I`m in the processes of purchasing a C230 have been looking at 2002 - 2004. Anyone have any input as to what year has the least complex issues. I took a 2002 for a test drive and part of the spring broke right off. This kind of worried me and turned me off this year. Could only be that specific car. Any advice would be great as I don`t know to much about the car. I fell in love with it so i at this point only want this model.
I'm sure if the car has a clean history and you don't abuse it you should be fine. Are there any features you'd like? Color preferences? Good Luck on the search. It took me a while before I found my car and decided to purchase it.
I wouldn't mess with ANY 01-04 as those were the most problem-prone years for 203s.
Either get an 05-facelift car or wait until you can afford one. If you have any truly technical questions, go ask the same question at mercedesshop.com, in the shop forum, where real MB techs and foremen post. They will give you specific issues with the cars. I know from personal history that the cat on my cousin's 02 C240 self-destructed around 40k. That's ridiculous. The problem with the post-Daimler (1998+ designs) and pre-05 cars is that MB used a huge mix of suppliers for parts, and the result was a lot of garbage. They had mostly ironed-out their supplier kinks by 05, and quality went up accordingly
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2006 C350 Lux
Last edited by will_w203 : 05-05-2008 at 08:55 AM.
Stay away from any euro brands if you want low maintenance and troublefree. But given that you want an MB anyway, initial quality is about as bad as any company can make a car. The good news for you is many of these issues have been resolved in the first year or two. So a 2002 C230 coupe (no sedan that year) will be pretty good. Heck, I have a 1998 SLK230 with the same motor and tranny, rock solid. Throw a pulley kit on there for added performance. The 2003 was the first year for the 1.8L motor and it was a disaster, radiators that leak internally into the transmission wiping out the tranny, cam sensors that leak in wiring harness causing expensive to fix damage, and the service campaign on all the 1.8L motors for the pcv tubing, at least that's free to get fixed. They really didn't fix these issues until the 2004.5 sport sedan came out. You can tell because it has a 5 spoke wheel instead of a 7 spoke. The 2004.5 had more sophisticated AMG like brakes, nicer wheels, lower stance, better paint technology, chrome exhaust tips and a more reliability. So if I was buying one used, I would get the 2002 coupe or 2004.5 sedan. The 2004 and 2005 coupe is fairly rare as sales dropped off dramatically after the first year so dealers got stuck with a bunch in 2003 so they ordered less for 2004 and hardly any for 2005.
no cars are going to be problems free. just make sure when you do purchase the car also purchase the extended warranty when possible.
sounds like you are looking for a C sports coupe from your first post. If so you can look for an 2005 which is rare, but it has the new interior and exterior facelift.
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2002 M112K with lots of mods
2008 M272 with some mods
Stay away from any euro brands if you want low maintenance and troublefree. But given that you want an MB anyway, initial quality is about as bad as any company can make a car. The good news for you is many of these issues have been resolved in the first year or two. So a 2002 C230 coupe (no sedan that year) will be pretty good. Heck, I have a 1998 SLK230 with the same motor and tranny, rock solid. Throw a pulley kit on there for added performance. The 2003 was the first year for the 1.8L motor and it was a disaster, radiators that leak internally into the transmission wiping out the tranny, cam sensors that leak in wiring harness causing expensive to fix damage, and the service campaign on all the 1.8L motors for the pcv tubing, at least that's free to get fixed. They really didn't fix these issues until the 2004.5 sport sedan came out. You can tell because it has a 5 spoke wheel instead of a 7 spoke. The 2004.5 had more sophisticated AMG like brakes, nicer wheels, lower stance, better paint technology, chrome exhaust tips and a more reliability. So if I was buying one used, I would get the 2002 coupe or 2004.5 sedan. The 2004 and 2005 coupe is fairly rare as sales dropped off dramatically after the first year so dealers got stuck with a bunch in 2003 so they ordered less for 2004 and hardly any for 2005.
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