Saaboteur

Been lurking for a while now, first post for me. Read a lot of the posts on common C43 issues. Checked out a local C43 twice now, black on black. It's a 99, high mileage (223,000km), but basically one owner (he said he got it from his friend in 01). Transmission was replaced under warranty in 02. I crawled underneath the car yesterday but couldn't find any stampings on the tranny to say whether it is a 722.602, 621 or 631. I'm guessing it's a 631. The part number on the tranny is 202 270 39 00.

The seller said he had it all services done at one of the local dealers, and recently at one of the German independent specialists. The CPS was done about a year ago too. The car is dry underneath with the exception of some sweating on the tranny case, forward of the pan, where the O2 sensor wiring passes by. The electrical connectors to the right of the tranny are all dry too. Front control arm bushings done about 4 years ago too.

The only downers, for me, are the mileage and the relatively rough body. It needs paint pretty badly. There's a fist sized spot of rust on the right front door, bubbling but not through, and a myriad of scratches everywhere. The right front headlight lens is cracked. The b-pillar trim on the driver's door looks a bit faded, ie. the other trim on the other doors looks a lot newer, the carbon-look panels aren't faded. The front bumper skin is a bit lose. He says its from hitting snowbanks or whatever during the winter. When I actually drove the car last weekend, I came off his driveway and dislodged the bumper a bit too. Trans shifts smoothly. The engine purrs nicely (absolutely love it, would love to hear it with the secondary resonator removed!). Is there a diagram of the front bumper so I could see how to reattach it solidly?

Interior wise, the AC blows cool, the centre vents work, the dual stage seat heaters work, the pneumatic seat bolsters work...I think the only thing that doesn't work is the driver's side headrest. Suggestions on that?

I have a bit of history with the C43...I drove one for a weekend in '05, was contemplating buying it back then but the dealer wanted a dear price for it (C$30k) and it wasn't focused enough for me, the auto turned me off. Since then I've picked up an S2000, so I have my thorougbred sportscar in that. The C43 would be my winter and road trip car. I'd like something just completely different to my S2k. Summer, I wanna feel the road, winter I want to be warm and comfortable! Also, it's impossible to drive myself, my fiancee and my grandfather to dim sum in the S2000!

The seller has winters on the original monoblocks, and another set of 5 spoke AMG wheels with summer, staggered rubber. Also says he has a spare MAF sensor too. Dunno when the plugs were done though, or if the crank pulley was done. When was that recall issued? Perhaps the very first owner had it done prior to '01?

Buy? Price wise, the guy is asking C$15k. I talked to him after I first saw it last week, and he said he'd go for $10k. I had initially said $8,500, but now I said $9k. Keep in mind that Canadian C43s are even rarer than US ones. And I can't import a US C43 - all C-Classes prior to '00 are not eligible for import. There are lower mileage cars on used car lots, asking C$18k, which I think is a bit much (I can pick up an '02 C32 for that price). But the C32 doesn't have a V8.

Should I be afraid of the mileage? I figure that a known quantity with basically full service history, plus the transmission change, may be a better bet than a car with much less mileage, and likely unknown history. I've asked the seller to ask the dealer for the Vehicle Master Inquiry, as the service department won't give that to me without the seller's permission.

I think I can get it painted for maybe C$2500. New windshield would be nice. Can one buy just the headlight lens? Is the glass different between the xenon and halogen lights? Should the xenons do a quick self leveling? I seem to remember from my weekend in '05 that they did, but it doesn't seem like this car does.

Would love to hear any thoughts and insight.

Glen H

1) i wouldn't be afraid of the mileage, as long as the engine/transmission are strong and the price reflects it. There should be lots of good miles left.

2) You can replace just the headlight lens. I did so several years ago for under $100, after shopping around.

3) I would be concerned about the rust, and at the least would want to get a professional opinion about how contained it is. Rust in a C43 is not usual. Painting over it will not make it stay away.

v0ac

15K for a c43 in bad shape/rust and 223k km ?
way over price..

one sold localy for 12 000$ at 175k km.
and in very good condition, no rust.


deal it very low..and fix the rust

v0ac

but true that canadian C43 are rare and sell much higher then us..
i bought mine @ 18500$ in 2007,

and i changed everything on it...
she's at 118k km and i could sell it for the same exact price today

Saaboteur

Yeah, honestly the rust isn't bad. There's a touch starting to bubble on the inner lip of one of the front fenders, and then the spot on the door. That's it. Underneath, it's all good - nothing structural. The rest of the paint is just in bad shape from small scratches and I guess a lot of wear and tear.

I actually think the seller is going to bite for $9k, which would be nice. He's divorcing and tidying up his local affairs to move overseas, so hopefully he's motivated.

Any idea on Canadian C43 import numbers? I don't think I've ever seen a '98 C43 in Canada, maybe they only did them in '99?

BenzMaster19

But the real question is,,, how much did you spend in replacing everything??

v0ac

don't know exactly, i had good price on every oem amg parts from a forum member


but I change everything BECAUSE i dont plan to sell this car ever

ob1kenobi

How about a W210 E55? Is that something you would consider?
I think I saw one on Craigslist in Vancouver about 2 weeks ago, which I
forgot how much was the asking price. I know it's much bigger than a
W202 C43.

good luck on your search.

