W210 e300td classic

[johnsco]

Not an Avantgard
Not an Elegance.
Does anyone know anything (good or bad) about this model ?
Thanks.

 

[guydewdney]

Rust like the perverbial. Front spring perches go. Bomb proof engine.

 

[trapperjohn]

Had an estate 210 300D. Peach of an engine and gearbox.

Could not get comfortable in the drivers seat though and as Guy said rust. As an example the rear exhaust heatshield on mind rotted off its hangings and fell onto the exhaust. Sorted it by why should that happen.

 

[toolman1954]

Hi,
The " Classic " was the economy version of the 210's. Steel wheels, Cloth Upholstry and missing many of the refinements of the "Elegance" which was far more plush and of course more desireable. Unless the vehicle you are looking at is as cheap as chips then for sure you will find a cheap Elegance or Avantegarde which has so many more toys. It is a buyers market when trying to sell an old 210.... so I found out !

 

[johnsco]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.
We've had three W210 avant-garde cars ... Two E300TDs and one E430.
All have had great engines and general performance.
All have had serious corrosion problems ... 5 new wings on three cars !!!

I recently had the spring perches replaced on the E300TD.

Guy ... Are you saying the Classic is any worse than the Avantgardes ?
That would be hard to achieve.

John ... I've scrapped heat shields from all three W210s that we've owned.
They just rot through, rattle about and then fall off.
I didn't really miss them - Either the back ones or the mid-car ones.

Toolman ... The Classic I'm looking at is pretty-basic, but it comes with Aircon (not climate-control) and also with alloy wheels.

Thanks all for your thoughts.
The reason for asking is that I've just wrecked my E300TD at 230,000 miles.
So I'm looking around.

 

[toolman1954]

Just in my own opinion, avoid Silver cars, they seem to rot the most. Buy as cheap as you can with as near 12 months MOT as possible, and be prepared to throw it away after 12 months. Just had a look on Ebay and there are a few to be had for around the £6//700 mark. I dont know what your budget is and how far away you are prepared to travel. The classic you are looking at will be basic especially after you have owned Avantgardes, which are top of the range. At least you are an experienced enough owner to look for all the rot points and discard those vehicles which fall short of muster. Last year I went to a scrapyard looking for a steering wheel for my old 300. There was a P reg one that had severe corrosion to the whole front subframe. Never seen one as bad as that. Good luck in your search.

 

[johnsco]

Thanks TM.
I've run 2 E300TDs over the past 6 years, done around 140 thousand miles in them.
They're a work-horse - Not a race horse.
During that time, I've done all my general servicing ... oil changes, filters, brake re-fits and much more.
So - I do know my way around these cars.

Even these days (semi-retirement), I still hammer my cars daily and clock up around 20,000 a year.
So - I'm looking for another work-horse.

My wife's E430 is the pimp-mobile !

 

[DrNick]

I had both a classic and an elegance.
Cant remember that there was much between them once you've got over a few gadgets you never use. The elegance had a trip computer which was useful but the classic didn't. The classic was pre facelift and the elegance post facelift so specs change anyway. The aircon was the same on both, being the manual type (semiautomatic really) and worked well. The classic had MBTex covering which was brilliant and the elegance had leather, so both had had some options fitted. Automatic wipers on the elegance (bit dodgy). Had to turn them on manually in the classic.

Both rusted, but both were mechanically reliable, with the classic doing stellar mileage (pushing 500k).

Elegance performed well in a crash, but the classic didn't get that option!

 

[johnsco]

My two E300TDs have both performed very well in front-end crashes.
Both were write-offs.
On both occasions, all doors still opened and closed, and I walked away without a scratch
I'm trying not to make a habit of this.

 

[Timster]

My e220 CDI s210 also treated me and my family well in a 60mph crash 6 months ago. Written off due to extensive bodywork damage but we all walked away without a scratch on any of us. Including my pregnant wife.

Replaced it with a 211 which claims to be even better in a crash!