01-03 Mercedes C Class: Known Problems

Sebastian Dangerfield

I bought a BMW 3 series last year and it has spent a lot of time in the garage. Things like oil leaks, coolant leaks etc keep happening, and everyone seems to say these are known problems with BMWs of a certain vintage.

Ive decided to cut my losses and get something else. Top of the list is a car that wont be in the garage all the time and will have low repair /maintainence costs. Im looking at a few C Classes (01 to 03). Can anyone give me advise as to known problems that I should look out for, or whether I should look for something else altogether?

bazz26

If you want a car that may not spend a lot of time in and out of a garage then the Merc C-Class of that vintage is one of the last cars I'd be looking at. They were not a great car from new, they suffered from problems with timing chains on the petrol Kompressor engines, poor build quality and twitchy electrics.

While it may not wear a posh German badge but if you want something that is generally trouble free then I'd recommend a Honda Accord of that vintage.

Idbatterim

how old was the bm and I take it, it was the 1.9L or 2L engine?

Mr Benevolent

Avoid the C Class of that era if you're looking for low maintenance costs. Cheap & nasty is what they are. The height of the MB cost cutting.

74merc

If you can stretch as far as a facelift C Class, then it might be a good idea, otherwise avoid! The facelift cars (2005+) have clear head lamp lens and individual clocks in the dashboard - as opposed to one large display.

Cee-Jay-Cee

TBH if you want reliable and your looking at cars around that age then avoid absolutely everything European and buy Japanese. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, Mitsubishi and to a lesser extent Mazda are all considerably more reliable and if maintained will not give you any trouble at all and if they do it'll generally be minor in nature and won't cost much to put right.

Sebastian Dangerfield

Idbatterim wrote: »

how old was the bm and I take it, it was the 1.9L or 2L engine?

2001, 316 SE 1.9. I had a Ford Puma (dont laugh) before it and it was never in the garage in 6 years. Spending 4k on repairs in a 9 month period on the BMW was a shock to the system, and not one I want to repeat! Ive had the oil leak fixed twice, and believe its there again if the pre-nct is anything to go by.

Thanks for the feedback. I actually started out looking for an Accord before the C Class caught my eye. Ive been told theyre awful heavy on fuel and the ones in my price range (3.5 to 4k) seem to have big mileage on them which put me off a bit

Idbatterim

2001, 316 SE 1.9. I had a Ford Puma (dont laugh) before it and it was never in the garage in 6 years. Spending 4k on repairs in a 9 month period on the BMW was a shock to the system, and not one I want to repeat! Ive had the oil leak fixed twice, and believe its there again if the pre-nct is anything to go by.

WOW 4k in 9 months?! where are you getting the work done? that car at this stage will be worth SFA, might be worth hanging onto assuming the worst is behind you. I also had the 1.9L engine and had the oil leaks and water pump going etc, I now have a 2003, 2.5L engine and in the last two years, the only thing that has gone is the starter motor. Also the 1.9 engines were very underpowered, infuriatingly stiff accelerator. I really wouldnt let this taint bmw for you, they were a huge improvement from the 1.9 on... I learned all about depreciation and not getting a car checked prior to purchase the hard way and expensive way, but that was several years ago for first car... given that you only bought it last year, Id honestly hold onto it... Is it a saloon or coupe you want, what mileage do you do?

Sebastian Dangerfield

Probably closer to 12 months actually. Ive had the oil leak done twice (guts of a grand a go), the pipe going to the coolant tank pretty much crumbled away while on the motorway, driving in the red to a hard shoulder did more damage. Lock on drivers door went haywire, kept popping the boot and putting down the windows of its own accord til they smashed. Cables underneath the car were rusty and had to be replaced at the suggestion of an nct inspector... and so on.

Its actually been trouble free for about 8 months but I need four new tyres and brakepads, and a new handbrake cable to get through the nct. Ive been told there is another oil leak so Im guessing another grand or so in total... at that kind of money I might as well pay the extra and upgrade altogether.

I do less than 5k km a year, but still like to have a nice car so Ive ruled out buying a ****box and driving it into the ground. Ive always wanted a Ford Cougar ao was tempted to buy one cheap, but probably another money pit

Idbatterim

your similar to me in your mileage, i.e its virtually nothing, you could go for an E39 520i, to say its different league to what you are driving now is an understatement. Will also be different league to the C class. In terms of the oil leak, if its a very slow one, you could just leave it and keep an eye on the oil level and top it up as needs be. Its one thing replacing cheap things like pads and handbrake cable, but Id be reluctant to shell out several hundred on fixing the latest oil leak... It sounds like you unfortunately picked up an absolute dog of one... Honestly if I were you, Id probably be shut of it, because that car cant justify the amount thats being spent on it IMO...

bazz26

Sebastian Dangerfield wrote: »

2001, 316 SE 1.9. I had a Ford Puma (dont laugh) before it and it was never in the garage in 6 years. Spending 4k on repairs in a 9 month period on the BMW was a shock to the system, and not one I want to repeat! Ive had the oil leak fixed twice, and believe its there again if the pre-nct is anything to go by.

Thanks for the feedback. I actually started out looking for an Accord before the C Class caught my eye. Ive been told theyre awful heavy on fuel and the ones in my price range (3.5 to 4k) seem to have big mileage on them which put me off a bit

The Accord is not heavy on petrol and definately no heavier than your 1.9 litre 3 Series or a 1.8 litre Kompressor C-Class.

A nice example here within budget:


http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4255282