Reliable Mercedes?

"Jay_Hoff" (jayhoff) 01/15/2015 at 16:17 • Filed to: None

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Looking at dropping my Accord wagon for a W202 C230, and my question is how realiable is the W202? I have been researching and really havent found anything with some recent information. If you have owned one, chime in and give me your two cents.

505Turbeaux > Jay_Hoff 01/15/2015 at 16:20

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terrible compared to a w201. It was the first instance of Merc cheaping out IMHO. Go w201, or go w124 before 93 if you want reliable.

Party-vi > Jay_Hoff 01/15/2015 at 16:21

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It was the first Mercedes that saw cuts to engineering for profits. Don't do it.

MultiplaOrgasms > Party-vi 01/15/2015 at 16:29

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But supercharged, yo.

Party-vi > MultiplaOrgasms 01/15/2015 at 16:31

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Yes 190 rampant supercharged horses. Woop.

MultiplaOrgasms > Party-vi 01/15/2015 at 16:40

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But have you got any idea how mad a W202 200 Kompressor with a rotten exhaust sounds?

Party-vi > MultiplaOrgasms 01/15/2015 at 16:49

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Pr-probably bad. I shall go with bad.

MultiplaOrgasms > Party-vi 01/15/2015 at 17:02

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Actually not. An elderly person in my street owns one on which the exhaust seems to have fallen of directly behind the engine. Thing puts all those idiots with their fart can Corsas to shame with glorious supercharger whine at approximately 2 million db.

Caddyman > Jay_Hoff 01/15/2015 at 17:05

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I currently own a 99 c230 K, w 202. It has 180k miles on it and is fine, runs strong. I got the car from my mom with about 100k on it, the heat went and she didnt want to pay to repair it so she gave it to me. Things that have been fixed (by me, for pretty cheap)

oil changes, it holds a lot of oil, and has a funky filter, but not much more, and not terribly expensive

windshield wiper motor, replaced once and needs another, bonus points though as it has the badass 1 wiper, so you're saving on that :)

needs new engine mounts, these are pretty cheap and easy to replace, this will wait until spring

heater core, the part was cheap at like ~$160, install of course was terribad. as with most cars the entire dash has to come out, and the roll cage in the dash, and the "heater matrix" which is a huge plastic box that houses the evaporator and the heater core. oddly it was still easier then a 96 neon.

reflowed the solder on the power seat relay in the trunk, easy and free, and now my seats (and power headrests..cool yo) work.

my headliner is sagging, another spring job

the clear coat has faded and is chipping, still deciding on how to handle this. and trunk was quite bad to i sanded, prepped, and wrapped it for now. it also has some dots of rust around some of the wheel wells.

it is not great on gas, and requires premium

the car is tight, and fun to drive, the supercharger gives it a nice pull, i love the car overall.

TotallyThatStupid > Jay_Hoff 01/15/2015 at 17:08

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Built to a cost, not a standard. Moving on...

Caddyman > MultiplaOrgasms 01/15/2015 at 17:08

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It does sound bad. I forgot to put in the post up there. right around 130k miles my exhaust actually broke, on the 65mph highway, driving home one day.

snapped at the cat and was dragging the ground at a forward angle, i instantly noticed the exhaust note lol and pulled over.

i yanked the exhaust off the car on the side of the road, from after the cat all the way to the tailpipe, muffler and all. dropped the rear seat, and stuck it in the trunk, then drove with my new nascar car to the muffler shop and had them re-weld it back on. it was super crazy loud...

i think it was like $100 for them to do that, maybe not even that much. now i have a heat shield rattle that does annoy the piss out of me, another spring job.

MultiplaOrgasms > Caddyman 01/15/2015 at 17:12

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That old fella in my street must have done something else to his exhaust then.

Jay_Hoff > Caddyman 01/15/2015 at 17:34

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just looking for something comfy and handkes well.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Caddyman 01/15/2015 at 22:11

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For your wiper, remove the cover on the bottom of the wiper am and regrease all the moving parts, should be right as rain.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Jay_Hoff 01/15/2015 at 22:51

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I've owned a couple and work on them. They, like everything, have their own set of issues. I, and every tech I know, would sooner buy one of these than a 201. Later years are best, all the engines are great, but the m104 I6 is prone to leaking head gaskets when miles get between 100-200k, m111 I4 same thing but much less common. On kompressor engines, supercharger bearings can wear out and get noisy around 200k. Over 150k control arm bushings and ball joints can start clunking. There are a few more things, but most problems are related to mileage and many are related to neglect.

The biggest problem with 202's in my opinion is how varied their condition is at this point. Well kept ones are excellent, but a little neglect goes a long way. A former parts manager of mine bought one new and has daily driven ever since, currently approaching 400k miles. Biggest repair he's done was a supercharger replacement. Many of these are still in pretty good condition, but there are some rats as well.

They're fairly DIY friendly, but parts can still get expensive since it is a Mercedes. Aftermarket options are easy to find and rather affordable.

As far as Mercedes cutting costs on these, yeah they did. But you really can't expect to stay profitable forever with unlimited budgets. So all it really means is that they came down from the clouds a little too do the same thing everyone else does, which is use a budget.

Caddyman > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 01/16/2015 at 07:40

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I will give it a shot, I had it completely out for the heater core removal but it wasn't acting up then, and it so cold now!!

Jay_Hoff > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 01/16/2015 at 07:45

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im looking at a C230K eith a 150k on it. Is there a good aftermatket parts website that I can check out?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Caddyman 01/16/2015 at 09:21

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I do it so often I'm surprised it isn't a factory maintenance item.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Jay_Hoff 01/16/2015 at 09:30

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I use rockauto.com and fcpeuro.com the most. Also with rock auto you can search Google for 5% discount codes, their shipping is kind of crazy but this helps to offset that. Fcp's parts can be a little bit more expensive than rock auto but have much cheaper or even free shipping. The only thing where I suggest getting factory parts instead of aftermarket is rear brake pads and rotors. I haven't seen aftermarket ones that don't squeal like crazy from time to time. Otherwise, most aftermarket parts are fine.

Jay_Hoff > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 01/16/2015 at 09:34

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Thanks for the info.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Jay_Hoff 01/16/2015 at 09:36

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No problem.