[rosh_aveo1.4]

Hi Akash...very nice thread. I see there are no updates after June 17th. How is the car holding up? I am looking for the similar model (2009-2010 C200K or C220 CDI). Although there are many threads warning about going for such old cars and that too German, the heart wants what the heart wants. Sure the head is going to regret it later with all the bills!
How is the upkeep so far? And where are you managing to get the parts from any third party source? The 2 things that came up in my mind is the LED headlamps and the Android unit like in the latest Mercs but that may not happen since I prefer stock.

[aakashk8300]

Hi @rosh_aveo1.4! Great to see more people considering joining the German bandwagon! A lot has changed from June 21' when I last updated this thread.

Jobs I have done from June 21' to Jan 22' :

1) All 4 Shock Absorbers changed.

2) Buffer boots, Tie rod inner/outer ends & some other suspension components.

3) Steering Rack refurbish due to play.

4)ESL (Electronic Steering Lock) gave up and is replaced by an Emulator, a common aftermarket solution used internationally in order to avoid having to deal with the physical steering lock fail which can leave you stranded anywhere anytime without prior warning signs.

5) A complete Service B or Major Service in Merc terms with all filters and fluids sans transmission oil replaced.

6) ECU servicing and repairs - This was only done due to a persistent error (High fuel detected in Cylinder Bank) Unfortunately we wasted a lot of time and effort first replacing the spark plugs and coil packs to try and solve this issue. But in the end, it came down to an age-related issue of the ECU as well as an O2 sensor that gave up.

7) The elegance grille is back! The car met with an unfortunate bump in BKC, Mumbai which led to the AvantGarde grille mounts cracking and giving away. Luck would have it that I still had the original grille to swap back on!

8) Nano Coating - This was done at the Shaman and has done wonders to breathe back life into the 10-year-old paint.

Now to answer your question, the upkeep has been easy as well as a nightmare depending on the issue the car decides to throw up. My advice is to search for a later made unit of the pre-facelift 204 or stretch and go for the facelift. The FL is known to be more reliable in terms of electronics.

But don't worry about parts, especially if you are based in a large city like Delhi or Mumbai, since these cars sold in large numbers. Service parts are plentily available and so are other mechanical ones.

Always keep aside a little bit of $ on the side, in case of any mood swings thrown by the car! But do that and if you have a good FNG supporting you, it is one of the most rewarding experiences ever.

I was recently asked why did I go in for a 10-year-old German car, trading in my 5-year-old Japanese. The answer is simple, every time I go heavy on that accelerator I do not have to think because before you know it, the car has already taken off and is cruising at *above* legal speeds!

Also, I too really want an android unit but have for now solved that with a neat vent mounted phone holder which does all the tricks without having to play around with the CANBUS wiring of the car. LED headlights are still on the cards, but after reading the issues faced by other 204 owners globally due to resistors and errors popping up on the COMMAND system I have decided to postpone them until a definite error-free solution comes my way.

Hope this helps!

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Thanks for the reply! So I am nearly settling on a 2010 Elegance 220 CDI (heard that engine is a typical workhorse). Called up a technician from Mercedes who inspected the car while driving (no immediate issues) and also plugged in the OBD scanner tool that came up with 0 errors.

I Just have an eye sore on the following:
1. central glovebox where there are scratches around the command knob along with the folding shutter issue (that is like in every single C class!)
2. Just one vent in the rear AC is broken, saw a full replacement kit from Amazon for 4k but the Merc guy said he will find a better option.
3. The rubber matt or so right in front of the Command display unit is all cracked. Audio is great though!

Other than that, it's all good. Service technician gave me to go ahead. Good thing is the previous owner did a full service (display shows 335 days until next B3 service which I am not sure what it means), replaced all 4 tyres, brakes and battery before selling it. Planning for the following next:
1. Put the AMG grill as you did (costs 10k as per a Merc service place, not the authorized one though)
2. Ceramic coating and interior detailing

I also need to take a comprehensive insurance next.

I did read about this steering lock in most forums, sounds scary. Was it a precaution you took? Do you mind PM me on the cost of the above? Just like to know how much $$$ I need to reserve for this.

I did try checking the facelift ones. But most of them were either highly run with multiple owners and wasn't sure of it's background. Some looked fine outside but the interior looked very worn out compared to this. This particular model was a single owner with 55k and thus had the confidence to go for it. There was a 2012 face lift one, an Embassy vehicle which I was keen (first time seeing a base Merc with fabric seats though!) but somehow this felt better overall.

