Hi folks! Thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Matt, I'm 31 and live in Charlotte. I own a '96 Jeep which has taught me a lot about DIY repair

My wife has been driving a Mazda MPV minivan for the last decade and now that the kids are grown some she has been itching for a new ride. As a daily commuter she wanted something nicer to enjoy so with a specific budget in mind we started looking at many different options, a late model Elantra and Prius for overall fuel economy, and on the other end of the spectrum a 99 525i which I will admit was nice but she felt uncomfortable with because it had the engine swapped. Body was mint tho.

Anyway! After a lot of searching and driving we found a 2000 C230 Kompressor. She really wanted a V6 but when she did her "merge into fast traffic from a dead stop" test during the test drive I think the Kompressor did its job admirably

I was a bit leery because of unknown history and service (always a gamble!) but for the low price and especially low miles (110,000) I thought it would be worth a shot. Unfortunately it's definitely a case of "you get what you pay for" and likely will not be a keeper.

I'll keep this thread updated with my ongoing attempts to get it running as best as possible!

 

On the lot... Paint was looking rough! Just the roof though.

 

Quote to repaint the roof was $585. No thanks.... think this turned out halfway decent for $20!

 

Tint was comically bad. Streaked to the point where you could barely see through it. They had put a second layer over the factory tint. With a heat gun, razor blade and some time, I removed both.





Also cleaned the Cabin air filter... yikes!

 

Ok so I have had a chance to drive the car a bit (it is my wife's car after all)

The transmission performs very poorly at part throttle while starting from a stop. The engine MUST be warmed up to operating temp before moving otherwise the transmission bucks and lurches severely through the first two gears.

After that it is better but even in the higher gears it does not feel smooth.

I'll drop the pan and change the filter and fluid as that will likely help at 110k miles, but what else can I look at?

A question about the W/S switch. Is there ANY sort of indication when you change modes? There is no feedback when I toggle the switch and I suspect it may be stuck in Winter mode.

 

Ok picked up 6 quarts of Mobil 1 full synthetic 0w-40 and a Mann filter. Will change it this weekend.

It's dropping codes for evap leak and fuel trim. I have a fuel filter on order and will need to check for loose hoses. I really hope it is not the purge valve solenoid :/

MAF appears to match Bosch part # so I am hopeful it is not the issue.

 

Changed the oil today. Fuel filter and rear diff fluid this weekend!

 

Sorry no pics of the rear diff work but sure glad I changed that oil! 110k miles and likely original... has fresh Mobil1 75w-90 and I swear it feels better Probably one of the best $25 bucks you can spend on your car.

Fresh air filter, fresh fuel filter.

Did find a torn TRE boot, so eventually that will get replaced...

Oxygen sensor next, hoping to pick up a little better fuel economy. Hit 22 mpg last tank so it's not terrible per se but could always be better...