E Class, Fifth generation W213; 2016 onwards
Discussion
Wife is considering selling he 2012 7p Touareg 3.0 L V6 Blue Motion, and buying a E Class, Fifth generation W213; 2016 onwards.
Must be white, must be diesel, must be auto, must have cruise.
She isn't the sportiest of drivers, and only does motorways at legal limit of 70, so a reasonably gentle driver.
55 miles a day, and 40 of that is motorway
The model she wants, is the one with the mood lighting, and the 3 centre vents.
.
So the questions,
1. What to look out for on cars that have done 100,000 miles ?
2. What options would be desirable?
3. Is the AMG with the bigger wheel rims, more harsher ride than the SE ? as she wants comfort over drivability.
Thanks all.
Must be white, must be diesel, must be auto, must have cruise.
She isn't the sportiest of drivers, and only does motorways at legal limit of 70, so a reasonably gentle driver.
55 miles a day, and 40 of that is motorway
The model she wants, is the one with the mood lighting, and the 3 centre vents.
.
So the questions,
1. What to look out for on cars that have done 100,000 miles ?
2. What options would be desirable?
3. Is the AMG with the bigger wheel rims, more harsher ride than the SE ? as she wants comfort over drivability.
Thanks all.
Register1 said:
Wife is considering selling he 2012 7p Touareg 3.0 L V6 Blue Motion, and buying a E Class, Fifth generation W213; 2016 onwards.
Must be white, must be diesel, must be auto, must have cruise.
She isn't the sportiest of drivers, and only does motorways at legal limit of 70, so a reasonably gentle driver.
55 miles a day, and 40 of that is motorway
The model she wants, is the one with the mood lighting, and the 3 centre vents.
.
So the questions,
1. What to look out for on cars that have done 100,000 miles ?
2. What options would be desirable?
3. Is the AMG with the bigger wheel rims, more harsher ride than the SE ? as she wants comfort over drivability.
Thanks all.
1. Hard to say specifically. At that sort of mileage, Ideally you'd want one with full service history and a bunch of receipts to show as evidence that it has been cared for. 100K is an arbitrary number which many consider puts a car in the high mileage bracket but there may be cars with half that that have been less well cared for.Must be white, must be diesel, must be auto, must have cruise.
She isn't the sportiest of drivers, and only does motorways at legal limit of 70, so a reasonably gentle driver.
55 miles a day, and 40 of that is motorway
The model she wants, is the one with the mood lighting, and the 3 centre vents.
.
So the questions,
1. What to look out for on cars that have done 100,000 miles ?
2. What options would be desirable?
3. Is the AMG with the bigger wheel rims, more harsher ride than the SE ? as she wants comfort over drivability.
Thanks all.
2. You decide this. The best starting point is to get hold of an e-brochure for the model year that you are considering and to see what options were available for the various trim levels. Just type 'E-Class Brochure 20xx' into Google and it should hopefully return a PDF. Then when you start looking you can use a VIN decoder to see what options that particular car came with and whether, all things considered, it measures up to what you are looking for. Note that mood lighting sounds great, but after a few drives, that novelty wears off and you end up settling for one colour permanently. Also - aren't there 4 central vents?
3. As a rule bigger wheels are always going to mean a relatively harsher ride as tyre sidewall depth decreases, though on some higher models you get the option to adjust the suspension settings which mitigates against this.
Fady said:
1. Hard to say specifically. At that sort of mileage, Ideally you'd want one with full service history and a bunch of receipts to show as evidence that it has been cared for. 100K is an arbitrary number which many consider puts a car in the high mileage bracket but there may be cars with half that that have been less well cared for.
2. You decide this. The best starting point is to get hold of an e-brochure for the model year that you are considering and to see what options were available for the various trim levels. Just type 'E-Class Brochure 20xx' into Google and it should hopefully return a PDF. Then when you start looking you can use a VIN decoder to see what options that particular car came with and whether, all things considered, it measures up to what you are looking for. Note that mood lighting sounds great, but after a few drives, that novelty wears off and you end up settling for one colour permanently. Also - aren't there 4 central vents?
3. As a rule bigger wheels are always going to mean a relatively harsher ride as tyre sidewall depth decreases, though on some higher models you get the option to adjust the suspension settings which mitigates against this.
