Advice as to costs prior to looking for someone to do it Please

[Alan22]

Hi, I don’t have the ability to get on here as much as I would like, so if I am missing for some days just take it as I’m really bad, and will get back here when I am a bit more able, so, please don’t think I have lost interest, etc, it couldn’t be further from the truth if you tried.

Now down to business, I ended up buying a right lemon, with an MoT that has had every single garage who has seen it to almost say, is it a legit one, but stop short as they don’t want to be caught up with anything, due to the extent of the work, I’m going to look at getting a bit at a time, that said I need to be careful about my approach, there is no point doing all the obvious stuff, only to find the bit I left till last will be more than it’s ‘worth’ as they say, but I did get one up on the seller though, turns out I have an easy entry\exit on the car, and for that alone, I have to stick with it, because it is pure heaven for my legs, being disabled, as I won’t be able to afford such features again.

The most part of the work is under the car (you’ll see why in a sec), but it led to one guy asking if it had been flood-damaged, to my eyes it is pretty serious rust, and from the service I had done, I was able to follow up on it knowing the areas of concern, but when they said it was bad, they weren’t kidding, they were booked to do the main service, but came out saying it’s impossible to do this because there should be a filter housing in the bulkhead, and that should have a filter changed to do the full service, well not only did I have no filter, the physical filter housing is missing, let alone the filter.

But let me start by saying I don’t want to bog this thread down with the other factors, it’s not the right section, I only list them incase someone sees a really expensive problem because if it’s that bad it won’t be worth continuing, but if they are as I suspect, I will continue in their proper sections as I get there, so here goes:-

• The boot-mounted brake light, cheap enough I guess?
  
• Electrical issues with intermittent rear plate lights, but I suspect the boot-mounted light may be a factor there.
  
• Brakes are probably a given when you see the rest, not cheap, but given timing is affordable?
  
• Disks, maybe, but not the end of the world?
  
• Now I am unsure about the filter housing (side by side pic's wide and close up below this), I don’t think I am using the correct name for it, as all I find are filters or lumps of something that I haven’t seen before, and as I don’t know what I am expecting to see, searches are not as clear as I don’t know what it looks like, any pointers would be great, and if it’s cheap or not (relatively speaking)?​

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So assuming none of those bits are not deal breakers, I can start with the biggest job, as this will be the killer, and relative to this section, the underside of the car is rusty, and the brake hoses need doing, probably the brakes as well, disks worst case, and a bit of welding to fix the exhaust back properly as the bracket has gone, you can get an idea of how bad it is from the pictures I was able to take when one place had it on the ramps to give me a quote (which they never did), I tried to picture the brake pipes back to where they reckon they would have to cut into and renew, very limited access they said from experience if it’s where they think, so I will just stick some pictures up and let you see what you think, I’m hoping by doing a bit at a time, I can make it more affordable.

I’ve been housebound since Xmas because the MoT was due at the best time of year to get it done, January 2nd, what with Xmas, Wife's birthday, MoT, Repairs, and Insurance, all in a matter of weeks, so I sorned it and it’s turned out to be a saving, as I’m not allowed out anyway being in the highest risk group, so small mercy’s there, but I need it for hospital appointments coming up it would be good to have my own car to get there, here are the pictures anyway:-

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Now to recap, this is to see the cost of repairs is affordable to me, and I know its a hands-on before you can see the whole amount of work (so just ballpark numbers), if they are too great then that's it, if they are looking better than I fear then its a go, also just remembered this will be needed as well, its a 3.2ltr CLK Avantgarde Coupe (W209), Manufactured 2003 on a 53 plate, first UK Reg 02/02/2004, I hope I have made sense, I tried to find any guide to image sizes, but got nowhere as pages no longer existed, so I hope they are OK.

 

[markjay]

The missing piece in the bulkhead looks like the pollen/cabin filter housing, should be easy enough to get a second head unit off eBay, either way it won't stop the car from going - all it does is filter the air that enters the cabin through the vents.


