ltkindermann

Hi All,

Hope I'm posting in the right place. I really need some advice.

I've seen a 2003 E 200 Avantgarde that I'm considering buying. It's had 2 previous owners...the last one an elderly guy who's had it for 4 years. The car is in pristine condition and comes with a complete MB service history. It comes with a year's road tax too which makes it additionally appealing given the cost of tax here in Ireland...over 700 euros or about 900 dollars

I haven't owned a Mercedes before and I've started to do some research on the model. What I've read so far is a bit concerning and I was hoping that some of the experienced owners here might give me some advice or guidance.

The seller has been very forthcoming and told me that it uses about a pint of oil every 1500 miles or so. Is this normal? He says he discussed this with his MB dealership and was told that this is the norm. Apart from this he tell me he's had no issues with the car at all. It has only done 60,000 miles.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Honcho

ltkindermann

Really? Oh dear. That's a pity. Apparently he gets a message on the dash at these intervals indicating that a top-up is required. So this is not normal?

Honcho

It is normal to get a message that SOMETHING IS WRONG, in the command cluster.

It is normal that the network of multitudes of sensors and monitors will be able to supply useful information to the COMMAND unit, enabling it to "pass along" some of that information to you by means of a regime of flashing lights and text messages, all the way up to and including "limp mode", (during which the car can refuse to do anything but limp along home in first gear), but...

Even by they year 2003, hasn't burning oil been cured?

It is also normal for the command cluster to show you what your current speed is... in analog and digital readout, or many many other happy or purely informational things.

Brain engaged.......

.

ltkindermann

Does everyone here enjoy their own thinking as much as you do? That's a rhetorical question....no grandstanding required.

Anybody else have any observations on this? I've read on other MB forums that this level of oil consumption is quite common and while not necessarily "normal" may not be a reason to walk away from the car.

cetialpha5

I'm not sure what the Mercedes spec is, but most other car manufacturers consider it a problem when their car burns more than a quart per 1000 miles, normal or acceptable if it's less. However most people aren't happy when they have an oil burner, even if it's just one quart every 2000 miles. So while it may be considered normal by the manufacturer, do you really want to add a couple of quarts of oil to the car between oil changes? There are other cars out there that burn minimal to no oil between oil changes. At about $5 a quart, over the next 60k, you would pay an extra $100 for oil, assuming it doesn't get any worse.

ltkindermann

Thanks. Yeah I've been driving for more than 30 years and I've never had to top up oil like that as a matter of routine on any other car I've owned. I believe that year is also prone to other issues as well...electrical problems and so on. It's just a very clean example with low mileage and a complete history so I suppose I hoped it was an acceptable feature of the engine.

I'll avoid then. Do you happen to know if the C class (C200) from that period, 2001 - 2006, were equally problematic?

Thanks