E class leather

[KAR120C]

Hello all. I am new to the fold and looking to buy my first Mercedes Benz motor car. I am keen to buy a nice condition post 2006 Facelift 3 litre E class.

I have travelled in and viewed E class and have a question about models with leather upholstery. Does anyone know if this is real hide or if it is actually faux leather? I ask because to date I have never been greeted with that wonderful leather smell you get in a car with real leather upholstery.

Thank you in advance. Any tips you can offer when purchasing an older E class would also be welcome.

Regards,
Michael

 

[Tiim533]

Depends on the options the customer selected when they ordered the car. The standard is Artico, which is a fake leather. I had it once and it was ok. Then there's regular leather, and then there's Nappa Leather. I have Nappa in my car now, and it's nice but I'm not entirely sure it's worth it over regular leather, but came bundled in a package.

Tips? Oh the usual really, but if you get a model and year, other far more intelligent people on these boards than I will give you the specific gremlins on it!

 

[bpsorrel]

With the 211 E class (2002 to 2009) it was easy. If the door trim was "ruched" it was real leather, if not, artico.

I don't know if later E classes are the same though.

 

[KAR120C]

Thank you, what is "ruched" please? It is a post 2006 facelift model I am after.

 

[Tiim533]

If you have the VIN (or the reg), you could look it up and see if this car has real leather?

 

[KAR120C]

If you have the VIN (or the reg), you could look it up and see if this car has real leather?

When I find a car to buy I will heed your advice. Thank you.

Do I go to Mercedes to look it up? Will they tell me?

 

[Tiim533]

Look at the car, get the VIN from the current owner, and then whack it in here.....

Free online Mercedes-Benz VIN Decoder : MBDecoder

 

[MercedesDriver]

Thank you, what is "ruched" please? It is a post 2006 facelift model I am after.

Ruched:

 

[KAR120C]

Ruched:

Now, what do they say about pictures and a thousand words, thank you "MercedesDriver"

Not so sure now with the conflicting info. Only way to go it seems is via Tim533's suggestion I suspect. Thank you all.

Look at the car, get the VIN from the current owner, and then whack it in here.....

Free online Mercedes-Benz VIN Decoder : MBDecoder

 

[horatio]

I am not a number!

I know what you mean about proper leather & all but the fake stuff has it advantages and at this age of car, boring stuff like oil cooler seals and whether the gearbox has had oil changes becomes more important. Whether the seats are heated is worth thinking about too - I've even seen W211 E500's without them specced.

Fwiw on my CLK, I believe the central parts of the seats are real and the rest artico.

 

[KAR120C]

Horatio, I'm a free man!

You are right of course and I welcome the heads up on checks for those two mechanical areas. Thank you.

While we are on the subject, what other things should I be looking out for?

Be seeing you...

 

[gIzzE]

Not a great deal to be honest, bushes can be a bit soft on these, so drive over some rough ground and listen for any clunking, you will probably feel it too, should be rock solid.
Control arms for these can soon start adding up cost wise, so if it clunks get it checked, may be £30 drop links, may need £800 worth of arms etc.

Springs can snap easily, often owners don't even know, look for any arch that looks close to the wheel.

Gearbox can have issues, it should change seamlessly, not hold onto gears, no flaring etc.

But the same as most other cars really, I would say the later W212 is much, much better in this regard, although imho not as nice a place to spend time, the W211 is almost perfect.

Regarding the leather, 99% of all car leather is spray painted anyway, with a topcoat, so it doesn't smell like leather when it is new, let alone 12 years later. Haha
The main problem with the faux leather, which Merc calls Artico, is it tends to split on the seat bolster, hence the real leather is preferable.

 

[KAR120C]

Thank you gIzzE a lot of valuable information there.

It is heartening to hear these vehicles are quite hardy. Regarding springs, are there uprated brands in terms of strength I mean, not performance. It would be a relatively straightforward job for me to change them I suspect. I know they are working hard because most engine options will be heavy.

Do gearboxes have a poor reputation? What do you mean by "flaring" (I understood the rest on gearboxes)? Is it worth sourcing a spare? Fairly big job to change, on your drive at home!

 

[gIzzE]

Flaring is when the revs go up slightly before changing gear and dropping down 500rpm or so.

I wouldn't worry about it, they are pretty good gearboxes.
I would consider a proper oil change on the 'box though, someone who has a pump so can get it all out including torque convertor.

 

[gIzzE]

Springs? Not sure to be honest, I would just stick with known brands.

 

[KAR120C]

Springs? Not sure to be honest, I would just stick with known brands.

I do agree, use branded. I just wondered if there were heavier duty items available. It wouldn't take too much to find out, most motor factors will know I suspect.

 

[gIzzE]

Problem for me with this is, the cars ride wonderfully, especially avantgarde on 17" rims, change the spring rate and you might lose this.

Maybe a Bilstein B3 or similar?

 

[KAR120C]

Been looking at a couple of VIN decoders. Amazing the info available. Very useful. Are potential sellers and vendors likely to give up VIN's readily though?

If you have the VIN (or the reg), you could look it up and see if this car has real leather?

Tiim533 suggested look up via reg number. Registration numbers are easy to obtain but I can't find any way online to use them to find the vehicle spec. Any suggestions?

 

[bpsorrel]

Thank you, what is "ruched" please? It is a post 2006 facelift model I am after.

Sorry I was late to reply!

This is what I mean..

 

[bpsorrel]

Just so you know, I had a 211 E class for three years and had no problems with it at all. It was a lovely car in all ways. I only sold it because I had a lust for a CLS, which turned into a nightmare, albeit a lovely car to be in and look at!!

This was my 211..

And this was the lovely, but badly behaved CLS..