Buying a W211 - what to look for?

[Cleggmeister]

Hi folks,

Several years ago I enjoyed a W210 E55 AMG for a couple of hundred thousand miles. Now I'm back in the market with £7k to buy a nice 2004 W211 E220 or E270 diesel.

Through general research I've so far learned to test all the electrics of any car I'm interested in, as well as looking for whether it has a Valeo or Behr radiator (though TBH I'm not sure how to tell the difference - any advice gladly received)!

Please could you suggest anything else I should be checking? Should I look for any diagnostic codes or "disabled" functions/warnings, and how would I do this? With regards service history, would you be concerned if a car had been recently serviced at the local garage rather than a MB dealership or independent MB specialist?

And for motorway driving (65mph) will the 220 or 270 offer better economy? I have my heart set on a lovely E220 Avantgarde which is not far from me, but would love an excuse to buy an E270 Avantgarde with Panoramic roof instead! Please feel free to offer me any thoughts or suggestions.

Many thanks in advance!

Cleggy.

 

[Cleggmeister]

And another thing

I wonder why Autotrader lists some E320 CDI's as 43mpg extra urban and some (from the same year with seemingly the same spec) as 52mpg?

Am I being daft?

 

[Ratz]

Hi

I have owned an E270 (2002) and now have an E220 (2009), both auto/Avantgarde. The E270 was a bit of a nightmare (compared to what I'm used to at least), after spending £1500 putting various brake & suspension issues right, the dreaded valeo radiator fault hit at 47k miles. The prospective bill from MB was just shy of £7k, the car wasn't worth much more than that! Performance was excellent, economy was around 42-45 average.

E220 fine so far, no issues at 30k miles (as you wouldn't expect there to be). Economy if anything is slightly worse than the 270 bizarrely, although performance is very similar. On the later car the suspension feels more taught, but I suppose this could just be the age difference.

Depends on your budget I suppose, but service history gives no reassurance that the valeo radiator won't strike (although research should tell you that valeo stopped around 2004) as this is not checked as part of the service schedule.

320 straight 6 (the older cars) gives slightly better fuel consumption that the V6, but both are no more than 41mpg declared (IIRC).

I went away from MB for a while after the 270, to teach MB a lesson (although I suspect I wasn't really missed ). But the E-class is a very very nice car, and I haven't found anything that suits me better yet!

 

[st4]

The 220cdi and 270cdi are much of a likeness MPG. The 270cdi may better it sometimes, mainly in out of town situations and a 5 pot engine sounds better, but both are ample reliable units.

A valeo rad, take an expert with you (they'll test for gylcol in the transmission fluid). For your money you'll get a newer E220cdi over a 270cdi and with the 211 that counts a lot in the 220cdi margin.

2004 or ideally 2005 onwards and you have a nice sorted saloon car thats safe, spacious comfortable and nice to drive.

 

[Phantom 211]

I bought an E320 CDi in September after a couple of months of car hunting. Mine is a March 2004 and has the later spec Valeo rad (confirmed by GemTech), the earlier Valeo rad is the one that causes problems.

I know from experience it is very hard to know which one is fitted but as my car met the spec I wanted (37,000 miles,Elegance, grey nappa leather, Comand etc) I took the chance.

Just had an E service (B) done plus the brake and transmission fluid changed. I can't speak highly enough about the car, and have no previous Mercedes loyalty. I would thoroughly recommend the E320 to anyone, decent MPG considering it is a large engine,a very,very comfortable ride and a serious amount of power to get you out of trouble.

Having looked at and driven many E-Class cars, I would suggest buying the largest engine you can.

 

[Cleggmeister]

Many thanks chaps, that's splendid advice. I'll try and take Terry O'Neill (local Indy and great chap, used to take care of my W210 E55 AMG) with me to check the 2004 E220 that I'm keen on. It's done 81k and ticks all the boxes, so far as I'm aware.

I have emailed the current owner and asked him to check the radiator for any info, fingers crossed it's a Behr or later Valeo.

As an aside ***, I'm in Bishopbriggs. Look forward to meeting you soon!

Thanks again to all.

Cleggy.

 

[st4]

Terry O Niell gets good reviews and is reasonably well regarded. His premises are not far from the ex...

I know Bishopbriggs quite well. Had a friend in Murrayfield gardens?

We have regular meets and click on the 2011 meets in Scotland link in my signature and get yourself along to the Ratho one in Edinburgh

Cheers

Steve

 

[BQF]

Coil springs! Boing.....Boing, Crump, zzzzzz (as you are travelling 300 miles in 3x recovery vans and arrive home at 6am in the morning).

 

[st4]

And wheel bearings....