Newbie: W210 - possible to keep long term, or am I completely insane?

[mj2k]

I'm afraid it would take a hell of a car to sway me from an E39 M5....very little out there even comes close but yes W210's is the discussion here lol

My GTA is one hell of a car, sometimes in the bad way! The looks, neck-snapping straight line acceleration, feel of the chassis and Dino-esque noise of that 3.2 V6 when it goes above 4000 rpm will always make you smile

But for an everyday car it sucks. Fuel economy is pathetic, routine maintenance is v tricky, tyre wear is rapid and expensive, catalytic corrosion is a real problem with all the steel-vs-aluminium joints, and put your foot down half way into a corner and the torque steer will try and rip your arms off.

The W210 should fill that 'everyday car' hole quite nicely, at least 'til I decide whether to save it or pinch the engine. But then I've got to decide whether to keep the GTA or my 22 year old Pug cabriolet as my weekend toy. Decisions, decisions...

 

[Wigglesworth]

Buy an E39 BMW 5 Series instead a much better all round car. Plus it's still attractive whereas the W210 has always been pig ugly.

I think you got the statement the wrong way around.
I owned an E39 and always thought it looked a bit like a pig from the front. It certainly wasn't as nice to live with daily as the E34 that I owned before it!
I prefer the ride of the W210 over both the E34/39 BMW, my BMW's always felt a little bit crashy over the bumps.

I think it's mostly down to preference really. I did feel like the E39 BMW made me look a bit like a toner salesman on the way to a business meeting whenever we went out anywhere and was ultimately why I moved it on.

Whatever you're preference of car I think the W210 and likewise the W202 are well on their way to recognised classics. If you can find a great one now I would snap it up and keep hold of it as values are on the way up for sure.
I guess if you could find a totally rotten example it would be a great engine/box donor for a W201/2 though!

 

[merc85]

e39's and Bmw's in general just look dull on in the inside

 

[mj2k]

e39's and Bmw's in general just look dull on in the inside

How about Alfa 156 GTAs?

Just as mad as the rest of the car

 

[E55BOF]

The main thing wrong with the E39 is that it's a BMW...

 

[mj2k]

Whatever you're preference of car I think the W210 and likewise the W202 are well on their way to recognised classics. If you can find a great one now I would snap it up and keep hold of it as values are on the way up for sure.
I guess if you could find a totally rotten example it would be a great engine/box donor for a W201/2 though!

Not quite so sure about the W202 (much preferred the 201) but I reckon you're right about the W210, IMO it set the Jaguar-baiting direction Mercedes follow to this day, very different to the conservative-looking W123/124

 

[mj2k]

e39's and Bmw's in general just look dull on in the inside

I hate to join in with the BMW-bashing, but I agree with you about the interior / exterior styling - last one I really liked was the 3.0 CSl. Externally the old 8 series was pretty nice looking, but the interior's horrible.

TBH nothing else since the 'Batmobile' BMW has floated my boat styling-wise, which is why I've only ever owned one BMW - the decidedly odd-looking BMW 2002 touring, which was arguably the world's first hot hatch.

 

[C36fan]

I'm sorry but put that next to an E39 M5 and the BMW walks all over it. That's the reason why E39 M5 prices are on the rise and command good money whereas the W210 E55 not so..

Find a cheap w210 E55 in good nick and then check the prices.

 

[RSTurbo50]

I think you will pay £20k or thereabouts for a nice E39 M5. Rough but useable examples around £10k.

If you pay £10k for a W210 E55 then you have paid far too much no matter how tidy it is.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I think you will pay £20k or thereabouts for a nice E39 M5.

Besides the nutters trying their hand, good examples of E39 M5's are circa £8k, top examples are circa £12k.

 

[horatio]

I loved my E300TD... apart from the rot!

It festered EVERYWHERE. Rear sills, all inner wings, beneath rear bumper etc etc. I had no choice but to scrap it which was a real shame as it ran beautifully and the cream leather interior was immaculate. The oily bits would have no doubt trundled on to 500k without breaking a sweat

 

[mj2k]

I loved my E300TD... apart from the rot!