Look for:

Mercedes C Class CLK W203 W209 Cabin Dust Filter Housing A203 830 33 03

(And you'll obviously also need the filter itself)

 

[markjay]

About the rust, I am not sure.... it can be expensive to repair, and it can also become an MOT failure. Difficult to tell from the photos if it's just surface rust that can be treated then sealed with Waxoil, or it's more substantial and requires new cross member and new suspension components etc. You could be cheeky and try and take the car to the dealer and enquire about the anti-perforation warranty....... though this will be a (very) long shot.

 

[Teego]

Hate to say it but I think that's a money pit. I'd spend a few quid to get an objective assessment from a trustworthy independent or RAC.

 

[Alan22]

Mercedes C Class CLK W203 W209 Cabin Dust Filter Housing A203 830 33 03 (And you'll obviously also need the filter itself)

Thanks for that, sounds right, and it is far from what I had seen using my search terms, so nice one there, just a pre-formed plastic housing, I assume it just clicks in(?) or does it come with any fittings it may need?

About the rust, I am not sure.... it can be expensive to repair, and it can also become an MOT failure. Difficult to tell from the photos if it's just surface rust that can be treated then sealed with Waxoil, or it's more substantial and requires new cross member and new suspension components etc. You could be cheeky and try and take the car to the dealer and enquire about the anti-perforation warranty....... though this will be a (very) long shot.

Yeah I know of old when I was able to get hands-on just how much can be hidden even in person until you get stuck in, and wax oil was my weapon of choice back then as well, but it only takes a couple of inches out, and it can seriously hit the fan, it can be the difference of just repair or major work, pass or fail, I haven't got the ability to give it the screwdriver\hammer test, and as it'#s been sat there through this pandemic, the battery is very long dead, I have to use the Key's Key to open the door, as to the warranty, as you say I highly doubt it given it's a 2004 car, but I have no way to get there, but Thanks for the thought.

Hate to say it but I think that's a money pit. I'd spend a few quid to get an objective assessment from a trustworthy independent or RAC.

True, this is why I am trying to get a bigger picture on the sort of price I'd be looking at, and when I took it for a service 4 months and maybe 500 miles after buying it, considering it was supposed to have a full-service history, it was booked in for a full service, as so many little things were coming up in the dashboard info, saying it needs a service, so took it down, and they came out and said it's not possible to do a full service as there was no housing for a filter, so they charged me for a normal service (I can never remember if B is main or minor), but they also said they feared it may be uneconomical to do the work.

But I am hoping to get it back on the road for a year or so, then I have half a chance of getting something newer, and I agree that having someone check it over first is a wise move, and to most that is cheap, considering what could be lost, but over 3 decades on disability has left nothing but debt, so that's well over 4 months of saving for me, and if the report comes back as bad, that's a year gone down the pan virtually, so it's a luxury I can't afford, I was housebound for 2 years to save up for the car, so you get the picture, but Thanks for the reply.

Given the reply's I will try and make a few calls to see if anyone can come round for a look etc, as going by the reply's it is as I feared, that said, the rest of the work doesn't seem too bad, so it's only the underside making it risky, but the features are something I will never be able to afford again, what with the Distronic Radar and easy entry system are a dream, I can only hope it doesn't become a nightmare.

So Thanks for the input guy's, it's helped me to take the next step, so fingers crossed.

 

[markjay]

The cabin filter housing connects to the base using metal clips, can't remember if they are supposed to be on the housing or on the base. Google for a YouTube video on how to replace the cabin filter on a W203.

The MB anti-perforation warranty is good for 30 years (all MB cars are fully galvanized as of mid-2003), but of course there are a few good reasons why it might not apply in this case, including the car's service history, the nature of the damage, etc.

 

[W1ghty]

What did you pay for the car and what is your repair budget ( if you don’t mind me asking ) . Just trying to do the sums to see what I would do ?

