New W203 owner - couple of questions for you
Discussion
Hello fellow Mercedes owners!
Had a few different marques over the years, but never a Benz. I need a cheap commuter car so picked up a 2007 W203 C-class estate.
220 CDI in Classic SE auto spec no less!
I thought it looked silver... but parked up next to a silver VW and grey MINI, turns out it's actually beige - mercedes cubanite silver metallic they call it.
Anyway, it seems a nice old thing, I like it already, especially the brilliant turning circle - sounds a minor thing but I have a tight driveway angle, so this is an unexpectedly excellent bonus. It sort of cruises around in a sort of statesman-like way. I think the ride is nice and squishy and as opposed to accelerating, it just sort of 'gains speed' in an unruffled way. I've just come from an R53 Mini Cooper S which always felt like an excitable puppy on a lead - fun a lot of the time, but also a bit over enthusiastic when you just want to drive home from work listening to Radio 4. Things I don't like are the one-stalk-does-it-all controls for lights and windscreen wipers - I know that some people say it's a model of elegant simplicity, I think it's overly complex and not very intuitive.
Did I do lots of research, test lots of examples and buy the best I could find? Well...errr... no, not really.
It's got nearly 200,000 miles on the clock and was filthy. Abused would be too strong a word, I just think it's last owners neglected it a bit and were not 'car people'.
Still, it drives OK with no clonks or bangs, it changes gear smoothly, there is no blue/black/white smoke and it doesn't leak any fluids - so we'll take it from there. I'll test this legendary(!) Merc build quality for myself. I gave it a good wash and hoover and it's looking better already.
The price ended up being right so I guess I'll take a punt. If it borks and it's not a cheap fix / DIY, then I guess it's weighed in and move onto the next one. But - I'm hoping that sorting out some odds and sods and giving it a good service will keep me going for a year or two at least. There are plenty of older / higher miles auto diesel Mercs out there. Plus I like the end of line cars, I like to think all of the lessons were learnt during the production run and that the factory knew what they were doing in the final year or two.
So, some questions for you wise owls
Good info sources / forums - is PH where it's at or do you sneakily advise me to also sign up to other areas of the interweb?
Where do you buy your parts? I'm looking for a basic DIY service kit of filters, not looking to trouble a Merc main dealer
Passenger wing mirror: it doesn't retract, but I can hear the motors whirring away in there, looks like something has come adrift. It wobbles a bit at motorway speed so I'l want to sort it. Any ideas?
Driver side fog light is cracked - again, where are you guys picking up decent parts from. I could go on ebay and accept whatever turns up, but I do love a good owner recommendation.
Parking brake - holds the car but when I release it doesn't always come all the way back up, I have to pull the lever with my hand or top of my shoe. I'm sure I remember something about an adjustment under the rear seats. I'll investigate.
Aircon not working - I'm going to see my aircon chap on Friday, really hope it just needs a re-gas and nothing more sinister.
Had a few different marques over the years, but never a Benz. I need a cheap commuter car so picked up a 2007 W203 C-class estate.
220 CDI in Classic SE auto spec no less!
I thought it looked silver... but parked up next to a silver VW and grey MINI, turns out it's actually beige - mercedes cubanite silver metallic they call it.
Anyway, it seems a nice old thing, I like it already, especially the brilliant turning circle - sounds a minor thing but I have a tight driveway angle, so this is an unexpectedly excellent bonus. It sort of cruises around in a sort of statesman-like way. I think the ride is nice and squishy and as opposed to accelerating, it just sort of 'gains speed' in an unruffled way. I've just come from an R53 Mini Cooper S which always felt like an excitable puppy on a lead - fun a lot of the time, but also a bit over enthusiastic when you just want to drive home from work listening to Radio 4. Things I don't like are the one-stalk-does-it-all controls for lights and windscreen wipers - I know that some people say it's a model of elegant simplicity, I think it's overly complex and not very intuitive.
Did I do lots of research, test lots of examples and buy the best I could find? Well...errr... no, not really.
It's got nearly 200,000 miles on the clock and was filthy. Abused would be too strong a word, I just think it's last owners neglected it a bit and were not 'car people'.
Still, it drives OK with no clonks or bangs, it changes gear smoothly, there is no blue/black/white smoke and it doesn't leak any fluids - so we'll take it from there. I'll test this legendary(!) Merc build quality for myself. I gave it a good wash and hoover and it's looking better already.
The price ended up being right so I guess I'll take a punt. If it borks and it's not a cheap fix / DIY, then I guess it's weighed in and move onto the next one. But - I'm hoping that sorting out some odds and sods and giving it a good service will keep me going for a year or two at least. There are plenty of older / higher miles auto diesel Mercs out there. Plus I like the end of line cars, I like to think all of the lessons were learnt during the production run and that the factory knew what they were doing in the final year or two.
So, some questions for you wise owls
Good info sources / forums - is PH where it's at or do you sneakily advise me to also sign up to other areas of the interweb?
Where do you buy your parts? I'm looking for a basic DIY service kit of filters, not looking to trouble a Merc main dealer
Passenger wing mirror: it doesn't retract, but I can hear the motors whirring away in there, looks like something has come adrift. It wobbles a bit at motorway speed so I'l want to sort it. Any ideas?
Driver side fog light is cracked - again, where are you guys picking up decent parts from. I could go on ebay and accept whatever turns up, but I do love a good owner recommendation.
Parking brake - holds the car but when I release it doesn't always come all the way back up, I have to pull the lever with my hand or top of my shoe. I'm sure I remember something about an adjustment under the rear seats. I'll investigate.
Aircon not working - I'm going to see my aircon chap on Friday, really hope it just needs a re-gas and nothing more sinister.
Edited by Matt UK on Wednesday 11th May 20:18
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