Thanks,2. You decide this. The best starting point is to get hold of an e-brochure for the model year that you are considering and to see what options were available for the various trim levels. Just type 'E-Class Brochure 20xx' into Google and it should hopefully return a PDF. Then when you start looking you can use a VIN decoder to see what options that particular car came with and whether, all things considered, it measures up to what you are looking for. Note that mood lighting sounds great, but after a few drives, that novelty wears off and you end up settling for one colour permanently. Also - aren't there 4 central vents?
3. As a rule bigger wheels are always going to mean a relatively harsher ride as tyre sidewall depth decreases, though on some higher models you get the option to adjust the suspension settings which mitigates against this.
Which VIN decoder do you suggest please ?
There are 2 types of navigation on these - SD and command online. Command online is the better one and and depending on the year comes with apple carplay or android. Also, the note the multimedia screen comes in 2 sizes. I ran a 2019 E220 for 30,000 miles with no issue and it was quite comfortable.
Interesting enough, when I was looking, it was a toss up between the E class and the Touareg but went with the wagon as I found the Toureg bulky.
Interesting enough, when I was looking, it was a toss up between the E class and the Touareg but went with the wagon as I found the Toureg bulky.
Register1 said:
Fady said:
1. Hard to say specifically. At that sort of mileage, Ideally you'd want one with full service history and a bunch of receipts to show as evidence that it has been cared for. 100K is an arbitrary number which many consider puts a car in the high mileage bracket but there may be cars with half that that have been less well cared for.
2. You decide this. The best starting point is to get hold of an e-brochure for the model year that you are considering and to see what options were available for the various trim levels. Just type 'E-Class Brochure 20xx' into Google and it should hopefully return a PDF. Then when you start looking you can use a VIN decoder to see what options that particular car came with and whether, all things considered, it measures up to what you are looking for. Note that mood lighting sounds great, but after a few drives, that novelty wears off and you end up settling for one colour permanently. Also - aren't there 4 central vents?
3. As a rule bigger wheels are always going to mean a relatively harsher ride as tyre sidewall depth decreases, though on some higher models you get the option to adjust the suspension settings which mitigates against this.
Thanks,2. You decide this. The best starting point is to get hold of an e-brochure for the model year that you are considering and to see what options were available for the various trim levels. Just type 'E-Class Brochure 20xx' into Google and it should hopefully return a PDF. Then when you start looking you can use a VIN decoder to see what options that particular car came with and whether, all things considered, it measures up to what you are looking for. Note that mood lighting sounds great, but after a few drives, that novelty wears off and you end up settling for one colour permanently. Also - aren't there 4 central vents?
3. As a rule bigger wheels are always going to mean a relatively harsher ride as tyre sidewall depth decreases, though on some higher models you get the option to adjust the suspension settings which mitigates against this.
Which VIN decoder do you suggest please ?
Obvious difficulty can be getting hold of the VIN depending on who or where you are buying the car from, but if you're lucky they might already have the options sheet. There are also those that can get you a VIN from a registration no. (e.g. on a Mercedes-specific forum).
Thankfully this is less of a minefield than it used to be as, for the most part, options are now bundled together in a package. So you have 'Premium' and 'Premium Plus' over and above the base trim. But always worth doing your homework before settling for anything!
The E Class is pretty well specced as standard. In terms of your essentials, they’re all Auto, all have cruise and speed limiter, all have the 64 colour ambient lighting (later cars gain the ability to cycle the colour) and all have the 4 centre vents.
SE cars are far less common than AMG Line - they do have softer suspension which is good round town but feels a bit floaty at motorway speeds. AMG Line cars were fitted with run flat tyres as standard - the ride isn’t particularly harsh but switching to standard tyres removes a lot of primary chop and vibration over the normal standards of roads we have in the UK.
In terms of options, there is a bit of variation depending on build dates but early cars up to around 2018 were fitted with an 8” Garmin based navigation system called Audio20 which is rubbish and looks terrible because the dash becomes a slab of shiny plastic. COMAND Online was always an option which gave you a larger 12.3” screen along with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Post 2018 the 12.3” screen became standard with a new Audio20 Nav system which is fine and made the COMAND upgrade less critical - but there’s not CarPlay/AA on these. COMAND was standard on 6 cylinder cars.
