Cheap 211 Estates

[Ade B]

They seem to within my grasp at c£10k....

What do I need to look for on say an 04 E270CDI with 100k on the clock..
Looking at pics on Autotrader there are a couple of nice ones..

Must have pale leather and lots of toys.

Any thoughts?


Ade

 

[glojo]

They seem to within my grasp at c£10k....

What do I need to look for on say an 04 E270CDI with 100k on the clock..
Looking at pics on Autotrader there are a couple of nice ones..

Must have pale leather and lots of toys.

Any thoughts?


Ade

I'm a huge fan of the 211 and if the car has been regularly serviced the electronics shouild be perfectly okay.

These vehicles need to be serviced by either a main dealer or an independant that has access to the free service upgrades that are regularly released by Mercedes-Benz. These service upgrades are important and are 'must haves', so checked the service history as a 'cheap car' might work out to be quite expensive.

My personal opinion is that the 270 is slightly noisier than the 320, plus I think parameter steering is an option.

I would also try my hardest to get a car with an electric opening\closing tailgate especially if your wife might want to use the car.

 

[greggster]

I got mine a few months back, under the £10k mark, and never looked back, its great. 132k miles now, FSH, main dealer upto 110k which i think counts for alot. Try to get the avantgarde with all the toys!

 

[Londonscottish]

Sure about the pale leather? Mate of mine had black 270 CDI est with light brown leather.

He also has two kids......

The interior was forever picking up black scuff marks, especially on the back of the front seats.

Mine gets the same treatment but at least the black hides a lot.

Just a thought.....otherwise go for it.

I keep browsing E classes in the low 10's. The thing is the very best C32's are at the same price. There's maybe one more AMG C Class in my before I go pipe and slippers...

 

[Ade B]

Sure about the pale leather? Mate of mine had black 270 CDI est with light brown leather.

He also has two kids......

The interior was forever picking up black scuff marks, especially on the back of the front seats.

Mine gets the same treatment but at least the black hides a lot.

Just a thought.....otherwise go for it.

I keep browsing E classes in the low 10's. The thing is the very best C32's are at the same price. There's maybe one more AMG C Class in my before I go pipe and slippers...

Re pale leather, the Orion grey in the CE is brilliant. So far pretty dog & child resistant - don't know if the 211 stuff is as thick. I find black interiors gloomy & a bit claustrophobic..

I need to persuade Mrs B to look at some.. & do some sums. Bit tired of continually spending money on the CE which much as I love it should really be someone's Sunday drive rather than our daily hack..

So I'm sort of thinking instead of spending another £1k+ on misc bits (more paint, wheel refurb, handsfree, service) put it towards a newer car..

Reading honest John, I would hope that any electrical gremlins would have been sorted by now & things like valeo issues & dodgy injectors etc. are rare.

I like the design of the 211. It's a pretty car inside & out & I think it will age well which is good as I'd plan to keep it for a few years.

Know what you mean about sensible though.. Only a short while ago I was giving serious thought to 928s

Ade

 

[Ade B]

End note..

Mrs B has sensibly talked me out of it as a new car is pretty low in the list of priorities currently. Damned common sense..

Right that frees some cash up for the CE

Thanks for the input

Ade

 

[greggster]

can you imagine the amount of cars, bikes and boats we would all own if we weren't married?!!

 

[st4]

Ade, to be fair the 211 is only going to get cheaper, even more so when the 212 estate comes along. I'd try and hold out another 6-12months. In an estate, much as I champion the lesser engined 220cdi, you may find it a bit gutless unless you go for the facelifted car. A 270cdi or 320cdi is probably your best bet.

 

[Ade B]

I think its a combination of a short term cashflow spike and man flu (lots of loafing about the flat unable to do anything other prod the computer...)

Dragged myself off my sickbed to sort out the bluetooth phone issue earlier and bought an earpiece thingy. So now I don't need a 211 to pair with my phone

It'll be a couple of weeks before something else catches my eye..

can you imagine the amount of cars, bikes and boats we would all own if we weren't married?!!

Indeed,
Childcare, bathroom & rear decking, VAT + Tax - 1
211 - 0

 

[PXW]

So now I don't need a 211 to pair with my phone

Now that's my sort of maths! Never managed anything quite that good, but I did get a new (at the time very expensive) TV to pair with a DVD player I had just bought. I find it also works well on tools - 'yes dear, I know a new set of shelves from B&Q is only £45, but with this router and table saw over here I can make one myself for far less, and if you let me buy that dovetailing jig it will look even better.....'

 

[219]

These vehicles need to be serviced by either a main dealer or an independant that has access to the free service upgrades that are regularly released by Mercedes-Benz. These service upgrades are important and are 'must haves', so checked the service history as a 'cheap car' might work out to be quite expensive..

Would it not be the case that , even if some upgrades hadn't been carried out in the past , you would get them done as soon as you took such a car to a dealer or suitably equipped indie for a service ? Or would they charge you £££ for them ?

 

[st4]

Would it not be the case that , even if some upgrades hadn't been carried out in the past , you would get them done as soon as you took such a car to a dealer or suitably equipped indie for a service ? Or would they charge you £££ for them ?

Thats why, in the case of the 211, the later the car the better as all the upgrades are "built in". Ade should really look at 2005 examples and these will come affordable once the 212 estate has been on sale as the S211 will be the "old model".

Particular updates were SBC, the change to Behr radiators (although this is one of the cheaper things to put right on a car), nano paint and galvanistion (although these were 2003-2004 updates)

 

[glojo]

Would it not be the case that , even if some upgrades hadn't been carried out in the past , you would get them done as soon as you took such a car to a dealer or suitably equipped indie for a service ? Or would they charge you £££ for them ?

These upgrades should all be checked when it goes into the dealership.

Before the facelift came out the best time span to look at would be Jan 1st 2004 until approx August 2004. After that date the cut backs came in and lots of 'standard' goodies were removed.

Berfore Jan 1st you will be EXCEEDINGLY lucky to have a car with the latest nano paint technology.

We have a long haired German Shepherd that travels in our estate and that has the light grey interior and that interior is immaculate. My thoughts are... If the car is well looked after the interior will be well looked after.

 

[Vlad]

Just make sure you don't buy one with the ticking time bomb, ie the ones with Valeo radiators....I've lost count on how many people have been burnt with this problem.