 

[Petrol Pete]

For a Merc thats done 15 British winters that surface rust is the norm, especially if no one has spent any time under there cleaning and 'oiling' etc. It's obviously been used and is not a garage queen. But...and it's a big but it's the hidden structural corrosion that is the worry.

I am going to assume the solid rear brake lines have been replaced at some point because they would have corroded along with the sub frame and would be on the MOT history .

Pay no attention to the wonderful 30 year rust warranty MB offered unless every single service was carried out by a main MB dealership. As for galvanising every car after 2003 my answer to that is MB must have had a brain fart when running the galvanising process on thousands of cars in the years after that . Many have rust appearing from beneath the paint.

As asked on here earlier, it's down to your budget really.

 

[amazighman]

Whats the exact manufacturing date? You can get that from Any VIN decoder website when you type in your vin.

Pre 2004 mercs are known for rusting everywhere you can imagine , Maybe your car has lived a hard life somewhere up norf with a lots of road salt and an owner that never washes underneath his car to clean off the salt.

 

[Alan22]

The cabin filter housing connects to the base using metal clips, can't remember if they are supposed to be on the housing or on the base. Google for a YouTube video on how to replace the cabin filter on a W203.
That is what had me wondering, as I do not have an original in place to see from, so I will certainly look for that video.

The MB anti-perforation warranty is good for 30 years (all MB cars are fully galvanized as of mid-2003),

Great news about the warranty, that's a real lifesaver (read down for spoiler), Thanks.

What did you pay for the car and what is your repair budget ( if you don’t mind me asking ) . Just trying to do the sums to see what I would do ?

I paid £2k for it, and it's worth around £3.5k, but yes I know that all the rust detracts from that, but I am hoping I can keep it going, at least for long enough for me to be able to trade it in for something much cleaner.

For a Merc thats done 15 British winters that surface rust is the norm, especially if no one has spent any time under there cleaning and 'oiling' etc. It's obviously been used and is not a garage queen. But...and it's a big but it's the hidden structural corrosion that is the worry.
Yeah, it's serious neglect, and given how much this would have cost new, with factory fitted options are still high-end options now, let alone back then.

I am going to assume the solid rear brake lines have been replaced at some point because they would have corroded along with the sub frame and would be on the MOT history .
To be honest, it doesn't bear thinking about, sold with 'full history' showing me the 'last stamp' in the book saying it's just been done, and after a few days of rest I started to go through everything, and the history is missing, well not quite. but 2015 was the last stamp, but I was shown the previous pages 2014 stamp, but given how badly it is written, it can pass as a 9, looking like a 2019 stamp, and when I got in touch to check nothing got left behind, and he accused me of lying and said I have lost them.

I put in a claim to my credit card and they refused it, crap about as the 'company that sold it, is not the same as where it was sold, they said it would be too difficult to prove who was at fault, the biggest joke was I sent them a company's house screenshot showing that both businesses are under the same trading name, but they refused to pursue it.

Pay no attention to the wonderful 30 year rust warranty MB offered unless every single service was carried out by a main MB dealership. As for galvanising every car after 2003 my answer to that is MB must have had a brain fart when running the galvanising process on thousands of cars in the years after that . Many have rust appearing from beneath the paint.
Well, that burst my only 30 seconds bubble of hope. LMAO

As asked on here earlier, it's down to your budget really.

I don't really have one too be honest, the car took 2 years of saving to get, so even if I cut my losses and get shot, I'll only get a fraction of that back, then it's back to square 1 all over again, so it's more a case of stages, but if the first stage fails, then that's it game over.

