Bought a C32 AMG

[indo247]

So i bought an 02 C32 AMG 111k, one of my eldery customers (i work in stairlifts) had it layed up in the garage husband had died and she wanted rid of it! She opened the garage and i saw the AMG badge and thought it was worth a punt, now wondering if it was a good move!!

It's a bit rusty round the rear arches, and rust underneath, do they all rot like this? And is it expensive to sort out any recomendations for getting it sorted i live in Northants area.
It has been MOT'd and had a few advisories slightly corroded brake pipes
1 control arn needs doing
So i took it in my local indie and came out £1100 lighter
New disks and pads on the front
Full B service with gearbox oil and filter
New spring on the front
Full health check so on
Now i"m wondering if it was such a good buy! Can you ever get on top of the maintenence on these? Or is it on going

 

[Smart320]

Welcome, not an expert but sounds as if you have made a good start by opening your wallet nice and wide, am sure you will enjoy it, the AMG I mean !

 

[indo247]

Yes still having trouble sleeping after my wallet has been hoovered out!!

 

[E53AMG]

Any old Mercedes is likely to be costly unless you are good at DIY or have a friend who is a mechanic in my opinion.

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

 

[JDL60]

Yes still having trouble sleeping after my wallet has been hoovered out!!

Didn’t you know AMG stands for ‘All Money Gone’?

 

[clk320x]

So i bought an 02 C32 AMG 111k, one of my eldery customers (i work in stairlifts) had it layed up in the garage husband had died and she wanted rid of it! She opened the garage and i saw the AMG badge and thought it was worth a punt, now wondering if it was a good move!!

It's a bit rusty round the rear arches, and rust underneath, do they all rot like this? And is it expensive to sort out any recomendations for getting it sorted i live in Northants area.
It has been MOT'd and had a few advisories slightly corroded brake pipes
1 control arn needs doing
So i took it in my local indie and came out £1100 lighter
New disks and pads on the front
Full B service with gearbox oil and filter
New spring on the front
Full health check so on
Now i"m wondering if it was such a good buy! Can you ever get on top of the maintenence on these? Or is it on going

Pm sent

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

The C32 is a wonderful car. Yes they do suffer with rust, and many have persistent problems, which damages their reputation. Some are relatively reliable and in expensive to run, and these are truly fantastic cars. Fingers crossed you bought a peach, and not a lemon!

 

[indo247]

The C32 is a wonderful car. Yes they do suffer with rust, and many have persistent problems, which damages their reputation. Some are relatively reliable and in expensive to run, and these are truly fantastic cars. Fingers crossed you bought a peach, and not a lemon!

Hope so i have got on top of the worst of it now, just 2 new struts to go and all 4 control arms then i will be happy oh and the bodywork! Do the chassis rot on these also?

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I bought a C32 fixer-upper and towards the end I stopped counting, well past £5k, the bloke who bought it off me went on to spend a few quid too..

Good luck - you’ll need it!

 

[Neiltodd]

mine was v reliable but did have the rusty wheel arches

 

[daveenty]

Do the chassis rot on these also?

Just at the front usually under the headlamps, oh, and the perch where the spring sits into. And around the rear subframe and the subframe itself of course. And the jacking points and, as you've already discovered, wheel arches.

I'm painting a bad picture here but, to be fair, it wouldn't have gone through an MOT if a lot of the above was damaged too badly. I like these cars and, if you have a good one, they're certainly worth investing a bit in as they'll pay you back with a decent quality ride and a nice turn of speed when needed.

You've already spent a chunk on it, take your time and do things as and when needed and you'll hopefully get to appreciate it.

To answer the question in your initial post: -

Can you ever get on top of the maintenance on these?

Yes, but it may take a while to do so.

 

[Gaz74]

I've owned my 2002 C32 for almost 7 years to the day and it's been a pretty reliable car. Mine has rust around the arches and bottom corners on the front doors, but so do most other W203s of that era. Over the years it's cost me probably no more to maintain than any other 'regular' car, aside from one major expense, which was the timing chain slipping and knocking out a couple of valves and rocker arms and the camshaft. All in, it cost me nearly £3000 to get it back on the road, but it was partly my fault because I could hear the chain rattling a little, but took too long to sort it out be fore the inevitable happened.

I'm not planning to sell it soon either, because it does everything I want from a car and it still puts a big smile on my face when I bury the pedal

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

£1100 for a B service, new disks & pads, new spring? What are you complaining about? Cars need to be serviced, new or old.

You've picked up a four door performance car for peanuts.

One with the power of an M3 or 911 from the same era, but with two extra doors.

What's the issue? Do you prefer to lose a grand a MONTH from depreciation while running the modern equivalent: a C63? ( A car that goes no faster in the real world )

 

[merc85]

Didn’t you know AMG stands for ‘All Money Gone’?

A Mugs Game lol

 

[indo247]

£1100 for a B service, new disks & pads, new spring? What are you complaining about? Cars need to be serviced, new or old.

You've picked up a four door performance car for peanuts.

One with the power of an M3 or 911 from the same era, but with two extra doors.

What's the issue? Do you prefer to lose a grand a MONTH from depreciation while running the modern equivalent: a C63? ( A car that goes no faster in the real world )

Tbh i am really enjoying the car and it really is some thing special

 

[indo247]

The only problem i have with the car now is the wife won't get in it she complains that is smells of old grannies and looks like a grandads car!! she has no idea what is under the bonnet., nor does she care.
She wants a TT so i reckon it will have to go on ebay soon if she keeps moaning..

 

[Wolfie1]

Didnt realise there was a section on ebay for selling wives

 

[indo247]

Didnt realise there was a section on ebay for selling wives

Lol if only there was with a swaps and PX section that would be nice!

 

[Wolfie1]

Lol if only there was with a swaps and PX section that would be nice!

Just imagine that!

 

[Petrol Pete]

Didnt realise there was a section on ebay for selling wives

Look in the 'Dark Web' section. it's somewhere around the Darling Buds of May DVD's and Darlek replicas for sale.

Good luck