W202 Cosmetic rust and other stuff....

[jpbp200]

Hi

I have just been to test a 1998 W202 180 Elegance with a view to buying it. It has done 98k and has a full MB service history apart from 1 year 2003 i think where the service was not done. It has had 1 lady owner from 1999 after belonging to a lease co. After the (extremely helpful) feedback from my recent posts I thoroughly examined the car and found the following faults..

1 Rust! - There were several areas of bubbling rust, some with a small amount of flaking around the rear wheel arches and rear door lower corners and around the boot lock along with a little bubbling wher the mid level door trim is attached. My question is how costly would these be to fix to a suitable standard (how long is a piece of string I know but a rough idea would be great) and perhaps more importantly, should I be worried about them?

2. Car was leaning to the left by about 2-3 degrees if you let go of the steering wheel and does the same under heavy braking, taking into account the camber of the road. I am hoping this is just tracking and adjusting the tyre pressures to the correct level has improved this by 50% but it still pulls slightly.. Any advice welcome!

3. The drivers electric door mirror although fully functioning is misaligned due prob to clipping or vandalism and will need to be repaired as it does not adjust properly..Cost?

4. Although fully functional during the test the drivers side electric window came to a stop halfway up and refused to go any further despite re lowering it several times, it eventually went up. Possibly it just needs lubrication and the safety mechanism cut in?? The windows are not autoclose on locking BTW. Cost to repair?

Other than these fairly minor faults the car was in excellent condition enginewise. The auto box was smooth with no clunks or noises although the seller did say that when cold it jerks slightly from 1st to second. The engine was smooth up to the redline, no oil leaks and the oil was a lovely golden colour. All the heating/aircon and other electrical items worked fine inc cruise control and speed limiter.

To sum up the car was an absolute pleasure to drive and I would like to own it as long as these minor faults could be corrected for minimal cost as I have a limited(very) budget.

Any comments/advice would be very welcome.

Thankyou.

James

 

[anyweb]

1. mine has rust too in about the same areas, some are lucky some are not, i wasnt lucky however i still love my car

2. the lean to the left could be something as simple as an underinflated tire, check that first and if it is ok then you might need new shocks on that side, get it inspected if so (why the need)

3. as long \as its not cracked you should be able to gently man-handle it back into alignment, if not, take a photo of it and show us what you mean

4. press and hold the button in the up position for 15 seconds once fully closed, do the same when the window(s) are fully open. then try again

the w202 is a pleasure to drive,
and own

lucky you !

cheers
anyweb

 

[jpbp200]

Thanks for that. I do not actually own the car yet although I am getting closer to making an offer by the hour! The seller is very nice and I will mention the window procedure to see if this fixes it, if indeed it has happened again.

 

[jpbp200]

BTW have you done aything about your rust.. Your W202 looks great!

 

[Dec]

1… I have rust too, just like anyweb, it is 10 years old, just touch it up twice a year. Not worth spending a lot of cash unless it is really bad.

2…The have a tendency to do that, mine dose too, if the tyres and tracking are o.k. live with it. It doesn’t bother me too much

3.. As anyweb, I think it just needs manual adjusting first, you will hear clicks as you push ether edge of glass inward then go back to the adjuster switch until you are happy with the angel of the mirror, a case of trial and error really.

4…. Windows may need to be reset. Open window all the way down, hold button down for 15 seconds, if you are in a quiet area you will hear a click coming from the door, next close the window all the way up, hold button for 15 seconds and you will hear another click, the window is now reset, repeat for the other 3 windows. If the window is still stooping halve way up (you could assist its journey by hand) you may need a replacement or repair. All four window regulators (motor and mechanism) on my car have been replace at different times in the last few years, common fault with the W202.

These are non-urgent problems and can be dealt with later when you are richer than you are now, car sounds good.

Dec

 

[jpbp200]

Cheers for that Dec. Just spoke to MB who confirmed the cars history, missed service in 2005 but other than that serviced as per schedule. Ball joints replaced in 2006, other than that no other major faults. I have one more car to see (a 1998 VW Passat with only 22,000, sorry but the low mileage is attractive!) I think I will make an offer on the Merc though. Any thoughts about reasonable offer?

 

[Dec]

22,000 miles is indeed very attractive but be conscious about clocking as its very common, check it out well.

I think you mentioned £2,800 in your previous post? You could be really aggressive, pointing out the faults and offer £1,500 and say absolutely nothing further until she speaks, this will condition her into thinking £2,000 is all she can get from you.
She may come back with £2,300 and you could settle on, say £2.000, you can always go up further, its really up to you, its all bluff at the end of the day.

So it’s the VW or the MB, which ever makes you smile the most. As anyweb says the W202 is a great car.

Dec

 

[jpbp200]

The W202 is up for £2200 offers accepted. The VW as far as I can tell has had 1 elderly owner from new who is now too old to drive hence the low mileage. It does have the odd scratch where he's bumped into stuff but nothing too serious, again a 10 year old car so to be expected. His grandson, a farmer, is selling it for him so we'll see. FSH though so... but he wants at least £2000 for it. I was thinking of offering £1500 for the w202 bearing in mind new pads and discs all round and an 'A' service due shortly and it appears the gearbox oil has not been changed since at best 1999, so that as well. Incidently, MB suggested that they might, emphasis on the might I suspect, fix the rust for free....

