W212 buyers guide?

[clk320x]

W212 E350 CDI
was one of the best cars I ever bought. V fast. V frugal. Sublime on motorway. Took 5 adults in comfort.

What kind of mpg did you get?

 

[tylerdurden]

Reckon easy 42-45 on motorway with economy driving style. Was still driving swiftly but v light on pedal. Actually at times even better.

Normally about 32-35.

The godsend is the 80l tank which significantly reduces trips to pumps.

The v6 was so smooth.

I’m talking saloon here. A totally different beast to the coupe.

 

[SmartAmg]

I disagree.


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So,do i.

 

[Daveuk]

Love my E250 CDI estate plenty of get up and go cheaper tax and insurance than a 350 which is what I originally wanted. On a steady run it’s not bad on fuel either best I’ve ever got was 60.1 mpg but mainly it’s around 48-50 mpg on a run obviously depends on traffic etc.


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[Will]

I think the 212 range are generally pretty solid.

I wouldn’t say they were any more or less soulless than any mainstream/mass produced premium car.

I’ve driven a 207 cabriolet and although they may share looks with their bigger brother they’re not really the same car are they? By no means does it make them a bad car it’s just they are built on a different platform.

Same with the 208 CLK (based on the early 90s C-class) and the 209 based on the 203 etc.

Abs, best advice for you is to go and drive one. Compared to your 211, the seats will probably be a little firmer/less comfortable on long journeys, and some parts of the interior feel a little less plush but in many respects it’s also a more modern car with subtle improvements over the outgoing model.

I can’t comment on the choice of engines or mpg but I’m sure you’ll find what suits. Just wait for the right car because at the lower end of the 212 price range I think you won’t pay an awful lot more for a nice example (premium tyres, full history, clean bodywork/interior etc) than some of the ex-taxis etc with issues.

Like the old saying ‘nothing as expensive as a cheap Mercedes’ - take your time, plenty out there

 

[Ayeupducks]

Have a W212 Facelift 220 AMG Sport Estate. Lovely drive, goes well, stops well averaged 42mpg over the last 7,000 miles with 50mpg on a good run but I also do a fare amount of short town trips at around 35mpg. 250 or 350 would be nice at times but quite happy with the performance of the 220.

 

[steveq]

I have a W212 for the past 2 years. It is the estate so actually an S212. It is the e220 did which is noticeably more economical than my previous S211 e220 estate.
In late 2011 the 7g+ auto box was introduced which included stop/start and the gear selector on the steering column. That reduced the model's CO2 levels and hence road tax.
My car with over 100k miles now has been completely trouble free ( I did replace the estate's rear air suspension units soon after I bought it).
I suggest that you make sure that your car has been correctly serviced with the correct spec oil, etc. If that has been skimped on then walk away.

 

[Bluegnomes]

I had a S212 350cdi and put 60K almost trouble free miles on it (air suspension let go on one side and had to be replaced). As said above, seats not quite as comfortable and a smooth drive particularly in 350cdi form.

I get into a lot of S212/W212 taxi to the airports and my usual drivers have a 250K miles S212 and a 350K W212, both 220d. Both have been pleased by them in terms of reliability and economy. One W212 has been recently replaced with a W213, being sold to a Mercedes mechanic.

 

[Headhurts]

I have an S212 E350 Bluetec, previously a E300 Hybrid Estate.

The E350 is much smoother with plenty of torque also quieter engine.

I get around 33mpg normal rural driving and around 40 or so on a run, I did top 50 mpg in France last year when on their superb autoroute.

Regards reliability my impression from reading the forums (I’m not technically minded) is that the 3 litre diesel is one of the most reliable engines but I’m sure our forum members in the trade can give better advice.

I have the sports seats which seemed uncomfortable at first but I now find to my liking.