It festered EVERYWHERE. Rear sills, all inner wings, beneath rear bumper etc etc. I had no choice but to scrap it which was a real shame as it ran beautifully and the cream leather interior was immaculate. The oily bits would have no doubt trundled on to 500k without breaking a sweat

I love mine too so far, done 320 miles since I picked it up

But the engine will be getting an new lease of life in a W124 if it does fall to bits.

 

[RSTurbo50]

Bmw

Besides the nutters trying their hand, good examples of E39 M5's are circa £8k, top examples are circa £12k.

As a BMW Car Club member and a platinum member of a 5 Series forum I'm afraid you won't find a top example for £12k. This will get you a very useable example but far from a 'top' example.

£8k will get you a high mileage CAT D.

 

[C36fan]

As a BMW Car Club member and a platinum member of a 5 Series forum I'm afraid you won't find a top example for £12k. This will get you a very useable example but far from a 'top' example.

£8k will get you a high mileage CAT D.

I've had a 528i msport E39 and it was a $hite car very much prefered any of my w210 they drive way superior and feel proper solid.

 

[RSTurbo50]

I've had a 528i msport E39 and it was a $hite car very much prefered any of my w210 they drive way superior and feel proper solid.

Must have been a poor example then as a clean 528i was a cracking car..

 

[C36fan]

Must have been a poor example then as a clean 528i was a cracking car..

I only buy clean cars.

 

[mj2k]

I've had a 528i msport E39 and it was a $hite car very much prefered any of my w210 they drive way superior and feel proper solid.

Shhh, don't let anyone on the Alfa or Peugeot forums know, but I think I'd sooner drive the W210 on a long journey than either of my other cars. I didn't feel fatigued at all after driving it pretty much non-stop from 11:30PM until 4AM on Fri night, and there's not many other cars you can say that about (except the W124)...

 

[mj2k]

As a BMW Car Club member and a platinum member of a 5 Series forum I'm afraid you won't find a top example for £12k. This will get you a very useable example but far from a 'top' example.

£8k will get you a high mileage CAT D.

I guess any car's worth what someone's willing to pay for it. Alfa 147 / 156 GTAs range in price from £3k for a scrapper (though it may still have MOT) to 20k plus if it's done under 60,000 miles and has been meticulously cared for by a proper specialist (i.e. NOT an Alfa main agent). Or if you're webuyanycar.com, £1500

OTOH my pug 306 cabriolet Roland Garros is rarer than the Alfa, prettier than the Alfa, more reliable, corners better, resists rust better than pretty much anything else the same age, and you can drop the roof on that 1 sunny day per year. But even an ultra-rare one like mine is only worth £1200, and a decent Mk2/3 can be had for around £800. Go figure.

Or, for another even more insane example, how about possibly the finest mass-produced track day family car ever, the Mk1 Citroen Xsara VTS? If there were still any around (they all got cannibalized for parts) you could drive a stock one to Brands Hatch and then show a clean pair of brake lights to the Beemer, Merc and Alfa mentioned in this thread. The high-revving 2.0 twin cam, ultra light weight (they were made from Bacofoil) and low ratio gearbox made them that good. But they looked like they'd fallen out of the ugly tree and landed on their face and they were made by Citroen, so you could quadruple their value by fitting some good quality sports tyres.

 

[RSTurbo50]

Shhh, don't let anyone on the Alfa or Peugeot forums know, but I think I'd sooner drive the W210 on a long journey than either of my other cars. I didn't feel fatigued at all after driving it pretty much non-stop from 11:30PM until 4AM on Fri night, and there's not many other cars you can say that about (except the W124)...

I have to say my CLK 320 CDI is the most comfortable car iv ever had. Iv driven up to Edinburgh a few times in it from Cheshire and I'm totally refreshed when I arrive, the miles just waft by. I could only imagine an E Class is even better in this respect.

At the end of the day we like what we like and this is a Mercedes forum after all so it's not totally unexpected for BMW to be disliked.

On the BMW forum, Mercs get absolutely slaughtered. They are old mans cars apparently lol

 

[Deleted member 37751]

As a BMW Car Club member and a platinum member of a 5 Series forum

Not too sure how you being part of a club affects a cars value but there you go.

And let me guess; every single owner in your club talks up the value of their cars? It's not unique by any stretch, there is evidence of it on this very forum, as soon as someone asks for a valuation on their car you get other owners piling in saying how much more they're worth than they actually are. The worse people in the world to ask about values are current owners and "owners clubs".