W210 buying advice required for newbie..

[culky]

Hi all,

I'm looking to replace my daily commuter and quite fancy an auto W210, either a later E320 or a big CDI (with that massive torque!) - most mileage is going to be motorway.

Are there any specific things I should watch for when buying? My budget is £7-8k and i'd like to get the auto box and leather for that.

I was going to concentrate on service history rather than mileage and look out for rust which i believe can be a problem, particularly around seams and door seals. I've also read that the autobox take-up should be pretty much instantaneous - a recon'd box is said to be expensive.

Anything else?

Thanks for any help you can give.
Darren

PS if anyone can shed any light on where I can pick up a workshop CD (I'll no doubt need one at some point) it sounds as though they're rarer than rocking horse-poo.

 

[mikemoss]

Culky, I don't think you'll find a CDI worth buying (or at all) for your budget - they seem to start at around £16,000. The CDI engine came in with the facelift in 1999 and I've just replaced my trusty W124 300TE with a 320E estate, which is absolutely fabulous so far. It cost £14,500 with 46,000 miles and full MB service history from its one original owner. I think the earlier W210 320s were a straight six, rather than V, but there's probably not much wrong with that apart from slightly higher fuel consumption.
How about a very late W124 petrol, or a very early W210 300 turbo diesel? They should be available within your budget and W124s have no known history of rust, or anything else very much either. We've had two, and while the first was a dog (accident rebuild, unbeknown to me) the second was a tremendous car in every respect. Our local main dealer gave me a useful 'mature Mecedes' discount on parts and servicing, and kept the car in superb order at no greater cost than the bloke round the corner.

 

[kusanku]

I had been thinking of getting a 300DT, or maybe a 320CDI, if I could find one for 10-14k. Not found a single example without rusty doorframes underneath those stupid fold over rubber seals. If the 124 series 300D was turbocharged, that would definately be the diesel to go for: unfortunately, they were not.

 

[Brian WH]

You will be lucky to get ANY DECENT W210 for that price, let alone a E320CDI???

 

[colin.dillon]

I have just bought a '97 E300 TD Elegance estate - is this a W210?

I paid 9.5k with 73k & full Merc service history privately. Does anybody know if this is a fair price?

I searched for months for one of these & most seemed to have high mileages & even higher prices. I've wanted it primarily for towing a caravan, reasonable economy & half decent performance. So far it seems to fit the bill.

Col

 

[culky]

Oo-er, maybe i've misjudged the market.. Thanks for the responses though guys.

Autotrader is turning up loads in the 6-8k range however. Perhaps i got the model wrong, a 1996/1997 E class - that's a w210 right? there seem to be several around the 100k miles mark at this money. Perhaps though, they aren't going to be too good - as kusanku mentioned. The W124 *does* seem to represent excellent VFM, but the look just doesn't do it for me

Thanks again for your help, it's really useful - especially if its highlighting a potential mistake!

 

[IanT]

Well I don't think you should worry overly about mileage.

I bought my March 2001 (Y) E220CDI with 158k miles back in March this year for £9,800, in need of new tyres, new discs and pads all round, a 'B' service and a glowplug.

In all respects I'd asy it's an impressive car and has all the toys of the later cars, being a facelift. The 220CDI engine is pretty good really, but not severely grunty except at low rpm and I still enjoy 55mpg average on a mixed run. 40mpg on my 8 mile commute too, which is mainly round town.

Rust is a problem on the W210, but if the car is new enough it will be sorted out for free under the 30 year Mobilo Life warranty.

Ian.