I have spotted a 95' C220 that I have some interest in. It is light gold and in excellent condition. The car is priced at $6995. This is the same dealer that I bought my Lexus from. Are these little Mercedes good cars? What problem areas should I look for?
I am going to look at a 81 300SD this week, but if I do not buy it- I may consider this car. Thanks in advance.

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2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited 4wd
1991 Lincoln Town Car Executive
1991 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1988 Mercedes 300SEL
1972 Chevrolet Caprice Kingswood Estate 9-passenger wagon
1973 Pontiac Grand Ville
(Prior MB's: 1974 240D, 1985 380SE, 1984 190D, 1993 400SEL)

From what I have read they seem to be great little cars. Blackmercedes has one and seems to be putting on the miles with no problems. They were on my shoping list when I was in the market. I don't know how many miles this one has on it but localy there was a 1995 C22 for sale with 76K on it, two owner dealer maintained with 7 months of a Starmark warranty left! Asking was $6500. I will see if it's still for sale and send you the ad if you want. I think it was sold.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

No matter what else you do have the car checked by a MB tech that knows about bio-degradable wiring harness problems! & that can scan all of the systems on the car for problems!!

The wiring harness repair can run over $1000. on that car!!

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

Have a good PPI done by someone that really knows the cars. That's your best bet.

The 1995 cars are good except for the wiring harness. The M111 dohc engine has no flaws, and seems to run forever. I've seen some very high mile examples that run like new. The four speed automatic is good for at least 150K-miles without problem if maintained properly.

Make sure the AC blows cold and the ACC system is working. The 1995 cars have a little different system than 1996- and is relatively problem free, but can be costly to repair.

Ensure the vacuum system is working. Cycle the ACC through each of the vents to make sure it changes the air flow. Make sure the door locks and trunk lock are working. Check that the rear headrests retract when the button is pushed. Make sure the fuel door locking system is operating properly.

Bounce the front end and listen for noise. These cars wear through front lower ball joints. Not too costly to repair, but check 'em out.

The M111 has a double row timing chain, so no real worries there if the engine has a good oil change history.

If the car has been to "Lube-it" places, they often overfill the crankcase and blow out the front main seal. Easy job ($200 at the dealer) but check it and the oil level.

The belt tensioner and shock wear every 4-5 years or so. Listen for squealing belt or rattling sound from the front of the engine.

The W202 is a bullet-proof car in four cylinder form. It's not the fastest gun in the west, but for durable transportation, they're tough to beat.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

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

Thanks for the advice folks. I went and actually looked at the car tonight (I had only seen it on the internet on the local classifieds site) and it is in really good shape. I had a flashlight, but I still could not see the miles, as it was digital. I was suprised that these cars do not have rear seat head-restraints. I thought at first that they were removed, but I did not even see a place for them. According to KBB- a 95 C220, with 120K has a PPV of $5900- so $6995. may be a little too steep. Thanks again for the information.

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2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited 4wd
1991 Lincoln Town Car Executive
1991 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1988 Mercedes 300SEL
1972 Chevrolet Caprice Kingswood Estate 9-passenger wagon
1973 Pontiac Grand Ville
(Prior MB's: 1974 240D, 1985 380SE, 1984 190D, 1993 400SEL)

We have had a 1995 C220 for four years. It was a Starmark car and it had had the steering shock and the differential seals replaced as prep. Soon after we got it the ABS computer went south and that was replaced under warranty. From 40K to 75K, no problems, then at 75K the air mass sensor was replaced along with the shock absorber on the belt tensioning apparatus. At 80K it got a new water pump.

I like the car, especially the climate control and handling. My only complaint is that it is somewhat underpowered and engine is sort of buzzy, not exactly smooth.

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

I have qa 95 C280. Great car..>Wire harness and gasket had to be replaced, but it was understarmark, so I was covered.

Got the car a few years ago for $18K, and paid too much at that time. Now, with 125K, I figure the car is worth around 5K, no more. And for a 220, I wouldn't pay more than 5K unless it was warrenteed for a year on powertrain and had under 70K.

Good luck

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David Weis
Old Rides================
70 250
73 450SL
78 300D
88 Grand Am
Current Rides=============
95 280C *
98 SL500 *

Are C-Class cars ever cheap in the US! A well-worn 1994 C220 is still a $12,000 car in these parts. Now, they were $40K and up new, but still...

