E Class Cabriolet advice please

[Jokuk]

Hi all , after loosing my S class in a write off I went over to the dark side in a sporty Peugeot which has been nothing but a pain, coming back to mercs and liking the E Class cabriolet automatic diesel. all of the write up say the E220 and E250 engines are a bit noisy and the 4 speed auto shift isn't great. I drove one and seemed ok but started looking at the E350 , anyone got any particular thoughts on which way to go ? Mercland seem to have a couple for sale at reasonable prices. Thanks all

 

[Darrell]

My sister has a 14 plate E350 diesel cabrio that she picked up in September.

I was in it yesterday for the first time and was only quite impressed. It’s got plenty of oomph, it’s quiet inside (you wouldn’t realise you’re in a rag top) and looks nice from the outside with its black paint, AMG alloys and bits of bling.

Something about it though doesn’t scream “special”. Their old Saab cabrio seemed a bit more stylish.

 

[Eddy77]

Also listen out for rattles and roof squeaks which can be an issue and can lower the enjoyment of a luxury car. My CLK Cabrio (older, I know) has always squeaked and rattled from when it was quite young (I bought it second hand but it was only 5 years old I think). MB approved etc. I’ve never managed to get happy with the amount of chirping and squeaks from the rook and door seals. I’ve tried gummipflege etc but the root cause is the inherent flex in a cabrio shell. It irritates me but seeing as I only do a few thousand miles a year mainly roof down, it’s no biggie. It would grate on me though if I drove it all year round. Just listen out for it and make sure you are ok with it!

 

[Darrell]

Also listen out for rattles and roof squeaks which can be an issue and can lower the enjoyment of a luxury car. My CLK Cabrio (older, I know) has always squeaked and rattled from when it was quite young (I bought it second hand but it was only 5 years old I think). MB approved etc. I’ve never managed to get happy with the amount of chirping and squeaks from the rook and door seals. I’ve tried gummipflege etc but the root cause is the inherent flex in a cabrio shell. It irritates me but seeing as I only do a few thousand miles a year mainly roof down, it’s no biggie. It would grate on me though if I drove it all year round. Just listen out for it and make sure you are ok with it!

I agree with the rattles and squeaks. I was in the passenger seat and there were some I’m afraid. Nothing bad and my wife or mum probably wouldn’t notice but..... Sisters car only has 27000 miles on it.

 

[Eddy77]

I’ve been in all manner of Cabrios and they all do it to a greater or lesser extent. It’s the trade off for the top down option. I just mention it as it does detract from the feeling of luxury in a Mercedes. Mine had only 30k miles on it when I bought it and my local Merc specialist told me quite quickly that ‘it’s normal’.

 

[Teego]

Think you need to visit Mercland (forum sponsor) talk to Jay about what he's got and what you are looking for.

 

[markjay]

The 2010-2017 E-Class coupe and cabrio (C207/A207) are based on C-Class (W204) underpinning with E-Class luxury and options level. It replaces the CLK which was the C-Class coupe up to 2010.

See also:

Mercedes-Benz E-Class (C207) - Wikipedia

I am surprised however that you mention a 4-gear automatic transmission? Early models may still have the older (and bulletproof) 5g box, later replaced by the 7g and then the 7g+ (with Stop/Start), and finally the 9g.

 

[Deleted member 11979]

Watch out for air cap not working and ensure the gearbox oil on the 7g has been renewed at c70k miles

we ran a 250cdi for three years and have nothing but good things to say about it, the diesel is a bit coarse at low speeds but once on the love you can’t tell what engine is propelling you

 

[Jokuk]

The 2010-2017 E-Class coupe and cabrio (C207/A207) are based on C-Class (W204) underpinning with E-Class luxury and options level. It replaces the CLK which was the C-Class coupe up to 2010.

See also:

Mercedes-Benz E-Class (C207) - Wikipedia

I am surprised however that you mention a 4-gear automatic transmission? Early models may still have the older (and bulletproof) 5g box, later replaced by the 7g and then the 7g+ (with Stop/Start), and finally the 9g.

