Buying advice for an E Class needed please.

[Matto]

Hi I'm thinking about buying an 08 Mercedes-Benz E Class 3.0 E280 CDI Sport with fsh. I've owned a 5 series BMW for a few years and I was just wondering if the running costs are comparable does anyone know? I just don't want to buy a car then realise a few months down the road that repair bills are a lot bigger than my BMW was.

Any advice will be much appreciated.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Are you a taxi driver ? town or airport ? if its black , buy it.

 

[Petrol Pete]

^^^^ Sorry, just having a bit of fun with you. Mat, give us a bit more detail on the car, service history etc. many on here will give good advice. Good luck

 

[Matto]

Hi Pete. The only info I have is that it's a 2008 Mercedes-Benz E Class 3.0 E280 CDI Sport 7G-Tronic 4dr that's done 108,000 miles and has 9 stamp FSH trade seller. I know all cars are different but just wondering are these generally reliable or do they have a lot of costly problems or somewhere in between?

Cheers.

 

[Smart320]

Generally very reliable if they are serviced properly, but a few known things too look out for.
Make sure the gearbox has been serviced, fluid and filter, every 4 years or about 40 k miles ( whichever soonest ) If it has FMBSH it should have been done unless previous owners decided to save money!
If hasn't been done the gear changes when box warmed up may be less smooth, should be seamless , but in any case even if it drives well budget for a Fluid and filter change immediately approx £200 at MB Indi ,.
Quality of servicing the key , much better if done at MB dealers or known MB Indie's, I would be more wary if at unknown garages, especially if it looked and drove anything less than perfectly and had more than 2/3 owners. Take a good look at the MOT history using the online checker to see fails / advisories.
Motors can have swirl flap failures or leaks around the injectors ( commonly known as the Black Death )

I had a 2008 E320cdi and loved it , only had an ABS wheel sensor fail, not too costly £200 approx.
Only sold it to buy a ML 320cdi. If you like it go for it.

 

[Matto]

I'm going to look at this car layer this morning. Is there anything specifically I should be looking for, and are there any common costly problems on this model or things that only MB can fix etc.

I know these may be silly questions and I remember asking the same questions when I bought my first 5 series bm and people replying with stuff like "if you have to ask you can't afford one". Ithe turned out I had nothing to worry about and after 6 years with a 2nd hand 5 series I spent less on repairs than any of my other cars.

I'm just trying to find out if I'm likely to have a similar experience with this sort of car are are they generally more costly to own. Cheers guys, appreciate any advice you can give.

 

[Matto]

Thanks for the that Smart320, just seen your post. Some food for thought there and gives me some good info thanks.

 

[Gollom]

IMHO, the W211 E-class is quite simply the best affordable saloon around. It is comfortable, the engine your are looking at is a real tiger in wolf's clothing, MPG is surprisingly good and if you look after it no more expensive than other class cars. In short, it is just right

I am pretty sure there will be a good MB indie in Liverpool (someone will be along in a moment to comment I'm sure) and if you have the chance, taking it there before purchase would be a good investment as they can plug into STAR and see what has been done/needs doing etc. If you can get the VIN number and post it on here, someone will be able to give you a list of what spec the car was built with.

Subject to a bit of careful research, you will not regret it. I am on my 3rd e-class of this era and love it to death. Keep us updated!

 

[Londonscottish]

IMHO, the W211 E-class is quite simply the best affordable saloon around. It is comfortable, the engine your are looking at is a real tiger in wolf's clothing, MPG is surprisingly good and if you look after it no more expensive than other class cars. In short, it is just right

My (petrol) 211 was pretty much faultless from when I bought in on 90k in 2010 until I sold it on 140k+ in 2017. Well designed and well made.

Not many unexpected bills bar an Airmatic pump (not relevant), a crank pulley and a boot lock.

The facelift Sport is arguably the sweetspot.

 

[Brian k]

Hey Matt

I too moved from a BMW 5 series to an E class.
Admittedly both were brand new cars but I confess to being wary as I thought the Beamer was the best thing since sliced bread. Wonderful build quality and it just didn’t break, not ever.
I’ve had three new E classes now and I guess that says it all.
My latest E has a better ride quality than the 5 series and its cabin is second to none. I would admit I think the 5 was a better drivers car if I was in the mood to thrash her, just better handling imo, but overall I think the Merck’s have the upper hand.

