My First Mercedes, C class w203

[Xulfiqar]

Although I am a strong believer that you would have to be completely dumb to buy an gli or a city of around 25 to 26 lakhs brand new, and not the mercs and other nice much better equipped and good looking cars in the same price range probably cheaper

It takes a rich man to buy a new mercedes benz - But it takes a truly wealthy man to buy a used mercedes and revive it back to new.

another

there is no car more expensive than a cheap mercedes/bmw/audi - and with the typical useless mentality of people in Pakistan of "marsadeez mazboot gaadi hai - dada ke pass this cheel maadil - na tooti hai na kharaab hoti hai - sirf haail chenj karte hain Allah ke karam se.

then you drive their piece of shit to find that you need earplugs to drown out the noise and find that your joints and muscles ache from the jarring of the worn out suspension and also soil your pants because the brakes are useless.

[sameerulhaq064]

People literally start arguing with me when I tell them why an old C Class or E class is not a better option than a new City/Corolla/Civic. And their daleel is always the same: Maine rakhi thi sirf oil change karata tha baaqi koyi masla nahi.

[arzaamXRS]

yep need to have service history, mine came with a whole bundle of paperwork and history from INH but even then there were things to be done due to age etc so yes thats the biggest downfall of these cars people not keeping up with service until and unless something breaks.

[arzaamXRS]

had installed this badge but might take it off later

[arzaamXRS]

Also if I didn’t cover it beofre changed both keys cases as the buttons were cracked which is common and if your buttons are cracked change them sooner rather than later before any moisture gets in or it’s get wet

Fun fact even with key batteries removed you can still start the car as the EIS energises the key

[sameerulhaq064]

Looks a bit tacky honestly.

[sameerulhaq064]

Not exactly the most appropriate thread to ask this question but how good are Mercedes certified pre-owned cars?

[arzaamXRS]

In PK at least Shahnawaz don't have certified used programme, no experience abroad but I have heard decent things about their programme and they come with warranty but are usually quite a bit more expensive too and not immune from any problems, depends on the individual car and its service history honestly. Most certified used Mercedes abroad are lease vehicles being traded in and upkeep is not always good.

[Xulfiqar]

There is another whole horde of people who owned Toyota Crowns - and when the NCP body swap era was going on - you would see literally hundreds of them on a road every minute of the day.

I got the displeasure of working on a few dozen of them and while the fresh swaps were ok, the 20 or 60,000 kms driven after swap vehicles were requiring maintenance which the owners would try to cheat on - e.g. rear suspension bushings on crown go bad very quick - specially if it has AHC or air suspension. - The same owners would literally choke on air when they heard the actual repair costs of those cars - and would promptly have some springs installed along with scrap market bushings etc then beam at their own achievement as if they have found the lost elder scrolls.

One car I recall was a W140 with the V12, it came to me with a bad running engine - it required MAF sensors and oxygen sensors along with some gentle wiring work along with brake fluid flush etc.

The owner said "ye dekho sensarr ki taar utaardo - gaadi set chalti hai - itni mazboot gaadi hai - paagal howay ho ke naye sensarr lagaaon - nau hazaar ka aik hai"

a year later I saw it at a mechanics shop in Tariq Rd Karachi, and then saw it in the same place 8 years later - completely deflated/bellied out - windows smashed etc.

[arzaamXRS]

Yes such stories are painful but reality, recently saw a w211 at Shahnawaz some airbag component went out and after hearing the cost and the owner had installed a resistor to bypass the system however after a while of rubbing on the seat railing the wires shorted out and all the airbags opened on one fine day,

Another thing witnessed on a w212 was the brake discs and pads are below minimum thickness owner was like ahi navi gaddi hai pads to theek but how can brake discs be below thickness and proceeded to go and get the discs tooled from local shop only to arrive on a tow truck few months later with brake failure and smashed fender.

[arzaamXRS]

Shahnawaz btw completely advises against any sort of brake rotor tooling for any issue even if brake rotors do have minimum thickness.

When I bought the car some 20,000 km ago I had changed all 4 rotors and pads and sensors and inspected the brake lines and used some Mercedes anti seize paste on the back of the pads and on the ears , my driving isn't much so far only been doing brake fluid bleed and flushes on every Service B using MB Dot 4 Plus since then

[Xulfiqar]

oh yes - the beautiful resistor short cut on the airbag.. - too bad the genetic rot of the owner got him better. - Life is hard - and harder when you are stupid.

