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Looking to buy my first MB. This 2003 only has 40,000 miles. I test drove it and it looks and drives great. I pulled the Carfax and comes up clean with multiple owners. The seller and I agreed on the price and I told him that I was going to have a prepurchase inspection done at the local dealer. The car was due for it Service B and he had it done yesterday. The independent mechanic did oil change, replaced all filter, and auxiliary water pump. The mechanic also found minor leaks from the valve cover gaskets and rear main seal. I've read on forum about valve cover leaks not much about rear main seal. I told seller that I will still meet at dealer tomorrow. My question is should I walk away from deal or try and renegotiate the deal based on what the local MB dealer says. Thanks for the help
A local buddy who has an CLK 55 Cab bought it with around 25k miles, if I remember right. This goes back a couple of years. He too, needed the valve cover gasket replacement. Dealer quoted him hundreds of dollars - he ended up doing it himself. Evidently it wasn't too tough of a tough job. Can't weigh in on the rear seal. I wouldn't necessarily be put off by that kind of work, but would defer to actual owners for their input. Of course, try to use the additional $$ required for repairs to bring that ask price down - only fair.
I took the car to dealer for the inspection, best $165 that I've spent. Dealer found leaking power steering pump, engine mounts were bad, valve gasket leak, bushings falling apart, rear seal. $4,777 for repairs not counting the rear seal. I'll keep looking for a nice one to come along.
Good work, keep looking they're out there....almost all will need something though. $5k out of the chute would be a bitter pill to swallow if you weren't expecting it.
It sounds just like my daughters '04 A4 - I've sunk over $4k in that thing in the last few months.
Valve cover gaskets are an easy DIY if you are so inclined. I don't know what the MB ones retail for in the US but I bet the job can be done for $100. Engine mounts are more of a pain but look at pelican parts if you want to get an idea of prices. Power steering pump is right on top of the engine and another easy replacement and they are not too expensive either. The steering rack on the other hand...
Suspension bushes- again look at pelican parts for ideas on prices. All of these things are unfortunately common age related failure points. I personally wouldn't pass up an otherwise great condition car for them but I would use it for bargaining power. Of course I can fix (and have) a lot of this stuff myself. Rear main seal requires the transmission being dropped, that is the only one which is definitely a major exercise but also it affects a lot of cars now. Independent shops are also much cheaper than the dealer for some of this work.
I wanted to check some prices for myself so here you go. Prices for good parts (not cheapest) either genuine MB or OEM supplier
Engine mounts $94 each (need 2)
Valve cover seals $16.75 each (need 2)
Power steering pump OEM rebuild $417 and about $20 of fluid
Rear main seal $31
Control arms usually need to be replaced instead of just the bushing but you can buy the bushings separately to press into the old arm if you like. Very common wear item on all W203 and W209 cars, the arms usually range between $50 and $90 each.
all those problems are common, i have done all those repairs except the rear main seal....that thing goes bad every often and unless it is a huge leak which requires you to add a more than a quart of oil every oil change I wouldnt bother...I was planning on doing it at my next trans service around 90k miles
Agree with all of the above including Pelican parts and insight.
The Rear main seal is a big job that requires transmission removal or engine removal. Expect to pay big labor for this one unless you are able to wrench on your own.
I like Audi but many of their vehicles are so independent of a modular system. It seems to drive the cost of the parts beyond the worth of the car.
Mercedes Benz, BMW, Porsche and Volvo figured this out many years ago.
VW, Audi can get hectic for parts.
I would not toss that find away but I can fix all of those problems easy.
Good luck with your pursuit of a Mercedes Benz AMG.
I can do some minor wrenching but not able to pull a transmission. I know my limits. I might of found a CLK5 AMG owned by a mechanic who has done many improvements on his car.
Mine kind of has those exact issues with more. But from what I saw at the time of looking, all of the coupe models were over 20k in my area and mine seemed decently priced being lower. Sadly I didn't test the car at the dealer or anywhere and after a year hadta replace disc up front and pads all round. I have yet to replace my bushes for the front but I have bought the arms. I don't have a p/s leak but there is or was something leaking there. I have that rear main seal leak as well but I can do it but I will need a good weekend to start that as I don't have any lift of sorts.
As they mentioned, if the mileage is good and the body and electronics are fine, don't let the other issues dampen your spirits.
This may only cost $31 for the part (by the way you need the plate too) but you have to drop the trans do do the replacement. I an fix any maintenance item on these cars and have been putting this off for months. Not an easy job. I am not trying to bash or anything just dont want people thinking they can fix this on a weekend in their garage for $31.
I agree the transmission jack while the vehicle is on a lift makes it a couple hour job. My best record on Volvo 240 Rear Main is 1.75 hr. Out the door
Some of us work on the floor and use a hydraulic jack but I have an adapter that helps locating the transmission while RnR. It was pricey for the amount of use it gets but China and Harbor freight has changed the equation.
It makes the job safer,easy and cheaper, able to focus on the culprit. The rear main seal will leak again if the crank is grooved.
Polish the seal journal with fine emery cloth is a good preventative procedure.
I did the RMS few weeks ago on floor with just normal 2ton jack. Yes it is mojor job and time consuming but nothing impossible. I used old cover. Just new sealants, seal and flex plate bolts.
I finally found a 2004 CLK 55 AMG owned by a 15 year Mercedes Benz master mechanic. It only has 85,000 miles and he owned it for 50,000 miles. Every issue that I mentioned on the 2003 was already fixed on his car and many upgrades(Klemann, LED inside/out). This car is impeccable. He spent 2 1/2 hours with me going over and under his pride and joy.
I finally found a 2004 CLK 55 AMG owned by a 15 year Mercedes Benz master mechanic. It only has 85,000 miles and he owned it for 50,000 miles. Every issue that I mentioned on the 2003 was already fixed on his car and many upgrades(Klemann, LED inside/out). This car is impeccable. He spent 2 1/2 hours with me going over and under his pride and joy.
I finally found a 2004 CLK 55 AMG owned by a 15 year Mercedes Benz master mechanic. It only has 85,000 miles and he owned it for 50,000 miles. Every issue that I mentioned on the 2003 was already fixed on his car and many upgrades(Klemann, LED inside/out). This car is impeccable. He spent 2 1/2 hours with me going over and under his pride and joy.
Curious, what were the ask prices for the 2 cars in question?
The motor mounts all go on these cars. Easy test is just put the car into drive and step on the gas whilst your foot is on the brake, and observe if the engine lifts up and down (also put into reverse to check other side). If the main seal has a "minor" leak, maybe just live with it, depending on price. Valve cover gasket is simple DYI.
Well the 2004 has 45,000 more miles vs the 2003 but these cars are built to go several hundred thousand miles so it's not really a concern if you're planning to keep the car. I think I would go for the 2004 because all of the odd niggly little issues likely being taken care of (plus headers on it sure would be sweet) be sure to try every last little electronic device and switch on the car because they are a pain in the butt... The dash pixels if need to be fixed, it's not hard to do justhis a couple of hours. I bought a complete set of LCD displays on eBay, it shipped from China and took 10 weeks but it was only $45. Small bonus is you can probably phone this guy who is selling it for the next three years anytime something crops up and he can give you solid advice.
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