Mercedes w210 E430 (no titivating allowed)
Discussion
Pursuant to my ever-worsening crumby-Mercedes addiction, this week I bought a 2001 Mercedes-Benz E430 Elegance. The car was showing a mileage of 77,000 with plenty of paperwork to back it up, including a full Mercedes service history with invoices as well as stamps. The specification is high. I won't list it all because suffice it to say that the car is equipped with heated rear seats and a rear electric roller blind among other things. The seller was the dealer 7 Star Classics. I didn't view the car but chatted to the seller on the phone and he seemed an alright sort (despite being a car dealer) so we had a surprisingly enjoyable haggle and I paid £2,900 for it.
The rationale of the purchase is this. I do a lot of miles, often for work. Running my r129 (which has 266,000+ miles on it) and my s124 (now up past 357,000) is quite expensive and neither of them is the last word in refinement. I could do with a refined and reliable fast-ish saloon with a lot of life left in it as a business tool. I figure the 210 is unlikely to cost me much for a couple of years (yeah, right, watch this space) and will take the pressure off the 129 and the 124, perhaps reducing overall costs. I also won't feel quite so knackered after an 800mile round trip to south west Wales.
A friend drove the car up from Swindon on the day I bought it. He gave the impression that it wasn't as good as I had been hoping. But I have to say, in the two days since it arrived, I have been stunned by how good it is. There is no rust (although it has obviously been painted). The only significant defects that I could detect were the air con (but that is the law, isn't it: it is a criminal offence to sell a car with functioning air conditioning), the missing-in-action outside temperature gauge and the a completely pixellated time clock and gear selector indicator in the cluster. It could do with new front discs soon, too.
The car is not intended to become a treasured and cherished member of my fleet so I am duty-bound to resist the urge to spend money on it.
The rationale of the purchase is this. I do a lot of miles, often for work. Running my r129 (which has 266,000+ miles on it) and my s124 (now up past 357,000) is quite expensive and neither of them is the last word in refinement. I could do with a refined and reliable fast-ish saloon with a lot of life left in it as a business tool. I figure the 210 is unlikely to cost me much for a couple of years (yeah, right, watch this space) and will take the pressure off the 129 and the 124, perhaps reducing overall costs. I also won't feel quite so knackered after an 800mile round trip to south west Wales.
A friend drove the car up from Swindon on the day I bought it. He gave the impression that it wasn't as good as I had been hoping. But I have to say, in the two days since it arrived, I have been stunned by how good it is. There is no rust (although it has obviously been painted). The only significant defects that I could detect were the air con (but that is the law, isn't it: it is a criminal offence to sell a car with functioning air conditioning), the missing-in-action outside temperature gauge and the a completely pixellated time clock and gear selector indicator in the cluster. It could do with new front discs soon, too.
The car is not intended to become a treasured and cherished member of my fleet so I am duty-bound to resist the urge to spend money on it.
Non-functioning air con is a total bore and warrants expenditure. The Mercedes- air con system is very clever and you can readily obtain diagnostic information from the driver's seat. Doing so, it was apparent that there was a lack of gas in the system, the pressure being only 3 bar. Surprise, surprise.
I took it to Kwik Fit for a £49 re-gas. You know, I find Kwik Fit pretty superb these days. They told me that it was holding vacuum and it was also holding gas pressure but nonetheless it was not working. Accordingly, despite supplying a kilogram or more of air con gas, they refused to charge me a penny. So far, so good when it comes to fulfilling my duty.
But better yet, when I deleted all the fault codes and re-set the auxiliary fans (again, this can be done without any equipment from the driver's seat), it sprang into life. And crumbs does it blow cold. So the air con works.
Next up was to remove the sat nav magnet that was attached to the top of the dashboard. A bit odd, since the car come with COMAND sat nav built in.
I also removed the hideous "ELEGANCE" badges from the front wings. What on earth was MB thinking about here? There is nothing remotely elegant about this tacky little plastic badges. I used aplastic trim removal tool to pull them off and then to scrape the adhesive foam off paintwork; a bit of alcohol cleaner took care of any residue. Even I couldn't screw this up.
So far you will note I have not spent any money. You will also have spotted the Welsh number plates. Nothing against the Welsh; rather like the people and the place as it happens, but... Must resist.