When I see a car with an intermittent airbag issue - I dont even get into the driving seat; all diag is done with me outside the car.

when I get a good picture of whats up - then I start taking it apart.

I am not getting in the driving seat of a car with an intermittent air bag error - HELL NO!! - NEIN!. - NAHIN - NICHT! - HAYURR! - take your pick ,

[Xulfiqar]

Shahnawaz btw completely advises against any sort of brake rotor tooling for any issue even if brake rotors do have minimum thickness.

This is because the brake discs are already at minimum thickness when brand new - this is done to keep weight down, benz also use pretty soft discs compared to japanese cars.

[mohammad672202]

No sir. Pls. No.

[mohammad672202]

Yes, the truly wealthy man though would be truly screwed to do this in Pakistan, because here mercs and bmws are not maintained properly apart from a few people who really know how to maintain them. But my point was sir, just go and have a look at the civic X forum here, like nayi gari, brand new, steering assembly changes, quality issues, battery issues, electrical issues, zor say khadday main lag gayi tho warning lights on the cluster, go and have a read for yourself, it is so upsetting that people buy a brand new reasonably expensive car and have to go through this shit. So why bother than, why not try and find something nice on the used market and use money on top to maintain it. It's not everybody's choice though, but we should think about it until we get better aftersales and better quality products.

[mohammad672202]

Ab tho sir bari kum nazar ati hein crown, specifically the the S180 and S200 generations. The new one's (S210) are here and you get to see them more often, but Toyota screwed the hybrid version, 178hp it's very sluggish and very boring, does look great and ride very comfortably though.

Regarding maintainence sir, this you are talking about a W140 merc, people do the same to toyotas and hondas. Warna yahan guard ka filter thori bikta:P

[mohammad672202]

I had got my hands a C180 Komp of 2006, in which the airbag light for the passenger won't go off, told the seller that can't buy it with the light on, he told me it is only a seat sensor, the airbag is fine. the next day he came without the warning. upon further inspection, the connector under the seat, was damaged and had been wired desi style somehow to stop the light from appearing. End solution was to simply walk away.

[Xulfiqar]

Warna yahan guard ka filter thori bikta

Guard makes really good filters - if it said Pikachu and made in Japan - it could sell for Rs 10,000/piece.

similar case was with the excellent quality union branded filters long ago that were imported in Pakistan. They look like someone hand painted them and have at max 2 or 3 misspelled english words on them along with union catalog number, People didnt buy it (because it seemed like it was desi item) - until the importer started having them spray painted and printing Shinken filters on them along with some japanese kanji characters.

Then the importer completely stopped import after 2 lots - as it was a stupid way to make product sell.

[Xulfiqar]

like nayi gari, brand new, steering assembly changes, quality issues, battery issues, electrical issues, zor say khadday main lag gayi tho warning lights on the cluster,

I gather you have not bought a new or newish german car from its showroom/dealer

I have - and have brought it back to dealer for similar items or even smaller. - When BMW sold their N55 engine in the early models - it had a massive failure mode that it would break the bolts that held the vanos assembly together (like VVT pulley in your car)

When the vanos assembly broke loose - the engine loses time and pistons crash into the valves rendering it junk (this was happenning under 20,000 kms from brand new)

similar failure happened on the earlier N52 engines too,

Porsche cayenne transfer cases burn out/destroyed themselves just by driving on wet road.

failures happen - they happen in all sorts of equipment, If you are looking for a failure proof machine or something that doesnt fail at all - then best buy a very old technology machine that has been combed over and all its issues have solid knowledge base for resolution - like an aircooled VW beetle

[Marschall]

Great steering, although i dont like alcantara id rather perfer MB wooden steering just love the feel of polished walnut wood,btw i was looking for a w203 facelift but this car doesnt have that merc feel, i noticed the suspension is like an accord,but the steering response was excellent and overall a great machine with a bullet proof engine nevertheless.Unfortunately my mind is stuck in the 90s and i stumbled upon a w202 minter kept in the family since imported in 2010 and now i am after that.I think the m111,m112 and m113 are best engines mercedes produced which are both economical and reliable