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Originally Posted by aakashk8300

Also, I too really want an android unit but have for now solved that with a neat vent mounted phone holder which does all the tricks without having to play around with the CANBUS wiring of the car. LED headlights are still on the cards, but after reading the issues faced by other 204 owners globally due to resistors and errors popping up on the COMMAND system I have decided to postpone them until a definite error-free solution comes my way.

Hope this helps!

Good point. Which was that phone holder you use (any pic and purchase link would be appreciated) and also, how did you go about connecting via Bluetooth for audio?

[aakashk8300]

Originally Posted by rosh_aveo1.4

Good point. Which was that phone holder you use (any pic and purchase link would be appreciated) and also, how did you go about connecting via Bluetooth for audio?

I am using the dongle below which attaches to the AUX cable hanging out of the dashboard and is powered via a USB charger in the Cig. Lighter Slot.

While I did switch back to using purely the AUX for a few months, the convenience of having Bluetooth for music streaming is unparallel. The dongle I have linked needs to have it's power button pressed for 2 seconds every time you sit in your car though. If you do buy it, take the time out to stick it to the upper part of the passenger footwell to avoid it looking messy!

https://www.amazon.in/Lowfe-Bluetoot...%2C210&sr=8-13

Phone mount link: https://www.amazon.in/Mobile-Holder-...%2C212&sr=8-46

[aakashk8300]

Congratulations @rosh_aveo1.4 on joining the W204 club.

From all the issues you have highlighted, I can suggest a few solutions I have executed on my car

1) Central GloveBox and Shutter - Give it a deep clean and get rid of the broken shutter connectors inside the shutter folding slot to avoid rattles. Be vary that your hands will have a lot of gluey residue on them when you touch the inside of the shutter assembly. Honestly do not waste time or money fitting a new one since you have the cupholders which my car is not specced with.

2) 2/4 of my front A/C vents are broken and almost every single Mercedes of this generation faces this issue. I too had spoken to the Mercedes dealer and dropped plans after hearing the price for the set of front 4 vents.

3) Rubber Mat. On day 3 of my ownership, I got rid of this eyesore. Use a hairdryer to heat up the rubber and glue. Then with the help of a toothpick or your fingers start lifting rubber pieces up, (as large as possible, since the little buggers like to spread all over the cabin) and post removing all rubber, give it a few rounds of a thorough wipe.

Below it lies black plastic which will merge with the rest of your dashboard and will look OEM.

Also not sure if you have realized this but you have purchased the slightly updated Pre-Facelift W204. It has mirrors from the facelift, along with LED indicators and I assume Whitish headlights as well. Front and Rear parking sensors are a bonus!

4) Speaking of grilles, I have reverted back to the Elegance one with the small star!

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Originally Posted by aakashk8300

I am using the dongle below which attaches to the AUX cable hanging out of the dashboard and is powered via a USB charger in the Cig. Lighter Slot.

While I did switch back to using purely the AUX for a few months, the convenience of having Bluetooth for music streaming is unparallel. The dongle I have linked needs to have it's power button pressed for 2 seconds every time you sit in your car though. If you do buy it, take the time out to stick it to the upper part of the passenger footwell to avoid it looking messy!

Thanks Akash. Just thought to share what I did from my side on this. I wasn't keen on the wire from the dashboard and hence looked at other ideas. Finally got a combination of 2 other devices + the Bluetooth telephony of the Merc to meet my requirement. It might look cumbersome (and unnecessarily complex) but for me, coming from an IT automation solution consulting practice, where we use diff tools/apps to solve a process problem, it felt..natural :-)

1. For the audio, got a Bluetooth dongle to stream only audio and connected that to the 12V socket for power and to the Aux. This way, the unit will automatically be powered and get connected to my phone when I start the car. And since the entire unit is within the dashboard, it looked neat. Come to think of it, there is a Bluetooth dongle that can connect to the Merc Multimedia interface port but it's Bluetooth 3.0, it cannot skip songs unless its stored in the phone (I always stream) and I can't find this Multimedia interface anyway (maybe not speced in this trim). Oh and it's Rs.600 vs Rs.5,000!

2. For the calls, I was specific about using the mic from the Merc audio unit. So paired that as well (with some difficulty and repeated attempts). My worry was if a call comes in, will the phone direct the voice to the Bluetooth dongle instead of the headunit (since both are connected) and to be sure, I got the above Bluetooth dongle which only had audio out and no mic (was very specific while searching for this). Luckily the idea worked and now the phone streams only audio to the dongle and the calls through the Merc headunit. Still can't get the contacts to be saved in the headunit, it requires vcard which current phones don't follow (old tech) and need to see if I can find an app for iOS to do that.