I think the anchors for the rear head restraints are in the rear shelf.
The supports for the head rest are longish c-shaped rods that give them the ability to lie flat on the rear shelf and then move the distance to be atop the rear seats.
Certainly is possible head restraints were not available for that year - but I would be certain - if they are missing the history of why would be interesting.

I might be wrong, but I believe early C220's with MB TEX were available without headrests.

I know I've seen them before without...

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Did any of the M111 engined cars suffer engine wiring harness failure? I am well aware of harnesses failing on M104 and M119 engines but don't know of any problems with the M111.

M111 engines were popular here in Oz. We got them in the W124 (220E, 220TE, 220CE, E220), R170 (SLK230), W202 & 203 (C180, C200, C220, C230), W208 (CLK230) and W210 (E230). As far as I am aware they are very reliable (except for perhaps the occasional supercharger problem on kompressor versions). My parents have a '96 E230 (W210) that has been perfect to date (more than can be said for their E320 W124 coupe). Even in the E-Class it gives adequate performance, especially on the open road where fuel consumption is frugal. Yes, they are a very buzzy sounding engine that motoring journalists sometimes criticised for lack of refinement. For reliability and fuel economy they are great though.

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107.023: 350SLC, 3-speed auto, icon gold, parchment MBtex (sold 2012 after 29 years ownership).
107.026: 500SLC, 4-speed auto, thistle green, green velour.
124.090: 300TE, 4-speed auto, arctic white, cream-beige MBtex.
201.028: 190E 2.3 Sportline, 5-speed manual, arctic white, blue leather.
201.028: 190E 2.3, 4-speed auto, blue-black, grey MBtex.
201.034: 190E 2.3-16, 5-speed manual, blue-black, black leather.

Our '95 has rear headrests - they fold down when not in use. It also has a "ski sack" through the rear center armrest, and fold-down rear seats. Both are nice features for hauling stuff home from Home Despot.

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

ON the WIRING harness question!! ALL 7/92 thru 10/95 production Mercedes have BIO-degradable wiring harness. NOT just on the engine BUT the complete car!

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

M.B.DOC,

Thanks for that info. Logic would suggest that they would have used the same (biodegradable) insulation on the wiring across the whole model range and throughout the whole car. It's just that I had only heard of the problem in the engine wiring harness and then only on the sixes and V8s. Until I discovered the problem on my father's '93 E320 coupe about 18 months ago I was unaware of the issue. Only then did my searches reaveal discussion forums such as this and the extent of the problem. Club members here in Oz did not know of the problem (although a few have since fallen victim to the problem with M104s and an M119) and they were alarmed when I described the extent of the problem. Techs here knew of it but had not encountered many. DaimlerChrysler here did not want to admit too much and were not helpful.

I guess it shows up initially in the engine wiring harness due to the heat and hostile conditions there. Presumably the larger engines also create more severe conditions bringing the fault on earlier. In the case of my father's car it was an engine wash that finally revealed the problem. I have yet to hear of an M111 engined car with the problem, not that I doubt what you say. It makes perfect sense. The worry is the problems the affected cars will suffer in the longer term as wiring breaks down throughout the whole car. Makes me wonder what sort of long term prospects there are for my parent's W124 E320 coupe. Coupes are usually candidates for long term keepers. I hope their W210 E230 is not affected. It was one of the first into Oz in about January '96. I will have to check its build date to see if it was within the period you state. Do you know if any W210s were affected?

Greg

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107.023: 350SLC, 3-speed auto, icon gold, parchment MBtex (sold 2012 after 29 years ownership).
107.026: 500SLC, 4-speed auto, thistle green, green velour.
124.090: 300TE, 4-speed auto, arctic white, cream-beige MBtex.
201.028: 190E 2.3 Sportline, 5-speed manual, arctic white, blue leather.
201.028: 190E 2.3, 4-speed auto, blue-black, grey MBtex.
201.034: 190E 2.3-16, 5-speed manual, blue-black, black leather.

Well, that car was sold, but ironically- at a car lot down the street from them has a 94' C220 for $4995. I am really wanting a S-Class Mercedes. Thanks again for the replies.

__________________
2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited 4wd
1991 Lincoln Town Car Executive
1991 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1988 Mercedes 300SEL
1972 Chevrolet Caprice Kingswood Estate 9-passenger wagon
1973 Pontiac Grand Ville
(Prior MB's: 1974 240D, 1985 380SE, 1984 190D, 1993 400SEL)