Premium pack adds electric memory seats, panoramic roof and keyless entry/go. Premium Plus adds the premium kit plus Multibeam LED headlights - which are brilliant - and Burmester stereo.
You’re probably looking at an E200d or E220d based on your requirements. The E200d is absolutely pointless IMO - same engine, same economy, less power and they don’t seem to be any cheaper. The E220d is fine for a daily driver - it’s pretty refined for a 4 cylinder diesel, just under 200BHP so it goes well enough and the 9 speed transmission works very well with it. 70mph on the motorway is about 1200rpm.
In terms of high mileage, the 4 cyl diesels can develop issues with timing chains stretching - seems to affect high mileage cars used around town, possibly related to the stop-start. It is possible to change the chain alone with the engine in situ but if you want to do the guides - which are plastic and will be wrecked if the chain has worn slack it’s an engine out job. I wouldn’t go anywhere near a used one with timing chain noise unless it’s £3k cheap enough to have the engine out. The most common issue appearing at high mileage is failing rockers and hydraulic lifters on the exhaust side. This gives a quite pronounced plop-plop noise at idle which sounds louder when the air filter is removed. If you catch this early you can just replace the rockers and lifters - do all 16 - which is not the end of the world, but if left this will damage the camshaft lobes and you’ll need to replace the whole camshaft and carrier assembly. A main dealer will want over £2k for this.
The cars can hide high mileage well, and mileage blockers are available so I’d beware of anything that may have been cabbed or used heavily around town. Motorway miles are far less of an issue,
SE cars are far less common than AMG Line - they do have softer suspension which is good round town but feels a bit floaty at motorway speeds. AMG Line cars were fitted with run flat tyres as standard - the ride isn’t particularly harsh but switching to standard tyres removes a lot of primary chop and vibration over the normal standards of roads we have in the UK.
In terms of options, there is a bit of variation depending on build dates but early cars up to around 2018 were fitted with an 8” Garmin based navigation system called Audio20 which is rubbish and looks terrible because the dash becomes a slab of shiny plastic. COMAND Online was always an option which gave you a larger 12.3” screen along with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Post 2018 the 12.3” screen became standard with a new Audio20 Nav system which is fine and made the COMAND upgrade less critical - but there’s not CarPlay/AA on these. COMAND was standard on 6 cylinder cars.
Premium pack adds electric memory seats, panoramic roof and keyless entry/go. Premium Plus adds the premium kit plus Multibeam LED headlights - which are brilliant - and Burmester stereo.
You’re probably looking at an E200d or E220d based on your requirements. The E200d is absolutely pointless IMO - same engine, same economy, less power and they don’t seem to be any cheaper. The E220d is fine for a daily driver - it’s pretty refined for a 4 cylinder diesel, just under 200BHP so it goes well enough and the 9 speed transmission works very well with it. 70mph on the motorway is about 1200rpm.
In terms of high mileage, the 4 cyl diesels can develop issues with timing chains stretching - seems to affect high mileage cars used around town, possibly related to the stop-start. It is possible to change the chain alone with the engine in situ but if you want to do the guides - which are plastic and will be wrecked if the chain has worn slack it’s an engine out job. I wouldn’t go anywhere near a used one with timing chain noise unless it’s £3k cheap enough to have the engine out. The most common issue appearing at high mileage is failing rockers and hydraulic lifters on the exhaust side. This gives a quite pronounced plop-plop noise at idle which sounds louder when the air filter is removed. If you catch this early you can just replace the rockers and lifters - do all 16 - which is not the end of the world, but if left this will damage the camshaft lobes and you’ll need to replace the whole camshaft and carrier assembly. A main dealer will want over £2k for this.
The cars can hide high mileage well, and mileage blockers are available so I’d beware of anything that may have been cabbed or used heavily around town. Motorway miles are far less of an issue,
Adblue, NoX sensors, replacement adblue tanks, back order of several weeks / months on NoX sensors, DPF issues, the car won't start in 400 miles adblue warning, did I mention NoX sensors.
Read up on the well known Mercedes issues with their adblue system before you buy. Forums like MBClubUK are worth a read to get an understanding of the current issues.
Sometimes Mercedes will replace free of charge as a goodwill gesture as long as the car has full Merc service history, but if they don't you are looking at several £'00's for sensors, if they can get them, and a couple of £'000 or so for the tanks.
