W210 worth it?

[219]

And all this talk about premium car, prestige car when talking about old Mercs is a little puzzling. It's not like they are new AMGs or Brabus. Everybody knows these old Mercs are 1000 quid a pop used cars.

A friend of mine who drives a W124 says new Mercedes drivers don't even flash him back on the road.

Proper Mercedes (1990 or earlier) were and remain prestige cars ; I've been driving Mercedes over 40 years now and remember everything from the Fintails and Pagodas as new cars - their stars have never lost their lustre .

However , when I look at the new plastic offerings currently running around , despite their inflated price tags , they hold no interest for me and I still regard a W123/124/126/201 as better cars and more prestigious than anything currently in production .

 

[219]

A W220 for W210 / Vauxhall Omega money is best avoided.

I know they can suffer from electrical gremlins , and some rust badly , but if you can find a clean one with everything working , and no airmatic, I'd take that over a 210 any day .

Mind you , if I was looking for another S Class it'd be another W126 .

My most likely next purchase will be another S124 though .

 

[Tmc]

A W220 for W210 / Vauxhall Omega money is best avoided.

For me is to be avoided at any budget. I don't need a Full-Size car. An Executive car such as the E Class, A6, 5 Series, Omega, Peugeot 600 series, Saab 9-5 etc is ideal.

 

[Tmc]

Proper Mercedes (1990 or earlier) were and remain prestige cars ; I've been driving Mercedes over 40 years now and remember everything from the Fintails and Pagodas as new cars - their stars have never lost their lustre .

However , when I look at the new plastic offerings currently running around , despite their inflated price tags , they hold no interest for me and I still regard a W123/124/126/201 as better cars and more prestigious than anything currently in production .

Sure. The thing is the W126 and earlier cars are now classics. To me this is even more than a prestige car.

But the W210 and cars of that era are now just old cheap cars. And given that those are considered by any Mercedes fan and by the motoring industry in general as the stinky Mercedes years I doubt the W210 will become a real desirable classic. Maybe in 2060 if you find a fully original one in great condition with low mileage they will be interesting as a museum piece. But they will never enjoy the spot the W126 enjoys now which is a classic that you can use as a daily driver.

The W124 is also on the way to be like the W126 and earlier cars. The problem is because they were cheaper they probably sold more and there a lot of them still driving around and many not cared for examples. So they are still seen as mainly old cars by the general public. But I believe their time is coming soon too.

By the way, your black W126 is a thing of beauty. Always liked them and the W124.

 

[219]

Alas , that black 126 is long departed ; I ran it for five trouble free years , but sadly rot underneath got the better of it and I gave it away to a friend who spent time welding it then gave up and scrapped it . The petrol blue 280SE lived on and was sold on ; I don't know what became of it .

I have had W114/5 , W123/4 cars as nearly new (3-5 years old) , and my dad started out with a 1964 190 as a new car , so I've been around them for a long time .

Age hasn't diminished my feelings about any of the cars and I always hankered after the latest models up to about 1990 , but after the W201/124/126/129 ranges I started to feel quality was going downhill . The last car I paid big money for was a fourteen grand W124 at three years old and my fortieth birthday present to myself - I kept that car 11 years and did 1/4 million miles in it , with only power steering/SLS tandem pump failure ( due to a rotten pipe causing the pump to run dry ) then the ASD diff failure killing the car off at the end .

Newer models haven't appealed to me - I got badly burned with an unreliable S203 - and I've since stuck with tried and trusted earlier models . Currently I've had two happy years with my R129 , and should get my 190E back on the road within the next week or two for use over the winter . I could really do with another estate and a S124 is the most likely contender , although a 230GE would be nice if only I could find a good one .

Classics ? Well , I had my Ponton for 34 years , 15 years as a daily driver , then put it to one side . Eventually I realised I was never going to restore it and swapped for the R129 . It was just an old car when I bought it in 1982 but became a 'classic' during my ownership I suppose . So have many cars which passed through my hands .

I bought my Fintail a few years back out of nostalgia - brought back memories of my childhood - but it turned out to be a rust bucket . I did teach myself to weld , but the further I went the more rot I found - so I cut my losses . Pity .

I might try a newer model ( S211 ? ) at some point , but for now am more inclined to stick with what I know and trust .

 

[219]

For me is to be avoided at any budget. I don't need a Full-Size car. An Executive car such as the E Class, A6, 5 Series, Omega, Peugeot 600 series, Saab 9-5 etc is ideal.

Just another idea - and I really don't know anything about them - but the Chrysler 300 is based on the W210 I understand ...

 

[Tmc]

Aaah, the R129.

