What to look for on a C320

[00slk]

Daughter in law is slowly developing great taste she has me for a father in law for a start, she is keen on a 2003 C320 151k its a 2 dr model reasonable mot history, ie nothing major, only downside is it manual, though she wants a manual for some strange reason What should she be aware of on these, I think they are fairly good but professional advice is always a bonus here on the forum

 

[JBell]

Manual!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rust, rust and more rust

 

[LostKiwi]

That will be a W203 so not as rust prone as the W202.
Never knew they did manual 320s (petrol or diesel? - if petrol she is developing very good taste )

 

[John Laidlaw]

That will be petrol I hope!
Manual....noooooooo!

 

[00slk]

Yes thank goodness petrol, it would make a good drift car, and can see where this will end up if my son has anything to do with it I guess it is quite rare, bet it drives like a 320SLK manual they were horrible

 

[JBell]

That will be a W203 so not as rust prone as the W202.

I beg to differ, the early W203 were terrible until the facelift in 2004

Never knew they did manual 320s (petrol or diesel? - if petrol she is developing very good taste )

The car is the coupe as the OP states 2 door it is the small coupe that later morphed into the CLC

 

[00slk]

It does look like half a Mercedes

 

[LostKiwi]

Ok so the engine is an M112 which is practically bomb proof - the only common issues being crank position sensor and potential oil leaks from top of the engine. Nothing particularly serious at all.
They can also develop issues with catalytic convertors breaking down as they are in a low position near the spray from the wheels hence can get hot, water splashes on them forcing rapid contraction of the canister and a cracked brick inside as a result. Fortunately not super common (only one of the three M112s I've owned has done this over a combined 200k miles).

 

[LostKiwi]

I beg to differ, the early W203 were terrible until the facelift in 2004

I've not noticed them being that bad and the really badly neglected 2003 C180 one I had was almost entirely rust free - just a few spots on a 250k miles car.

 

[00slk]

Many thanks for your wealth of knowledge Alistair, this car is only a few miles from though my daughter in law is bringing a mechanic with her so I have just been told so she must be keen

Ok so the engine is an M112 which is practically bomb proof - the only common issues being crank position sensor and potential oil leaks from top of the engine. Nothing particularly serious at all.
They can also develop issues with catalytic convertors breaking down as they are in a low position near the spray from the wheels hence can get hot, water splashes on them forcing rapid contraction of the canister and a cracked brick inside as a result. Fortunately not super common (only one of the three M112s I've owned has done this over a combined 200k miles).

 

[JBell]

I've not noticed them being that bad and the really badly neglected 2003 C180 one I had was almost entirely rust free - just a few spots on a 250k miles car.

I had a 2001 W203 and it had rust on all 4 arches, bonnet, boot and numerous blisters on other panels, garaged for 6 years and only 125k

 

[00slk]

The C320 needed too much work to get it back on the road again, plus there was a distinct clicking on start up, they also discovered a manual isn't like a BMW
She'll be able to look around a bit now see what's out there

 

[brick10]

I have had two C320s and no trouble at all, as Alistair said the engines are bomb proof.

 

[John Laidlaw]

The C320 needed too much work to get it back on the road again, plus there was a distinct clicking on start up, they also discovered a manual isn't like a BMW
She'll be able to look around a bit now see what's out there

Phew- manual escape there!

 

[00slk]

Yes, it sure was..... Still plenty of Mercedes still out there