Hi. I'm new, obviously, and I'm about to inherit my moms Benz 2000 C230 Kompressor sport (should I choose), but I was wondering if it was worth it for how much work it needs done. My current car (2000 Impala) needs a new intake manifold gasket and I don't think it's worth it to fix at this point. Perhaps some of you will be able to tell me how much the fix is, and if I can do it myself (I'm not a grease monkey by any means).

1. Firstly, I can't tell you how many miles are on the car, because the instrument cluster is broken and the miles are unreadable. My mom last saw her mileage at 90k, and thinks she has 130-140k miles on it now. A brief ebay search shows maybe I can get a used cluster for ~$150 (but I'm not sure which one would be compatible with this model). Would the dealer have to swap it? Could a regular mechanic do it? Or would I be able to just do it? Do the miles come up automatically or would I just have to guess?

2. The seat adjustment for the drivers side seat does not work. It works for a brief period of time when you first start up the car, however it quickly craps out. My mom seems to believe that it is a fuse problem, and is afraid to open up the sun roof in case it doesn't close for the same reason, howvever I'm not sure if the sunroof is broken or if it is the fuse box. Has anyone had a similar problem? How can it be fixed and where/how much?

3. The volume on the stock headunit is broken. If you try to lower the volume it stays stagnant. If you try to raise the volume it goes through the roof and you cant lower it. Personally, I would rather swap out that piece of garbage for an aftermarket unit I have, but I'm not sure if its possible because the Benz's HU is complex with a phone. Has anyone swapped out a HU with an aftermarket one b4? How much would it be to change it with another stock HU? Would I be able to just switch it out myself or would I have to take it to the dealer to get "programmed?"

4. Oil leaking from the pan

5. The fryon is leaking from the A/C, and every summer we have to fill it with fryon. The German Auto shop we took it to couldn't figure out the problem. Has anyone had this problem and how much was it to fix?

6. The SRS light is on. I had a similar problem with my Impala and it costs over $700 to replace a module underneath my seat. I could just imagine how much it would be to replace it on this thing. Could this be as simple as a loose connector?

7. The "check engine" light is on.

8. The "low fuel light" indicator light comes on even if you have a full tank of gas.


Phew... Looks like my mom didn't take too much care of the car. On top of it I would have to have a long overdue tranny and coolant flush, and the timing belt(chain?) and battery would have to have a close eye on them. I noticed the car is a little bit sluggish and takes a while to warm up, so I might want to get the trans checked, as well as the engine compression, but I think mechanically the car ought to be sound. Thanks for the help!

 

I hate to say but I'd venture to say that it would be easier to change the intake manifold gasket than to fix all the problems you have on your mom's car and it would also be less expensive. Replacing gasket on the Chevy shouldn't take more than 4 hours whereas chasing after all the issues on the coup could take weeks. I replaced an SRS unit for my sister a few years back and that was over $2000 then. Freon leaks depends on how much you're losing a year, if it's no more than a pound then I would accept that as normal as there has to be some leakage, remember that a seal has to leak (some) in order to seal or it'll dry out and really leak!.
The cluster is actually not too bad to change as the whole unit slides out pretty easy, however the mileage will be what the other car it came out of register and not what the old instrument panel registered before it died.
The sun roof you can actually manually open or close it if it's stuck, the instructions should be in the handbook.
If your seat works for a bit every time you start the car then the problem is not the fuse.
I'm not familiar with the HU so I can't give you any advice on it.

Good luck on your venture,
Alan.