Spot of advice needed!

[Eddy77]

Hi all, per my signature I have a 2019 Audi A6 Avant which is on lease and due to go back in 11 months time (4 year lease expires).

We leased the Audi as we got a stupidly cheap deal in the wake of diesel gate which hit VAG desirability hard.

Needless to say I never gelled with the car. It’s a let down in every way. So, when it goes back I want to buy something rather than lease.

My budget is £30k which I was going to throw at a nearly new BMW 330i saloon. And keep it for 8-10 years until EVs become an option.

I’ve had BMs in the past and I do like them a lot: But I also like my old CLK 350 and that got me wondering about a 2008-9 E280CDI or similar. Spend around £10-11k on one with LOW miles and keep it for 5 years or so. And have £20k in my pocket. And diesel economy. Are the 211’s pre DPF???

Question…..is a 211 E class ok as a daily driver for the next five years. I don’t care about sat nav etc which is ancient. But as a proposition would you recommend a low miles 211 diesel. I do around 10k a year a lot of which is motorway.

I basically have a 211 cabrio in the form of my CLK and whilst it feels old compared to a new car I do like it. Just not sure if a 211 as a daily would be ok, or whether I would find it feeling old and too dated.

Not an issue with my CLK as that comes out of the garage once in a blue moon, roof down and sun out. Different to daily driving.

Thoughts!????

 

[BTB 500]

Don't know about the E Class but our 2007 Vito has a DPF. Do you really need a diesel? I wouldn't personally buy one now given the choice ... lots of stuff to go wrong. Mrs BTB just drove to the south of Germany and back in our C300 (petrol) estate ... 600 miles on a tank and 41.5 mpg overall, which is good enough for me bearing in mind that petrol is cheaper. And 0-60 in 5.6 secs if you ever need it (quicker than my SL500).

 

[Ted]

Fwiw your clk is based on a w203 not a w211, so a 211 is likely to be even more comfortable

 

[Eddy77]

Don't know about the E Class but our 2007 Vito has a DPF. Do you really need a diesel? I wouldn't personally buy one now given the choice ... lots of stuff to go wrong. Mrs BTB just drove to the south of Germany and back in our C300 (petrol) estate ... 600 miles on a tank and 41.5 mpg overall, which is good enough for me bearing in mind that petrol is cheaper. And 0-60 in 5.6 secs if you ever need it (quicker than my SL500).

Don’t really need a diesel, no. But my usage pattern does allow it as I do regular 70 mil
Motorway runs. I’ve had DPF equipped diesels since 2010 and no issues.

But the complexity of modern diesels does worry me. Hence considering a 330i petrol! If I go for a petrol 211 E class I’m probably limited to the bigger V6 engines which are thirsty. Did the E200 with the 1.8 turbo make it to 2008/9??? Even if it did, chain issues etc with that engine would put me off. I imagined the 280 or 320 diesel might be a better bet!

But I really don’t know, hence the question here!

 

[chic0821]

Check whatever to are going for is ULEZ compliant. Its spreading like wildfire. Thought we would be ok, but Queen Nicola had decreed that the four major cities in Scotland would be compliant this year

 

[Eddy77]

Check whatever to are going for is ULEZ compliant. Its spreading like wildfire. Thought we would be ok, but Queen Nicola had decreed that the four major cities in Scotland would be compliant this year

That’s a very good point as I do venture inside the M25 (not ULEZ as yet) but that could change. I tend to go as far as Epsom….:not London but inside the M25 and Kahn could expand it all further out.

Lots to consider eh?

 

[Dippo]

i don't think Khan has control of the roads inside the M25 that are not in the London Boroughs. As the Americans would say, no taxation without representation!

 

[Chrishazle]

My 2008 C220Cdi is LEZ compliant but not ULEZ - whereas the 2008 SLK280 (V6 petrol) is compliant for both!!

 

[BTB 500]

Don’t really need a diesel, no. But my usage pattern does allow it as I do regular 70 mil
Motorway runs. I’ve had DPF equipped diesels since 2010 and no issues.

But the complexity of modern diesels does worry me. Hence considering a 330i petrol! If I go for a petrol 211 E class I’m probably limited to the bigger V6 engines which are thirsty. Did the E200 with the 1.8 turbo make it to 2008/9??? Even if it did, chain issues etc with that engine would put me off. I imagined the 280 or 320 diesel might be a better bet!

But I really don’t know, hence the question here!

Don't know much about E Classes I'm afraid, but we had a 2007 W203 C Class estate before (2.5 V6 petrol) and the 2019 W205 we have now is significantly bigger and in a totally different league in terms of interior quality and equipment. We bought it as a 16 month old ex-demo (MB Approved Used) on only 5800 miles, so it was basically as new ... paid around £24k.



We have the OM642 3.0 V6 CDI in our Vito (owned from new, with FMBSH), and had a fair few problems with that from around 60k to 90k miles including ...

CPS (known issue)
DPF pressure sensor
EGR valve
Fuel pressure sensor
DPF temperature sensor
MAS
Turbo (failure caused by the exhaust manifold liners delaminating - known issue)
Many failed glowplugs (these started going at 38k miles)

All of the above apart from the glowplugs put it off the road ... during one 7 month period in 2018 it cost us £6500 in repairs (with a significant 'goodwill' discount), and was out of action for about 5 weeks.