Robin

 

[AllyE350]

I bought one E350 s212 MY2012, awesome just awesome, I have just returned from 10 day in Sudtirol, 2500 Km of some very spirited driving (200KPH+ on the autobahn) and it returned 8.1 ltr /100 km. not sure what that is in MPG. Picked mine up for €12300 with 160000 km on the clock, MB serviced. The spec is below
052 AEJ 11/2
069 MODIFICATION YEAR 11/2 SCALE 2
088 STEUERCODE 330 X 32 - BREMSE BEI 18 ZOLL BEREIFUNG
108 CONTROL CODE MARKETING
110 FUEL AMOUNT FOR COLLECTION BY CUSTOMER
197U OBSIDIAN BLACK
1U2 SNOW GRID
202B OWNERS MANUAL AND SERVICE RECORD - GERMAN
213 SPEED-SENSITIVE POWER STEERING/VARIO STEERING
229L GERMANY
22P TRACK PACKAGE
230 PARKING GUIDANCE
234 BLIND SPOT ASSISTANT
240 LED DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS
249 INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR MIRROR,AUTOMATICALLY DIMMING
255B MB MOBILO WITH DSB AND GGD
260B AIRBAGLABEL - GERMAN/ENGLISH
279 ELECTRONIC GEAR RANGE SELECTION
287 THROUGH-LOADING FEATURE
291 PELVIS AIRBAG (PELVISBAG)
294 KNEE AIRBAG
2XXL FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY
302B HEAD UNIT LANGUAGE - GERMAN
332B INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/HU LANGUAGE - GERMAN
386 UNIVERSAL TELEPHONY PACKAGE
427 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 7-SPEED
428 STEER.WHEEL GEARSHIFT BUTTONS/SHIFT PADDLE PAINTED
432 DYNAMICS SEAT,FRONT LEFT AND RIGHT
474 DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTER
476 AUTOMATIC LANE RECOGNITION
477 TIRE PRESSURE LOSS WARNER
513 TRAFFIC SIGN RECOGNITION
527 COMAND DVD APS WITH NAVIGATION
550 TRAILER COUPLING
581 AUTOMATIC CLIMATE CONTROL
58U ROOF INTERIOR TRIM GRAY FABRIC
600 HEADLAMPS - CLEANING EQUIPMENT
608 AUTOMATIC HIGH BEAM SWITCH (IHC)
610 NIGHT VIEW ASSIST
619 CORNERING ILLUMINATION
622 HEADLAMP WITH ILS, RIGHT-HAND TRAFFIC
670 RESIDUAL ENGINE HEAT UTILIZATION (MRA)
677 AVANTGARDE/STANDARD SUSPENSION
690 EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE (MINI SPARE)
700A LEATHER COMBINATION
701A LEATHER COMBINATION - BLACK/ANTHRACITE
736 TRIM PIECES - WOOD ASH BLACK
802
810 PREMIUM SOUND SYSTEM
81P COMAND WITH NAVIGATION UPDATE
915 FUEL TANK WITH GREATER CAPACITY - VOLUME 2
928 EXHAUST GAS CLEANING WITH EURO 5 TECHNOLOGY
954 EQUIPMENT PACKAGE FOR AVANTGARDE VEHICLES
967 COC PAPER EURO 5 TECH. W. REGISTRAT .CERT. PART 2
A20 DIRECT START
A21 SHIFT BY WIRE
A24 JOINT FLANGE, 4-ARM 120
A31 SOFTWARE (INDIVIDUAL)
A62 FE TORQUE CONVERTER HOUSING 19
A66 FE CONVERTER 19 MM
A86 T VALVE BODY ASSEMBLY WITH VGS 3
A89 REDUCED-FRICTION
B03 DIRECT START / ECO START/STOP FUNCTION
B12 WHEEL REPLACEMENT TOOL
F212 MODEL SERIES 212
FS COMBI - VEHICLE
G903 TRANSMISSION CODE VERSION 03
GA AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
HA REAR AXLE
J1A NAT2 WITH OPTIMIZED DSM
J52 ADDITIONAL CODE FOR DAMPING MAT
J82 FULL-LOAD VENTILATION OM668
K10 SOFTWARE CONTROL FOR STATIC CURVE ILLUMINATION
K11 ADAPTIVE STOP LIGHT FLASHING
K13 CONTROL CODE FOR SERVICE INTERVAL 25000 KM
L LEFT-HAND STEERING
M014 ENGINE INCREASED PERFORMANCE
M019 SERVICE REPOSITIONED
M30 DISPLACEMENT 3.0 LITER
M642 V6 DIESEL ENGINE OM642
P35 LIGHT PACKAGE (FFO)
R01 SUMMER TIRES
R11
U01 REAR BELT STATUS INDICATION
U60 PEDESTRIAN PROTECTION - ACTIVE ENGINE HOOD
U72 DVD PLAYER WITH REGIONAL CODE 2, EUROPE, JAPAN
V73 SPEED- + LOADINDEX 99Y XL
VL FRONT AXLE HALF, LEFT
VR FRONT AXLE HALF, RIGHT

 

[Dippo]

It's 34.9 mpg.

