New owner to MB, not that I haven't driven any :P only MB I've driven has been a 2004 E320 Sport which was nice. I bought a C230 Sport Komp, auction car that needs fenders and front bumper. Frame is fine.

Not new to German cars and their high ownership costs haha, currently have had:

2001 Audi A4 1.8T (Sold)

2001 Audi A6 4.2L V8 Sport/Prem Quattro (Daily Driver and Love It!)

2003 BMW 330i Sport (Sold)

2004 Nissan 350Z (Own/Selling - JDM not German before someone yells at me haha)


So what do I expect from MB, and any sites for parts as I need control arms and body parts.

 

What to expect from that car? Hard to say. You might be lucky and nothing will go wrong. I have the exact same car that I bought new and it now has 170,000 miles on it. I had some problems around the 60K mark, but you might not. Yes, repairs on big stuff are going to be pricey. Over 100K it has been pretty dependable. May I suggest a couple of things to keep you going: Change the transmission fluid and filter! It's NOT "lifetime". Every 60K or so should do it. Otherwise, you are looking at a new tranny and you don't want to know. I use nothing but Mobil 1 oil as was the factory fill. Filters are cheap. Watch curbs, the front end is low. If the battery gets low, lots of things will be affected. Keep a fresh one in there. Replace the spark plugs (an easy job) about 90K miles. Car will run better and get better gas mileage. You should get about high twenties in town and up to 35 on the freeway cruising steady at 60 or 65. Mine still does. Front bushings may get noisy and squeak on bumps. I replaced mine at about 100K. Right rear tire known to wear faster than the others on this car. And brakes: brakes and rotors (as you know from owning a BMW) wear pretty fast on this car depending on what pad you buy. You may find that people recommend replacing both at the same time. Rotors aren't that expensive
and I always do it. Some don't. Your front rotors are cross drilled and a bit more pricey
than the regular rears. Think stopping power and safety here. You should be good if you keep these things in mind. Good luck.

 

I found both front rotors OEM for about $ 89.00 for both, and rear cross-drilled for about $ 68.00 both. From a Mercedes Parts website.

 

That sounds too cheap to be true for a pair of the fronts, IF they are the cross/drilled rotors.
Be sure before you order..........

 

MercedesParts.com, looks legit but not sure. Let me know what you guys think!