timing chain broke on mercedes

notsobadinc

hi guys going slightly off topic here but any help greatly appreciated...
i was driving home yesterday morning in my 97 c180 auto and all of a sudden i heard a noise from engine like i drove over glass and subsequently within seconds lost all power in car on a dangerous bend i might add...anyway it actually turns out the timing chain broke on car and actually came up through the engine cover....:eek::eek:

the car has 120k miles and is absolutely mint condition-i believed the mileage to be genuine as interior and all buttons, knobs were in top class condition-no ware...car had a service history, flew through nct and gave absolutely no problems with fuel economy between 35-40mpg

now there was a 'ticking' noise on occasion and my mechanic looked at it and said all the w202 series make that noise-i took his word as he was trained by mercedes..i am just wondering as various websites have conflicting info regarding cars that are clocked etc others stating the chain should last the life of the car and other sites stating a nylon/plastic holder has worn and caused the problem.....

anyway my querie is this....is it worth repairing or will the costs of reconditioning the engine if applicable, or replacing it with donor engine, will it cost more to do this work than car is worth-am i better to cut my losses and walk away-or can i break the car or sell if off to breakers yard...i would like to keep it as the car has nct til 3/12 and is a lovely machine....:pac: if there is anyone who has experience or knowledge of this area i would be very grateful....
thanks notsobadisht

Eoin

Moved to its own thread

Walk away, you'll replace her with another for small money, the C180 auto is unloved and no one wants them, you'll get a lovely one no bother