That is weird. My window glass has the Mercedes symbol and under it has the brand "sekurit". May be the newer cars don't have that feature.

__________________
J.H.
'86 300E

David - If I were you and found my door painted over, I would ask the previous owner (or the last who borrowed your Benz) what actually happened.

Thats my personal view as I can get quite inquisitive at times.

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

Well that is quite a problem. We got my car from a KIA Dealership (a real joke) because it was listed in Auto trader and it was in the best condition and it was the cheapest of any other C we could find. OK, I had the previous owner's registration, but there were 4 of his names listed, and at one time I called 411, but could never get a hold of anyone. So I went to a MB dealer in Riverside (ugh) and got a print out of the MB vehicle history. And there is some damage of something listed at 34,000 miles or something. And it says OWNER IN LINE:5. I really hope that doesn't mean that I am the 5th owner. And when I got a carfax report, it was smog checked and re-listed like 5 times in the 10K miles before I bought it. So I know that my car has some fishy history to it.... but I can't figure it out.

I think today I will remove the door panel and everything and check it out.

Anyone know of any of those insulation pads in the US? That I could buy at say an ACE Hardware??

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

Some sleuth work. Anyway, the Benz is yours to keep for better or worse.

I don't think it would be much of a problen before you get to hear the door shutting with the re-assuring thud.

Do have yourself a great Sunday.

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

David,

I've read this thread with interest, having just bought a second hand C-Class myself (though only a C200 as against your C280, I'm a bit jealous).

Like you, I have a certain paranoia that my car has been in an accident. Every rattle (and there are 2) gets me thinking, every miniscule discrepancy in shut line width has me worried, every time I hear a slight tinniness when I shut the door... you get the picture.

The reality is, my car is 2 1/2 years old and has the rattles and defects of a 2 1/2 year old car. It sounds like much the same could be said of your car: if it has been in an accident, then that accident was very minor, perhaps a parking dent to the door or a clumsy traffic manoevure requiring a new door skin.

At worst, your door is a bit iffy. It's not like your chassis is out of whack or you have a biffed up B pillar. At the end of the day you could get the door completely replaced relatively inexpensively.

That said, I know how a minor niggle will ruin every drive.

Good luck!

JJRodger,
Where are you located? Must not be in the US. Yeah, I test drove a C230 before I got my car, and I was like, NO WAY. The thing WOULD NOT move!! So I knew I had to have the C280, good amt of power for me.
I don't hear any rattle unless I turn the bass on the stereo up, which I don't need to do because I have a sub. BUt when I do, then there is some rattle in the front door speakers, but my bass via the MB stereo is always turned low. Other than that, the car is perfect, albeit the passenger door!
I made a mistake also. The door didn't say RODOVE, it said RODOT, with that first 'O' being a MB emblem. Just in case someone knows what that is..

YMSIN,
Yeah, the car is mine for better or worse. I will fix the hollow sound of the door, and hopefully the non-matching panels on the inside. Well they match, they are just not placed right and have a few small cracks. I just have to find some of the sound-deadening material to slap in there. I didn't get around to opening the door up today, but maybe tomorrow, or Monday.

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

David,

I'm in the UK. You can even get a C180 here.

My C200 is slow. But over here, smaller engines are the norm in all cars, petrol prices being so high (about US$5.50 for a gallon!). Most people have a 1.4 or 1.6 litre car, so even a 2.0 litre is probably a bit larger than average.

My car develops 136 bhp and 140 lb/ft of torque. It will do 0-60mph in about 11.5 secs. Unless you rev the nuts off it, it has only, shall we say, gentle pick up.

The other thing you have to remember is that Euro cars have a much lower specification than US cars and so are significantly lighter: no heavy electric seat motors and so on. Also Euro smog gear places fewer restrictions on an engine's breathing. And finally, Britain is a small and very crowded island: you just don't get a chance to stretch a car's legs!

Yes, I know you can even get C180s, wow, that must be pretty darn slow. Well I guess I am thankful to live in the US where I can open my car up pretty much whenever I want. I would feel so... well, constricted!! I have a friend that lives in England, Frimley, Surrey, to be exact, if you know where that is, and they had a 518i BMW, and I could not believe they had such small engines. But then again, I guess it does make sense, with those outrageous fuel prices.
And I guess we are pretty lucky over here in the US to get such nicely equiped cars! Tell me what features your car has. I have power seats, BOSE 8 spkr stereo, leather, automatic trans, power windows and door locks, pretty much everything. I am curious to see how they are different. Do you have the Tex, or the cloth? Or leather even??

