Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Stay away from the c208, unless you like to remove rust on the trunk and rear wheel arches every 4 weeks. That production line is unfortunately known for bad very rusting issues caused by MB. Because they changed to a new painting technik (Water based) on that model.

205279456-w988-h555.jpg


Not a good look, unless ratrodding is your thing :(
 
The one I drove earlier was fine in terms of rust. But yes, some electronics aswell as rust, the real enemy for W202, W210 (!) and C208 is something that scares me a bit. Everything after august 1993 is rusting like nothing else... I really, really like the C208, but its problems just scare me off. Drives well, though.
The car did have a bit in the wheel arches which is to be expected for this model. But other than that, it was fine in terms of rust. Thing is though, the previous owner seemed to have it in a garage as it seems. I don't have the option of a garage so it in my ownership the car would probably start to rust (a lot). :( Therefore I'm also looking at its seccessor, but those are of course more expensive and I don't want to whip out too much money ... hm. Dilemma.
 
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Stay away from the c208, unless you like to remove rust on the trunk and rear wheel arches every 4 weeks. That production line is unfortunately known for bad very rusting issues caused by MB. Because they changed to a new painting technik (Water based) on that model.

205279456-w988-h555.jpg


Not a good look, unless ratrodding is your thing :(

You know, that's one problem I've not heard of US market ones having. Some rust, yes, but not as bad as pictured. Go figure.

Edit: Come to think of it, it may be because they die of mechanical or electrical failure here before it can get that bad...
 
Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

British car. Blame the climate.

Still, yeesh. The US Northeast usually produces similar results to the UK, but I don't remember reading or seeing that. Prizrak, Level, anyone else up there - seen any CLKs like this in your neck of the woods?
 
Still, yeesh. The US Northeast usually produces similar results to the UK, but I don't remember reading or seeing that. Prizrak, Level, anyone else up there - seen any CLKs like this in your neck of the woods?

Up here in Toronto, I think most of these end up as garage queens due to being a convertible. One of the dealers that visits our lot has one and his looks fine as far as rust is concerned. I've never seen a car of this level ever rust to that degree, whereas a 1st generation Mazda 3 definitely that car rusts very badly here.
 
The one I drove earlier was fine in terms of rust. But yes, some electronics aswell as rust, the real enemy for W202, W210 (!) and C208 is something that scares me a bit. Everything after august 1993 is rusting like nothing else... I really, really like the C208, but its problems just scare me off. Drives well, though.
The car did have a bit in the wheel arches which is to be expected for this model. But other than that, it was fine in terms of rust. Thing is though, the previous owner seemed to have it in a garage as it seems. I don't have the option of a garage so it in my ownership the car would probably start to rust (a lot). :( Therefore I'm also looking at its seccessor, but those are of course more expensive and I don't want to whip out too much money ... hm. Dilemma.

Hm how long do you intend to drive the Merc, speaking in bangernomics. I normaly don't own a car more than 4 years. I'd say if the car you looked at is at the mid to lower end of the price bracket, then go for it and when the rust get's too bad, get rid of it after 2 years. :burnrubber:

You know, that's one problem I've not heard of US market ones having. Some rust, yes, but not as bad as pictured. Go figure.
Edit: Come to think of it, it may be because they die of mechanical or electrical failure here before it can get that bad...

Must be the famous US "car environment" thing, all the cars i see at the breakers, are the ones where the respray costs more than the car itself. Mechanical they are all safe and sound/*bulletproof*
It's not unusal for these to rack up an impressive 197000+ Miles on the Odometer without big issues. So yeah go figure ....

British car. Blame the climate.
An exaggerated example to show the main problem with that specific model line :p;)
 
My local dealership (possibly others, too...no idea) has the electric Fiat 500e for a 2-year lease for $99/mo.

My daily commute easily falls within this range (especially while I'm working at home), we still have a Civic should we need to drive anywhere far away, and while the leas is only 10,000mi, I feel like that would still be plenty.

I gotta say...while it's clearly a cheap car, it didn't feel as terrible as I thought it might, and it has plenty of torque for around town. Twitchy as hell on the freeway at 70mph. Also, the passenger side front footwell was horrifically narrow...but I wouldn't be a passenger in it very often.

I've gotta say...it's an interesting proposition, knowing that it's only for 2 years, and that it only costs about $8 (from what I understand) for 200 miles worth of elec...and then if we tell the power company we have an electric car, they lower our rate, so that absorbs some of that. I could sell my car, and that would cover my down payment, and the 2 years of lease payment without spending a penny for 2 years of car.

:blink:

I'd have a hard time, though, picking the least feminine color (that isn't black).
 
