Cars!

Bargain for £250 - even if it needed fairly major work, its worth it. Hold on to it - it is only going to go up in value!

PS - they are a bit guilty for mass air flow sensors failing, if it does go on yours, don't be tempted to buy a cheapo aftermarket one, go for the OEM one as they last much longer and the car will never run right on an non-OEM one (bitter experience with a C-Class)

 

Fear not - they are pretty tough, and only ask decent quality parts. GSF are a good starting point, as the vast majority of what they sell is OEM or as near as makes no difference; be careful with the likes of EuroCarParts - they sell the good stuff as well as the bad. The cat should be fairly straightforward to replace, although I would recommend replacing the lambda sensor and the O2 sensor at the same time (as much for peace of mind as anything).

If the fuel consumption goes up, or it feels as though it is hesitant, that points directly to the MAF - no point messing about, swap it for a new one (about £80-£100 at a guess). Roof retraction problems, well the very first thing I would do there is to remove the mechanism completely, clean it, and lubricate with new grease; I can't remember for sure, but I reckon they use either a lithium grease or a molybdenum grease (pretty sure it is lithium); this hardens over time and becomes sticky, which slows the mechanism and causes failure. Give it a thorough clean, re-grease, and all things being equal you should be good to go.

As for the interior - shampooing the carpets makes the world of difference, and when followed up by restorative work with some Gliptone, it makes the world of difference.

Change the oil, air and pollen filters as well as changing the oil, treat it to a new set of plugs (NGK or Champion preferably), and DO NOT skimp on oil (I can highly recommend the guys at Opie Oils, who are very helpful and sell only the good stuff) - - the Kompressor name is German for Turbo, and being a turbocharged engine, oil quality is absolutely paramount. Change it every 9000 miles with good quality oil, and you will have no trouble

The only other thing that ails Mercs is their steering gear - they have a damper on the steering rack that gives up and makes the steering go a bit vague and wandery; a few bolts changes it though, and is easily a DIY job if that is needed.

As always, I am not averse to a PM if you need any advice

EDIT - OEM does not necessarily mean that it has to be Mercedes; they used Bosch for many of their parts, and there are many parts that are as good (or better) than the originals (EBC, Mintex, Bosch, Siemens etc); I am happy to check out any prospective parts purchase with my tame mechanic if it helps.

 

It is a long game type of vehicle - value low at the moment, but keep it in good nick (or restore it) and given time it will be worth a small fortune. You have the right colour, and a desirable model. Oh, and avoid temptation to 'mod' it - the big money is in unmolested varieties.

 

Hmm. too many "flashy" curves for me, Sheal, and I'm not sure I could get two peoples fishing gear in it.

 

Oh God, no...... It looks like the design committee went out for lunch and got thoroughly rubbered before designing the back end! It hit every branch of the ugly tree as it fell - on the upside, it is a Toyota so should be bulletproof in terms of reliability.

 

Aye, in fairness it is a wee tad prettier than a Juke.

As a matter of interest, are there any knocking noises from the rear brake calipers on yours? My QQ got to 18000 miles, and turned to a bucket of shhh..... knocking noises, battery issues, electrical gremlins...... the French DNA decided to shine through.