 

[SteveSS]

I had a 61 plate E220 sport, edition 125 and that was a great car, so great that for the first time in my life I bought a newer version of the same car when I upgraded. The 125 edition has the Xenon ILS, Sat Nav & bluetooth, but it also has the half & half Artico/suedette sport seats. It was a superb, comfortable (apart from the sport seats, I'm obviously too fat), easy drive and averaged 43mpg over my 2yr ownership; on a motorway run it would happily return 55mpg.

When I replaced it, I went for the E220 SE because I wanted real leather and a slightly softer ride. The 19" wheels on the sport, along with the slightly stiffer suspension made for a pretty firm ride and I had a number of wheel repairs/tyre replacements due to unseen potholes in the dark, which put me off. The Edition 125 was pretty well equipped compared to others I looked at and whilst a 350 would no doubt have been better performance and refinement, I was quite happy with that of the 220.

 

[Londonscottish]

In Diesel form. Excluding the AMG variants obviously.

The 350CDI's are pretty good. But not as good as 500's. Which are not as good as AMG's.

 

[SinaW212]

Hi guys,
I’m quite new here, sorry for being an amateur.

I’m looking to buy a w212 220 cdi estate 2010-2012, So far in my research I’ve found out they’re quite reliable cars, is that right? My budget won’t allow me to buy anything with lower than 90k mileage, would that still be ok? Any recommendations? Should I expect any nasty surprises from this car?

One of the let downs of this model seems to be the infotainment system which is pretty outdated and doesn’t even have Bluetooth audio or simple iPod connectivity interface. How do you get around this?

Where should I look apart from Autotrader? And what should I look for in specific when I come across a potential catch?

One more imprtant thing! How do I spot ex-taxis? Only by worn rear seats or what? Are they generally a no go?

Thanks in advance. I’m not even aure if I’m writing all this in the correct thread!!

Sina

 

[clk320x]

One of the let downs of this model seems to be the infotainment system which is pretty outdated and doesn’t even have Bluetooth audio or simple iPod connectivity interface. How do you get around this?

It does have Bluetooth audio, at least mine does... but I had to enable it through engineering mode

 

[clk320x]

One more imprtant thing! How do I spot ex-taxis?

Check MOT histories, they will have been MOT’d every 6 months as opposed to yearly.

 

[clk320x]

I’m looking to buy a w212 220 cdi estate 2010-2012, So far in my research I’ve found out they’re quite reliable cars, is that right? My budget won’t allow me to buy anything with lower than 90k mileage, would that still be ok? Any recommendations? Should I expect any nasty surprises from this car?

They are pretty reliable cars, common issues such as water pumps and injectors leaking... a lot of stuff online about timing chains but my indie has never seen one himself and I think it’s mainly internet scaremongering. Again they can be replaced at relatively reasonable cost now anyway by independents so I wouldn’t let it put me off...

90k is nothing for these engines/cars, mines on 140k! Feels like new

 

[SinaW212]

It does have Bluetooth audio, at least mine does... but I had to enable it through engineering mode

Can you please elaborate? What do you mean exactly by “engineering”? And does the Bluetooth connectivity display info (track name, time, etc.) on the screen? Can you use the media buttons to control the media?

 

[clk320x]

Can you please elaborate? What do you mean exactly by “engineering”? And does the Bluetooth connectivity display info (track name, time, etc.) on the screen? Can you use the media buttons to control the media?

It’s a hidden menu you access by holding a certain set of buttons together, it allows you to enable Bluetooth streaming on the 09 cars with COMAND (worked for me!)

It doesn’t show track info, at least for me using Spotify. It does let you skip tracks though

I find the navi excellent, same with the bluetooth telephone, furthermore the screen is pretty high resolution/clear....

 

[SinaW212]

It’s a hidden menu you access by holding a certain set of buttons together, it allows you to enable Bluetooth streaming on the 09 cars with COMAND (worked for me!)

It doesn’t show track info, at least for me using Spotify. It does let you skip tracks though

I find the navi excellent, same with the bluetooth telephone, furthermore the screen is pretty high resolution/clear....

Seems genuis! How do I find the combination? Also, do you have any experience with CarPlay retrofitting? Worth it?