mercedes c240 services

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vanwykw

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Hi guys,

I am planning on buying a 1999 C240 mercedes with approx 220 000km on the clock. Before I close the deal I need to know what service intervals are and the approx cost of minor and major services...Any merc specialists or technicians can comment on this? The engine covers did look a bit greasy which suggests it has not been serviced for a while...Also no service history.... I guess what I am asking is: Am I shooting myself in the head, foot or nuts?:confused:
 
Service intervals are variable (ASSYST) - from 10-25k km depending on conditions.
Unless you're pretty much DIY capable and willing, I'd walk away because of the no-history thing. Unless you're getting it for a real steal (under R30k)

Cost will depend on what needs to be done. MB labour rates are around R700-R1000 per hour depending on the dealer.
Parts - most are fairly reasonable. Some are crazy expensive. Some dealers also take fat chances (eg, was quoted R4500 to replace top shock mounts on my slk - DIY with OEM parts, total cost R396)
 
Get an AA test done for piece of mind before buying, or have the engine compression tested. Take the car for a drive and make sure the gears changes smoothly and get all major components checked by a mechanic. For a vehicle out of warrantee or motorplan you rather take the car to a private mechanic to get it serviced.
 
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My dad has worked on hundreds of W202's and from his experience they are generally solid cars, and they arnt expensive to maintain.

If you are buying private ask the seller to take the car to a mechanic for a quick check over like tappet cover gasket, belts and etc.
 
Also, find out whether the harmonic damper has been changed...
 
Merc services start at R3500 without any other issues.
change wiper blades - R900 odd
Change all brake pads - R2000 odd
Change all brake discs - R6000 odd
and it gets worse.

My advice... you don't have to worry about maintaining your car at a dealership for the warranty's sake, so take it to a private mechanic who specializes in older Mercedes vehicles. There's a few around Jo'burg, R1500 odd for a major service... or... you can even go and source the service kits (air and oil filter, the oil itself, spark plugs etc) and give it to the mechanic and they'll just charge for the labour.

Your car will still be serviced, but at a fraction of the price of what the dealership will charge.
 
at 220k with no service history? I'd walk away without even wasting any time tbh....
 
If you have an electrical issue with that car, it is going to cost you $$$.

Not the best old merc imho.
 
vanwykw said:
Hi guys,

I am planning on buying a 1999 C240 mercedes with approx 220 000km on the clock. Before I close the deal I need to know what service intervals are and the approx cost of minor and major services...Any merc specialists or technicians can comment on this? The engine covers did look a bit greasy which suggests it has not been serviced for a while...Also no service history.... I guess what I am asking is: Am I shooting myself in the head, foot or nuts?:confused:
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I have a 1999 C180 with 160k on the clock. Cost me R1500 at Bosch for a minor service just the other day. I service it every 10 000km only because its an older car.

If I can ask, how much are you paying? Mine cost R40k and it was damn perfect.
 
mr_norris said:
No... just no. The AA "inspection" is purely visual. Absolute waste of money IMO. I'd rather a good mechanic check it out.
Click to expand...

It's still good to have a professional opinion by people who know their cars well.
 
mr_norris said:
No... just no. The AA "inspection" is purely visual. Absolute waste of money IMO. I'd rather a good mechanic check it out.
Click to expand...

Depends on the "AA" Inspection, which is now run by Dekra, they do a basic Road Worthy and MultiPoint Check and then a much more intense Technical Inspection which costs quite a bit more (like R1500 I think)
 
Rather take it to a merc dealer for a full diagnostic. It'll cost less , and they know the cars better, so they know where to look for possible faults.
 
Colin62 said:
Rather take it to a merc dealer for a full diagnostic. It'll cost less , and they know the cars better, so they know where to look for possible faults.
Click to expand...

There's no way a stealer is cheaper than an indie mechanic.

You want someone who isn't a dealer, but IS a Mercedes specialist. There are several of them around Gauteng.

MB stealers charge like 800 bucks just to plug in the STAR. Something that takes literally seconds. Indies might do a much better assessment and charge you for half an hour labour or something.

The only time you'd need a stealer is for example to get the keys or ignition replaced.
 
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TJ99 said:
There's no way a stealer is cheaper than an indie mechanic.

You want someone who isn't a dealer, but IS a Mercedes specialist. There are several of them around Gauteng.

MB stealers charge like 800 bucks just to plug in the STAR. Something that takes literally seconds. Indies might do a much better assessment and charge you for half an hour labour or something.

The only time you'd need a stealer is for example to get the keys or ignition replaced.
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Problem is not many Indies have star... :-\ it's a rather expensive piece of kit.
I've heard great things about German auto Haus in Bryanston but even they dont have it.
 
Sinbad said:
Problem is not many Indies have star... :-\ it's a rather expensive piece of kit.
I've heard great things about German auto Haus in Bryanston but even they dont have it.
Click to expand...

They are a bit spendy, yes, considering it's basically just a laptop with special cables and software. At around $40K they're even more expensive than Applebooks. But if you have a shop working mostly/exclusively on MB cars it might be worth the investment seeing as how massively useful they are and how much trouble they save you. The place I always go to has one, but that's in Centurion.
 
TJ99 said:
They are a bit spendy, yes, considering it's basically just a laptop with special cables and software. At around $40K they're even more expensive than Applebooks. But if you have a shop working mostly/exclusively on MB cars it might be worth the investment seeing as how massively useful they are and how much trouble they save you. The place I always go to has one, but that's in Centurion.
Click to expand...

I have a knockoff one (carsoft) - it scans codes and does adaptation, but you can't do any module coding, which ironically is the only thing I've needed to have done!
 
Sinbad said:
Problem is not many Indies have star... :-\ it's a rather expensive piece of kit.
I've heard great things about German auto Haus in Bryanston but even they dont have it.
Click to expand...

At my dads shop he has the Bosch System and the Auto Boss V30, I found doing the W202 mercs very easy using the "mushroom" connector a bit of a pain since you have to put the pin in another number for another system.

mb140589146300.jpg
 
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TJ99 said:
There's no way a stealer is cheaper than an indie mechanic.

You want someone who isn't a dealer, but IS a Mercedes specialist. There are several of them around Gauteng.

MB stealers charge like 800 bucks just to plug in the STAR. Something that takes literally seconds. Indies might do a much better assessment and charge you for half an hour labour or something.

The only time you'd need a stealer is for example to get the keys or ignition replaced.
Click to expand...

I meant the a dealership is cheaper than R1500 for an AA check.

And I'm all in favour of using independents, but if you don't even own the car yet, it can be difficult to know who really knows what they're doing, hence my suggestion that a dealership is the safest option. I've done it, and they charge between R200 and R700 to do a diagnostic. The higher price included a visual check too, and the report was thorough. I don't like using the dealers, to the point where I've started servicing my car myself, but I have had good experiences using them to check cars for me when buying.

I had four oldish mercs taken to dealerships before I bought my current car, in four different cities, in three different provinces, and I felt I got value for money, and managed to dodge a bullet or two.
 
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