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Looking at getting a C32 estate

Seems that the saloons are holding value slightly better than the estates. Didn't the estates cost more from new?
 
Estates probably cost a little more when new but that would be lost following 5-8 years of savage depreciation.

Estates may be worth about the same, but there relative low numbers mean that they may sell quickly if someone is desperate for the estate.

Was it this thread (I forget) that said there's only one estate being advertised at the moment?
 
Not to hi-jack your thread, but i took some photos today, just to prove how clean mine is, and why i would not sell mine for £9500, and shes on a 51 reg with 67,000 on the clock!I mean just look at the interior.How meny of these look this tidy inside and out?

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I honestly think mine is one of the cleanest c32 in the uk,i havnt seen any with an interior that the leather is barely worn at all.I defently am keeping mine as i would laugh at someone if they offered me that kind of money.If i want a new car i'll just buy and keep this.This ones staying in the family!!
 
I see your missing a few buttons on the center console and I don't want to p**s on your fire but you have a din't on your gear knob. :D
 
It does look nice and clean Hibbs, but a good detailer can make any car look nice and clean.

Cleanliness is only one factor in valuing a car and in my book features pretty far down the list.

More importantly is age and these early W203 Mercs were prone to rust due to the water based paints, you might not be able to see any signs because of a nice wax job but its whats going on underneath that matters.

Also I am seeing other C32's Eg 2002 with 73K for £9250 and one with 67K for the same price on Autotrader. There's a lovely one on Ebay with 66k and a full MBSH for £10,300.

I'd be surprised if you got offered more than £9.5k for yours and any discerning buyer would want a very thorough AA/RAC/Specialist mechanical inspection before even offering that.

But at the end of the day the car is worth what it is to you.
 
oh no i know thats what the market is i meant its crazy!!As for the underneath, ill take a photo of that too as its nearly as clean as my interior, and mine obviously also has full stamped mbsh too, but what makes mine different i believe last time i check mine is 1 of 2 or 3 in europe in this optional extra colour of grey.

But as said im not looking to sell anyway if i want a to upgrade i'll buy another car and garage this one, as they go for peanuts, not a problem!!i would rather keep all my cars then sell them for nothing, why not hey!
 
It does look nice and clean Hibbs, but a good detailer can make any car look nice and clean.

Cleanliness is only one factor in valuing a car and in my book features pretty far down the list.

More importantly is age and these early W203 Mercs were prone to rust due to the water based paints, you might not be able to see any signs because of a nice wax job but its whats going on underneath that matters.

Also I am seeing other C32's Eg 2002 with 73K for £9250 and one with 67K for the same price on Autotrader. There's a lovely one on Ebay with 66k and a full MBSH for £10,300.

I'd be surprised if you got offered more than £9.5k for yours and any discerning buyer would want a very thorough AA/RAC/Specialist mechanical inspection before even offering that.

But at the end of the day the car is worth what it is to you.



Also i beg to differ if your talking about M100 SRA on ebay.1)Silver, not to meny of them around!2)burgundy and black seats.Not the most desirable colour match.3)And if im correct the last time i saw this car was going sideways in a carpark like the guy stole it.

But i guess each to there own.
 
A snapshot of my thoughts on the C32 AMG:

The Intercooler pump is very common and very very very easy to diagnose. With this problem it is only a matter of time. Expect them to last 40,000 miles - any more is a bonus. Easy DIY job though (apparently), and the same part is used on the Ford Lightning at a much lower cost (about $70 IIRC) - there's even a how to guide on a US forum.

The supercharger bearing can fail making it noisey, although this is very rare. If you hear that a supercharger fails you can be fairly confident it's probably the bearing. Dealers replace the whole unit, but US owners have found the correct bearing for the job, and is apparently not difficult for an experienced mechanic or engineer (about $20 IIRC).

Heated seat base will fail on the drivers seat, as the integrated element gets damaged. Again only a matter of time on this one. Expensive fix is a new seat cover at about £300 or about £100 if you insert a separate pad from a different model.

Air injection relay (and air injection pump) were both recall and items and should have been replaced. Not strictly necessary as it's only required to pass stringent LA smog tests AFAIK.

Purge valve can audibley 'tick', if it irritates then the bracket can be adapted to isolate the noise from being transmitted. Nothing to worry about.

"Jerk" at 1500rpm, although it seems all cars suffer with this and seem to be a combination of the adaptive settings and the torque converter locking up. Not noticeable and no fix - it's just the way they are.

Lumpy idle in a 10 second burst after a cold start, but only when stationary at about 2 minutes. Bizarre set of circumstances! Just another quirk, no fix.

The Valeo radiators (cars built pre 09/03 IIRC) can leak and cause glycol contamination. At worst can require a new transmission, albeit uncommon. Can be replaced with a later Behr radiator to ease concerns. There's lots of info on this. Other models are affected too - not just C32 or W203.

Suspension bushes can be noisey, but there's a replacement part 'with boots' to prevent re-curring problems.

Near side tilting mirror can fail, albeit not exactly common!

Rust - not really heard much on the C32 but Andy (CYP) had a successful claim for his bonnet IIRC. Watch out for this though as the earliest examples will now be 8 years old.

On balance it's not that bad. The two dead certs can be fixed cheaply DIY. The other problems with be a PITA if you get them, but could affect any car.

I hope this is of some use...

Well both seat bases have failed:(

How easy to diagnose is the intercooler pump then? what is the diagnisies?

N/S mirror drops but drivers does not, not worried tho as i have turned this function off as i couldnt see behind properly only the wheel lol.
 
How easy to diagnose is the intercooler pump then? what is the diagnisies?

Easy....the grin will be wiped clean off your face.It will still drive but you will have lost the star ship enterprise acceleration.

Why not set the mirrors to how you like them when parking and use the memory 3 setting.
 
Some C32s have surprisingly "mint" drivers seats because the seat base covers are replaced...

Well both seat bases have failed:(

How easy to diagnose is the intercooler pump then? what is the diagnisies?

Very. Your nose will touch the windscreen when you were expecting your Occipital bone to touch the headrest.

N/S mirror drops but drivers does not, not worried tho as i have turned this function off as i couldnt see behind properly only the wheel lol.

The O/S mirror doesn't drop, only the N/S.
 
Hi guys,

Please excuse my niavety on this but i have just started to do some research on the C32's before i commit to buy...

When you say someone has had a 'successful claim' regarding rust, is this because the Mercs have a lifetime guarantee??

Thanks

WN8
 

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