Piston Slap: What Exactly Is a Cheap Used Car?

Raul writes:

I own a 2016 Kia Sportage with 13,500 miles. For financial reasons I would like to sell it and buy a cheap used car. Coincidentally, a friend of mine is selling a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 with 34,000 miles. Would it be an intelligent decision to buy it, or will it be a nightmare? Should I keep my Sportage?

Sajeev answers:

To the Best and Brightest: I hear your screams of “that’s not a cheap used car!” and I can dig it. Because a nine-year-old W204 Mercedes C-Class is cheap to buy, and that could be where the cheap stops. But indulge the notion that it isn’t a maintenance-deferred example — perhaps it has 34,000 well-curated miles.

And perhaps it lacks those pricey-to-restore electronic options (i.e. a Navigation/Harmon Kardon ICE, which died in my mother’s 2006 leased E320 under warranty with less miles).

And maybe the concerns mentioned on the Internet ( here and here) are affordable repairs, even without that shadetree mechanic lifestyle.

And maybe anything that goes wrong won’t leave you stranded on the roadside, so who cares if it goes bad!

Frequency of “ands” aside, the W204 isn’t terrifyingly expensive to own, according to Google, possibly besting the cost of making the note on a ’16 Sportage. So perhaps Richard from our last foray into The Adventures of Post-Warranty German Car Ownership deserves the last word:

Sajeev,

I really enjoyed the article. I wish I had seen it sooner as by the time it published I had scored a deal on a turbo, had it replaced and moved forward with most of the work at discounted rates provided by my buddy the Mercedes mechanic. The total for the turbo, pcv valve, another valve, and new control arms was $2900. I was feeling pretty good. The car was running great. Then the check engine light came on.

My Mercedes mechanic said it was a lean code he could not resolve after a week of effort. I have become obsessed with this crap and found a YouTube genius with a video on just about everything to do with the Audi/VW 2.0T piece of crap engine – The Humble Mechanic. The guy is a national treasure. I am now convinced the problem is a rear main seal failure ($1,200). This seems to be the “thing at the back of the engine” referenced in my initial e-mail. I probably should have paid more attention to that item.

The Audi specialist I spoke to this morning said this is a common problem and is set to fill the crank case with smoke next week. The Avant refuses to return my love. And my wife is pissed.

NEVER BUY GERMAN. BUT IF YOU DO BUY MERCEDES.

[Image: Mercedes]

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.