Kieran28

So I test drove a wagon tonight that I like. The seller seems pretty motivated to unload it. I'm going to get it inspected this weekend. Several things are wrong off the bat:
1) many dead pixels in the dash (e.g. can't read what gear you're in very well)
2) passenger seat won't go all the way back (stops about 2" short of tOrhe back stops)
3) a rattle that may be a dead/dying catalytic converter, may just be a loose panel of some sort. Seller claims his MBZ mechanic said the cats were okay, & it did pass smog recently...
4) SRS light won't go off on the dash. Does this mean the airbags are non-functional?
5) rear fog light (? is that what it is? when you pull the light switch out twice an orange lamp illuminates below the switch) on passenger side is out
6) high-beams don't turn on.
7) CD-changer is non-functional (haven't played around with it much yet to try to diagnose this... read somewhere here that simply disconnecting the power & reconnecting fixed it for someone?)
8) cap to washer fluid is missing.

Cosmetically, it's in great shape. It drives very nicely. The guy was generous enough to let me take it home for 2 days, so I can get it inspected at my mechanic. I'll bring it back to him on Saturday.

It's a 2002 with 90k miles. Original owner. He's asking $9500 & has already indicated that he's pretty flexible.

Would love to hear any thoughts on this. #'s 1-4 are most concerning to me.

Thanks!

ejsheltra

Now your getting there. Congrats! Pixals are an easy fix. There is a DIY on this sight or call Potomac German Auto for a replacement used for $225.00 delivered. It is easy to change out. I just sold my spare for 172 delivered on Ebay. No rear fog light. That is for the rear running lamps on one side only while driving in Europe in the fog. It adds extra brightness to only one side probaly left side if car was for US import, (forgot which have not used it since coming stateside from Germany) You will not use it here in the USA or Canada. But that is all it does. Aftermarket cats are inexpensive and can be handled by an independent shop. Seats might involve more. Sometimes it is just dirty connectors or slightly corroded contacts points. Keep looking and get a few comparisons. DO a Auto Trader or Cars.com nationwide search for your specifics to get an idea what is being asked. Best wishes.

ejsheltra

Forgot to suggest this. Check all around the seats to see if something has fallen in the way. I will bet there is something in there preventing that seat back from going back and that would be an easy fix.

ejsheltra

Lastly for #4 have an indy shop or dealer check all connections. If SRS light is on then the airbags will not deploy.

01BlackE320

#4 The SRS light is often due to a bad Passenger Seat Occupancy sensor. Usually the wire that connect it to the harness under the seat gets frayed. The sensor is about $180 and you need to remove the passenger seat, and the uphulstery to replace it. There is much discussion on this board about it.

#6 High Beams don't turn on? If you're not getting a "defective Lamp" error, I would suspect it's the switch, but someone will need to troubleshoot that one.

Kieran28

It's not the seat back tilt, it's the seat bottom fore/aft. It stops about 2 inches short of the end of the tracks when trying to make it go all the way back (which at 6'7" is important to me if I'm in the passenger seat, and one of the main reasons we want this car - lots of leg room).

meooem1

My opinion, way too many problems. i live in los angeles too and there are so many w210's for sale it is almost unbelievable. Keep looking and you will find that gem. The cats alone if done right are probably going to be around $2000.

ohlord

Once you start buying broken ,you need to fix broken and not knowing what is broken can end up costing you more than a well sorted out car in the first place.

Kieran28

... which is why you inspect first, yes? This way you know what's broken and what's not.

Turns out the cats are fine. The bracket that's near the cats was loose.

Also the SRS control unit is bad, not the passenger seat occupancy sensor. Good news = easier to fix, bad news = all airbags are inoperable right now.

Got all the codes and everything... no time to post right now though.

Kieran28

So there were a LOT of codes thrown from this car. The mechanic said he was only concerned with the SRS system codes (with a big "F"). He said that most likely everything else (with a little "f") would go away once he cleared or reset the system, but that he couldn't do that since it wasn't my car... he needs permission of the actual owner to reset codes.

