Discussion
Picked up a C36 on Friday, slightly unexpected but always a car I have admired / had an eye on.
Could anyone point me in the direction of some information on the car? Road Tests, Reviews, Buying guides (bit late for the last one admittedly!) would all be great. Or just any general wisdom the PH collective may have.
Will aim to get some pics up next weekend when I have had a chance to give it a proper valet.
Thanks
Could anyone point me in the direction of some information on the car? Road Tests, Reviews, Buying guides (bit late for the last one admittedly!) would all be great. Or just any general wisdom the PH collective may have.
Will aim to get some pics up next weekend when I have had a chance to give it a proper valet.
Thanks
I hope you enjoy it . I`ve had one for nearly 4 years now and love it . Ebay will be a good source of articles about the car in terms of road tests etc and Mercedes Enthusiast magazine may throw up something useful from time to time . I`ve got a Brooklands Books collection of articles on all pre 1999 AMG`s which is an interesting snapshot of how the car was viewed when it was new .
Other than that , I`d recommend checking the front ball joints and steering damper have been recently changed (an inexpensive job) , run it on good quality tyres and super unleaded and have a blast . Don`t hesitate to email with any questions .
Mickyveloce
Other than that , I`d recommend checking the front ball joints and steering damper have been recently changed (an inexpensive job) , run it on good quality tyres and super unleaded and have a blast . Don`t hesitate to email with any questions .
Mickyveloce
http://www.mercedesenthusiast.co.uk/cgi-bin/back_i...
Issue No. 13 tells you everything you need to know!
Also recommend changing gearbox oil & filters if not already done so. I had the 5 speed electronic gearbox and these can fail although i had no problems.
Issue No. 13 tells you everything you need to know!
Also recommend changing gearbox oil & filters if not already done so. I had the 5 speed electronic gearbox and these can fail although i had no problems.
Edited by Aquanaut on Wednesday 3rd February 14:19
Mine`s a 4 speed auto with no LSD , so fairly robust . I`ve heard of C43`s `box`s going , but not the C36`s 5 speed to be honest .
The big issues I found when I bought mine were the ECU`s which were £2000 + if they failed ( now repairable through companies such as ECU doctor ) and catalytic converters ( again now available for about a tenth of what Merc used to charge ) .
I`ve found a worthwhile upgrade was to put vented Brembo discs on ( available from GSF ) which made a big difference to the feel of the car .
Some trim items are costly - I need a new front fog light and they`re £195 from Merc ( the only place I can find who supply them ) , but with a bit of luck and maintenance , the car should prove cheap to run ( certainly compared to the later V8 AMG cars) .
The big issues I found when I bought mine were the ECU`s which were £2000 + if they failed ( now repairable through companies such as ECU doctor ) and catalytic converters ( again now available for about a tenth of what Merc used to charge ) .
I`ve found a worthwhile upgrade was to put vented Brembo discs on ( available from GSF ) which made a big difference to the feel of the car .
Some trim items are costly - I need a new front fog light and they`re £195 from Merc ( the only place I can find who supply them ) , but with a bit of luck and maintenance , the car should prove cheap to run ( certainly compared to the later V8 AMG cars) .
defo change the gearbox oil changed, i had a gearbox go on my old one, ended up buyying a new one at £1600+vat!
- also the cats go, ended up putting some race spec ones in.
- wishbones
- dreaded rust!
apart from those things, the C36 is a lovely car, i do miss my old one i sold 6 mnths back!
- also the cats go, ended up putting some race spec ones in.
- wishbones
- dreaded rust!
apart from those things, the C36 is a lovely car, i do miss my old one i sold 6 mnths back!
LSD`s not standard on the 4-speed cars ; mine hasn`t got one . The 5 speed autobox came in mid-late 1996 and all the 5 speed cars I know have LSD`s fitted .
You probably won`t find one as you`ve described . If they`re low mileage , the bodywork will be usually fine unless it`s been crashed .The C36`s were made when quality mattered in the Mercedes bodyshop . The low end price cars have mechanical / electrical issues and a V5 full of short term owners .
Don`t be afraid of mileage though - there have been some on Mobile.de with 300,000km plus still selling for reasonable money .
The general concensus is that the 4 speed box is a tougher ( but less refined) unit .
You probably won`t find one as you`ve described . If they`re low mileage , the bodywork will be usually fine unless it`s been crashed .The C36`s were made when quality mattered in the Mercedes bodyshop . The low end price cars have mechanical / electrical issues and a V5 full of short term owners .
Don`t be afraid of mileage though - there have been some on Mobile.de with 300,000km plus still selling for reasonable money .
The general concensus is that the 4 speed box is a tougher ( but less refined) unit .
mickyveloce said:
LSD`s not standard on the 4-speed cars ; mine hasn`t got one . The 5 speed autobox came in mid-late 1996 and all the 5 speed cars I know have LSD`s fitted .
You probably won`t find one as you`ve described . If they`re low mileage , the bodywork will be usually fine unless it`s been crashed .The C36`s were made when quality mattered in the Mercedes bodyshop . The low end price cars have mechanical / electrical issues and a V5 full of short term owners .
That is good to know as I would like a 5 speeder. Specifically what kind of mechanical / electrical issues ?You probably won`t find one as you`ve described . If they`re low mileage , the bodywork will be usually fine unless it`s been crashed .The C36`s were made when quality mattered in the Mercedes bodyshop . The low end price cars have mechanical / electrical issues and a V5 full of short term owners .
Recently just missed a 90k miler in reasonable nick for £2.3k which is around my target spec / price.
Ben
Issues to watch are ECU maladies and rattly Cats . Suspension components such as track rods , steering damper , bushes and wheel bearings all make a huge difference to how these cars drive ( no rack and pinion steering here!) . They demand the best tyres ( like most performance cars should ) but rarely get them , and can suffer head gasket issues ( easily detectable) resulting in overheating etc .
An early road test in CAR in 1994 is less than complimentary about how early the LSD cuts in too .
An early road test in CAR in 1994 is less than complimentary about how early the LSD cuts in too .
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