Fady's 2004 E320 CDI Estate

[Fady]

Here are some details of my car, which I acquired about 2 months ago in a private sale. I'm into cycling, so an Estate is handy for lugging bikes about. I like my gee gees, so I was considering an E500. But as I never buy from new, there are not too many of these around yet. I stumbled upon the good reviews that Merc diesels get, and that coupled with the fact that we already have one gas guzzler in the family, made it seem like the sensible option. First owner was Mercedes and last owner had it for 10 months/4k miles, spent loads on it but then need to raise cash (to buy a holiday home). So something of an unfinished project. Whereas it was nice and tidy and with low miles (14k), it did need a bit of "putting right". One man's meat and all that - I wasn't keen on some of the "mods", but I could see that it wasn't going to take much to correct them. The only thing I did not spot before negotiating the price (but not before completing the sale) was that the car was wearing tyres of the wrong size (I believe owner wanted to beef up the arches, but I'm more concerned with the safety aspect).

Model: E320 CDI Avantgarde Estate (5-speed automatic)

Factory Options: Full Avantgarde spec, brilliant silver (well it is my first Merc ), pacific blue leather interior, AirMATIC suspension, electric driver's seat with memory, electric passenger seat with memory, heated front seats, multi-contour front seats, driving dynamic front seats, parktronic, easy-pack tailgate (automatic opening), bi-xenons with active light system, 6 CD changer, COMAND APS - so that's about 7K's worth.

Mods by previous owner (asterix denotes already removed!): Engine power tuning box*, Colour coded CL type grill*, de-badged, front and rear AMG bumpers (rear bumper has skirt specific to the E55), custom stainless steel cat back quad exhaust with 3" tail pipes*, 18 x 8J Rial Avantgarde style 5-spoke wheels (brand new at time of sale), 255/45 Bridgestone RE050A tyres with more than 7mm of tread* wheel brake dust protectors* , locking dustcaps with Mercedes logo*, front mudflaps*, 4 non OE non-illuminating illuminated sills (well some of them did light up every now and again at first, but I'm not too sure why they don't now!), chromed front headlights, AMG pedals.

Mods by me so far: Standard Avantgarde grill, AMG quad exhaust (the custom exhaust looked silly imo in the AMG skirt - pipes were too small), 245/40 Michelin Pilot Sport tyres, OE front illuminated sills (not yet fitted - hope I can find the rears as they don't seem to come seperately), different dust caps.

Future mods: I may re-fit the tuning box to see if I can actually notice a difference once I changed insurance companies. I had the opportunity to get hold of some original AMG Styling IV wheels at a very very reasonable price, but I had to restrain myself! I always prefer OE stuff but if I'm honest the wheels I have are not all bad - so the money could be better spent. Retrofit Logic 7 (and perhaps upgrade from the HK speaker set) . Got to have my music. The first thing that goes whenever I buy a car is the factory system. But I had no notion that I would be banging my head against a brick wall in this respect with Mercedes (Harman/Becker this is crap - sort it out!). Might also fit a tracker since I intend to keep the car for a good few years, and I may still change the wheels, but that is likely to be the extent of my ambitions. And if I ever come by the AMG sills at a resonable price...

I will add to gallery in the coming days. Here are the first few pictures:

Side View

Front

Rear

With CL Style Grill (pre-bumper job)

On the ramps at MIJ Performance for custom exhaust

A bit so-so with new bumper

AMG Exhaust ordered from Vaeth but they inadvertently send out saloon version

...but

...we get there in the end (big thanks to Jasmin Vaeth)

18 x 8J Alloys