W211 buying and service history

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Lido

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Oct 27, 2015
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XC60
Hi everyone

Have spent the last few days trawling through this excellent forum. I'm a newbie and hopefully soon to own my first MB.

I've been looking on ebay and autotrader for several weeks now trying to find a W211 estate that has been looked after and will hopefully be reliable for everyday use. I want an E Class estate to put my 3 small children in the back (3 car seats) and plenty of boot space for camping trips. Also they are beautiful cars with a great safety rating. Fuel economy would be good too!

Budget is up to £3k so I'm looking at circa 2004 for that money.

I've been to take a look at this one:
Mercedes-Benz E Class 2.7 E270 CDI Avantgarde 5dr

The concern I have with this one is the lack of service paperwork. I have been given the contact details for the garage that looked after it so will get in touch but I'm surprised the paperwork is missing.
The battery was flat and the rear of the car had dropped down over the wheels until it was started up. Is this normal?
Also black smoke coming from top of engine while running. They mentioned this was probably injectors. I suspect it's the Black Death I've been reading about.
The garage will get it fixed up and MOT'd and then provide a 1 year warranty for "mechanical failure". Is this good enough or is there too much wrong with it?

My question is about the onboard computer service menu. Does this tell me the service history of the car? Can I interrogate the car through these menus and find out if the car has full service history etc?

I also took a test drive in this car earlier today:
Mercedes-Benz E Class 3.0 E300 Avantgarde 5dr

Serviced up to 80k miles but no paperwork after that. I know it's bargain basement money. There was a strange amount of engine noise coming from what sounded like directly behind the steering wheel as I was driving along. Very strange. Any ideas what that might have been? Also some knocking from front wheels when going over bumps so I walked away. Decent condition for it's age with the usual rust on wheel arches etc.

Once they get over 150k miles, should I be looking at Diesel only for reliability, or do the petrol models have longevity too?

Anyway I guess I just wanted to say hello and see what advice you guys could offer based on my budget and requirements.
 
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Have you considered the 210 as an option?


One of the last 210`s, say a 52 or 53 reg, suitably checked for Rust and a good service history and given the once over by a reputable Indie might be ideal.

Mine is a 52 reg, done 200,000 plus miles and has a full service history, but is NOT for sale.

If the original poster gives us his location, we may be able to advice on a good Indie.

In my view the 211`s before the facelift should be avoided. Anything reg after 57 should be ok, but subject to my comments above re Rust, service history and Indie.

Regards

John
 
Well I would continue to look for the right car,I do not think you have found the right one yet,ok £3000 is not a great deal of money and as you say it is bargain basement,but keep looking,you do not say where you are based,some of the retirement areas on the coast like where I live are happy hunting grounds for Merc's who have lived a careful life,if I was looking for a car like the one you want I would want to see main dealer history for 4 years and then maybe independent merc garage for another couple of years then well at least some bills for tyres and the like,have you put the registrations through DVLA you can now see the MOT's,I suppose the advice is take your time,or it will cost you,and with 3 kids I suspect you need to keep a tight reign on costs.
 
Nothing wrong with pre facelift 211 except SBC and avoid airmatic other than that fairly reliable but do suffer the same rust issues as the 210 so check the underneath and spring mounts carefully.

211 is a far superior ride and drive to the 210 and feels a lot more modern. Just kept looking until you find one I had a 53 plate offered to me a couple of months ago for £2k wanted about £600 spending on it to get it mint.

Just keep looking there are cars out there, most of my recent purchases for family have come off gumtree.

Good luck in your search
 
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There is a 2.1 w221 estate on Autotrader with 98,000 miles and full service history looks very clean apart from both rear bumper corners scuffed at £2650 a little haggle and you have enough to put right any niggles right,post on here and if somebody is near to you they just might have a look at it with you,but it is a trader so you will get some guarantee if you are near enough must be worth a visit
 
sorry for the typo it is not a w221 it is a 211 but looks good.
 
Re your question at the beginning : nothing wrong with MB petrol engines - I've had lots of them racking up 200 , 300 and 400K miles .

Petrol engines have different problems to Diesels - dizzy caps , coils , plugs leads etc , occasionally an EZL might go down which is expensive , but I've never suffered one in 40 years of running Mercs .