 

[Dec]

A one-owner car is always in very good shape, that VW sounds like a good buy.
Regarding the rust, I think it all depends if the car has been serviced continually by an MB dealer and also what actually caused the rust i.e rust caused by stone chips would not qualify

Dec

 

[Aussie Nick]

My w202 is a 96. I think the Australian specs were different to the European car. The basic Esprit model came with cloth upholstery, Avantgarde suspension(sports), two front electric windows and a five speed semi auto gearbox. Mine has done 240,000 clicks(About 135,000 miles).

There is absolutely no rust in the body whatsoever (the car is garaged).
It has been extremely reliable and noticeably the interior is as good as new. Some problems started to creep in with the tensioner arm and tensioner pulley collapsing recently together with a water pump. The interior blower fan also caved in and through stupidity I broke the wiper arm assembly.


The car is definitely top quality in production and, maintenance has helped to keep it in good shape. It would surpass all Jap cars of that era save for the Lexus 400 series, where in my view it would be equal to or slightly ahead.


I have not had any problems with the electric windows. The oil is a golden honey colour even after 6000 to 7000 clicks and the oil I use is Magnatec which I consider uderrated. Having owned BMWs before I find that the quality of the Merc is superior to those cars. I normally average 8 to 9 litres per 100 kms in city traffick that i would estimate is 30 mpg++.

One dealer reported to me that he recently test drove a similar car with 450,000kms and that it drove extremely well. I have recently purchased an E430 Ellegance W210 2001 upgrade model and will be reporting shortly on this car. So far none of the major problems outlined by members here, with 210s, appear to be present on this car.


I should say to members, in relation to the 202 that replacing the tensioner pulley, water pump and poly belt made a remarkable difference to the smoothness and increase in power of the motor.

I have seen a W202 which had a head on collision with a tree in a wrecker's yard. Although the trunk of the tree had sliced though the front of the car remarkably the cabin was almost completely intact with some warping along the side panels. I was told that the driver walked away.

I would say the W202 is a credit to Mercedes

 

[jpbp200]

Yes MB said they would take photos and send them off, none of the rust is in areas where stonechips would be the cause. I guess they have to satisfy themselves that it is coming from the inside. I have an issue with the automatic gearbox oil though.. one dealer told me it needs changing every 80,000 or so but another told me 30,000. This car has not had it done at all yet and I know it is sticky from 1st to 2nd when cold. Could this be an indication of a potential catastrophic failure at anytime? If it should have been done at 80,000 then fair enough I can get it done but 30,000 is a long time ago on a car that has done 98,000!

 

[Aussie Nick]

Mb designed the gearbox as a totally sealed unit with the oil to last the life of the car. Some owners mistrusted the Merc design and change their oil every 100,000 clicks. I would suggest that the Merc claim is probably correct but a change of gearbox oil is insurance. I think your concerns about the oil are unfounded.

 

[jpbp200]

Thanks Nick. What do you think about the stickyness when cold?

 

[anyweb]

stickiness when cold means too much oil in the gearbox, as far as i remember

i could be wrong though (I'm no mechanic)

i hope you buy the W202, you'll love it !!

cheers
anyweb

 

[jpbp200]

Cheers anyweb. I certainly loved the test drive. Love that badge on the bonnet reminding you constantly that you are in a Merc! Thanks everyone for the very useful info provided on this site. Tomorrow is decision/haggling day......

 

[Aussie Nick]

The oil will be thicker when the gearbox is cold and therefore the box will appear sticky compared to when the box is warm . No one can really say with absolute certainty how much life is left in a gearbox which is functional unless the parts are stripped down and the part's tolerances measured against specs. I would suggest that the gearbox is serviceable and has plenty of life left in it yet. That is my presumption. If it feels a lot worse than other 202s of a similar age and life then this could mean trouble. You have to take a risk with these things .You cannot know for sure even when you buy new.

See how fast that boat is moving in the photo, it is close to 100 k when the photo was taken. I know the gearbox is half full of salt water and should have been changed 12 months ago. it will be milky for sure but it still does the job flat out with no signs of stress or failure

 

[jpbp200]

Cheers Nick. Very reassuring. Will definately make an offer on the W202!

 

[anyweb]

good on ya, and any probs you have with it let us know,

I'm looking forward to seeing photos of it also
cheers
anyweb

 

[jpbp200]

Sure will, I'll def post photos of it too if my bid is succesful, fingers crossed! and thanks.

 

[jberks]

Mb designed the gearbox as a totally sealed unit with the oil to last the life of the car. Some owners mistrusted the Merc design and change their oil every 100,000 clicks. I would suggest that the Merc claim is probably correct but a change of gearbox oil is insurance. I think your concerns about the oil are unfounded.

Sealed for life was the original idea but MB have changed their minds - probably after a fair few complaints about prematurely blown gearboxes. My E240 (2000) with the standard 5 speeder never had the gearbox oil changed in the 70k/5 years I had it.
My E270 with the same 5 speed box - circa 2004 had the oil changed by the dealer, on MB recommendation, at 3 years / 45k.

Don't chance it, get it done asap.