Whats the exact manufacturing date? You can get that from Any VIN decoder website when you type in your vin.
Now you're asking something, a lot of sites said it was not a valid VIN, others wanted paying before telling you anything, they typically do it on the 'we got him worried so he will buy to find out' ruse, but I refuse to fall for these sites, as it's basically a scam, just like the virus scanners who lul you in, then sites said 2002 (which I found it had a 52 plate in the rest of the paperwork), 2003 (sold as a 53 plate), and the logbook says 2004 (first reg 02/02/2004), so you tell me lol.


Pre 2004 mercs are known for rusting everywhere you can imagine , Maybe your car has lived a hard life somewhere up norf with a lots of road salt and an owner that never washes underneath his car to clean off the salt.

Well it was sold to me in Southampton, imported\exported to Ireland while young, only a year I think it was, but if cars are in a coastal area or subject to harsh weather where lots of gritting is involved, they do need to be kept up, even if it's just squirting a hose under it, no replacement for the proper clean, but better than nothing.

I have made my replies to each point in coloured\itallic text above, given the volume of points it was the only way my head had half a hope of not forgetting anything, and to separate each point individually, but this car stinks of a dodgy MoT, I just wish I could get them done for it, because the service even reported that the brake fluid was black! ☠

You can imagine what each place thought as they went down the list seeing that, but more so was the MoT report, and the car has only done 2000 miles since the MoT was done, the service at 4 months and maybe 500 miles after purchase, and even then they said the brakes wouldn't swell and crack, etc in that short a time, it was a long ongoing issue, so have a guess on how many issues were on the MoT?
Here are some better pictures I just found.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

That looks totally shot and a complete money pit in my opinion.

How long you had it, bought from where, how many months/miles since last MOT?
Anything showing on the MOT history that may proved more clues?

 

[amazighman]

Hi.
The pictures look bad , I would suggest sell it for spares or repairs and with the money get another W203 , they are very cheap now , get a post 2004 one just to be sure they are galvanized.

 

[Deleted member 149005]

I paid £2k for it, and it's worth around £3.5k, but yes I know that all the rust detracts from that, but I am hoping I can keep it going, at least for long enough for me to be able to trade it in for something much cleaner.

That statement is illogical and given the issues you have i doubt very much it worth anywhere near £2k let alone £3.5k

 

[markjay]

That statement is illogical and given the issues you have i doubt very much it worth anywhere near £2k let alone £3.5k

 

[Alan22]

Well, I will lay out the facts, then let you add the words as you see them:-
The MoT was done on 02/01/2019;

Mileage was about 116k (which he had driven the car until I bought it) when I bought it on 14/01/2019;

After a few weeks looking through the paperwork and the history was not all there, I asked if it had been left behind, as the paperwork was going round in 4 sets of hands so easy to make a mistake, he instantly went on the attack saying he showed me, I must have lost them, credit card company did squat when I raised a claim;

After some emails with a specialist independent garage due to the service light coming on, it was decided to do the B service the lights asked for, and they can check it then, so the service was on 17/05/2019;

The service came back saying it's impossible to do a B service as part of the car is missing (the air filter housing), so they did an A service instead, and gave me a report of work needed as follows:-

Work required now:

• High level brake light doesn’t work
• NS number plate bulb doesn’t work (bulb checked – all ok)
• Rear brake pipes very rusty and hoses perished
• Rear trunion bushes worn
• G/box exhaust brackets broken
• Centre exhaust section rusty
• NSF track rod end

Non urgent – Advisories:

• Rocker cover gaskets leaking
• Brake fluid black
• OS headlamp cloudy
• Rear prop coupling split
• Engine mounts worn
• Rear springs incorrectly mounted and rusty
• General corrosion on body and subframe

I sorned the car at Xmas 2019, and have been housebound since, because with Xmas, trying to get an MoT at this time of year, more so when work will be involved, wife's birthday, MoT and Insurance, all inside a few weeks, so I took it as a good idea to take it off the road, spend a few months getting it up to standard, then all this virus hit, and here I am.

The final mileage over my ownership is about 2000 miles, with the clock showing a fraction over 119k.

