buying a c180 auto - advice sought

[spitfire]

hello everybody, this is my first post on this forum as i've not yet bought or owned a MB, hoping to change that today

I've got my eye on a couple of c180 elegance auto's, one is from 94 and the other a 98, the 94 one is black and i'm probably going to take that one as the other is maroon red :neutral:

it drives great, has some rust on the arches but nowhere else, feels smooth, no dodgy sounds and all the electrics seem to work fine but I was wondering if there is anything in particular that i should check out before parting with cash ? - from my research it looks like the loom can be frayed in places on pre-96 models, i took some under the bonnet pics so i'll mabye post them up for your perusal.

many thanks in advance for your advice

 

[Dec]

Others will have other suggestions on what to check this is what comes to mind for me.

You should get 2 sets of keys similar to mine as we share the same year and model, (1994), that is 2 flip keys and 2 alarm fobs, and 2 round keys for turning on or off the alarm, if there is an alarm fitted.
If there is an alarm fitted, to test, lock yourself in the car, wait for 10 seconds without moving a muscle and then open the door, the siren should go off.

When you unlock the car, a Green LED will flash on the rear view mirror and drivers door handle.
When you lock the car, a Red LED will flash on the rear view mirror and drivers door handle.
The LEDs don’t flash if you are locking the car by key at the passenger door lock.

Check that all windows/sunroof are working, get the seller to explain the one touch control on the window switches to you. Also open all the windows and sunroof? and lock the car, all windows/sunroof should close automatically.

Squirt water on the windscreen by pushing inwards the wiper stalk and check the 3 speeds of the wiper, the are intermittent normal and fast speeds. The wiper blade should make an oval pattern (not an arc) on the screen and the blade should not strike the side windscreen trim.

Check the heating controls by changing from hot to cold as you test drive, the heater is controlled from the two thumb wheels, passenger side can be controlled separately from the driver’s side i.e. driver and passenger can have separate levels of heating.

Check the manual door lock on passenger’s side, the lock may be hidden under a round plastic removeable bung.
Check the operation of the boot lock.

The above are common problem areas on this car, all the usual electric and fluid levels need to be looked at as well.

Dec

 

[spitfire]

thanks for all your tips Dec,

will check the keys when i see it again tomorrow, test the alarm and fobs. the last time the passenger door wouldn't unlock with the key, the guy said that the battery was low in the fob, the drivers door unlocked all the doors with no problem, hopefully the new battery will help but i'm doubtful. boot lock was fine, it had a load of copper grease around the catch.

all the wheel arches are pretty rusty too, was hoping to angle grind them back, do a little welding if necessary and then treat/prime/paint/finish etc, hope it's not an indication of further rust throughout important bits like structure or mounting points and hopefully the rust does not go through to the inner arch, cos that looks like a nightmare to fix.

fluids and electrics seemed ok, tested most things but will go over with a finetoothed comb. he originally wanted 650, but i offered 500, with mot till nov and tax oct, not sure if it's a good price but the engine seems smooth and gearbox in good nick, interior and engine bay is quite clean too. doesn't have a service history though, so a bit concerned.

saw the maroon one earlier today, was almost as rusty for even though 4 years newer, had a nicer black interior, but had a ticking sound like the exhaust was blowing a bit, he put his hand over the tailpipe, but it didn't leak anywhere, could have been a leaky oil breather hose or manifold though i guess. his quote for the economy (25-32mpg) were quite a bit shy of the '94 owners of 85-90 miles for a tenner! (hope that's truthful) he advertised it for 1150 originally but was prepared to take 600 as the tax had just ran out.

last thing about the car, the n/s front tyre was worn a fair bit, honest johns talks about a worn bush causing it, anyway i need to buy a new tyre, how pricey are they usually ?

I hear its a R15 195 60, will need to check the others, but does that sound about right ? what pressure should they be and finally, i'm going to jack it up to take a better look underneath, where are the jacking points ?

cheers again

 

[television]

The early car is more simple to work on in some respects, the wiring being one thing.

The jacking points you can see in the link in the sills, under those you have trolley jack points too.
http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb2.as...417717.418&CT=F&cat=44V&SID=60&SGR=015&SGN=02
The swivels and ball joints do wear out on any car,they are simple to change and not expensive, and you can get all of the help that you need here.

A black car is much easier to touch up paint wise than the maroon, and other than the rear arches they are usually very good.

Welcome to the forum

 

[Dec]

Once a car gets old, very few go to main dealers for service because of the high cost, some people don’t bother to keep any records of work done, it would be important to establish if the gearbox oil has been changed at around 60k or 70k, if no positive proof of a change then it would be wise to have that done.

Typical areas for rust are arches, bottom of doors and around boot lock. Haven’t heard much about bits like structure or mounting point’s, just the cosmetic stuff.

The car your choosing is a good reliable car, 14 years old and probably a good few years left in it yet.
I’m the second owner of my own car, I always find that the fewer the owners, then the better maintained the car will be.

Tyres are R15 195/65, that’s what I have and that’s what’s in the owner’s manual, pressure is 30 front, 32 back, and its also marked inside petrol flap.
I think I get about 25 to the gallon but it’s really all down to the way you use your right foot.

There is a plastic disc covering the jacking point, pry the center of it out with a screwdriver and the whole “plug” can then be pull out.

Dec

 

[spitfire]

thanks again for your advice guys, on second inspection it turned out that there was quite a lot of rust underneath, the engine sounded a bit rough and it didn't pull very well at all. ah well, nearly.