Hm how long do you intend to drive the Merc, speaking in bangernomics. I normaly don't own a car more than 4 years. I'd say if the car you looked at is at the mid to lower end of the price bracket, then go for it and when the rust get's too bad, get rid of it after 2 years. :burnrubber:

Pretty much like this, a maximum of two years. Probably a good plan. I intend to have as much automotive experiences as possible so having a car for longer is not really what I intend. :)
And actually, the car I looked up is at the upper price limit. But it being a bit more than four grand shows how cheap these cars really are. Nobody wants a 15 year old Merc coupe. Except for me, of course. :| These things are dirt cheap right now, even in a good condition like I've looked at (4 cylinder).
 
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Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

We've had a 2001 jeep Cherokee in our possession since 2005 or 2006. It had 60 some odd thousand miles on it at the time. It's had a new engine because of bad previous ownership and partially ours(coolant flushes? Lol). Other than that, rust is taking its toll. Hood's been repainted, roof has now been done. Bondo will now cover a rust hole on the rear hatch. It needs a muffler... Other than that, she's solid.

Currently it has about 145,000 miles.
 
My local dealership (possibly others, too...no idea) has the electric Fiat 500e for a 2-year lease for $99/mo.

My daily commute easily falls within this range (especially while I'm working at home), we still have a Civic should we need to drive anywhere far away, and while the leas is only 10,000mi, I feel like that would still be plenty.

I gotta say...while it's clearly a cheap car, it didn't feel as terrible as I thought it might, and it has plenty of torque for around town. Twitchy as hell on the freeway at 70mph. Also, the passenger side front footwell was horrifically narrow...but I wouldn't be a passenger in it very often.

I've gotta say...it's an interesting proposition, knowing that it's only for 2 years, and that it only costs about $8 (from what I understand) for 200 miles worth of elec...and then if we tell the power company we have an electric car, they lower our rate, so that absorbs some of that. I could sell my car, and that would cover my down payment, and the 2 years of lease payment without spending a penny for 2 years of car.

:blink:

I'd have a hard time, though, picking the least feminine color (that isn't black).

I think it's a great idea. Could you save enough to buy something fun to drive on the weekends?
 
Still, yeesh. The US Northeast usually produces similar results to the UK, but I don't remember reading or seeing that. Prizrak, Level, anyone else up there - seen any CLKs like this in your neck of the woods?
The only things I ever see that badly rusted are old Japanese cars, before our eastern brothers learned about rust proofing (so turn of the 21st century really). I rarely see this model CLK though, seems like few people buy used MB's here, they are 90% lease cars (same for BMW and Audi though there are more example of older ones of those).

- - - Updated - - -

My local dealership (possibly others, too...no idea) has the electric Fiat 500e for a 2-year lease for $99/mo.

My daily commute easily falls within this range (especially while I'm working at home), we still have a Civic should we need to drive anywhere far away, and while the leas is only 10,000mi, I feel like that would still be plenty.

I gotta say...while it's clearly a cheap car, it didn't feel as terrible as I thought it might, and it has plenty of torque for around town. Twitchy as hell on the freeway at 70mph. Also, the passenger side front footwell was horrifically narrow...but I wouldn't be a passenger in it very often.

I've gotta say...it's an interesting proposition, knowing that it's only for 2 years, and that it only costs about $8 (from what I understand) for 200 miles worth of elec...and then if we tell the power company we have an electric car, they lower our rate, so that absorbs some of that. I could sell my car, and that would cover my down payment, and the 2 years of lease payment without spending a penny for 2 years of car.

:blink:

I'd have a hard time, though, picking the least feminine color (that isn't black).

Do keep in mind that it's Italian electrics in a purely electric car...
 
Watching Barrett Jackson auction and they just showed the first Hellcat (vin #001) in Striker Red and it looks awesome.
 
Do keep in mind that it's Italian electrics in a purely electric car...

Fully aware. It would only be in my possession under warranty, I have AAA, and we still have another car, worst-case-scenario.
 
Fully aware. It would only be in my possession under warranty, I have AAA, and we still have another car, worst-case-scenario.

Don't most of the size and power based objections against the Mirage also apply here?
 
I guess having all the torque from 0 RPM will help on the power front, not sure about size though.
 
I wasn't really opposed to the size of the Mirage (as long as the seats fold down) but it was more about power. The get-up-and-go torque from 0 of the electric motor impressed me. Sure, passing on the highway wouldn't be recommended. But I didn't feel like it would have trouble holding its own in the city. Note that this is 100% due to the all-electric powertrain, I'm sure.
 
I think it's a great idea. Could you save enough to buy something fun to drive on the weekends?

Seconded. Commute cars can be whatever is legal with 4 wheels. If it's that cheap to acquire and run (and give you white HOV stickers if that's possible) it doesn't sound like a bad idea at all.
 
Fully aware. It would only be in my possession under warranty, I have AAA, and we still have another car, worst-case-scenario.

Did it go for a few million? Why spend that much for a car that cost maybe 20k to build?
 
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