Tag: W202

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1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG

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I love “special wishes” cars. Something about a private (probably very wealthy) individual asking a major car manufacturer to make a whole bunch of changes to a car that is already incredibility detailed is interesting to me given how dialed-in production can be. You have every car on the line have a pre-determined build process, but then have one come along and have a totally new set of specs you’ve never seen before. I’d love to see the faces of the workers at the Affalterbach factory when they were given the instructions for this 1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG up for sale in London.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG at Car and Classic UK

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Lapis Blue 1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG

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I did not expect to see this. In a world where all the 1990s Mercedes-Benz AMG cars were painted in some sort of black/white/silver/grey, seeing the rare one in red was a treat. However, I was not expecting a bright blue.

This is a 1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG is Lapis Blue. Looking at the build sheet, this one was a Mercedes version of “paint to sample” judging by the ‘Z98 Painting outside the sample card’ entry on the decoder. This color is not to be confused with Porsche’s Lapis Blue which is clearly a much darker blue. Needless to say, a rare example. You know what that means.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG on Collector’s Lounge

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1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG

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It was only a matter of time before the Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG became a hot item. The ingredients of a significant history, low production run, and brand status all make for a desirable automobile at any price level. For the past 15 years or so, you could buy these for almost no money at all for well-used examples because they were nothing more than a minor footnote in Mercedes history. Now that AMG is a mega brand both on the street and the race track, people want the originals. Being this was the first official post-merger AMG to grace the US market, collectors are suddenly chasing them down while they still can. Yes, you can still find a decent example for under $10,000, but the perfect example are suddenly pulling big numbers when at the end of the day this is still a W202. So naturally, when one pops up, I always take a look to see if its an example worth lusting after. This 1995 up for sale in California sure looks the part, but once again, we have a dealer that is less than helpful.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG on eBay

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1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG

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These are strange times for the Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG. Once the breakthrough car of the official Mercedes-Benz AMG vehicles launch in North America, this is now a car that maybe isn’t quite a full blown collectible for what it is, but has some pedigree to be one. The problem with the C36 is that it didn’t have much fan fare when it launched because of its extremely conservative styling as well as the minor bump in power and performance. This led it to be forgotten about and ultimately into the hands of wrong people. You could find a well used example for well under $10,000 and if it was really beat up and rusty, $5,000 might take one home. Now, people want old performance cars with brand caché, even through their performance leaves much to be desired. The thing is, what happens to the examples that still have a ton of life left in them, but are far from the best example remaining? I’m curious to find that out with this 1995 up for sale in California.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG on eBay

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1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG

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Please note: We have corrected this post to note that it is fitted with a 4.3L from the factory, not the 5.4L. Our apologies for the mistake. -dc

“Buy one now while you still can.”

How many times have you heard this over the years? We’ve seen it with all the cars that used to be not-so expensive and now are basically so crazy that it is cheaper just to build and buy replicas. Case in point, the E30 M3. I remember back in the early 2000s, staring into a monitor that was so heavy it would bow my desk, only dreaming of how I could get together $9,500 to buy one of those. Now? A 1988 with that’s been painted twice, has a non-original motor, and 240,000 miles sells for $30,000 all-in. Same goes for the 190e-16v. One used to be able to snag a decent one for under $10,000 without issue. Now, anything in that $10,000 range is going to be a serious project. Carter just featured a non-original Quattro that’s very much the same case. These cars come in waves as the years go on, only that wave never crashes and just stays high the entire time. Today’s car, a 1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG, is starting to jump on a wave.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG on eBay

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1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG

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Last week I checked out an interesting Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG that needed some help up for sale in Canada. It seems like no one wanted to give a helping hand for this car as it ended with no bids even at it’s reasonable $2,500 US starting price. Today, I ran across another C36 AMG up for sale in Canada although this one has a much different story. This 1995 is actually a Japanese-spec car that has a few little touches that set it apart from the North American-spec cars. Unlike last week’s example, this one isn’t a basket case that needs thousands of dollars to make it presentable again. In fact, it is actually pretty clean.  The price? Not all that bad in my eyes.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG on eBay

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Roll the dice: 1997 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG

