I was VERY excited when I bought my manual transmission C240 back in 2000. It turned out to be the worst automotive disaster I ever purchased. I had so many techy problems with it that I finally traded it for a non MB product.

It MIGHT be that by 2004 they had all these electronic gremlin problems solved.

If you still wish to move forward, you might keep in mind the old addage read on this forum more than once: "there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes."

Good luck,
Larry