S212 buying advice

[Neiltodd]

You can't achieve euro6 standard without adblue system afaik

All recent Honda diesels do, none of them use adblue

 

[graphnic]

Mine has the selector on the stalk (mine is 2011). You also have the flappy paddles on the steering wheel but i rarely use these tbh. Ive not used the other version so can't comment. I did try a manual as the spec of the car was otherwise fantastic - but i would steer well clear. It was horrible, and most likely very difficult to move on when the time comes!

A lot seem to have the stalk, and not just the 500's. Interesting, I'll need to look into it some more. I had manual 5 series which I felt the same way about. Had it been an auto, I would have kept it for much longer. The clutch had an incredibly long throw and along with the typically BWM seating position, it didn't do my back much good.

 

[graphnic]

At around 10 year / 100k miles I had to change all made of plastic cooling related parts:
Coolant pump
Oil cooler housing
Oil filter housing
As others have said at that age rear self-levelling can give up. I had to change only self levelling links.
Gearbox oil should have been changed at least once for that age.
If you manage to find one with some/all of above work done you’ll be safe for another 10 years.

Thanks for this. Can you remember how much the plastics all cost roughly? I had a similar job on the air springs to do on my 5 Series at about 10 years, so well familiar with that.

Interested to see you now have an XF. That's the other car on I have my eye on.

 

[Londonscottish]

Thanks for this. Can you remember how much the plastics all cost roughly? I had a similar job on the air springs to do on my 5 Series at about 10 years, so well familiar with that.

Interested to see you now have an XF. That's the other car on I have my eye on.

I like XF's. Some of the best interiors out there.

 

[MercedesDriver]

Thanks for this. Can you remember how much the plastics all cost roughly? I had a similar job on the air springs to do on my 5 Series at about 10 years, so well familiar with that.

Interested to see you now have an XF. That's the other car on I have my eye on.

All together for all plastic parts with labour was near £1600 but with the change of coolant pump changed also V-belt and tensioner which added £100 to the bill, so £1700 with VAT. All done at MB indy within 2 year period. Thermostat was the first one to fail at 100k exactly and it all started from there, have been visiting indy every 3-6 months.
Level sensors left and right were £500 with labour, couldn't change just arms as the sensors brackets were rusty so that had to be changed too.

 

[graphnic]

Folks, I've seen a 2011 plate E220 for a sensible price. Not inspected it yet, but look well cared for. It's on 88k miles and has 7 services recorded on the electronic record, 6 of which at a main dealer. Looks as if the previous owner was following the 15k interval and not so much the 'or 1 year' bit, which is a shame. MOT advisories are minimal, the usual tyres and pads etc. The last service invoice mentions that the rear break lines were 'slightly corroded', however. I know this is a particular weakness on the EClass. What's the likely non-dealer cost of dealing with break lines when they worsen? Anything else I could pay particular attention to?

 

[Smiley]

The brake line repair can start to add up. Apart from any visible corrosion around the rear wheel / axle area, the corrosion spreads along the length of the pipe behind the covers. It is possible to be quite bad on a 2011 car. I would budget at least £200 per side and that is on the cheap side.
Is the car the 61 plate SE in Wednesbury. Not sure why but that car has been for sale for months and months. It was previously advertised by the private owner who kept reducing the price until it sold at around £6k. I assume that the current seller was the buyer. Maybe the SE model is not so popular. It was previously advertised with a detachable towbar - now removed it seems.

 

[graphnic]

The brake line repair can start to add up. Apart from any visible corrosion around the rear wheel / axle area, the corrosion spreads along the length of the pipe behind the covers. It is possible to be quite bad on a 2011 car. I would budget at least £200 per side and that is on the cheap side.
Is the car the 61 plate SE in Wednesbury. Not sure why but that car has been for sale for months and months. It was previously advertised by the private owner who kept reducing the price until it sold at around £6k. I assume that the current seller was the buyer. Maybe the SE model is not so popular. It was previously advertised with a detachable towbar - now removed it seems.

Ha, yes it is indeed. I saw it a few weeks ago and moved passed it, because it was an SE and bit older than I was looking for. We've since reduced our budget by a couple of grand and I had largely resigned my self to an i40, a 100k+ Passat or similar and then started look at the SE more closely.

The dealer has sent me copies of the most of the main-dealer receipts. The last owner was indeed local, and had it since it was 1 year old - it it was a midlands car, not a salty-air seaside car. The video walk around did reveal anything beyond the expected lightly scuffed rear bumper from loading, and a few alloy scuffs.

I think I would get an RAC inspection if we go any further. That would at least give me a read on any fault codes and a thorough going over. Perhaps I should just move on to something more humble. Hmmm.