W203 c320
- Thread starter Vinnysian
- Start date
Mr Greedy
Senior Member
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- Feb 15, 2012
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- 596
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- Leicestershire
- Your Mercedes
- E350/2011/OM642 265bhp
Manual gearbox doesn't like anything to do with 1st gear when cold (mostly okay when fully up to temp), but is otherwise great.
Age of battery.
Air con service probably required and if it's not a new air con condensor (radiator) on the front of the car, expect on to be needed (and with any car of this age).
Auto gearbox fluid change every 3 years 37k miles I think.
Rusting wheel arches.
Rusting subframe.
At that age, all suspension components and subframe bushes would significantly benefit from replacement (if they haven't already).
Platinum spark plugs (12) should be done every 60k miles I think.
Broken stepper motors for the air flow blend flaps in the dash (presents itself as a non-stop loud ticking from the dash on start-up) - cheap DIY fix, but 10+ hours potentially
If Pano roof, lack of service of the roof and rails leading to sticking roofs and broken motor mechanism.
Clouding polycarbonate headlights (cheap fix)
Remote unlocking antenna detatching from the wiring on the rear screen (intermittent or short range locking only, and probably poor radio reception on anything except the major stations). New rear window.
Boot lock or microswitch in the boot handle.
Poor adjustment of the parking brake (on any Merc of this age).
Smashed front door rear speaker grills and seat trim if it's the coupe, as the seat buckle gets trapped when closing the door if you don't move it out of the way.
Loss of pressure in the tailgate/boot strut, exagerating the effect of ham fisted baffoons slamming the boot shut as hard as they can and nearly putting the rear screen through.
A check of the timing chain on high mileage examples wouldn't go a miss.
Crank shaft sensor on high mileage, causing intermittent starting issues.
Starter motor failure on high mileage, causing regular blowing of starter motor fuse, but will bump start fine.
I love that V6. Only 218bhp, but good reving and pulls well throughout the range. I managed a long term average of 32mpg, with best on a single trip of 43mpg. Merc have obviously lost their touch since then.
Age of battery.
Air con service probably required and if it's not a new air con condensor (radiator) on the front of the car, expect on to be needed (and with any car of this age).
Auto gearbox fluid change every 3 years 37k miles I think.
Rusting wheel arches.
Rusting subframe.
At that age, all suspension components and subframe bushes would significantly benefit from replacement (if they haven't already).
Platinum spark plugs (12) should be done every 60k miles I think.
Broken stepper motors for the air flow blend flaps in the dash (presents itself as a non-stop loud ticking from the dash on start-up) - cheap DIY fix, but 10+ hours potentially
If Pano roof, lack of service of the roof and rails leading to sticking roofs and broken motor mechanism.
Clouding polycarbonate headlights (cheap fix)
Remote unlocking antenna detatching from the wiring on the rear screen (intermittent or short range locking only, and probably poor radio reception on anything except the major stations). New rear window.
Boot lock or microswitch in the boot handle.
Poor adjustment of the parking brake (on any Merc of this age).
Smashed front door rear speaker grills and seat trim if it's the coupe, as the seat buckle gets trapped when closing the door if you don't move it out of the way.
Loss of pressure in the tailgate/boot strut, exagerating the effect of ham fisted baffoons slamming the boot shut as hard as they can and nearly putting the rear screen through.
A check of the timing chain on high mileage examples wouldn't go a miss.
Crank shaft sensor on high mileage, causing intermittent starting issues.
Starter motor failure on high mileage, causing regular blowing of starter motor fuse, but will bump start fine.
I love that V6. Only 218bhp, but good reving and pulls well throughout the range. I managed a long term average of 32mpg, with best on a single trip of 43mpg. Merc have obviously lost their touch since then.
MBDevotee
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2009
- Messages
- 2,244
- Reaction score
- 624
- Location
- Bristol
- Your Mercedes
- Dreaming of a CL55k - one day maybe....
I had a CLK 320 of similar era.
Never managed anything more than mid 30's from it, nearer 30 average.....
I converted mine to LPG - it converts really well - hit the consumption down to 27mpg - but then at 50p per litre (when petrol was £0.98 ppl) it was like getting 50+ to the gallon, also engine ran way better on it, smoother, quieter etc.
Never had a single problem with the engine - however the rust has to be managed - I was so lucky, only had one spot which I dealt with. All the above mentioned is worth knowing, however don't panic, I think he was listing what CAN go wrong, not what will.... the cars can be very reliable and good refined transport.....
Never managed anything more than mid 30's from it, nearer 30 average.....
I converted mine to LPG - it converts really well - hit the consumption down to 27mpg - but then at 50p per litre (when petrol was £0.98 ppl) it was like getting 50+ to the gallon, also engine ran way better on it, smoother, quieter etc.
Never had a single problem with the engine - however the rust has to be managed - I was so lucky, only had one spot which I dealt with. All the above mentioned is worth knowing, however don't panic, I think he was listing what CAN go wrong, not what will.... the cars can be very reliable and good refined transport.....
Mr Greedy
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2012
- Messages
- 596
- Reaction score
- 643
- Location
- Leicestershire
- Your Mercedes
- E350/2011/OM642 265bhp
Having owned the w203 for a good chunk of years, I did most of the list. Engine was never a problem though, and as MBDevotee said, the rust needs managing when it shows. ASAP. Otherwise it gets worse quicker than on some cars. Facelift is galvanised body and an improvement, but wheel arches still need cleaning very regularly due to mud-holding design.
A lot of the stuff I've listed is pretty cheap fixes, and I list it because you need to be aware over longer term ownership you will need to look out for them. I've written about a lot of it on this forum already, so if you search by my name there will be help for fixes there.
To put it into context, nearly all of it will be an issue for nearly any Merc (or any car) of the age you are looking at. Stuff wears out and oils and fluids and things need servicing.
The specific things that are additions to 'every other car' are the stepper motor in the dash (£15 DIY), Pano roof which is any pano Merc (£10 DIY to service and keep clean if already working), key fob and radio reception (new rear glass), wheel arch and subframe rust but this is on many cars, and the speaker grills on the coupe (£20 per grill fix DIY).
You can check a load of this stuff very very easily. If some has been done, that's a good sign when buying. It it all needs doing, the car has been neglected and walk away.
A lot of the stuff I've listed is pretty cheap fixes, and I list it because you need to be aware over longer term ownership you will need to look out for them. I've written about a lot of it on this forum already, so if you search by my name there will be help for fixes there.
To put it into context, nearly all of it will be an issue for nearly any Merc (or any car) of the age you are looking at. Stuff wears out and oils and fluids and things need servicing.
The specific things that are additions to 'every other car' are the stepper motor in the dash (£15 DIY), Pano roof which is any pano Merc (£10 DIY to service and keep clean if already working), key fob and radio reception (new rear glass), wheel arch and subframe rust but this is on many cars, and the speaker grills on the coupe (£20 per grill fix DIY).
You can check a load of this stuff very very easily. If some has been done, that's a good sign when buying. It it all needs doing, the car has been neglected and walk away.
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