A more daring job was to try to clear up the pixel issue in the instrument cluster. There is a load of stuff on the internet about how to fix this, Basically, you have to pull the cluster out, dismantle it, and stuff some foam between the ribbon connectors and the shell of the cluster in order to improve the connections between the ribbon and the circuit board. A bit of a faff with plenty of opportunity really to spaff things up. Every time I walked between the car and the work bench with the cluster in my hands, I imagine tripping on one of the children's toys and sending the cluster flying into the ground where it would fracture into a thousand pieces. But it didn't. No luck with the outside temperature gauge; but the time clock is 95% there and the gear selector indicator not far behind.
Not satisfied with that, I turned my attention to the steering wheel buttons. These were minging. It appears they have a soft-touch coating which over the years absorbs grease and dirt and becomes tacky. It can be scrapped and scrubbed off with care and patience, those two qualities which I lack so severely. Using a screwdriver blade, some wire wool, a pan scrubber, a cloth and—most effectively—my finger nail, I got rid of all the grunge but also, unfortunately, a little bit of the grey colour as well. The time will come when I cannot help but spend three figures on new buttons, but at least these no longer feel disgusting.
As they were:
Part way through the scrapping-fest:
And finished. Oops. I was so darned careful, too.
I took it to Kwik Fit for a £49 re-gas. You know, I find Kwik Fit pretty superb these days. They told me that it was holding vacuum and it was also holding gas pressure but nonetheless it was not working. Accordingly, despite supplying a kilogram or more of air con gas, they refused to charge me a penny. So far, so good when it comes to fulfilling my duty.
But better yet, when I deleted all the fault codes and re-set the auxiliary fans (again, this can be done without any equipment from the driver's seat), it sprang into life. And crumbs does it blow cold. So the air con works.
Next up was to remove the sat nav magnet that was attached to the top of the dashboard. A bit odd, since the car come with COMAND sat nav built in.
I also removed the hideous "ELEGANCE" badges from the front wings. What on earth was MB thinking about here? There is nothing remotely elegant about this tacky little plastic badges. I used aplastic trim removal tool to pull them off and then to scrape the adhesive foam off paintwork; a bit of alcohol cleaner took care of any residue. Even I couldn't screw this up.
So far you will note I have not spent any money. You will also have spotted the Welsh number plates. Nothing against the Welsh; rather like the people and the place as it happens, but... Must resist.
A more daring job was to try to clear up the pixel issue in the instrument cluster. There is a load of stuff on the internet about how to fix this, Basically, you have to pull the cluster out, dismantle it, and stuff some foam between the ribbon connectors and the shell of the cluster in order to improve the connections between the ribbon and the circuit board. A bit of a faff with plenty of opportunity really to spaff things up. Every time I walked between the car and the work bench with the cluster in my hands, I imagine tripping on one of the children's toys and sending the cluster flying into the ground where it would fracture into a thousand pieces. But it didn't. No luck with the outside temperature gauge; but the time clock is 95% there and the gear selector indicator not far behind.
Not satisfied with that, I turned my attention to the steering wheel buttons. These were minging. It appears they have a soft-touch coating which over the years absorbs grease and dirt and becomes tacky. It can be scrapped and scrubbed off with care and patience, those two qualities which I lack so severely. Using a screwdriver blade, some wire wool, a pan scrubber, a cloth and—most effectively—my finger nail, I got rid of all the grunge but also, unfortunately, a little bit of the grey colour as well. The time will come when I cannot help but spend three figures on new buttons, but at least these no longer feel disgusting.
As they were:
Part way through the scrapping-fest:
And finished. Oops. I was so darned careful, too.
Finally, some expenditure.
I noticed a broken passenger side sun visor in the boot. This caused me to look at the one in the car. It doesn't match. I have ordered a correct NOS one for £32.44.
I have also ordered a Viseeo MBU-3000 Bluetooth adapter for the integrated telephone system. This should give access to my iPhone through the COMAND unit in the dash and the handsfree circuit in the car. £179. Ouch.
I think I'll order some clean plates and correct fixings, too.
I noticed a broken passenger side sun visor in the boot. This caused me to look at the one in the car. It doesn't match. I have ordered a correct NOS one for £32.44.
I have also ordered a Viseeo MBU-3000 Bluetooth adapter for the integrated telephone system. This should give access to my iPhone through the COMAND unit in the dash and the handsfree circuit in the car. £179. Ouch.
I think I'll order some clean plates and correct fixings, too.
