E270 CDI Pro & Cons of ownership

[Laser4]

I am considering buying a used E270 CDI, (or the E320 CDI if I can find the extra cash) the new shape and probably 02 - 03 registered. I am interested in what members experiences have been - good and bad ref ownership costs, servicing, mpg etc. Also is there anything which I must look for when viewing 2nd hand examples.

 

[fuzzer]

270 is indeed a great engine. Best balance of performance and Economy

 

[Stratman]

As ever with the CDI engines if the glowplugs are stuck in the cylinder head it's a real pig of a job to get them out, it could mean head removal.

 

[DieselE]

If you buy an early new shape E Class (W211), make sure that all the recalls have been carried out. I've had an E320CDI for just over two years (from new). MPG over 32,000 miles is 38.4. First service cost £370. Can't tell you the price of the second service because the car is now under Service Plus. Minor corrosion problems fixed under warranty but otherwise trouble free motoring.

Fuzzer might well be right about the E270 but for unbelievable mid-range acceleration the E320CDI is the dog's dangly bits.

 

[Dieselman]

Minor corrosion problems fixed under warranty but otherwise trouble free motoring.

Care to expand? I suspect it was the boot.

 

[glojo]

Care to expand? I suspect it was the boot.

Or the black mouldings?

Try them both, parameter steering is an option on the 270. When we tried both we thought the 270 was slightly noiser than the 320. Both vehicles offer excellent performance but guess what one I would recommend?

I would thoroughly recommend a full, uninterupted main dealer service history, check that ALL the service bulletins have been carried out and CHECK EVERY single electronic gadget. EVERY SINGLE one. Do NOT be fobbed off with any sales talk. If any option doesn't work, have the seller fix it before you part with your money. They are an excellent vehicle, but usually have lots of electronic gadgets.

Good luck with the purchase and don't be afraid to ask questions before buying.

The Avantgarde by the way has more standard features than an Elegance but you will have white dials with the dark wood.

John

 

[ManJ]

Nice cars, had one for a year now, and changed that from a W211 E220 CDI, E270 CDI is definatley for me...
and maybe you

 

[jeremytaylor]

My brother has a E270 A/garde Est. I've just sold my E320 A/garde Est.

The 270 is more economical but not as smooth or as quick as the 320 (as you might expect). You pays your money and takes your choice.

On a town-heavy diet I averaged 29mpg from my 320, my C270 before used to average 34 on the same use. The only problem I had with my 320 was a faulty airbag sensor.

If it's your first Merc. you may have to look around to find a decent dealer - sadly they are not all up to the marque.

 

[RichardM]

270 is indeed a great engine. Best balance of performance and Economy

Having had one for 3 years/60K miles I agree. I do think it is the best balance. Yes the E320 is slightly more powerful and is more refined, everyone agree's with that, but it is not as economical and costs more to buy.

I did have a number of problems with mine and it had many trips back to the dealer. I don't think any of that was related to the choice of engine though, just that the early W211's did suffer problems. Either get a later car or make sure you get a warranty with it.

John mentioned making sure all the electricals work, but to be honest most of the problems I had only occurred after it had been running a while (such as going into limp home mode, or the stereo or cruise control suddenly not working). None of those ever happened when it was first started!

I would be concerned about buying a early W211 (52-53 reg) with your own money and no warranty. Go for a later car if you can or do get a warranty.

 

[aka$h]

Ive had one for a year now, cant say Ive had any real issues, it went in for 2 recalls, and is running well. A lot more reliable than the S-class has been. Its a little more noisy than a 320, but the own economy makes up for it. All in Id give it a thumbs up.

 

[hawk20]

It is a great engine with more than enough power for normal use and very economical. I got over 40 on a run often.

BUY a 2003 BUILD-date car and it will have been galvanised. Best of all buy just before the 3 year guarantee expires and then join Service Plus and you have the best of all worlds (known costs and virtually another 3 year guarantee up to 120,000 miles or 6 years whichever comes first).Get one with Full MBSH and you have a thirty year rust guarantee as well as free breakdown cover under MobiloLife.

 

[glojo]

John mentioned making sure all the electricals work, but to be honest most of the problems I had only occurred after it had been running a while (such as going into limp home mode, or the stereo or cruise control suddenly not working). None of those ever happened when it was first started!.

Hi Richard,
Your extremely fortunate in not have any electronic 'gremlins' but trust me when I say others have not been so lucky. I could list the problems to look out for but the list would be far too long. The latest problem that appears to effect more than one forum owner of the 211 is the electronic servo that unlocks the fuel filler cap. This can quite easily be checked by just opening the filler cap when the car is unlocked! It's that easy to check. If the servo is defective, then the flap will not unlock.

It is a brave person that says you'll be alright don't bother checking. Plus hindsight is also a wonderful gift whereby we all say fancy not checking the electronics!

Hawk20 has made an excellent suggestion and one I FULLY endorse. This warranty might not be the cheapest, but so far it appears to offer a first class service and is great piece of mind.

