Is 180k miles on 1998 C230 too much to buy as used car? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

C280 Sport · #16 10-28-2008, 09:29 PM

The W202 is a good car if it well maintained. Get one or an car that isnt and you will want to kill yourself. My opinion the W203 is a better car as far as looks, interior build quality and comfort. Unfortuantly the early W203 have stupid little electrical issues and you would probably be better of buy a 2000 W202. The main thing I have against any W202 is interior build quality, comfort and looks. It looks good if we where in the 90's. By 1999 or 2000 that body style should of been gone for good. Does this C230 your looking a have the sport package? I have the 2000 c280 sport and it looks good becasue of the sport package. The interior is still cheap looking(even with armoral whips) but the sport edition adds carbon fiber trip that looks good. Also the sport edition has in my opinion the most uncomfterable seats in the world and the sterring is way to tight and the driving position is not good at long(especially on long trips)-- So point in case is that its a good car if you dont travel much with it and you dont need to fit many people in it.

unkl300d · #17 10-28-2008, 09:57 PM

The others and Michael are right.

shocks, air mass sensor(bugger), third light (brake light) harness cleaning, dash light bulbs,
engine wiring harness ($1300 easy), water pump, spark plug wire set, front engine u shaped gasket....if previuos owner had a habit of topping the gas tank, the charcoal filter may be soaked and can give check engine lights, etc.

you need to make sure you have past service records. otherwise just buy it for a very low price !

mpolli · #18 10-29-2008, 03:27 AM

No harness problems on the '98. It is a good DIY car if you have some skills. Any car will be expensive if you have all the work done for you. Lots of aftermarket parts available for reasonable prices. You never said what they are asking for it.

C280 Sport · #19 10-29-2008, 12:49 PM

Put it like this. I have the 2000 C280 Sport edition. I bought it 53,000 miles about 3 years ago. Great condition fully serived and all records, Clean title. It now has 75,000 miles and $3,000 + in service records. all from me. My 2002 E320 and 1987 420 are far far less maintance. I have the 2002 E320 since new. It now has 77k on it and I havnt even put 3,000 into it. You get what you pay for hands down. Same with the 420. bought it with 90k on it. now has 113k no more then $800 put into it. again you get what you pay for.

slikkemeg · #20 10-30-2008, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpolli

No harness problems on the '98. It is a good DIY car if you have some skills. Any car will be expensive if you have all the work done for you. Lots of aftermarket parts available for reasonable prices. You never said what they are asking for it.

Thanks for the feedback

. This forum is the best I have ever seen in the web. Very experienced folks here with an excellent advice and feedback. I do really appreciate it.

He is asking $4800, but I think, I can try to get it for $3500 max, maybe $3600. He has all the records and he fixes anything that breaks. I am planning to check it out this weekend with a friend of mine.

mpolli · #21 10-30-2008, 03:10 AM

Ask him about what electrical problems it had that he fixed and what electrical problems it has that he didn't fix yet. If he says it never had any then he is LYING. Make sure all the windows and seats move. Ask him if the digits ever disappear on the climate control display. The problems are not major but they exist.

tobybul · #22 10-30-2008, 01:20 PM

As you can see from my signature, I have a C220 with over 300k (304k now) miles. Except for some expected oil drips, the car is in excellent shape. Its got the orig engine that has not been messed with.

But as everyone pointed out, the unknown is how the car was cared for. Mileage does not scare me if I know the car was well maintained. In fact, mileage can be a good leverage when making an offer on a car.

If you have a way of researching and verifying how the car was maintained, that would be the first thing I would do. Use carfax, call a dealer and have them run the VIN to see if they a service and repair info off their system, etc.

Of course, everything is relative to the price. If you can get the car for a very low price that you can live with the worst case expense you may incur to get the car in shape, and you really want the car, well that pretty much answers it right there IMHO.

Mistress · #23 10-30-2008, 01:30 PM

Have the timing chain checked.

Michael K · #24 10-30-2008, 01:32 PM

I personally think $3,500 is on the high end of fair, and then only if the exterior and interior are virtually blemish free (meaning they should look just short of new).

mpolli · #25 10-30-2008, 02:12 PM

If it is an ideal specimen, well cared for as claimed, original owner and all records then it is a fair price. It is hard to put a price on all that. I value it a lot. I would pay 4K for a car like that!

slikkemeg · #26 11-09-2008, 10:54 AM

Hello everyone,

I went to check the car yesterday with my friend who is very familiar with cars. I found out that the car needs:
- Engine mounts
- Shocks all of them
- The switch for headrest for the driver side does not work
- 4 new tires....tires are gone

The car is in good shape, with the 181,200 miles.

So, I offered the seller $3500, and he refused. He started with $4800, then went down to $4300, then he said, $4000 is his final price. So I walked away.

I would like to thank everyone in this thread for their advice and feeback. I do really appreciate it.

Again, Thanks everyone and have a wonderful day!!

C280 Sport · #27 11-09-2008, 11:02 AM

You walked away and did the right thing for that buy.

unkl300d · #28 11-09-2008, 01:26 PM

Ditto !! You did the right thing.

shocks alone would have put you out over $1500, add $400 for tires and the electrical repair, about min. $500 etc. then the ususal maintenance catch ups, another $1K within a year plus hidden stuff.....

Good luck on your continuing search.