Take your time and buy carefully (solid service history is king) and I’m sure you’ll be delighted.

 

[Matto]

Thanks guys for all the quick replys it was very helpful. I've agreed to buy the one I mentioned in my first post. It has has 8 services at a MB garage and will be getting a fresh mot and it's 9th service in the next few days.
My only slight worry was on the test drive I was driving around 30 then really put my foot down and it seemed to be unresponsive for around half a second and then it kicked in and shot off fast. I've Googled it and people and have had similar happen and there are a lot of different opinions to what this problem can be. I'm hoping it's just me not being experienced driving automatics but it could also be a Problem?

I also got a 15 month "5 STAR" warranty so hoping if I did have any problems in the near future this will cover it. Cheers all.

 

[MercedesDriver]

Check the classifieds here, I think Herishi is selling his.

 

[Smart320]

Suspect any sort of warranty will not cover most of the problems you might encounter! I would have a good perusal of the fine print!

 

[nidgemo]

Had a 2008 E class for 4 years and the car was largely faultless until just recently - in the first 3.5 years of ownership, just a brake sensor switch (£11 on ebay, replaced myself with 2 screws) and a suspension went (cost about £60 inc labour at an indy) - but the last 6 months, once it went past 120k it did start having fairly regular glitches - spent about £800 on it for various repairs in the last 6 months of ownership. Biggest benefit (and one of the main reasons I bought it) was that many of the 2008 EClass didn't have DPF - about the last luxury deisel not to have (though get someone to check the spec against the vin if you want to be sure)

 

[nidgemo]

The half second unresponsiveness may have just been turbo lag if you're not used to it - if you were going very slow before and the revs had dropped right down.

 

[Gbrowncls55]

Some years back i went from a bmw 535I sport e39 to a w211 E500. E500 was totally superior in every way and very very reliable. Fantastic car.

 

[Matto]

The half second unresponsiveness may have just been turbo lag if you're not used to it - if you were going very slow before and the revs had dropped right down.

I am hoping it's just turbo lag. I'm pretty sure it was completely normal from a standing start it was just when I was cruising along around 30 then suddenly put my foot down there was nothing for maybe half a second possibly 1 second then it accelerated off fast after a the brief pause. It didn't feel right to me.
I really should have investigated further on the test drive but I was thinking about so many different things I needed to check and ask about so bit worried now.

I've asked the guy to check it out but deposit is paid and I'm picking it up midweek.

 

[David404]

[QUOTE=" driving around 30 then really put my foot down and it seemed to be unresponsive for around half a second and then it kicked in and shot off fast. [/QUOTE]

My 2009 (w211) E320 is the same, been like that since I got it at 70k miles now done 100k miles and its just the same. My take its normal.

As others have said G/Box service essential - official spec is 60,000Kms = 37,200 miles. If you get this done ask if they drain the TC - on some this isn't straightforward.
Not known to be unreliable but some issues
front ball joints - creaking/groaning when you go over bumps
Can break front springs - less common then above
Turbo actuator faults, swirl flaps MAF, EGR - but these are common to almost all diesel

Find a good MB indie - one that has a STAR machine.

2008 was when MB went to the on-line service record rather than the traditional book - have you looked at that.
Checked MOT history

Compare MOT history to service history and ownership changes - tells you a lot.

Enjoy they are fab cars and other then the G/box 'issue' you have experiences the gearbox was in the day regarded as one of the best. Guess we compare to newer units like the 9G-Tronic.

 

[Smart320]

Does not sound too serious even if it is not turbo lag. From light throttle to full there is unlikely to be an instantaneous response by the engine like a non turbo petrol

 

[Smart320]

Regarding front Spring failure, I hit a speed bump at 30 mph, my failure to spot it, got over ok but about
500 miles later the o/s spring failed while driving. Luckily pulled over without problems but I cost me 2 front springs ( always recommend doing both! ) . I unfortunately got recovered to MB dealer , cost me over £500. However while they do fail mine was definitely avoidable and should one go it could happen on any car.
Like David404 said, they are great cars, don't worry about what might happen, if you have bought it just enjoy it.