So I bought a 76K mile Mercedes. I know nothing of MB, but am quickly learning. It's a W202 platform, and is the first of the C class that replaces the old 190 that MB did so well with.
I got it at auction like I did my Volvos. I think this is a donated car, like many of the nicer cars I find at the auction house. Speaking of houses, it must have sat for a number of years as it was a house for a mouse. Furthermore, the tires have decent tread, but they're old enough to be graduating high school... 06 date code.
It's a naturally aspirated 2.2L 4 cylinder, so it's no power house. Only 148hp, I think. That makes it 20hp less than my NA Volvo 850, but the MB doesn't have to spin as fast to make peak power, so I'm hoping that at normal driving rpms, the power won't be much different than the Volvo. Flying down the highway its spinning at about 3500rpm. whereas my Volvo is more like 3100.
So far, I've only cleaned out the few items the previous owner left, and thoroughly charged the battery. MB doesn't mess around with batteries. It's a 900 CCA 150RC monster.... and funnily enough an AC Delco. I don't see a date code unfortunately. I'm going to run it, for now, unless I have issues with it. I suspect it's older than it looks. It's in the trunk, so it's has stayed clean/nice looking.
Currently, I'm waiting on parts. Serpentine belt, tensioner shock, oil filter, oil plug drain gaskets, and an air filter. The tensioner shock is something I've never seen before. It's for the serpentine belt tensioner, and the bushings are known for going bad, and then it rattles like a timing chain. It's something I read about while researching before bidding on the car.
Oh, today I had a nice surprise. I'm fishing around in a blind spot and I pull out two screws, that I suspect may have been used for the license plate. I feel around some more, and I can feel something else, but am struggling to get a hold of it. I finally get it, and I'm holding a dead dry mouse.
Here is one of the pictures from the auction house. Something that stood out to me on the drive home was that it's been forever since I've driven a car with a proper hood ornament.
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