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by David C Klasse
[B]JJRodger,
I don't hear any rattle unless I turn the bass on the stereo up, which I don't need to do because I have a sub. BUt when I do, then there is some rattle in the front door speakers, but my bass via the MB stereo is always turned low.


I think most cars AND Benzes have the same vibes. Mine do too - so does most ppl I know.

Why not post a thread in the audio forum and see what MBenz & ors. in there have to offer.

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

YMSIN,
Good idea. See what the most (or just common) common reasons of the rattle. Like loose peices in the door? Or is it the speaker itself? Maybe speaker screws need tightening? POST IT!! I leave it up to you!! BTW, what time is it there in Malaysia? It is 1:30 am here!

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

Hi David - its almost 6:00 pm here.

You're up late.

Are you going to post the thread in the audio forum?

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

David, jjrodger,

I think you are both forgetting that you just own a C class. The C class is nothing like a mercedes should be. The US models are significant better regarding rattles and squeaking noises, but the standard, simple euro models are CHEAP.

The W202 C class was made as the smallest and lowest priced Benz (before the A class was introduced) and that is exactly how mercedes built the car. The euro models with manual seats, non-climate controlled heater only's, manual windows, etc. rattle and squeak a LOT. The E class is a lot better as far as the rattles and squeaks are to be concerned...

David,
As I have posted before: you can judge by the sealant along the inner edges of the door whether the door is renewed or not. New doors come without the sealant and there is not a single chance that anyone makes the sealant as smooth as mercedes does.
David, if your car is in a good shape and you like the way it runs (with or without the second O2 sensor), what the heck whether the car has been pre-owned by 1 or 4 owners. You own the car NOW and you use it now, enjoy that vehicle and don't search for any possible failure. It is a C class and it is not new which will leaves you a lot "problems" to be found.
If you have to take apart the complete door before you can even suggest that it has been repainted, I can only say that the body shop did a good job!
The 2,5 year young C class of jjrodger will be equipped fairly well. The euro models have been upgraded by mercedes to give their customers something worth their money. As you have seen on my web page, the early euro models had NOTHING (besides power lock, power steering and ABS).
I have a lot of quality speakers in my car and have tried everything to keep my door panels from rattling to the music...but it is still a C class so I can't get rid of that either.

J.Hidalgo,
sekurit is still there on the windows of the C class although mercedes has sigla as a supplier of the later models as well...

ymsin,
We have the WURTH tar plates as well, so I think that David should be able to buy them in the US as well...

greetingz,

__________________
1990 300SL-24
1993 C250D with a minor 600+k kilometer
www.MBenzNL.com(the Netherlands)

MBenz,

You're right about the C-Class being built to a price. The quality of the plastics is much inferior to those found in the bigger cars. One of the problems with the door trim is that a cheap rigid plastic is used for the side pockets; this creaks and rattles as it expands faster or slower than surrounding materials while the car is warming up. Drives me nuts!

As for spec, my car is not too bad. I looked at a C180 Classic and that really was poverty spec! As you say, power locks and that was about it. My car has the Sport trim package, manual air conditioning, 8 speakers, electric front windows (but I never sit in the back so that's ok) and a few other bits and bobs.

The most annoying rattle comes from the B-pillar on the driver's side--right next to my ear. I think it is something in the adjustable seat belt mechanism.

David,

This is my car's spec:

C200 Sport 5sp auto

Exterior:
Metallic silver paint
6 hole 16" alloys
Sports suspension

Interior:
Sports seats with black cloth upholstery (manual adjustment)
Faux carbon fibre trim
Manual air conditioning
Electric front windows (manual rears)
Power mirrors
Remote power locks
8 speaker package
10 disc CD changer
4 airbags

er, that's about it.

I can't say I miss the other stuff. My dad had a 97 model 7er BMW for a while, that was fully loaded and we never thought we'd cope without power memory seats, tv, all that stuff, but the reality is we never used all those toys. The replacement car doesn't have those things, but it is a much better car, nonetheless. European cars are starting to come with a fuller spec list, but I'm not sure it makes them any better, just heavier.

MBenz might disagree!

NOPE, I agree!
BTW: I have exactly the same B pillar with rattling height adjustable seat belts! I have been considering to seal them with kit just to get rid of the noise.

greetingz,

__________________
1990 300SL-24
1993 C250D with a minor 600+k kilometer
www.MBenzNL.com(the Netherlands)