those issues any more. Yet I still lowered it this past summer. Eibach Pro-Kit said it was a 1.2" drop, but it turned out to be more like 2.5". Looks great. Then I started scraping everywhere there was a slight build up of snow. Got a Dieselgeek.com 'Panzer Plate' skidplate on there now, just put it on last weekend. 1/8" aluminum, no worries any more. Good timing too, because the stock belly pan had a large chunk torn out of it.

The Audi Avants definitely look cooler than their sedan counterparts, in my mind, especially lowered. Just something about wagons, especially fast ones. Lottery win tomorrow would mean a 997 GT3 followed quickly by European delivery on a new E63 4Matic wagon....

At any rate, I think you would still run into the same sort of coding issues that Rcompart ran into with his project, as you are matching up the C32 drivetrain to a chassis which doesn't recognize it. If you're serious about it, you should chat him up. He does this kind of specialized work, flying out to wherever. I'm sure that if you got the engine physically installed in the car, he could work some electronic magic to make it work properly.

I like the idea of a project C32 powered 4Matic 203 wagon...trouble would be finding a facelifted car, as I really don't like the earlier instrument clusters. But then I think about all the work involved and I should probably just pick up a used W211 E500 or E550 4Matic wagon, or going a bit left field, an E320 CDi 4Matic wagon. Loads more room in a 211 too.

amgen

Here´s my 400 hp plus-wagon:

Why don´t you import an AMG wagon, they differ quite a lot from
ordinary Mercedes?
They are quite rare too...



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Lenin

I guess you are not familiar with US Automobile Import Regulations. Unless the car is 25+ years old, certification is just not financially viable for this car.

Richardmozis

Almost half of C55s sold in Germany were wagons.

blacksage

I saw a wagon with a C32 badge on the back and the V6 Kompressor label on the fender. Who knows if it was legit though.

Viper98912

More pix in this thread

https://mbworld.org/forums/3598217-post1502.html

Notice it's got black birds eye maple too....

vaiste001

Running C32 wagon. No badges and a little bit tuned. Pushing 400+ HP. Differentiate from a normal W203 only by brakes and exhaust.

alanmb

Wow! Given the choice, I'd rather have a C55. I'm going to look into the feasibility of importing a used one to the USA. Any advice anyone?

alanmb

Exactly! Do you have a "sleeper" story to share?

alanmb

I didn't realize they were readily available from Europe. The wikipedia page said Mercedes only made 100 of each (c32/c55) at the end of the model run. I'm looking into importing one now! I was only going to do the transplant because I thought they weren't available. Do you know anything about importing one? Thanks!

amgen

Well, wiki is wrong!

4.600 C55 AMG were produced between late-04 and early-07.

If I remember correct, 1.750 were exported to North America. Only sedans.

If half of the rest were wagons, AMG produced 1.425 wagons for the rest
of the world. Most of them with black leather interior, fewer with light grey leather
and even fewer with designoleather.

You can check out used C55 for sale in Germany on mobile.de, many wagons
there!
http://suchen.mobile.de/auto/search....&ambitCountry=

I bought mine in Germany and took it home. But as new it was sold to Rome, Italy
as a leasing car.

Good luck!

alanmb

Yeah, I can see that wiki is wrong. I checked out the German site. I'm looking into shipping cost now. Any pointers are much appreciated!

amgen

Well, when I searched for a car, I wouldn´t buy a V-max car or a tuned car
cause then the owner probably had maxed it out on the Autobahn often with all
the extra wear & tear.

BobC32AMG

Germans build and drive their cars for the autobahn.

So they take excellent care of them since they use them in high speed. There is no county in the world where people take as good care for their cars as their. Just make sure all the Scheckheft ( sevice manuals ) are available.

Cars in the US are a joke, nobody keeps service records and all have high mileage.

Do notice european cars have lower KM.. (Mileage)

BobC32AMG

Shipping is about 1500-2000 dollar including all fees. Not sure what the additional taxation fees would be and what the restrictions are to import to the US.

I do believe they are extremely strict..

BobC32AMG

Also check autoscout24.com, this is with Mobile.de the best and largest sites.

Use google translate to contact and convince people, as they prefer german..

Explain your situation in detail since there are a lot of scammers out there and germans are pretty stubborn.

vaiste001

Little caution when searching for a car from continental Europe.

Some (not all) cars that seem near mint condition and have low mileage have had their service history faked and also miles / kilometers reduced. This can be done so that it leaves no trace and I have dealt a lot of such cases.

The best bet is to buy from a dealer since they usually give warranty for engine and gearbox.

Make your decision based on the overall condition of the car not it's service history. Full service history can backup your decision if the overall condition of the the car seems good.

capo_vendetta

Found a PFL C30 t model in Belgium (has 300.000km yet or 186000ml). Friend of mine has a c32 t model. Great car because you can make it into a van (= 125€/year of driving tax)

Viper98912

C30 diesel wagon, now that's a new one....