Apologies, I meant 5g box

 

[Jokuk]

Think you need to visit Mercland (forum sponsor) talk to Jay about what he's got and what you are looking for.

Hoping to get up there soon, have a few cars that look interesting

 

[markjay]

Apologies, I meant 5g box

I had the 5g box on my (petrol) W203, it worked fine, the issues are slight hesitation on sharp acceleration (should be less of an issue with a torquey Diesel engine), and leaking pilot bush (the electrical connector into the box). The latter is not an expensive fix but still best to have it checked i.e. look under the car to see if the pilot bush is wet.

 

[Benzmanc]

I ran an E220 cab for 2.5 years, plenty powerful enough for day to day and not a single problem occurred

 

[Stratman]

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

but once on the love you can’t tell what engine is propelling you

Are you sure you're on the right forum

 

[Darrell]

I was talking about my sisters car to my wife and 14 year old daughter yesterday and we all kind of agreed that the Merc didn’t make us feel special.
The plastic seats are always going to be hard (ish) black plastic seats and the dash and trim doesn’t really exude quality. It’s got 3 or 4 memory settings for both front seats and sat-nav which are good features to have but then the clock is in the drivers binnacle which is something my Dads 1976 Vauxhall Victor estate had!!

In all honesty their other car (which is an 18 plate Volvo XC90) is a nicer place to be and with its blonde (real) leather interior it actually got the wow factor!

 

[nickgar]

My own E Class cab. is finished in Cavansite blue with the relatively rare silk beige/deep sea blue full leather interior and it does feel and look special IMO, especially with the matching light hood lining.
My previous one had black interior and hood lining and felt a little sombre, but the colour scheme in this one really lifts the interior and makes it a very nice place to be in, with either hood up or down.

 

[CJD]

My own E Class cab. is finished in Cavansite blue with the relatively rare silk beige/deep sea blue full leather interior and it does feel and look special IMO, especially with the matching light hood lining.
My previous one had black interior and hood lining and felt a little sombre, but the colour scheme in this one really lifts the interior and makes it a very nice place to be in, with either hood up or down.

Yes, the 2-tone interiors are great in my opinion.
I had the silk beige / espresso brown full leather in 350 and it was fantastic.
Wish I had similar in my car now.

 

[Piff]

My own E Class cab. is finished in Cavansite blue with the relatively rare silk beige/deep sea blue full leather interior and it does feel and look special IMO, especially with the matching light hood lining.
My previous one had black interior and hood lining and felt a little sombre, but the colour scheme in this one really lifts the interior and makes it a very nice place to be in, with either hood up or down.

Tried to get this colour combination when we bought ours but there wasn’t a single one available in the dealer network at the time. Ours is black leather black dashboard & black headlining - all a bit dark. Don’t get why the two tone interiors are not more common as they were a no cost option at one time.
Ours is the 250cdi. Slightly coarse from cold but ample power for Uk roads. Controls are quite light and torque is good.
Average mpg on local runs is low 40’s in winter, 45 in summer. Recent long run from Suffolk to Edinburgh showed 54mpg as far as Darlington but Sat Nav then diverted us off the A1/A1M onto the A68 for the rest of the journey which by the time we reached our destination dropped overall mpg to 51.
Car does creak a bit, mainly side window seals. Gummipflege helps, did it in the summer but it needs doing again. Only non service item it has needed in 4 years of ownership was a throttle sensor which iirc was between £100 and £150 to fix.

 

[jc62b]

Also listen out for rattles and roof squeaks which can be an issue and can lower the enjoyment of a luxury car. My CLK Cabrio (older, I know) has always squeaked and rattled from when it was quite young (I bought it second hand but it was only 5 years old I think). MB approved etc. I’ve never managed to get happy with the amount of chirping and squeaks from the rook and door seals. I’ve tried gummipflege etc but the root cause is the inherent flex in a cabrio shell. It irritates me but seeing as I only do a few thousand miles a year mainly roof down, it’s no biggie. It would grate on me though if I drove it all year round. Just listen out for it and make sure you are ok with it!

Could you not try fitting front & rear strut braces to help dampen the body flex?