E320 CDI Police Owned

[Sydney123]

I've seen a E320 CDI Avantgarde on an 03 plate for sale.

Its a 1 owner - owned by the police. Its done £103k miles and on for £6500. The seller states that it has warranted mileage but not full service history.

Is it a good thing to buy a police-owned car?

Also it has cloth seats? Am I right in thinking the E320 and especially an Avantgarde model would come with Leather seats as standard?

What is the standard spec for an E320 CDI?

What are the common problems I should be looking out for on this car with its mileage?

I'm in two minds as I've seen an E270 CDI on an 03 plate with 132k mileage for £6k? Should I go for an E270 CDI or E320 CDI given my budget is max £6500? What are the common problems I should be looking out for on a E270 CDI which has done 130k mileage?


I know I'm asking loads of Q's here but I'm looking to buy a new car by this weekend so your comments will be much appreciated.

 

[The Boss]

hi.

leather was not standard.

police cars usually maintained regardless of cost, but look out for holes in roof and other surface marks that can cause future rust.

common problems =

interior looseness
squeaking
wheel bushes
suspension struts can go
look for rust and touch up around all joints and corners
270 and 320 were both and are both great cars. I was a fan of the 270 cdi on the clk, the 320 is great too, neighbour has this at present and loves it, however, the engines get rattly.

risk is you will spend 6k now, but with age as is, you might aswell budget another £2-3k for the coming 1 year alone on maintainence issues that may arise.

specs should be found on google.

 

[pupsi]

I personally wouldnt get any ex-police car.

They are booted from cold and driven hard when they have to be.
Not the best of lifes.

 

[ringway]

I've seen a E320 CDI Avantgarde on an 03 plate for sale.

Its a 1 owner - owned by the police. Its done £103k miles and on for £6500. The seller states that it has warranted mileage but not full service history.

Is it a good thing to buy a police-owned car?

Also it has cloth seats? Am I right in thinking the E320 and especially an Avantgarde model would come with Leather seats as standard?

What is the standard spec for an E320 CDI?

What are the common problems I should be looking out for on this car with its mileage?

I'm in two minds as I've seen an E270 CDI on an 03 plate with 132k mileage for £6k? Should I go for an E270 CDI or E320 CDI given my budget is max £6500? What are the common problems I should be looking out for on a E270 CDI which has done 130k mileage?


I know I'm asking loads of Q's here but I'm looking to buy a new car by this weekend so your comments will be much appreciated.

Have a read about, amongst other things, the Valeo radiators, rust and warranty issues on this forum. Link below.

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=62018&highlight=VALEO

You could get a decent 320cdi for £6k.

Maddog had his for sale a week or so ago and it was a cracking car with only 69,000 miles IIRC. (Now sold, but gives you some ideas). Link below.

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=67450

If I was in your position I would resist the temptation to buy straight away and take some time to read up on the model you are interested in on this forum.

If you buy a car with full MB service history a lot of the rust repairs will be carried out by MB free of charge.

You are in a great position in that, you are a forum member BEFORE buying your car. Make sure you take advantage of the information available on this site, it will save you a lot of time, hassle and money.

As for mileage, I wouldn't be too put off by a high miler 320cdi - I have one with 137,000 on the clock and it now goes like thunder - after spending quite a lot of cash on new injectors etc.. I should have joined the forum BEFORE buying the car!!!

I wouldn't touch the ex-police car. It will have been well serviced, but had a very hard life IMHO.

 

[miro]

Step 1: Buy a cheap W211

Step 2: Totally remove the interior.

Step 3: Install a complete CLS interior

Step 4: Add about 35 options as per factory to 2009 spec.

Step 5: AMG body kit

Step 6: Drive a great car.

She is good for 1 Million miles. Nothing a little TLC cant fix. Just ask about body damage such as accidents. It all depends on the purchase price as that some car in Australia easily sells for 3 or 4 times more.

 

[JumboBeef]

If you want a car which has been driven to within an inch of it's life, from cold, with vomiting druggies bleeding and spitting in it, then an ex-police car is for you.

(PS: don't touch it!)

 

[R2D2]

If you want a car which has been driven to within an inch of it's life, from cold, with vomiting druggies bleeding and spitting in it, then an ex-police car is for you.

(PS: don't touch it!)

I think that is true for patrol cars, which spend there time around town but motorway cars are never driven from cold as they rack up huge mileages and literally are run from shift to shift and maintained exhaustively. I'd rather buy a motorway car that had done 300,000 miles then a patrol car that had done 150,000 miles.....

 

[GSMGuy]

1 owner - but HOW MANY drivers???

