Older S or E class ?

[Kris-H]

I'm looking to buy a replacement car and am having an interesting dilemma.

Within the budget available I can either buy an older S class 320Cdi (circa 2001/2) with around 100-130,00 miles, a 2002 older shaped E class 320 Cdi with around 130K miles or the newer shaped/ facelifted (2004/2005) E class 270/320 CDi with 160-170K on the clock.

Questions for my learned colleagues on the forum which I would greatly appreciate your assistance with:

1) Is there anyone who has owned either / both and willing to share their experiences, thoughts or comments ?
2) Which is likely to be the more reliable ?
3) Both E & S class are reported to suffer from rusting issues around this age, but is the newer E class likely to be less prone to the tin worm
4) Is the lack of leather interior on a new shape E class likely to be an issue (come resale time)
5) Are there any particular Merc paint colours preferred ..or to avoid
6) Which would you buy and why ?
7) given the length of an S class how easy is it to live with day to day for parking in towns, mulistorey car parks etc
8) Is the S class likely to have a better build quality as it was the top of the range model
0 ) any other hints or tips on what to look out for on the cars with prospective purchases ?

Thanks for your time and thoughts

 

[SilverSaloon]

S class if you can, otherwise later E class.

Personally i'd give the W210 a miss

 

[gIzzE]

1) I have owned a w210 e320 petrol estate and a facelift w211 2007 e320cdi estate.
The w210 I liked a lot, but that was in estate form, I don't like the styling of the saloon at all, so on that basis I would not consider it.
But both nice cars, I would say the W211 is right up there as one of the best 'all round' cars ever made, that and the E39 530i, can't praise it much more than that.
My old man also had a facelift S320cdi, 54 plate from memory. That was also great, much softer but also much classier, a real waft machine. Depends what you want from a car?

2) w210 rot to buggery. W211s pre facelift have issues with radiators leaking and writing ff the gearbox and torque convertor and it has SBC brakes, this has 200k pedal pushes before it needs a new one, so at 150k miles if it has not been replaced alreay expect a £1000-1500 bill soon.
s320cdi has adaptive suspesnion, which can cause issues and pre facelift sept 2002 build, have been known to have electrical issues, however, never hear that much, but then I guess many don't buy the S Class compared with the E?
3)From sept 2004 they galvanised again, so risk reduced at that point.
4) Surely the price you buy reflects that anyway? I was looking at w211 estates at the £3500 mark with 130k miles with leather etc. so don't pay that for one with cloth.
6) Any.
7) Are you a woman??!!
8) Yeah, but not necessarily more reliable, which is what I think you're really asking?
0) No, just the usual you would check on 10 year old cars.

 

[Bakili]

how can you check if radiator leaking in autobox in w211?

 

[gIzzE]

From driving you may feel a slight rumble at the 1500rpm range.
To test it you have to take a sample of the transmission fluid and test for glycol in there.

I would guess most cars at that age are a non issue, would have gone by now or had the rad replaced. But something to be aware of.

 

[Borys]

S class all the way
Facelifted models don't suffer from rust
Comfort comparing to E is on another level

 

[Kris-H]

Thanks for your comments, thats the sort of input I'm after.

1) 7) Are you a woman??!!

No, but my wife is

I hadn't given the size of an S class any negative thoughts, but then a couple of people mentioned they found one difficult to park and negotiating some of the ramps in car parks "interesting".

 

[Borys]

One of my work college said that he cannot take his S class up the car park ramp,too narrow....I did

 

[Deleted member 37751]

1) Is there anyone who has owned either / both and willing to share their experiences, thoughts or comments ?
I've owned seven W211 E-Class's and one W220.

The W220 is very floaty and the interior looks outdated now, the ABC will give you sleepless nights due to the potential bills. If you plan on ghosting up and down the motorway, the S-Class is the car for you.

With regards the W211 E-Class, I think they are the best executive four door saloon car ever made; you can munch miles for fun, yet it's not too wafty around town. The cabin is a very nice place to be, everything just seems in the place you'd expect it to be, the dash is simple and uncluttered.

2) Which is likely to be the more reliable ?
The W211, the W220 was first made at the peak of the Mercedes cost-cutting (late 90's), whereas by the time the W211 came out (2002) they'd realised the error of their ways and were starting to get it right again.


3) Both E & S class are reported to suffer from rusting issues around this age, but is the newer E class likely to be less prone to the tin worm
I've owned W211's from as early as a 52 plate and as late as a 57 and none had rust, although on paper a 54 plate onwards should be less likely than before then. The W220 paintwork quality change will be around the same sort of age as the W211

4) Is the lack of leather interior on a new shape E class likely to be an issue (come resale time)
Yes

5) Are there any particular Merc paint colours preferred ..or to avoid
Silver and black are the obvious safe choices, greens and reds are a bit of a no-no with regards resale.

