Hi from a brit in France

[Mervin the goat]

Thought I should say Hi but more importantly THANK YOU, given I have used this forum as a "lurker" for the last 6 years and you have saved me thousands.

I have an E class 1999 220CDI (W210) facelift model that I bought with approx 170k miles on the clock from a person I considered to be a friend at the time. It came with a service history mix of dealer and indy and a file full of receipts for work done - unfortunately the indy was a total bandit and had the ability of an untrained monkey.

Many of the jobs I have tackled had supposedly been done by the indy but to name a few I have;

replaced all springs, shocks, wishbones/control arms, drop links, subframe bushes, rear calipers, break disks, EGR modded, intake flap removal, belt tensioner replacement, re-seated leaking injectors/black death problem, rebuilding hand break, there's more but I forget...

To cut a long story short I loved this car when I bought it, quickly grew to hate it (especially when the front springs collapsed on the road) and then began to like it again over a long period of time based on my understanding of how it works and getting 50mpg on a run from a moon mileage comfortable motor.

We need a bigger load carrying car now. My wife wants to "upgrade" to a Fiat Doblo!! I want to buy an E Estate, preferably another 2.2 to keep the french registration tax down but can only afford a 2004 possibly 05. I would really appreciate any info you guys can give, are these years viable for someone capable of doing all the things I have already listed or should I hold out a bit longer for a later model or heaven forbid buy the Doblo!!!!!?? What do you think??

 

[lim]

Mervin,

Welcome to the forums.
Your years with the W210 seem to have rewarded you with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Thus, in your shoes, I would opt for the E estate.
Of course, to keep Mrs Goat happy, what about one of each; a M-B and a Fiat?!?!

Regards, lim

 

[Spudders]

Stick to what you know I say Plus German > Italian any day

The good news is that 2005 models have generally much better build quality than anything late 90's > early 2000s as Daimler was beginning to recover from its Chrysler headache

 

[Mervin the goat]

Thanks guys

Our second car is an old 95 Fiat panda (my wife has had several) and I have a lot of respect for it a work horse vehicle plus its simply to work on and not one spot of rust due to the galvanised body. The w210 par contre is beginning to bubble in all the usual places and the alloys are literally rotting.

Apart from the valeo radiator issue are there any other big issues on the 04/05 model years that I need to know about? From what you say Spudders, should I be looking at the 05 only? Reading the forum I don't think there are - should I post this in another section?

 

[trapperjohn]

Onwards from 05 I'd say and as other have said stick with what you know.

Warm welcome to you and Mrs Goat and the Panda.

 

[jaymanek]

SBC brakes are the only real issues on a E220 of that vintage. Engines are strong and reliable. Gearboxes are excellent.

So check if its had the pump replaced or budget to have it done... around 1500 EUR or so I would bet in France. Maybe worth checking with the local dealer how much they charge when they need replacement.

 

[Mervin the goat]

Thanks for that. Is it a potential DIY job alternatively is there a work around/mod? I hate dealers and the prices here just take the proverbial - even indy's

 

[jaymanek]

Unfortunately not a DIY job as it needs to be coded and bled using Star.

Not worth skimping as its brakes.

 

[Mervin the goat]

I think you have just made my mind up for me.

Reading a bit more about SBC and to put it politely it sounds like a piece of junk. They screwed up the W210 with cost cutting, rust and collapsing suspension and then went on to screw up the W211 with brakes that have a built in time/usage based flaw!!

If I understand correctly the facelift 2007 onwards model dropped SBC and went back to standard brakes. Looks like I will have to keep the 210 for a couple more years and wait for the later model prices to drop a bit... and then research what built in faults Merc has engineered in to them

Sorry if this has been 'done to death' previously, I'm a bit behind the curve.

Cheers Guys