Plus, it'll have been on the road pretty much 24/7, is that mileage certified, as it will have had at least one speedo change in it's life - If it now doesn't have a calibrated speedo, it's a fair bet it's been swapped back to the original... In which case it will have "lost" miles...

I've been looking @ 1 owner ex lease E320Cdi Avantgardes' with the later V6 and 7 speed auto, Comand, Leather, 7 seats etc, and 110k miles for £10k....

I know which I'd prefer - Also anything with "non std" spec could be a pain to shift on...

Mike

 

[GH421]

Ex police cars are good value for money they are looked after well and yes they do get booted but so do most cars on the road today. Just keep a little extra cash on the side just in case of an item prematurely wearing out due to the hard driving, I.e Police cars suspension gets a lot of battering!

 

[GSMGuy]

Ex police cars are good value for money they are looked after well and yes they do get booted but so do most cars on the road today. Just keep a little extra cash on the side just in case of an item prematurely wearing out due to the hard driving, I.e Police cars suspension gets a lot of battering!

Have you watched "traffic Cops" or the likes lately - they have no hesitation in doing 70mph over speed bumps! God knows what stresses that puts on the unseen welds and seams in the bodywork, never mind the "replaceable" bits...

Mike

 

[GH421]

Perhaps Police should drive around in type-r's

They can take a serious beating

 

[greggster]

I used to run ex police volvos and never had a problem with them at all in 4 years. However, that was a few years ago now when they were genuine bargains, i.e. half the price of the same civilian car. In this case i don't think £6.5k for the W211 is a good deal, sorry.

 

[flango]

Ex Cop cars can be a good buy if they have been checked and prepared properly for sale, our training car ex an ex cop motorway vectra I would try these guys

http://www.xpcarsales.co.uk/#

They are really good I know people who have had stuff from them and even cops that have bought their patrol car back.

They also have a 53 plate E class estate for £4.5k now thats nearer the mark in my opinion, some of the Volvos look good too, not sure about the Smart though

Hope it helps

 

[Carrotchomper]

Ex Cop cars can be a good buy if they have been checked and prepared properly for sale, our training car ex an ex cop motorway vectra I would try these guys

http://www.xpcarsales.co.uk/#

They are really good I know people who have had stuff from them and even cops that have bought their patrol car back.

They also have a 53 plate E class estate for £4.5k now thats nearer the mark in my opinion, some of the Volvos look good too, not sure about the Smart though

Hope it helps

I love the white X5... The colour does suit it I reckon!

 

[greggster]

white is definitely the new black

 

[alanuk400]

I think that is true for patrol cars, which spend there time around town but motorway cars are never driven from cold as they rack up huge mileages and literally are run from shift to shift and maintained exhaustively. I'd rather buy a motorway car that had done 300,000 miles then a patrol car that had done 150,000 miles.....

I agree

Alan

 

[Sydney123]

Would you buy a E270 CDI Classic model on a new shape 52 model?

What is the main spec difference between the Classic, Avantgarde and Elegance in a nutshell. Thanks.

 

[st4]

Classic is a basic trim but realistically has most of the things you need

Elegance is like classic but a bit more equipment and a luxury bias, different seat padding (if leather) and tan coloured wood.

Avantgarge is a sportier spec and IMHO is better soley as it includes Xenon lights on a 211 and LEDs for the braking lights. The seats are half leather standard, slightly more bolstered and the car has a lower firmer suspension set up (its still very comfortable). Better alloys come standard too as do blue window tints.

 

[Sydney123]

Thanks for the advise guys.

I made my final move on Saturday and bought an 03 plate E220 CDI Avantegarde. It’s in tealight blue with blue leather interior. Its done 118k miles with full MB SH and its a 1 owner. I bought it for £6800 from a trader garage when it was on for £7400 - what do u think. Did I get a good deal? It has reverse parking sensors.

I've got a couple of questions I’m hoping I can get answered here:

1 - Should I continue to get the car serviced from a MB dealership garage so to continue the service record. What are the additional benefits which will outweigh the costs?

2 - I've found the door mirrors do not fold when I lock the car. I've been into the menu and the option in the Convenience sub-menu is set to ON but they still do not fold on lock. Also the menu does not show any errors so is it something I've missed? The mirrors fold fine with the manual switch.

3 - The car has options for using a mobile phone on the steering wheel and dashboard but the phone cradle is not in the armrest. Its seems to be screwed to the side-plastic-wall next to the gear stick. Is this a standard setting for the mobile phone to be in other than in the armrest or is this an added extra? If I find a suitable phone to use in the cradle will I be able to use its full features with the controls on the dash-board and steering wheel..?

 

[Sydney123]

Why has everyone been so quiet...?

Have I posted these quetsions in the right place....?