Here is the MoT:-



Thanks for ALL the reply's (brain died by the time I did the previous, so apology's, and Thanks to you as well.

 

[John N]

Great news about the warranty, that's a real lifesaver (read down for spoiler), Thanks.



I paid £2k for it, and it's worth around £3.5k, but yes I know that all the rust detracts from that, but I am hoping I can keep it going, at least for long enough for me to be able to trade it in for something much cleaner.



I don't really have one too be honest, the car took 2 years of saving to get, so even if I cut my losses and get shot, I'll only get a fraction of that back, then it's back to square 1 all over again, so it's more a case of stages, but if the first stage fails, then that's it game over. [/

]Well it was sold to me in Southampton, imported\exported to Ireland while young, only a year I think it was, but if cars are in a coastal area or subject to harsh weather where lots of gritting is involved, they do need to be kept up, even if it's just squirting a hose under it, no replacement for the proper clean, but better than nothing.

I have made my replies to each point in coloured\itallic text above, given the volume of points it was the only way my head had half a hope of not forgetting anything, and to separate each point individually, but this car stinks of a dodgy MoT, I just wish I could get them done for it, because the service even reported that the brake fluid was black! ☠

You can imagine what each place thought as they went down the list seeing that, but more so was the MoT report, and the car has only done 2000 miles since the MoT was done, the service at 4 months and maybe 500 miles after purchase, and even then they said the brakes wouldn't swell and crack, etc in that short a time, it was a long ongoing issue, so have a guess on how many issues were on the MoT?
Here are some better pictures I just found.

View attachment 99323 View attachment 99325 View attachment 99326 View attachment 99329
View attachment 99333
View attachment 99337 View attachment 99334 View attachment 99336

 

[Alan22]

That statement is illogical and given the issues you have i doubt very much it worth anywhere near £2k let alone £3.5k

I'm quoting the sales pitch, heavily emphasised by saying it's because it's a trade sale it's so cheap, that said the price means nothing to me, so I didn't go all misty-eyed and buy it because of that, and the biggest joke after threatening legal action (my credit card as it was not fit...) and said he would do me a favour and buy it back for £1k (this was around 3 months in), I said you're having a laugh, then he said it would have been more if 'I' hadn't lost the service history, I mean the guy is nothing but a liar, but as he always refused to put anything in writing, there's no way to prove it, but before I went to buy it I clearly stated, if there are ANY, issues with it tell me, so long as I know what I can expect, I would be ok, he even said to me he looked at the car when it was being MoT'd, and said there wasn't any sign of rust anywhere.

In a way that partly supports what he said if those are today's prices, but as I said he kept banging on about it being a trade sale to clear, as he took it as a part X for a van, but it goes without saying prices that are guestimated don't take the condition of the vehicle to be as bad as this is.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Deleted member 149005]

If the seller was punting out as a trade sale, which is nonense unless you are a trader, the chances are he knew it is a lemon.

Sorry to say but you have a 17 years old paper weight.

 

[markjay]

If the seller was punting out as a trade sale, which is nonense unless you are a trader...

As above.

The seller can call it 'trade sale' all day long, but it isn't a trade sale in the eyes of the law, unless you bought the car as a business and not as a private individual.

That said, if more than a year passed since you bought the car, it may be difficult to claim your consumer rights now.

 

[Alan22]

If the seller was punting out as a trade sale, which is nonense unless you are a trader, the chances are he knew it is a lemon.

Sorry to say but you have a 17 years old paper weight.

He is a trader, they are a big van sales company, they have cars listed for over £50k, they had a £70k one when I looked as well, it's why I went there, but there is no doubt with hindsight that he knew exactly what he was doing, but that's why I used a credit card to buy it, because trade sales mean nothing if they are not fit for the purpose, but I can't tell you how gutting this is going to be, the easy entry\exit is pure heaven for my legs, Oh well, better dig in for another few years again then, but Thanks to everyone for the help.