Obviously there are a lot of OM642s out there that give fewer problems, but that gives some idea of the kind of things that can go wrong. Later EU6 compliant ones would obviously have the AdBlue system on top of that.

 

[W1ghty]

I’ve had the car you are looking at for 10+ years and 100k miles . Its a 2009 E320cdi non dpf .
You should get around 40mpg on those runs .
I am big on preventative maintenance, but very little has gone wrong with the car that wouldn’t have happened to any other car . I’m on 116k miles and do 8k a year mainly motorway .
I change the gearbox atf and filter every 40k miles . Engine oil and filter every 6-8k
Air filters every 2 years or less .
I think it’s a stunning machine with a cracking engine , but I’ve not driven anything better , so who knows .

 

[Smiley]

I’ve had the car you are looking at for 10+ years and 100k miles . Its a 2009 E320cdi non dpf .
You should get around 40mpg on those runs .
I am big on preventative maintenance, but very little has gone wrong with the car that wouldn’t have happened to any other car . I’m on 116k miles and do 8k a year mainly motorway .
I change the gearbox atf and filter every 40k miles . Engine oil and filter every 6-8k
Air filters every 2 years or less .
I think it’s a stunning machine with a cracking engine , but I’ve not driven anything better , so who knows .
View attachment 124820

That's interesting - I thought that all 211s post about 2008 had a DPF fitted. Some certainly do have a DPF fitted. Is there an easy way (without scrabbling around underneath the car) to determine whether the car has a DPF or not? (Is the published emissions figure different?)

 

[BTB 500]

FWIW a DPF was standard on our 2007 V6 Vito, but not the 4-pot versions.

 

[Smiley]

W1ghty's is a 2009 v6 - still without DPF

 

[Smiley]

Don’t really need a diesel, no. But my usage pattern does allow it as I do regular 70 mil
Motorway runs. I’ve had DPF equipped diesels since 2010 and no issues.

But the complexity of modern diesels does worry me. Hence considering a 330i petrol! If I go for a petrol 211 E class I’m probably limited to the bigger V6 engines which are thirsty. Did the E200 with the 1.8 turbo make it to 2008/9??? Even if it did, chain issues etc with that engine would put me off. I imagined the 280 or 320 diesel might be a better bet!

But I really don’t know, hence the question here!

A more direct comparison to the low mileage 211 mercedes at about £10k would be a low mileage e91 bmw 330i - or even a e46 model. A really good one of either is probably a better bet than a newer £30k MB or BMW in my opinion. You'd never have to go near a main dealer ever again . The challenge would be finding one.

 

[mioba]

I wouldnt worry about a DPF equipped car. I would be more concerened a car with adblue as lots of problems with the tanks and sensors.

Being a MB forum you wont get much heads up for a BMW.

A W211 is a great car.

 

[W1ghty]

That's interesting - I thought that all 211s post about 2008 had a DPF fitted. Some certainly do have a DPF fitted. Is there an easy way (without scrabbling around underneath the car) to determine whether the car has a DPF or not? (Is the published emissions figure different?)

If the exhaust tips inside are blacker than the gates of hell , then there is no dpf (it of course may have been illegally removed )
There is a 3 number code that applies to fitted dpf’s when people look at the build sheet , but I don’t know what it is

 

[mioba]

474

 

[clk320x]

How many miles would you say you do per day?

 

[johnsco]

I have the W211 E280 CDI Sports Estate ... Year 2009 ... No DPF.
WDB2112202B382603 ENGINE No: 642920 40737957
It's been my work-horse since January 2015, when I bought it from Mercland in Nuneaton.
Mileage then was 111600 miles.
I paid £10,000 for it.

It's been a great car, and I've worked it hard.
I've done all my routine servicing during this time - and I've taken good care of the car.
I got the full ATF service just after I bought it and have just had a full ATF service now at 182600 miles ... Jobs I can't do myself.
I've has one expensive failure just after I bought the car - I had injector failure in one injector.
Metallic particles were found in it and in two other injectors.
All six injectors replaced with new - HP pump replaced with new - Fuel lines washed out.
No recurrence of problem.
About the same time I had the turbo reconditioned under warranty - No cost to me.

Other than that - Only routine maintenance.
I've never replaced the exhaust or radiator.
The air-con has never needed a service or even a recharge - and I never switch it off.
Never had to touch the P/S, the alternator, or any electrical/electronic systems.

A bloody good car - Comfortable with adequate performance and still looks and runs as good as the day I bought it.
Being the estate, It's a very useful vehicle but it's a little less fuel-efficient.
On a long run it averages 35-ish mpg.

On the down side - Like all modern diesels, it's a complicated engine and management system.
I'm currently reviewing things like turbo seals, PCV valve, etc ....... So far - No major issues.
If you want to DIY your servicing - It's do-able.
and - Yes - My exhaust tips are as black as the Gates of Hell, but emissions remain well within spec.

Hope this helps
J.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Don't know about the E Class but our 2007 Vito has a DPF. Do you really need a diesel? I wouldn't personally buy one now given the choice ... lots of stuff to go wrong. Mrs BTB just drove to the south of Germany and back in our C300 (petrol) estate ... 600 miles on a tank and 41.5 mpg overall, which is good enough for me bearing in mind that petrol is cheaper. And 0-60 in 5.6 secs if you ever need it (quicker than my SL500).

Buddy, it is time for an upgrade if your wife’s C300 is dropping your 500................