Does this all sound legit? I don't know much about how codes get triggered, why they are stored, and how or why they would not return once cleared.

He suspected that many of the codes were due to the car sitting undriven for a long time with the battery low. Indeed, the owner had said it's been sitting in his garage a lot lately.

meooem1

i know you said in the other post that you are hard to deal with, so i'm going to lay it out to you. i would never let any of the things that are wrong with the car you want to buy go unfixed on my car. how do you think the last owner treated that car with that many things wrong with it. someone obviously drove that hoopdie like it was stolen. why do you have to argue with everyone trying to give you advice. an inspection can only go so far. they are not probably going to test compression in the engine or look at the tranny fluid.

sorry to snap on you, but with your last post ($17000 to much) it sounds like you know everything there is to know about the car business.

Kieran28

No worries, no need to apologize. I don't think I'm hard to deal with, I just like to discuss things to death.

I'm not sold on this car, far from it. But I want to learn as much from this as possible before moving on.

I'm sorry it sounds to you like I think I know everything about the car biz. I think it's obvious I know very little. But wouldn't you agree like $17k is too much for ANY '03 e320 wagon, regardless of miles or condition?

Anyway, again not trying to be argumentative here... just trying to learn... but seriously what is it about the list of problems that makes you think the owner drove the car hard? That's an honest question. To my novice mind, things like the seat position motor wearing out could happen to anyone regardless of how gentle you DRIVE the car...

Here's an updated list:
1) many dead pixels in the dash (e.g. can't read what gear you're in very well)
***clarification: main display is fine, dead pixels are only on the outside temp display and gear/clock display.
2) passenger seat won't go all the way back (stops about 2" short of tOrhe back stops)
x3) Cats are fine, it was a loose bracket. Rattle gone.
4) SRS light won't go off on the dash.
x5) rear fog light is fine. There's only supposed to be one.
x6) high-beams work fine... I had the fog lights on at the same time, and was pulling instead of pushing the lever.
7) CD-changer is non-functional
8) cap to washer fluid is missing.

Again, what in the above list indicates that the car was abused, and why? I'm trying to learn here, not argue. Thanks!

meooem1

it is the fact that all of those things did not go wrong at once and the owner just let them go. what else was put off? i work in the ghetto and you see these cars all of the time. people can't afford the upkeep, but they want to be seen in the car. they drive them into the ground.

look, the only reason i snapped earlier, is because i give a damn. keep looking for a car with less problems and all records. they are out there.

if i come accross any leads i will PM you.

Kieran28

I appreciate the offer! Didn't notice until now that you & I are local. Being in Redondo, you must know of MB of South Bay dealership. They are *hounding* me to buy an '02 off them. Not crazy about the color though (beige/gold/sand/whateveryoucallthatcolor).

As for this car though... He's a father of at least 2 kids, they live in a nice area of east orange county... def. not ghetto. The car was his wife's.

My own dad is lazy when it comes to things with his car ('98 BMW 740iL) that don't matter to him. For example, his display is virtually illegible so many pixels are dead. The coffee cup holder has been broken for years. The CD changer has been dead for years. But if the slightest mechanical (engine/trans/suspension/brakes/etc.) thing goes wrong, he's on it ASAP, and never misses a regular maintenance. These other things to him are not worth the money to fix. The car is save, drives very well, & the radio works. He'll never be able to sell it (doesn't really want to anyway) but it's mechanically in fantastic shape.

Anyway, again, not arguing, and not sold on this wagon necessarily. But I think you've got to judge a person as well as a car when dealing private party. I'm still gathering data. I'll hold judgement until the end.

I was very wary when I first saw this car, for the same reasons you are. My wife almost didn't even want to bother with the inspection.

But my mechanic was really pretty impressed with the overall condition. Save for the few things on this list, he said it's in great shape.

So here's my big question:
What sort of things could be bad with this car that wouldn't show up on inspection, that would be a result of neglect or abusive driving style? ( I mean, some things wear out or break no matter how nice you are to the car... so not counting those sorts of things.)

Kieran28

For anyone interested in educamatin' me...