I get lots of e-mails from W202 C-Class owners, especially those that have just bought their car. The number #1 question is:

"I just bought a 19xx C2xx with x-miles on it. I'm taking it in for an inspection, what should I make sure they look at?"

What's wrong with this question? I thought by now all that consumer information would be sinking in. People still don't seem to know to have the car inspected BEFORE buying it.

Next?

"What does the little wrench mean?" And it's variant "what does this warning light mean?" or "how do I turn the air conditioning on...?"

Most of the questions that people ask are easily answered in the owner's manual. If the car did not come with one, then buy one.

I also get lots of questions regarding when to service the car next. Then I goof and ask about the service history. It would seem that most people buy their cars without a service history. And do they negotitate a lower price for that? No. "But the car's paint was REALLY shiny, so it must have been cared for, right?"

Sure...

Sorry about the rant, but my in-box was full this morning of a long list of the above...

__________________
John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

Gives new meaning to Dear John letters

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

I can't begin to remember all the times I had a friend gush over their new purchase, only to find they bought a piece of junk with a nice paint job (mostly girls).

I learned that it's best to just smile and keep quiet. Let 'em have their day. They just don't want to hear what you have to say.

__________________
95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

I have neighbors and associates that do the same...they go out and buy a used Porsche, BMW, or MB (well, G-Benz got some and his seem to be okay) only to be dejected by some of the "holes" in the prior owner's service history, or just plain expensive maintenance because gosh darn it, it's an OLD car!

They have no problem bragging about the great price and beautiful condition of the vehicle, and somehow, they expect their new acquisition to be as trouble-free as an 03 Camry!

So I do the same...smile and compliment their purchase, and later, lend a sympathetic ear when they whine about the expensive repair of such-and-such...

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

LOL... you know how I intrpreted this.

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD