W210 - W211 = Big differences

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Timster

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Hi Folks.

As per my thread yesterday I've been doing my research as to which car to buy next.

Talk to me about your opinions on the differences between the 210 and the 211. Is there a huge difference in feel and comfort? I know the 210 is a bit bigger boot space, but not much in it. Thanks.

I prefer the looks and feel of the W211 (Should that be S211 as I'm only interested in estates) However I would get more car for my money with a 210.

Are any 210's rust free these days or are they all afflicted?

Can anyone advise which way to lean, I'm open to both cars as long as it's the right car for me!
 
The w211 is a bucket I replace so many timing chains , ball joints , ect it's a bread and butter car. Pays the bills their are three in the yard sitting their needing to be fixed from turbo trouble to chain trouble

Late w210 are the best option vacuum operated turbo not electric like w211

Yes watch out for rust but the w211 also those and the plastic is crap in places the interiors wear very badly

I better stop

My choose a w210 year 2002 avant-garde model lots of toys
 
I like w211 cause its still looks modern, inside interior nice place to be.

My car early 2003 model, done 137k. Had quite few owners in past, and tbh build quality amazes me. No single rust, no major head aches, interior is wear free. Never regretted of buying it.

Dont early w211cdi have late w210cdi engines?
 
I've had both, I run a W210 e320cdi and my brother in law has a 211 320cdi (plus numerous W124s).

What I liked about the W211 - a bit more solid. Feels higher quality. Goes round corners better. Nicer styling, better equipment. Later facelift ones are very good.

What I don't like - ride quality less good, little less space in the boot.

What I like about my 210 - excellent ride quality, lovely straight six diesel, huge and practical estate, tip car one day, wedding car the next. Fewer things to go wrong. Much more economical than my b-i-l's V6 diesel.

What I don't like - it's a bit older, quality feels less obvious, spec levels tend to be less.

Try both and see, the only one I wouldn't touch is a pre-facelift 211. Neither would I buy either model unless it has an absolutely cast iron maintenance record. Such is Mercedes gradualism, I don't perceive enormous differences. My preference for a good ride borders on the obsessive though, so a 210 with well maintained suspension would be my choice.
 
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I've had both, I run a W210 e320cdi and my brother in law has a 211 320cdi (plus numerous W124s).

What I liked about the W211 - a bit more solid. Feels higher quality. Goes round corners better. Nicer styling, better equipment. Later facelift ones are very good.

What I don't like - ride quality less good, little less space in the boot.

What I like about my 210 - excellent ride quality, lovely straight six diesel, huge and practical estate, tip car one day, wedding car the next. Fewer things to go wrong. Much more economical than my b-i-l's V6 diesel.

What I don't like - it's a bit older, quality feels less obvious, spec levels tend to be less.

Try both and see, the only one I wouldn't touch is a pre-facelift 211. Neither would I buy either model unless it has an absolutely cast iron maintenance record. Such is Mercedes gradualism, I don't perceive enormous differences. My preference for a good ride borders on the obsessive though, so a 210 with well maintained suspension would be my choice.

Having owned both myself I would agree with most of what you say but I just don't get the part in bold.

My E320CDI with IL6 engine has been pretty much faultless over the 120k miles I have run it. It now has 188k miles on the clock and you would never know it. Yes it has the SBC Brakes which I guess will require some expenditure at some point but this is far outweighed by the excellence and reliability the car has shown thus far.
 
Have had both....all W210 have rust issues, if not visible then it would have been repaired, late series models do seem to be better...

The W211 feels more modern, inside and out however the W210 I had 2001 Avantagarde E220cdi was really comfy, drove well, and returned amazing mpg...if you want value for money get a very late W210 avantgarge 220cdi like I had, make sure its got FSH, recent MOT, and check the front suspension cross-member as they are very prone to rust (many have been replaced)

Good luck!
 
Is this due to the valeo radiator and SBC brakes problems?

Partly, I also recall when they were first introduced there being numerous electrical problems.

My philosophy with Mercs is always buy the end of the line models - by then most glitches have been sorted.
 
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Thanks all for the interesting replies - makes sense to consider a late 210 rather than an early 211.

I'll change my search criteria somewhat and see what comes out! If you know of any for sale do let me know!

Thanks.
 
I have had both a 210 and 211 Estate's - summary is that the 211 has outperformed the 210 in almost every area bar running costs.
The two models I have had are very different so you have to take that into consideration, my 210 was a late model 280 V6 petrol 7 seater and my 211 is an early E55 AMG V8.

