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2011 VW GTI
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Hello just wanted to introduce myself. I'll be a C55 owner once the car is delivered to my door. Found a nice example of a 2005 in Colorado with 62,000 miles. Absolutely no rust, which is awesome. Its pretty basic as far as options go. Halogen headlamps and standard stereo head unit... which I will probably add a more modern aftermarket unit. Feel free to make any recommendation for head units. I've seen some nice pioneer units with Nav on W211 Mercedes, but curious if anyone knows of something better for a W203.
I'm coming from a 2011 Volkswagen GTI so I am use to having to do maintenance on a car. LOL. Water pumps, timing chain tensioner replacement on early build engines (precautionary), excessive carbon buildup on intake valves, Weak clutch if you have the car tuned, coil packs if you have the car tuned. etc. Actually my GTI has been bought back by VW after a long buyback request process. Car would eat through its water pump every 5000-8000 miles and leave a nice puddle of coolant in the garage or the hangar at work... So after a the 4th time, VW replaced the engine at 56K miles. A very common and annoying issue with the GTI. That said, it was a fun car and was planning keeping it and bringing it to a stage 2 tune until VW caved in and gave me a generous offer. So why not.
As far as the C55 goes, it needs a few little but common wear and tear things. 1: Valve cover gaskets... never seen one for sale that didn't have seepage or a leak. Easy and cheap Saturday afternoon job. 2: At the maintenance inspection we found that the water pump may need replaced soon due to very faint noise coming from the pulley area (the irony), though easier and actually cheaper to replace then the complex plastic unit on the GTI. Don't have to remove the intake manifold to get to the pump on this one. Also should last longer than 5000 miles. 3: One of the control arm bushings is dry on the drivers side. Drives fine, but probably should be addressed soon. 4: Battery, After sitting in Colorado and not being driven for the past few weeks with below zero temps, the battery was just done with life. Seller will replace that before shipping. Additionally I will inspect and replace spark plugs (if needed), flush transmission and coolant, and oil change. So hopefully it turns out to be more fun than hassle.
I'm coming from a 2011 Volkswagen GTI so I am use to having to do maintenance on a car. LOL. Water pumps, timing chain tensioner replacement on early build engines (precautionary), excessive carbon buildup on intake valves, Weak clutch if you have the car tuned, coil packs if you have the car tuned. etc. Actually my GTI has been bought back by VW after a long buyback request process. Car would eat through its water pump every 5000-8000 miles and leave a nice puddle of coolant in the garage or the hangar at work... So after a the 4th time, VW replaced the engine at 56K miles. A very common and annoying issue with the GTI. That said, it was a fun car and was planning keeping it and bringing it to a stage 2 tune until VW caved in and gave me a generous offer. So why not.
As far as the C55 goes, it needs a few little but common wear and tear things. 1: Valve cover gaskets... never seen one for sale that didn't have seepage or a leak. Easy and cheap Saturday afternoon job. 2: At the maintenance inspection we found that the water pump may need replaced soon due to very faint noise coming from the pulley area (the irony), though easier and actually cheaper to replace then the complex plastic unit on the GTI. Don't have to remove the intake manifold to get to the pump on this one. Also should last longer than 5000 miles. 3: One of the control arm bushings is dry on the drivers side. Drives fine, but probably should be addressed soon. 4: Battery, After sitting in Colorado and not being driven for the past few weeks with below zero temps, the battery was just done with life. Seller will replace that before shipping. Additionally I will inspect and replace spark plugs (if needed), flush transmission and coolant, and oil change. So hopefully it turns out to be more fun than hassle.