3. Remote control for the phone to control music: Since I am using the aux, there is no way to control the phone to skip songs. Luckily had a Bluetooth remote from my previous car and with it being black and a ring of chrome, it didn't look entirely out of place in the Merc dashboard (atleast to my eyes), placed right below the audio unit's number pad. I thought to use Siri for skipping songs which works but just cumbersome to do it every time.

4. The phone holder: I had the AC vent holder as suggested but worried that the phone's weight can break the vent (and difficult to get the damned thing replaced). So used the CD slot phone holder as I don't use CD and it felt natural reaching out to it. However it doesn't look good being left there, so stowed it away in the center glovebox and thought to use it only if I need navigation. Else I can place the phone in the cupholder which seems natural to reach and press the side button for Siri if needed to dial and make calls.

Oh, ordered a rubber matt thingy for the area below the screen. Will have to take it out as you suggested but used this a temporary fix (just can't stand the sight of it).

Replaced the grill with the Avantgarde one. They packed the star and the old grill in a nice box which I need to store safely.

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Forgot to add this pic, got a key cover from Amazon and looks pretty neat. Added a bit bulk but the soft touch material felt nice to hold. It's a two piece cover that is flexible.

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B08...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Hey Akash. Found this site few days back and they seem to have quite a bit of trim of the W204 models which usually breaks like the A/C vents and such (along with other brands). Just ordered the center console for myself without the sliding cover, hoping it's atleast good if not as good as typical OEM stuff (will confirm once I receive it). Thought I can share that for you incase you ever need it.

https://carcraftindia.com/collection...06-2011?page=1

[aakashk8300]

Hello from me and the C to everyone on the forum and currently reading this thread. The journey me and the car have been on so far has been a long and twisted one often resulting in wins and sometimes in a loss.

However, the latest result you are about to see is one of love and intense effort.

After contemplating for a long time between getting an Android-based touch screen system to modernize the car or a full overcoat in the same shade.

Being the OCD freak I am, it is no surprise that I went for the latter.

I did contemplate switching the shade completely, to a gorgeous British Racing Green Metallic or Tarzanite Blue Metallic. However, those plans failed when I was hit with some unfortunate budget and time restrictions.





Here's a quick journey through the paint process: (https://www.instagram.com/reel/CfJjO..._web_copy_link)

1) The car was parked in the makeshift booth, and the number plates were taken off. We started to take off other trim pieces ahead as well.



2) The car was then fully searched over for scratches, dents, and imprecations which needed to be pulled out and straightened to match the body line.



3) We then finished denting and headed over to the next steps.









4) Parts and panels off, and the primer was sprayed.













5) A shot between the final coats of the Cubanite Silver paint is sprayed onto the car. Was quite interesting to see this matte sorta finish on the C.



6) Final colour and clear coat done. Paint cutting begins!





7) The final detail which brought back the shine on the paint and gave me an idea of the look people were about to witness on the road very soon!





8) Along with the whole car, the alloys were also resprayed in a shade used by Jaguar for their Silver alloy wheels. The center caps were sprayed gloss black to give a unique look to the car.



9) Some parting shots! Here's the C after a short drive from the workshop back to my home.









The Garage Details where I got the job done are as below :
CRK Automobiles, 135-148, Senapati Bapat Marg, next to vastu vaibhav, Mahalaxmi Sindhi Colony, Matunga West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400016.

(+91 93222 20042)

I hope everyone hear likes the paint job as much as I did!

[DeKay]

Originally Posted by aakashk8300

The Garage Details where I got the job done are as below :
CRK Automobiles, 135-148, Senapati Bapat Marg, next to vastu vaibhav, Mahalaxmi Sindhi Colony, Matunga West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400016.

(+91 93222 20042)

I hope everyone hear likes the paint job as much as I did!

The car looks amazing, Aakash! Well done.
How much did you pay for the whole job?

[Porcupine]

Wow the pain job looks amazing, it makes your ride look brand new! I also love the rebadges look on the back, makes it look so much cleaner.

Do you have any other mods planned?

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Damn that looks great Aakash! What’s the pocket damage like? I see you also debadged the car. How’s it treating you otherwise? I was in the fence for the android headunit but just not confident enough to go forward with it. Still depending on the Bluetooth unit.

[aakashk8300]

Originally Posted by DeKay

The car looks amazing, Aakash! Well done.
How much did you pay for the whole job?

Hi! Thank you for your thoughts on the car. I wouldn't give a confirmed number here, but it was in the range of 65-75,000 rupees all in. Do note this price was due to low number of dents and practically no rust to be fixed on the C.

[automind]

Hi aakashk, nice thread. Yours is one of the most comprehensive threads on the C class w204; appreciate the efforts you have put in to restore the car. I too have recently acquired a w204; its a 2012 model and in great shape. Hope to see more updates from yourself. Thanks.