Opinions needed: 1999 W210 E200 Estate

[pdr300D]

Hi all,

Went to look at a W210 E200 Estate today. Visually, it looked sound, very little signs of rust and generally clean. I took it for a test drive and found some strange behaviour with the cruise control/speedtronic.

There's a wand where I guess one can set the maximum speed. Does this need to be set whilst driving at the speed you want to set the limit at?

When I set it at 60MPH, the car would remain at 60MPH, but if I floored it the engine would rev up (to say 4500 RPM) - without change in speed. Is this normal behaviour?

I also found that when not in cruise/speedtronic, and flooring it the engine would need to be revved to 4500RPM before kicking down? Is this normal?

When I stopped at a red light, with my foot on the break, the car would then judder. This seemed intermittent, as it did not happen again after the next restart (but it did occur on 2 separate drives today).

What's the general opinion of the 2L lump on this car? I think it has to do a lot of work to haul that weight? Hows the fuel economy and general performance?

The car has about 80K on the clock, the engine oil looked brown, I popped the coolant expansion tank - but it was too hot - too much pressure with some coolant escaping - this looked clear green so I guess fine.

The engine seemed revvy and responsive - just not sure about the tranny.

Any ideas and opinions greatly appreciated.. (should I spend my 5 and a half grand somewhere else on a different model for instance)

-Phil

 

[230K]

Hi

For a start £5500 is way too much for a 1999 E200 Estate. That is 320cdi money in my opinion.

230K

 

[Dieselman]

seconded.

An E200 isn't the most desirable setup and this one's behavior sounds a bit odd.
Do you meant the speed never increases when flooring the accellerator, or it did after an initial rev.
If after an initial rev suspect low ATF, if never suspect the MAS.

 

[Smiley]

You are swapping a 95 e300d for a 99 e200. DONT DO IT. Keep the e300d save your money and wait for a couple of years for the w211 to be cheap enough; skip the w210.

 

[bolide]

You are swapping a 95 e300d for a 99 e200. DONT DO IT. Keep the e300d save your money and wait for a couple of years for the w211 to be cheap enough; skip the w210.

^^^^^^ What he said

I really don't think that swopping a six-cylinder W124 for a four-cylinder W210 is any kind of upgrade

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[Dieselman]

skip the w210.

Ca I ask what experience you have of the W210 model to make statements like that.?
The W210 series cars have a corrosion issue, as all Mercedes of that era do, otherwise it's a very reliable car, far more so than a W211, which you have recommended.

 

[Smiley]

just the rust problems.
I looked at several to replace my w124 and gave up. Agree apart from that its a good car; I would like a 300 turbodiesel - bit more power than the w124 but without the complexity of the cdi and the electronics of the 211 - apart from the rust.

 

[pdr300D]

Have been away for a week - THANKS for the info.

First slight correction..I would NEVER get rid of my E300D - its still too sweet.

I looked at the E200 on behalf of a friend of mine..and having only ever driven w108s and the E300D had no reference to compare against. I was pretty suspicious of the behavior of the car, so thought to post to confirm my suspicions.


BTW the E300D has just completed 100K and it is so svelte.

 

[pdr300D]

You are swapping a 95 e300d for a 99 e200. DONT DO IT. Keep the e300d save your money and wait for a couple of years for the w211 to be cheap enough; skip the w210.

Oh no that aint happening

 

[pdr300D]

seconded.

An E200 isn't the most desirable setup and this one's behavior sounds a bit odd.
Do you meant the speed never increases when flooring the accellerator, or it did after an initial rev.
If after an initial rev suspect low ATF, if never suspect the MAS.

speed doesnt increase - but revs go up..

I had a feeling it might be the ATF being low - but this dealer was a little reluctant to have us poke about there..

 

[pdr300D]

^^^^^^ What he said

I really don't think that swopping a six-cylinder W124 for a four-cylinder W210 is any kind of upgrade

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

completely agree

 

[maddog]

just the rust problems.
I looked at several to replace my w124 and gave up. Agree apart from that its a good car; I would like a 300 turbodiesel - bit more power than the w124 but without the complexity of the cdi and the electronics of the 211 - apart from the rust.

MB have dealt with the rust on my 7yr old 320 cdi they replaced the front wings, and repaired the tailgate and both rear arches and they have recently replaced the front crossmember so as a secondhand buy the problem areas have been addressed

Take the bodywork out of the question like on many of these cars which have been repaired and they are great secondhand buys and a much better all round package than a older model imho