The 210 was owned for almost 10 years and covered 150K mostly used for driving holidays, taking the dogs to the park and generally to and form various kids activity's so there was many a time that we had 5 kids and all there equipment for various sporting activities on board.

My 211 has a very different life although its still used for the odd airport run and outing with the family and dogs.

My 210 was very reliable only issue I had was some electrical issues with the immobiliser, cps, battery and a also a couple of front bushes.
The biggest problem is rust pretty much everywhere arches, headlights, tailgate, roof, lower doors and finally starting to see signs of structural problems.
If you have young kids that need child seats or booster's then the 210 has a flat bench seat which means they are not at an angle and the shape of the roof makes the car feel brighter. Controls are really dated now although very familiar if you have driven mercs from the 90's which at the time I quite liked.
Generally comfort on the motorway is very good although a little "floaty" which can make it feel a little unsettled. Handling is pretty poor there is so much body roll.
Interior looked great after 150k miles so you should be able to find a good example.

My 211 feels slightly smaller inside and in the luggage area but I think its the shape rather than actually being any smaller as i can still fit luggage for 5 whenever we have an airport run for a holiday, controls are much better and despite being an early model I have not had electrical issues. I did however look at any connection when working on any part of the car and took care to remove any sign of water damage (half the connections I removed had early or even late signs of damage) to the connections.
The handling and comfort are leagues apart the 211 seems to take everything in its stride and the interior despite feeling less durable have held well.
211 I have had to change the front suspension bushes, gearbox cooler pipes, propshaft bearing, engine mounts & both battery's. It also had a failed front airmatic strut. I would exclude the propshaft bearing and engine mounts as my car has been used for several 1/4 mile runs although they are known issues on the E55 (particularly the engine mounts)
If you compare both cars at similar ages and mileage the 211 has held out better than the 210 in almost every area.
 
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You can get a revised late 2004 pre-facelift which does seem to escape the electrical issues.

Not all pre-revision pre-facelifts have electrical glitches but I wasn't comfortable going for this age.

My interior is not showing signs of age at a just-turned 70000 - I think a lot is down who has used it and how careful they are.

I didn't treat my previous Saab 9-5 with as much care and the interior did wear - although it wasn't perfect to start with...

I would (and did) go for a W211 because I think the W210 looks very dated and a poor relation to the W211. The W211 looks still do it for me even though the design is well over a decade old.

The only exception is Tektite Grey W210s which for some reason I do like in that combination. :confused:
 
It's going to come down to personal choice of course.

For me having recently gone through the same dilema I chose the late model W210 route on the basis that being the end of the line model most if not all of the niggles will have been soted out. Yes rust could be an issue, but by choosing well you can largely avoid it and and least it doesn't suddenly appear.

What moved me away from the pre facelift W211 was although they are beautiful cars inside, the fact of the radiator issue and that the SBC system would need replacing at short notice made me shy away. (early models of the W211 also seemed to suffer rust issues as well)

Once I've run the W210 for a few years then yes I probably will move on to the later model W211.
 
my 2003 E320cdi is at 270K+ miles. Its a keeper, I love it an still going strong.

Any problem with pre facelift W211 will have been sorted already! :bannana:

Bargains at current prices!
 
I faced the same choice a few months back , either a late 210 or early 211 . I had owned both previously .I decided to get a late 210 , the electrical issues with early 211 and SBC brakes convinced me to avoid another pre face lift 211 .
 
I've had s124, s210 and s211. I'd go for the s211 each and every time.

The 210 was the only car to ever leave me stranded by the side of the road, plus I much prefer the looks inside and out of the 211.
 
no brainer - 211, black or silver with I6 diesel, sat nav, full leather heated seats - new MOT at time of purchase - get friendly with a decent Indie - get it checked by an Indie if you aren't au fait - only 50 quid or so - money well spent as apart from the valeo issues, discs and pads alone could set you back £700 - cylinder head problem £1500 - turbo problem £1200...................
 
Late 2004 avoids the Valeo radiator issue and has galvanised body panels so should be less likely rust - but you are best checking any purchase for that, amongst the other items you check, or have it inspected...
 
Late 2004 avoids the Valeo radiator issue and has galvanised body panels so should be less likely rust - but you are best checking any purchase for that, amongst the other items you check, or have it inspected...

Thing is how many 2003 and before cars are suddenly going to have the radiator corrode after 10 years, not all Valeo's that were fitted had the issue and after 10 years I would doubt many more will (not anymore than any radiator corroding).

I thought the W211 was galvanised from Q1 2003 or at least that's what Mercedes told me. But galvanised panels does not mean no rust the problem seems to stem from the way they seal the seams or lack of it.
 

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