That looks very smart, nothing against the Welsh but agree plain reg plates look better
Always liked these even though they aren't from the golden age of Merc but just keeping an eye on the wheel arches for rust is about the only major issue.
Engines are fairly bulletproof with plenty of high mileage ones around. I remember going to Lanzarote about a decade ago and every single taxi was a E-Class all in red and white colour way with massive mileages of over 400,000 km
Always liked these even though they aren't from the golden age of Merc but just keeping an eye on the wheel arches for rust is about the only major issue.
Engines are fairly bulletproof with plenty of high mileage ones around. I remember going to Lanzarote about a decade ago and every single taxi was a E-Class all in red and white colour way with massive mileages of over 400,000 km
Edited by BlueHave on Friday 2nd June 01:01
I like that you don't intend to spend money on it but then have to change a non matching sun visor.
Given the previous threads I can see this car being almost as well kept as the others, just over a longer time period.
I have a BMW 645, anything it needs gets done. Total garage queen.
My utility car is a 2005 Subaru Legacy, I intentionally bought one with 130k miles on it that's a little battered so I don't end up with another car that has to be perfect. That way I can subject it to carparks (with associated door dings) and winter driving without worrying.
I'm currently living with it being a bit noisy over speed bumps (bushes), a squealing alternator at idle (probably bearings) and various other small faults, none of which I could live with in the BMW.
It hasn't even had a proper wash yet!
Given the previous threads I can see this car being almost as well kept as the others, just over a longer time period.
I have a BMW 645, anything it needs gets done. Total garage queen.
My utility car is a 2005 Subaru Legacy, I intentionally bought one with 130k miles on it that's a little battered so I don't end up with another car that has to be perfect. That way I can subject it to carparks (with associated door dings) and winter driving without worrying.
I'm currently living with it being a bit noisy over speed bumps (bushes), a squealing alternator at idle (probably bearings) and various other small faults, none of which I could live with in the BMW.
It hasn't even had a proper wash yet!
I'm watching this with interest…as with the other threads for the members of the fleet.
This must have been a properly expensive car when new as it appears to have virtually all possible options; I dread to think what RRP was when new!
My only question is whether the rear badge is in the right place (looks a little left high and uneven – may just be the camera angle)…but things like that possibly only matter to those like with me who are a little OCD!
This must have been a properly expensive car when new as it appears to have virtually all possible options; I dread to think what RRP was when new!
My only question is whether the rear badge is in the right place (looks a little left high and uneven – may just be the camera angle)…but things like that possibly only matter to those like with me who are a little OCD!
BlueHave said:
That looks very smart, nothing against the Welsh but agree plain reg plates look better
Always liked these even though they aren't from the golden age of Merc but just keeping an eye on the wheel arches for rust is about the only major issue.
Engines are fairly bulletproof with plenty of high mileage ones around. I remember going to Lanzarote about a decade ago and every single taxi was a E-Class all in red and white colour way with massive mileages of over 400,000 km
They are still running in Lanzarote, the last one i went in was well into 900,000 kmAlways liked these even though they aren't from the golden age of Merc but just keeping an eye on the wheel arches for rust is about the only major issue.
Engines are fairly bulletproof with plenty of high mileage ones around. I remember going to Lanzarote about a decade ago and every single taxi was a E-Class all in red and white colour way with massive mileages of over 400,000 km
Edited by BlueHave on Friday 2nd June 01:01
Nice to see one that does look like its spent its life working as a Tugboat in the North Sea, still relatively unloved but definitely worth saving, so many dogs about but are dwindling away, there is a bog basic metallic red E200 on plastic disks locally that, like that plain girl at school has a certain something you cant put your finger on.
J4CKO said:
Nice to see one that does look like its spent its life working as a Tugboat in the North Sea, still relatively unloved but definitely worth saving, so many dogs about but are dwindling away, there is a bog basic metallic red E200 on plastic disks locally that, like that plain girl at school has a certain something you cant put your finger on.
Saw one one the road the other day, really couldn't believe how rusty it was.drdino said:
What are those 2 triangular dark things on the wood trim, just above the centre console? Park aid sensor display?
Yes.Edited by drdino on Sunday 4th June 16:06
Fingers crossed on the Viseo. I did not realise that they supported the W210.
Looks lovely - only obvious spec it's missing is cooling seats...
Front parking sensor display. The rears are in the rear headlining, visible in the rear view mirror. They only peep when you're close; a good system.