Saaboteur

Thought about a W210 E55...the prices on them are pretty reasonable now too. They do look cool, but they are large for my taste. I actually drove my friend's dad's '00 E430 4Matic. Strong engine I thought, but I don't dig the size. The big engine + small car formula is better with the C43.

My fiancee actually wants a W211 wagon, so we'll probably take the plunge on one of those in the next year or so. And probably import from the US. So there's no need for me to also get an E-class, and in fact, just frees me up to get the C43!

ob1kenobi

Post up some picture of your S2000. I used to own a Silverstone MY00 one and actually sold it to someone from Calgary. I was going to keep it because of its low S/N and it was very low mileage too

Saaboteur

Obe Wan, are you in Vancouver?

My S2k is an '01, originally a California car that made its way to Ontario, then to Calgary somehow, where I picked it up in '06. Silverstone, black interior.

Since then, I've lowered it on Konis and Ground Controls, went +1 on wheels with 17" Enkei RPF1s, Stoptech 328mm big brake kit, Tanabe exhaust, some custom alcantara pieces in the interior, a one-off, red leather Cobra seat, JDM clear headlights, and a few other small things. Oh yeah, changed the final drive to a 4.44 (stock is 4.10) and swapped in a transmission from a later car (shorter ratios) and an aluminum flywheel. After my wedding, the plan is to snag a Science of Speed supercharger kit. Also thinking of throwing in a half cage and some 'clubman' style 4 point belts. Handles like a dream, revs to 9000, love it.

I've currently also got a '98 Volvo V70 winter beater, so reliable, carries lots of stuff, but just so boring. I'm also a bit of a Saab guy, hence the screen name. I just sold my '88 Saab 900 Turbo SPG modified project car (built everything, stand alone engine management) and soon I'll part out my '74 Saab 99 LE rallycar too....trying to cut down on my car habit and bring it down to two....S2k and C43 would be a nice combo!

ob1kenobi

when I was growing up during the Gretzky - Messier days.
Move to California for College and stayed here since.

I'd like to compliment the E55 with an NSX sometime in the future. Just to keep the balance of some kind. My wife likes the S2000 but it's only me and her that will fit in there. We have 2 kids so for a spirited family driving I have
the E55 for that and for long driving the MDX. Sometime, somehow, we've gotta get rid of the civic in the driveway. But too much sentimental value
attached so we kinda hang on to it.

Check out the Vancouver Craigslist, the E55 I was talking about is still there.

Good luck.

BenzMaster19

Yup, I am in the same process with my AMG!

Saaboteur

Well, I did it! Yesterday, finalized the deal and came away with the car. Black on black. Needs paint, but I'm aware of the car's issues, ie basically all cosmetic. It's going to be my winter car for now, this coming spring/summer I'll probably have it painted and some dings and dents looked after.

After that, I'd like to snag a set of 18" Monoblocks, and then do some suspension. The Vogtland shock and spring combo kit looks pretty appealing, and the right price too.

My fiancee likes the idea of having indicators in the mirrors. What is involved in retrofitting a set of W210 mirrors onto the car?

ob1kenobi

Congratulations! Post some pics when you get a chance.
Re: 18" AMG wheels, that would look much better than it does and fills the
wheel well pretty good. Retrofitting W210 mirror would require you to
splice some wires and tap the existing one. They pretty much bolt right
in. Good luck with it. I hear it's pretty rare in your neck of the woods.

Saaboteur

So, over the weekend, mucked around with a few things on the car. The seller gave me a spare MAF sensor, a spare xenon bulb, 'C43 AMG' accessory floor mats, and new air and oil filters.

One of the irks I had was that the trailing edges of the front bumper were loose, hanging a bit low - from incursions with curbs. So I removed the bumper and saw where some of the plastic mounting rails were coming apart and sorted that out with some stainless aviation safety wire.

One of the headlamp bulbs was shining a different colour from the other. Swapped that out yesterday so now they are the same. Then found that three of the four foglamp bulbs were toast, so picked up new ones. The contacts on one of the foglamps in the bumper are a bit finicky, so I'll probably just rewire them both.

Car needs a bit of an alignment, as its drifting left ever so slightly. I think I may just pick up a set of Vogtland springs and some of the camber arms and then align it. Then later I can do the shocks.

Spent a bunch of time reading up on the forums about 210 mirror swaps and aftermarket stereo swaps. Discovered that the CD changer isn't working (it says 'No magazine') but it's all fully hooked up. I think I have the Becker deck, and not the Bose system, so hopefully the stereo swap will be easy. I have my trusty deck wired up with an aftermarket connector, so I could swap it between my other cars. Probably just do the same with the AMG.

A couple quick pix attached.

nikrox

does tha changer have a cd magazine? it may just need a magazine. i would check that first






_n.

Saaboteur

Yeah, didn't mention - I filled up the magazine with discs, no luck. The magazine pops out of the changer no problem, the light goes green when I press the button on the changer. But when I push the CD button on the deck, nothing happens. Fail.

I think I have tracked down the wiring harness adaptors I need locally, so I will probably just snag them and run my other deck. I prefer it, anyway, with MP3 capability on burnt CDs. Plus the snazzy graphics and all that...