1999 c230 opinions please - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Hogweed · #1 03-31-2017, 05:42 PM

i am looking for a good work car. i found a 99 c230 kompressor w/ 120k for under 2 grand and wondered if any of you have experience with this model.

thank you

G

97 SL320 · #2 03-31-2017, 06:19 PM

Check the front upper spring perches, I have a parts car that the RF rusted through.

From what I've seen from others and what I've done to my 97 C280:

The torque converter clutch starts to drag, at minimum it gives a torsional vibration at light throttle in 4 and 5 th , at it's worst , it can stall the motor on a cold engagement.

The fuel tank senders ( 2 ) can fail. I took mine apart and cleaned the wiper. Ethanol fuel corrodes the copper.

Some have reported issues with slow filling of the tank, there is supposed to be an EVAP valve near the fill neck that sticks the won't let air out of the tank during filling.

Some have reported timing chain failures. It ends up being cheaper to just change the engine since engines in northern states outlive the bodies.

The C230 has manual knob type HVAC rather than the LCD "can get data out" type.

The dashes tend to lose pixles as the ribbon cable fractures. Cables are all over e bay. I have a sample dash I'm going to repair at some point.

The 4 cyl is kind of rough, especially after coming out of my 97 C280 inline 6.

Headliner cloth falls off.

The smart key can fail and is a bit of $ to fix. ( 97 was the last year for a metal key with a RFID chip )

The supercharged 4 has slightly less power than the inline 6 so no real gain there.

jake12tech · #3 04-02-2017, 11:55 PM

I had a 97 c230 for a little bit. It's the same motor as the 99 c230, just has a supercharger and more power. A family member had a kompressor for about 4 years and it was a good car. Never anything nasty going on with the superchargers, they're pretty reliable. Ride quality and comfort will definitely be a lot less than your e300 for sure. It's a good 4 cylinder motor and my C230 peaked at 39.5mpg on highway at 70mph. Both cars had to have the timing chain tensioners replaced, they idled like diesels at idle both about 150k. They rust in the same places as a w210, rockers, quarter panel arches and doors and just about everywhere else possible.. Especially the trunk lock cylinder hole

Hogweed · #4 04-06-2017, 07:14 PM

funny you should mention my e300! i wanted to expedite repairs so i let my mechanic take on some stuff so the car wouldn't be tied up for a month while i found the time to work on it.....well i dropped it off on 3/6 and still don't have it back!
not totally his fault but i could have parked in the garage, pecked away, and been several hundred to the good, but what the hell? spent the time with the wife and kid so i'm still ahead.
since the wife will be away the entire summer i will have her car as well as the e300 so i'm putting off buying another car for the time being.

thanks for the input, gents.....as usual!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jake12tech

I had a 97 c230 for a little bit. It's the same motor as the 99 c230, just has a supercharger and more power. A family member had a kompressor for about 4 years and it was a good car. Never anything nasty going on with the superchargers, they're pretty reliable. Ride quality and comfort will definitely be a lot less than your e300 for sure. It's a good 4 cylinder motor and my C230 peaked at 39.5mpg on highway at 70mph. Both cars had to have the timing chain tensioners replaced, they idled like diesels at idle both about 150k. They rust in the same places as a w210, rockers, quarter panel arches and doors and just about everywhere else possible.. Especially the trunk lock cylinder hole