That was one of the cars I lusted after in my teen years when it was new. Always wanted to have one. At some point they became affordable. Probably now they are starting to go up again. I haven't looked for a while. That is a surefire classic to be. In the future it will be worth real money.

Would still love to drive one. But can't really justify a 2 seater at the moment as it would have to be our 3rd car.

Just another idea - and I really don't know anything about them - but the Chrysler 300 is based on the W210 I understand ...

It's based on the W210 and you are recommending it to me? What, you don't like me?

 

[Stratman]

......................




It's based on the W210 and you are recommending it to me? What, you don't like me?

As can be seen from this thread, the W210's big problem is Timmy the Tinworm. If you can put up with ill-fitting cheapo plastic interiors and constantly being stopped for drug searches there are worse options than a 300C

 

[John]

I know they can suffer from electrical gremlins , and some rust badly , but if you can find a clean one with everything working , and no airmatic, I'd take that over a 210 any day .

I thought Airmatic was standard on the W220 S Class and ABC was the option?

 

[a111r]

Not as it was explained to me by an MB master tech : on the 210 the perches are only held on by three spot welds , which eventually fail and let go - it is poor design and not caused by corrosion .

That's untrue, IME.
3 spot welds of circa 3 mm in diameter, cannot contain a road spring that indeed needs 'special measures' to contain / remove! The H.D. Klann type spring compressors are needed, after all.

It's a classic case of stress corrosion cracking, exacerbated / accelerated by 'rather poor' under-body protection.
MB seems to have got away with it, anyway.:fail

 

[John Jones Jr]

That's untrue, IME.
3 spot welds of circa 3 mm in diameter, cannot contain a road spring that indeed needs 'special measures' to contain / remove! The H.D. Klann type spring compressors are needed, after all.

It's a classic case of stress corrosion cracking, exacerbated / accelerated by 'rather poor' under-body protection.
MB seems to have got away with it, anyway.:fail

I didn't have that issue on my W210 but had on the W202 (both look almost identical) and yes it was caused by rust. Having said that it's not a major issue on either model, there's more to be concerned about when it comes to rust on these machines.

It's not a big issue to repair, it's very simple in actual fact provided it's attended to before the perch goes awol. All that's required is a half moon shaped piece of 2-3mm steel sized to sit on top of the original perch and touching the inner wing. Remove spring, clean rust and treat. Weld in moon section to perch and to inner wing. Refit spring, job done and hardly noticeable either.

 

[219]

I thought Airmatic was standard on the W220 S Class and ABC was the option?

I thought some of them had standard springs/shocks ?

 

[219]

As can be seen from this thread, the W210's big problem is Timmy the Tinworm. If you can put up with ill-fitting cheapo plastic interiors and constantly being stopped for drug searches there are worse options than a 300C

That was kind of my point : I haven't seen a rotten 300C (yet) .

I agree about the cheesy plastic interiors though .

 

[JasM]

Might get shot down for this

Have you considered a BMW E39 5 series? Much better car than the W210 IMO

 

[grober]

Jürgen Erich Schrempp - his motto never-mind-the-quality-feel-the-width.

 

[Tmc]

As can be seen from this thread, the W210's big problem is Timmy the Tinworm. If you can put up with ill-fitting cheapo plastic interiors and constantly being stopped for drug searches there are worse options than a 300C

And electrical problems?

But I never liked the way the 300C looks.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Love all the comments about Omegas lasting for ever.

Look at www.howmanyleft.co.uk and you'll see exactly how well Omegas last.

Comparing 2016 with the year 2000, something like 1% of Omegas on the road in 2000 are still running today. Yes: 1%
99% of Omegas have been scrapped. For good reason: people didn't want to buy used Omegas - not at 3 year, nor 5, nor 7 years old.

Look at the W210's from the same period and you'll see that typically a quarter of those cars are still on the road 16 years later- often with high mileages. People like them and keep them.

Have a look.

 

[NOMONEYBUTAMERC]

Perhaps you should consider making KWK an offer on his car ? Looks to be in lovely condition , and with just 59k on the clock , barely run in. As an ex-traffic cop , and obvious enthusiast , it could be a steal.

 

[John Jones Jr]

Perhaps you should consider making KWK an offer on his car ? Looks to be in lovely condition , and with just 59k on the clock , barely run in. As an ex-traffic cop , and obvious enthusiast , it could be a steal.

100%.

 

[roger574]

Perhaps you should consider making KWK an offer on his car ? Looks to be in lovely condition , and with just 59k on the clock , barely run in. As an ex-traffic cop , and obvious enthusiast , it could be a steal.

Thirded!

I've seen Mike's (KWK's) silver W210 in the flesh and it's one of the nicest I've seen