6) Which would you buy and why ?
I would buy a circa 100k mile W211 E320 CDi Avantgarde

7) given the length of an S class how easy is it to live with day to day for parking in towns, mulistorey car parks etc
Surprisingly the E-Class isn't that much shorter so if you struggle with one, you'd struggle with the other I think.

8) Is the S class likely to have a better build quality as it was the top of the range model
You'd think so, but like I said earlier, the W220 was manufactured at a time that Mercedes would probably prefer to forget.

0 ) any other hints or tips on what to look out for on the cars with prospective purchases ?
Usual stuff; try and go for one with a good service history, in relatively good condition with as few owners as possible. On a test drive, make sure you boot it to make sure the gearbox kicks down and there's no bad smoke coming from the exhaust

 

[camerafodder]

I owned a w211 320 v6 for 5 years. I did a lot of miles in it and as SPX says they are a fantastic car. However, don't be under any illusion that they are cheap to own, they can be very expensive (particularly the sport models). If you want to do it on a tight budget make sure you have good DIY skills or better still, access to an indy, there are several very good ones on this board.

 

[Borys]

W220 is very floaty and the interior looks outdated now, the ABC will give you sleepless nights due to the potential bills. If you plan on ghosting up and down the motorway, the S-Class is the car for you.

- ABC only on amg and 600's mate
All w220's are airmatic not that scary

 

[mercedescl500]

W220 is very floaty and the interior looks outdated now, the ABC will give you sleepless nights due to the potential bills. If you plan on ghosting up and down the motorway, the S-Class is the car for you.

- ABC only on amg and 600's mate
All w220's are airmatic not that scary

Borys, I'm sure that the w220 s500 had ABC as an "Option" in place of Airmatic. Even some s430 models.

 

[Benzowner]

I have owned an E class W210 estate, and an S class saloon. I did not replace the estate with an E Class saloon, because the boot is quite shallow compared to the S. As a long distance driver, the S class is, imo, far superior to the E, but the E class is not to be sniffed at. My E Class had 16" wheels, was an Avantgard trim(lowered suspension) on which I tried some 18" AMG wheels and the ride became quite harsh. My S class had 18" wheels as standard and was extremely smooth. Good luck in your choice.

 

[Kris-H]

Thanks guys .. keep the thoughts coming...

Is there anyway to find out what the spec and options have been taken on a particular car in the same way that you can with BMW's ?

In particular would a S320 CDi on an 02 plate from July 2002 have the ABC or Airmatic suspension ?

 

[AdamG]

Thanks guys .. keep the thoughts coming...

Is there anyway to find out what the spec and options have been taken on a particular car in the same way that you can with BMW's ?

In particular would a S320 CDi on an 02 plate from July 2002 have the ABC or Airmatic suspension ?

I don't think many diesel s-classes had ABC. I certainly have never seen one.

If possible get a facelift car and also around late 2003 they were galvanised so suffer a lot less rusting problems.

Adam

 

[guydewdney]

am considering a 2003/4 s320cdi myself - you get some real toys with the L version (heated and cooled seats, rear TV etc) for 5 - 6 grand - madness.

 

[Spin_bowler]

Plenty of threads on here about this quandary, a search should give you some good insight. FWIW here's my view on an S-Class of the vintage you're looking at.

 

[joecash]

how much do you want to spend?
for our sins i have an sclass
One son has an Eclass 320 cdi
Other son has 280 cdi avantgarde estate and an s class
all diesels s classes are luxury barges and dont like hard cornering
sports suspension on e class is a bit hard
if its value for money s class cant be beaten
e class saloons are nowhere near as valuable estates
make sure you have leather heated seats and sat nav no matter what you get
and if not sure get it inspected by your local independent
any doubts walk away there are plenty about

 

[DSB SL AMG]

Have owned both...

2001 W210 E220 cdi avantgarde...was really a great car, yes had rust issues, arches , rear boot lid, both repaired... and I got MB to change the front suspension cross member FOC, even though the car was 8 years old at the time (known safety issue), you can view the beam from front of engine, just look down,you need to check this..... really good runner, comfy, great MPG, over 2 years, serviced, starter motor change.

2002 W220 S320 cdi....total rot box body wise, all arches, front where really bad and embarrassing for a flagship model which at the time was 8 years old...all repaired...car felt barge like, not for me..other issues were change of fuel pump (leaking)..I got rid after 6 months...

Both cars had mileage around 110k...I much preferred the EClass for its drive.

Hope info helps.

Cheers,
DSB.

 

[Oli]

I'd go for the W211 E Class, it's more modern and the Diesels can take the Mileage, there's more to go wrong with the S Class and it will be more expensive to put right if it does.
I too would avoid the W210 E Class, unless it's a 300 TD running on Veg Oil.