I've used it pretty much exclusively since Tuesday night. It is a great car and grows on me more and more. 23mpg: but that's because I have been exercising it and also doing a lot of town work. My dash pixel repair has not lasted. In due course I'll send the cluster off to be repaired for £100 or so. The air con is seriously effective but the auxiliary fans blow all the time. I suspect the relay/control unit is bad. I have ordered a NOS one for £80 (against £170 at the dealer). Oops. I have noticed a few tiny blebs in various places on the paintwork. To be expected, I suppose, but it doesn't bode well for the future. The ViseeO bluetooth adapter works and is quite a well-made piece of kit. Unfortunately it seems to be the only adapter in the market that works with the COMAND 2.0 system and fully integrates the phone with the car's controls. Finally, my boys and I completed the debadging this morning, leaving the bootlid badge-free.
Today, however, I drove the 190 and the 124 for the first time in a while. The 190 is a really charming car. It is very light and direct and has a simple transparency about its controls. It is beautiful to look at and to walk up to. But it is unrefined and hot in summer and not very fast above 70mph. The 124 I reluctantly took to the petrol station just now. What a great car the 124 is. The 210 is so much more sophisticated; it is significantly more refined. But the 124 could last forever. It has a solidity the 210 cannot even approach; and while noisy and slow it is far from unrefined. It just has the mysterious something that makes it great.
I've used it pretty much exclusively since Tuesday night. It is a great car and grows on me more and more. 23mpg: but that's because I have been exercising it and also doing a lot of town work. My dash pixel repair has not lasted. In due course I'll send the cluster off to be repaired for £100 or so. The air con is seriously effective but the auxiliary fans blow all the time. I suspect the relay/control unit is bad. I have ordered a NOS one for £80 (against £170 at the dealer). Oops. I have noticed a few tiny blebs in various places on the paintwork. To be expected, I suppose, but it doesn't bode well for the future. The ViseeO bluetooth adapter works and is quite a well-made piece of kit. Unfortunately it seems to be the only adapter in the market that works with the COMAND 2.0 system and fully integrates the phone with the car's controls. Finally, my boys and I completed the debadging this morning, leaving the bootlid badge-free.
Today, however, I drove the 190 and the 124 for the first time in a while. The 190 is a really charming car. It is very light and direct and has a simple transparency about its controls. It is beautiful to look at and to walk up to. But it is unrefined and hot in summer and not very fast above 70mph. The 124 I reluctantly took to the petrol station just now. What a great car the 124 is. The 210 is so much more sophisticated; it is significantly more refined. But the 124 could last forever. It has a solidity the 210 cannot even approach; and while noisy and slow it is far from unrefined. It just has the mysterious something that makes it great.
Edited by r129sl on Sunday 4th June 22:29
These really are great old buses. I had a brand new E220CDi on 2001 - it was good for 47mpg - I put 90k miles on it in under three years, and was the most comfortable car I've ever owned. Tried a number of other cars, including newer Mercs, then returned to the W210, running a late spec E320 petrol for five years until last year. It averaged 28mpg - my niece now has it. Other than rust on the arches, they have very few significant weak points - window regulators, fan regulators, brake pedal switches - nothing major really.
The deep quality of the W124 is missing - the window regulators are riveted, not screwed in; the sun visors break because the hinges are plastic, not metal, and so on, but in many respects, it is a better car.
Yours should provide many miles of good service. Good luck with it.
The deep quality of the W124 is missing - the window regulators are riveted, not screwed in; the sun visors break because the hinges are plastic, not metal, and so on, but in many respects, it is a better car.
Yours should provide many miles of good service. Good luck with it.
Edited by cafehag2001 on Monday 5th June 07:24
My Grandad had the same with his old W220 2001 CDI. Re gassed at quikfit but no cost due to it not working. I had a quick google once home and learnt how to read and reset the fault codes for the aircon. Once reset, it worked perfectly!
Good results on the steering wheel buttons! My W220 2003 is the same, so will tackle that at some point.
The bluetooth module thing, how does that work? Is it plug and play? I have an old Nokia phone setup in my W220, wondering if I could do the same?
Also, LOL at no titivating!
Good results on the steering wheel buttons! My W220 2003 is the same, so will tackle that at some point.
The bluetooth module thing, how does that work? Is it plug and play? I have an old Nokia phone setup in my W220, wondering if I could do the same?
Also, LOL at no titivating!
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