Discussion
I've had mine a little over a year now and done about 8k in it.
Good points are it's a nice bit of a q car. Not as flashy as an M3, but packs a nice V8. Comfy and excellent optional seats in most, fairly quiet driving normally with a cracking V8 roar under load. Handles well enough, but is a touch vague about the straight ahead point on the steering, and a bit numb when loaded up. It doesn't spoil the drive though as it's got enough to make you feel confident about the front end, and it's never, ever understeered in the dry.
Bad points, well the rust for one, and the gearbox for another. (The E36 is not much better for tinworm though) By far the most common faults. My box has been fine, but I've had the oil and filter flushed and changed at 75k along with the plugs, filters and diff oil. I had the car ready to go for £500 worth of painting, but along with the B service I had to add a pair of front wishbones, front tyres, some brake work and one rear caliper piston had seized. This totalled up about £1050 and so the painting is postponed. If you look at one, have a good close look at the front suspension mounts and joints.
As you can guess, the upkeep can be pricey. It's possible to cut costs here, but I'm very particular about my car working as it should and being in good order. As you're considering an M3 (Evo?), I imagine you're prepared for fairly significant servicing bills.
As it is I love it to bits, especially now it's super sharp with the new wishbones, Knowledgeable types know what it is, and I get a lot of random strangers in car parks talking to me about it, and the chap at the local AMG specialist loves mine too. But most of the public see it as any other C class, albeit one with big wheels and riding a little lower. I'd buy another, no question, especially knowing what I do now.
It's a shame, but once it's painted and had a couple of niggles sorted, I'm going to look at selling it on in the summer or so. With my fancy new mortgage, I need to cut costs a bit and sudden £1000 bills can be a little tiresome...!
Good points are it's a nice bit of a q car. Not as flashy as an M3, but packs a nice V8. Comfy and excellent optional seats in most, fairly quiet driving normally with a cracking V8 roar under load. Handles well enough, but is a touch vague about the straight ahead point on the steering, and a bit numb when loaded up. It doesn't spoil the drive though as it's got enough to make you feel confident about the front end, and it's never, ever understeered in the dry.
Bad points, well the rust for one, and the gearbox for another. (The E36 is not much better for tinworm though) By far the most common faults. My box has been fine, but I've had the oil and filter flushed and changed at 75k along with the plugs, filters and diff oil. I had the car ready to go for £500 worth of painting, but along with the B service I had to add a pair of front wishbones, front tyres, some brake work and one rear caliper piston had seized. This totalled up about £1050 and so the painting is postponed. If you look at one, have a good close look at the front suspension mounts and joints.
As you can guess, the upkeep can be pricey. It's possible to cut costs here, but I'm very particular about my car working as it should and being in good order. As you're considering an M3 (Evo?), I imagine you're prepared for fairly significant servicing bills.
As it is I love it to bits, especially now it's super sharp with the new wishbones, Knowledgeable types know what it is, and I get a lot of random strangers in car parks talking to me about it, and the chap at the local AMG specialist loves mine too. But most of the public see it as any other C class, albeit one with big wheels and riding a little lower. I'd buy another, no question, especially knowing what I do now.
It's a shame, but once it's painted and had a couple of niggles sorted, I'm going to look at selling it on in the summer or so. With my fancy new mortgage, I need to cut costs a bit and sudden £1000 bills can be a little tiresome...!
Nice to hear the comments. I have the opportunity of buying a 1999 C43T 
with around 40'000km on the clock. Have not yet seen nor driven the car. I see that potential problems lie around the gear box and rust. IMO rust is not (no longer) a major issue here as all cars have to be cleaned (chassis and engine compartment) at least every 2 years for the periodic technical inspection. So any salt residues get easily washed out. Have a 98' C240T that has no rust at all apart from a couple of spots around the tail gate handle.
What other potential problems should I be looking for when checking the vehicle? Any comments by past or current owners of this great car (could be a collector soon...
) would be greatly appreciated. 
Thanks in advance
with around 40'000km on the clock. Have not yet seen nor driven the car. I see that potential problems lie around the gear box and rust. IMO rust is not (no longer) a major issue here as all cars have to be cleaned (chassis and engine compartment) at least every 2 years for the periodic technical inspection. So any salt residues get easily washed out. Have a 98' C240T that has no rust at all apart from a couple of spots around the tail gate handle.What other potential problems should I be looking for when checking the vehicle? Any comments by past or current owners of this great car (could be a collector soon...
) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance
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