John

 

[MBManInKen]

It is a brave person that says you'll be alright don't bother checking. Plus hindsight is also a wonderful gift whereby we all say fancy not checking the electronics!

Fully agree. Any reasonably recent Merc is full of electronics and almost always a failure is very costly to repair for all of us who aren't car mechanics.

Make sure it all works perfectly and if not get the vendor to amend before handing over the dosh!

 

[RichardM]

Your extremely fortunate in not have any electronic 'gremlins' but trust me when I say others have not been so lucky. I could list the problems to look out for but the list would be far too long.

Hi John, I didn't say I didn't have any electronic gremlins, I had many. My point was that for me, nearly all only occurred after the car had been running for a while, never on start up, which makes them hard to spot on a test drive or when looking at a used car.

 

[splitpin]

It is a great engine with more than enough power for normal use and very economical. I got over 40 on a run often.

BUY a 2003 BUILD-date car and it will have been galvanised. Best of all buy just before the 3 year guarantee expires and then join Service Plus and you have the best of all worlds (known costs and virtually another 3 year guarantee up to 120,000 miles or 6 years whichever comes first).Get one with Full MBSH and you have a thirty year rust guarantee as well as free breakdown cover under MobiloLife.

Yes, I took that advice, to the letter, & bought an 04 C270 CDI estate recently & so far am quite happy.

Thank you Hawk20.

Splitpin

 

[DieselE]

Care to expand? I suspect it was the boot.

Not the boot. I've had a new grille under warranty together with the two trim strips that run up the side of the windscreen and across the roof.

 

[aka$h]

Mines for sale on the off chance it fits the bill.......
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=32523

 

[pdwhiteside]

I got my first MB in June 2004 when I got a brand new C270CDi Avantgarde. I have now done 50,000 miles without a single problem until last week (a week before it goes back to the contract hire company!!) The car is running very badly and belching out black smoke!! MB Dealer thinks it is just a quick re-programming job on the engine management side of things. The problem is I had it Superchipped shortly after I got it, so I now have Superchips out tomorrow to return it to default settings before taking it to MB to be checked. Superchips said they were pretty sure that MB would not detect it had been done, "pretty sure" was not good enough for me so I am having it returned to normal before going back to the garage with it.

Apart from the problem at present, the car has been faultless in every respect. It has had in excess of £8,000 spent on accident damage repairs but that was my own doing and no fault of the car.

The superchipping made a big difference on performance and fuel economy. I drive my cars VERY hard (4 sets of tyres in 50k miles!) and still average 38-40 mpg. The superchipping did make it smoke a little bit more than usual but apparently that is quite normal on the 270 engine.

I took delivery of my new E320 today and love it, the performance is great and the car is very quiet and smooth. On it's first run today I averaged 34mpg but I am sure once it has done a few miles this will improve. I will still have this one chipped just for the increase in fuel economy.

 

[hawk20]

I got my first MB in June 2004 when I got a brand new C270CDi Avantgarde. I have now done 50,000 miles without a single problem until last week (a week before it goes back to the contract hire company!!) The car is running very badly and belching out black smoke!! MB Dealer thinks it is just a quick re-programming job on the engine management side of things. The problem is I had it Superchipped shortly after I got it, so I now have Superchips out tomorrow to return it to default settings before taking it to MB to be checked. Superchips said they were pretty sure that MB would not detect it had been done, "pretty sure" was not good enough for me so I am having it returned to normal before going back to the garage with it.

Apart from the problem at present, the car has been faultless in every respect. It has had in excess of £8,000 spent on accident damage repairs but that was my own doing and no fault of the car.

The superchipping made a big difference on performance and fuel economy. I drive my cars VERY hard (4 sets of tyres in 50k miles!) and still average 38-40 mpg. The superchipping did make it smoke a little bit more than usual but apparently that is quite normal on the 270 engine.

I took delivery of my new E320 today and love it, the performance is great and the car is very quiet and smooth. On it's first run today I averaged 34mpg but I am sure once it has done a few miles this will improve. I will still have this one chipped just for the increase in fuel economy.

Don't forget to tell your insurance company. If you don't your policy could be made null and void. You have an obligation to tell them any mods you do- especially those that enhance performance. Chipping can infringe the guarantee too unless done by Merc approved tuners.

 

[jeremytaylor]

I got my first MB in June 2004 when I got a brand new C270CDi Avantgarde. I have now done 50,000 miles without a single problem until last week (a week before it goes back to the contract hire company!!) The car is running very badly and belching out black smoke!! MB Dealer thinks it is just a quick re-programming job on the engine management side of things. The problem is I had it Superchipped shortly after I got it, so I now have Superchips out tomorrow to return it to default settings before taking it to MB to be checked. Superchips said they were pretty sure that MB would not detect it had been done, "pretty sure" was not good enough for me so I am having it returned to normal before going back to the garage with it.

This happened to my C270 (which I had also superchipped). I had it 'unchipped' before I took it back to the dealer (to be on the safe side) for warranty repairs. Turns out it was the EGR valve that had failed.

Didn't bother chipping back again, just in case the chipping had helped the EGR valve to fail.