Diesels on the other hand suffer from injector failure , swirl flap problems , high pressure fuel line failure , turbo problems etc .

Both types can suffer from common factors like CHG problems , water pump/thermostat failure etc etc

On the whole Mercedes engines are pretty reliable and I normally buy my cars with upwards of 100K on them and usually go on to do as much again - I have suffered few problems over the years doing this and have had a lot of once very expensive machinery for very little cost this way .

The newer cars tend to have complex electronics which can be troublesome and easily damaged - for example by jump starting , things like missing keys are expensive to replace ( £250 ) so make sure you get at least two , electric central locking is not as reliable as the vacuum system on earlier cars and 'bouncing door lock syndrome' is common and expensive to fix , so check for this . Tailgate wipers can also tend to sieze , although an easy DIY repair with a used unit from a breaker ( expensive new ) .

A lot of estates will have towbars ( useful if you go camping ) so a handy thing to look for - E class estates are excellent towcars . The back end shouldn't sink when stopped ; this suggests something amiss with the SLS system which could be a simple fix or could be expensive - I'd be inclined to give that car a miss , there will be other good ones .

As has been mentioned , your three grand could buy a very good S210 , or even a S124 , but it is now harder to find good examples of the earlier cars , simply due to their ages and the mileages most will have racked up - but they do sometimes turn up .

Good luck in the search .
 
I have a pre facelift 211. New sbc and TC rebuilt. I've never had an engine issue or electrical problem. My car is rust free also. The il6 is an outstanding engine capable of stellar miles. You should look at them, the prices are good for a truly amazing car. I could have sold mine a few times. My Indy always tells me he has 2 guys who buy it immediately from me.
Don't rule them out.
 
One of the last 210`s, say a 52 or 53 reg, suitably checked for Rust and a good service history and given the once over by a reputable Indie might be ideal.

Mine is a 52 reg, done 200,000 plus miles and has a full service history, but is NOT for sale.

If the original poster gives us his location, we may be able to advice on a good Indie.

In my view the 211`s before the facelift should be avoided. Anything reg after 57 should be ok, but subject to my comments above re Rust, service history and Indie.

Regards

John

Exactly my thinking.
 
Fantastic responses. Thanks everyone!

I'm based in Leeds. I've spoken to Scotts Autotec who were very helpful on the phone. They won't come out to look at cars but I can take one there and get it hooked up to STAR and rolling road test etc. for £75. Might be money well spent if I find a local vehicle.

I certainly wouldn't rule out a 210 if it has been looked after. Anybody know what the odd engine noise behind the steering wheel was on the diesel I tested? I suppose it would be good to find a mint one to test drive so I know what to compare against!

I have less than 2 weeks to find a suitable motor so whilst I would love to take my time, I don't really have much...

Any local assistance would be much appreciated!
 
I would walk away from a car with these issues, especially black smoke from the engine. Excessive noise is also an indication of worn mechanical parts and is not normal in a w211 which should be silky smooth at almost any speed.
 
Taken in all the feedback and advice. You lot are very helpful!

So I've spotted a couple with FSH that look interesting. Both 2.6L petrol and less than £2k:

Peterborough


Stoke-on-Trent

I think these tick the boxes you guys have been suggesting. Only problem is they look like fuel guzzlers at around 18MPG urban. What should I be looking for or asking about on these models before I make the drive?
 
Nothing wrong with pre facelift 211 except SBC and avoid airmatic other than that fairly reliable but do suffer the same rust issues as the 210 so check the underneath and spring mounts carefully.

Good luck in your search

Is the SBC and Airmatic really such a problem? I am looking for an S211 E55 which I believe will inevitably have both. Would one expect to see the respective pumps replaced by 90,000 odd miles?
 
Having had the e220/ e270 / e280 and the e320 diesels as fleet taxis they're all capable of doing moon miles if well serviced, however both e270's and one e280 needed gearbox work at around 200k.

I have just two 211's left on fleet now, 54 plate e320 with 465'00 miles and a 56 plate e280 with 380'000. Both have been relatively trouble free in those miles.

If I was buying a private car for your purposes I'd be looking at a well cared for high miler e320 cdi (or lower miler petrol) without air suspension.

Have you considered a C Class or an ML?
 
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