Mercedes-Benz Problems

I’ll assume you’re talking about a C200, Kevin, which was the most popular Benz model with a 200 in its name back in those days. The good news is that, no, that engine doesn’t need a timing belt change. That’s because it uses a timing chain rather than a rubber timing belt and, all things being equal, the timing chain should last the lifespan of the car itself.

All Mercedes-Benz passenger cars from that era would all have been sold brand-new with two keys. If you’ve bought the car second-hand with just the one key, you can contact a Mercedes-Benz dealership, quote the car’s VIN and the dealer will be able to order the correct key and electronically code it to work in your car. It could cost several hundred dollars, however.

You’ve hit the nail on the head Alan. The 48-volt mild-hybrids weren’t taken up by M-B Australia, purely because the plug-in hybrid GLC300e will have a bigger battery than before (for more range) and is a better fit with where the brand is going in this country. Watch out for the plug-in GLC in showrooms in the second quarter of this year.

Physically, there’s no problem with switching from run-flat to non run-flat tyres. You might even (almost certainly) find the car rides better than it did on run-flats and the Benz B-Class always had a fairly brittle ride, so any improvement is worthwhile.

Yes, you’ll have to arrange some sort of contingency should a flat tyre occur, but you can source a puncture repair kit pretty easily. There are even puncture-repair-in-a-can products (and have been for years) although they’re not always 100 per cent successful. If you’re keen, you could always find a space-saver spare from another model at a wrecking yard. Provided it’s the right diameter and the stud pattern matches, you’re good to go. Don’t forget to include the tools required to change a flat, though.

The other thing to do is to replace all four tyres at the same time. Driving around on a mix of run-flats and non run-flats is a bad idea and could give the car some evil handling traits, especially in the wet.

Colleagues of mine have noted that the C43 isn’t at its happiest when taking off from a standing start sometimes, particularly if the stop-start function is engaged. That said, the harshest description of the problem was the odd clunk when launching the car, but even with that system switched off, the AMG sometimes seems to have problems deciding which gear to select, leading to a lack of smoothness. Perhaps it’s not helped by the fact that the car is all-wheel-drive, and grips the road extremely well when perhaps a little `give’ in the driveline mightn’t be a bad thing. Maybe it’s the traction-control stepping in too early and interrupting the flow of power to the wheels.

That said, your problem sounds a lot more severe than that. The C43 uses a conventional torque converter automatic transmission, so it doesn’t suffer some of the jerkiness that other cars using dual-clutch technology can. It’s puzzling though, that the computer isn’t throwing up any fault codes, so maybe your car is simply doing what some C43s do to a greater or lesser extent. If it’s as bad as you say, it’s not good enough and you should pursue the problem with Mercedes-Benz and have the problem corrected under warranty.

You’re kind of in luck, George, because the W202 series of Mercedes-Benz cars is viewed by the trade as the last of the well-built Benzes. Still built in Germany, the W202 was replaced by the W203 at the turn of the century with production of Australian sedans shifting to South Africa (the wagons were still made in Germany). Quality suffered with the switch from W202 to W203 despite the latter being the newer design.

But the less wonderful news is that the W202 is still a pretty old car these days and is likely to have covered plenty of kilometres (the 175,000km you’ve nominated is actually quite low). So, there are no hard and fast rules; take every car on its individual merits and be sure to examine each example with a forensic level of detail.

Interiors can start to look pretty tired after a couple of decades in the Aussie UV and know that if the vacuum-operated central-locking or heating and ventilation controls ever play up, it can mean a dashboard-out job that can easily cost more than the car is worth. Paint – especially metallic colours – can fade and peel and, again, a respray is likely to cost more than the value of the car itself.

Mechanically, these are relatively simple machines but spares can cost plenty and the chances of a previous owner scrimping on maintenance costs at some point in the last 25 years is pretty high. At least there’s a decent aftermarket industry for sourcing bits and pieces. But seriously, these are now old enough to be of interest mainly to the real enthusiasts out there. Buying a Benz that old for the sake of its three-pointed star badge could be asking for trouble.