97'Mercedes c-180 head gasket tricky?

[holbeck]

I 've been offered a 97' C180 with possibly head gasket problems.

I'm told it uses coolant but no oil contamination.

On offer for £ 500 ish, tidy condition, MOT till next april, good tyres on alloys.

I'm quite tempted, but I've no experience of Merc's.

Anyone know if gasket change is a DIY prospect or does this all sound like a well known Mercedes problem that will only end in tears.

Any advice appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

H

[Guest]

Would have thought they're no better / no worse than anything else.

I think they might be timing chained as opposed to belted.

Check main dealer prices for parts as well as Euro Car Parts, oddly some bits even to 'man off street with no trade discount' are cheaper from main dealers!

 

Stick head gasket failure in google, there's a couple of UK forums.

 

Oh check it is the head gasket and not the water pump. I've heard these go.

[skattrd]

No help on the head gasket, but £500 seems a bit rich for a c180 with issues. A mate of mine has picked up a couple of w202 c180's without issues for £4-500. After the last one got hit by a Mondeo (which came off a lot worse) he got a '99 c240 which he picked up for £550 with a years ticket.

I quite like the w202's and I didn't find the c180's as underpowered as I was expected, they're not fast by any means, but a quite nice drive.

I'd steer clear of that one, it doesn't sound like it's worth the time/money/hassle.

[ashmicro]

The engine in these is pretty straightforward, and has a timing chain. A full headset from GSF is about £50 IIRC. Personally, I have never done an HG on one, but a mate did his a couple of years ago, and I don't remember him saying it was horrific. Beat the seller down on price, it's too dear. M-B made 1.8 million W202s, so there's a good few to choose from.

[Cavcraft]

£500 is very salty, they struggle to fetch that with no mechanical problems. I'd honestly see that at about £300 tops, and even then only because it's probably worth about that as export.

[holbeck]

Thanks for the tips fella's I think I'll let this one go.

 

H