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The W202 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG has gone from being a neat little footnote in Mercedes-Benz and AMG history as being the first post-acquisition AMG car to a car that collectors are now seeking out to add them to their stable. They aren’t at the level of the 190E 2.3-16v, nor do I think they will ever be, but the demand has definitely picked up over the past year or two. Because of these cars being unloved and overlooked for as many years as they were, lots of them fell into the hands of people who used and abused them then moved on to the next cheap car. At the end of the day, this is still a W202, so its tenancy to rust is always a major issue as well as some other things that plague the chassis such as the tendency for head gasket in the M104 engine to leak oil from the back of the head. Sadly, this 1997 C36 up for sale in Canada, seems to suffer from both of these mentioned things. Although if you do the math on the purchase price plus potential repair costs, maybe you could come out ahead and have yourself a really cool car that the value is slowly rising on.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG on eBay

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1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG Estate

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The majority of the wagons were feature around here are of the Audi variety. For good reason, of course. They look good, they are all-wheel-drive, come in manual transmission and usually they have the potential to be pretty quick. But every once in awhile I pull out a Mercedes-Benz wagon that can run with the four rings. Usually it’s an E55 or E63 AMG Estate that not only looks great, but hauls ass and literally everything else. Although this time around, I have something much more rare and it’s actually on North American soil ready to be snagged up by our Canadian friends.

The W202 C43 AMG Estate is a rare bird. Only 717 of these were built between 1998-2000 and thanks to the rust monster that the W202 usually succumbs to, that number is decreasing faster than you think. Nearly a year ago, I actually checked one of these out in right-hand drive spec that was pretty tidy and what I thought was a reasonable price. But this German-import has it’s flaws and the starting price (with reserve) is pretty reasonable. So is this the one to get?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG Estate on eBay

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Right Hooker Week: 1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG

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In my first Mercedes-Benz from across the pond this week, I figured I’d start with a bang and a color to make you jump too. This a 1998 C43 AMG in fiery Imperial Red with the black and white two-tone interior. Just a quick refresher, this baby Benz comes with the 4.3 liter M113 V8 from AMG with your standard bits of accessories from Affalterbach with monoblocks, some different bumpers and the interior sprinkled with some special touches. This all is the same as we usually see in North America, but these euro W202 AMGs did have one different feature that makes a big difference in my eyes.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG on eBay.co.uk

Year: 1998
Model: C43 AMG
Engine: 4.3 liter V8
Transmission: 5-speed automatic
Mileage: 158,000 mi
Price: GBP 5,995 ($7,782 Buy It Now)

 

Presented In Imperial Red With Full 2 Tone Black & White Amg Leather Interior, Full Usual AMG Extras,, Climate Control, Cruise Control, Seats Heated (Driver), Alarm, Alloy Wheels (17in), Electric Windows (Front/Rear), In Car Entertainment (Radio/Cassette), Seats Electric (Driver). 4 seats, Red, Last Owner Since 2010, Mot July 2017, 17″ Genuine Amg Alloy Wheels, Stunning Condition Bargain at, £5,995 p/x welcome

If you are wondering why this car looks so good and a little different from the C43s you usually see, it’s because the euro cars are lowered slightly with different springs from AMG. The North American cars, in my eyes, sit way too high and the wheel gap is unusually high. With the euro-spec cars, the wheel gap is barely there and look absolutely perfect.

As for this car for sale in Buckinghamshire, it looks like a really prime example. I don’t see any evidence of rust at all despite being in the rainy and snowy UK and the paint shines really well. It does have some miles on it at a little over 158,000, but it doesn’t show at all. The price of $7,800 USD is right on par for an example like this and probably even a little cheap for the UK market seeing how rare it is. I think they only brought a dozen or two at most Imperial Red C43s into North America, so I can’t imagine that there are many right hand drive cars in this color. At any rate, this one is a solid buy, as long as you can keep it away from the wet stuff. No easy task over there.

– Andrew

1995 Mercedes-Benz C280

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With the exception of the high-performance C36/C43 AMG, the W202 C-class tends to get short shrift around here. That’s probably because for many, the W202 marks the point at which Mercedes began to lose its way. Not only did the taut, angular design language of yesteryear give way to the rounder, less attractive lines of the “jelly bean” era, Mercedes products from the mid 1990s onwards just never seemed as reliable or as well-built as those that came before. I think there’s something to this, but the upshot is that a garden variety C280 can be had for not much money. And while it isn’t quite as tank-like as the venerable W201 it replaced, it can still make for a satisfying commuter. If you squint hard enough, you can even see the design parallels between the two.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Mercedes-Benz C280 on eBay

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