It can also be a wiring loom problem which is again an expensive fix.
It is not unknown for sensors to fail repeatedly. There are stories of cars being off road for months waiting for parts.
If you do buy make sure the car has had the software update as a result of the emissions scandal and is subsequently running ok. If it has not had the update you would do well to keep it that way.
Blue Efficiency cars up to 2013 are pretty good generally, but anything BlueTec be wary of and do your research.
They also have NoX sensor issues with their petrol engines as well.
Mercedes as a company are no longer guardians of good after sales and customer care and their cars are no longer the
most reliable.
Read up on the well known Mercedes issues with their adblue system before you buy. Forums like MBClubUK are worth a read to get an understanding of the current issues.
Sometimes Mercedes will replace free of charge as a goodwill gesture as long as the car has full Merc service history, but if they don't you are looking at several £'00's for sensors, if they can get them, and a couple of £'000 or so for the tanks.
It can also be a wiring loom problem which is again an expensive fix.
It is not unknown for sensors to fail repeatedly. There are stories of cars being off road for months waiting for parts.
If you do buy make sure the car has had the software update as a result of the emissions scandal and is subsequently running ok. If it has not had the update you would do well to keep it that way.
Blue Efficiency cars up to 2013 are pretty good generally, but anything BlueTec be wary of and do your research.
They also have NoX sensor issues with their petrol engines as well.
Mercedes as a company are no longer guardians of good after sales and customer care and their cars are no longer the
most reliable.
quinny100 said:
The E Class is pretty well specced as standard. In terms of your essentials, they’re all Auto, all have cruise and speed limiter, all have the 64 colour ambient lighting (later cars gain the ability to cycle the colour) and all have the 4 centre vents.
SE cars are far less common than AMG Line - they do have softer suspension which is good round town but feels a bit floaty at motorway speeds. AMG Line cars were fitted with run flat tyres as standard - the ride isn’t particularly harsh but switching to standard tyres removes a lot of primary chop and vibration over the normal standards of roads we have in the UK.
In terms of options, there is a bit of variation depending on build dates but early cars up to around 2018 were fitted with an 8” Garmin based navigation system called Audio20 which is rubbish and looks terrible because the dash becomes a slab of shiny plastic. COMAND Online was always an option which gave you a larger 12.3” screen along with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Post 2018 the 12.3” screen became standard with a new Audio20 Nav system which is fine and made the COMAND upgrade less critical - but there’s not CarPlay/AA on these. COMAND was standard on 6 cylinder cars.
Premium pack adds electric memory seats, panoramic roof and keyless entry/go. Premium Plus adds the premium kit plus Multibeam LED headlights - which are brilliant - and Burmester stereo.
You’re probably looking at an E200d or E220d based on your requirements. The E200d is absolutely pointless IMO - same engine, same economy, less power and they don’t seem to be any cheaper. The E220d is fine for a daily driver - it’s pretty refined for a 4 cylinder diesel, just under 200BHP so it goes well enough and the 9 speed transmission works very well with it. 70mph on the motorway is about 1200rpm.
In terms of high mileage, the 4 cyl diesels can develop issues with timing chains stretching - seems to affect high mileage cars used around town, possibly related to the stop-start. It is possible to change the chain alone with the engine in situ but if you want to do the guides - which are plastic and will be wrecked if the chain has worn slack it’s an engine out job. I wouldn’t go anywhere near a used one with timing chain noise unless it’s £3k cheap enough to have the engine out. The most common issue appearing at high mileage is failing rockers and hydraulic lifters on the exhaust side. This gives a quite pronounced plop-plop noise at idle which sounds louder when the air filter is removed. If you catch this early you can just replace the rockers and lifters - do all 16 - which is not the end of the world, but if left this will damage the camshaft lobes and you’ll need to replace the whole camshaft and carrier assembly. A main dealer will want over £2k for this.
The cars can hide high mileage well, and mileage blockers are available so I’d beware of anything that may have been cabbed or used heavily around town. Motorway miles are far less of an issue,
Thank you so much.SE cars are far less common than AMG Line - they do have softer suspension which is good round town but feels a bit floaty at motorway speeds. AMG Line cars were fitted with run flat tyres as standard - the ride isn’t particularly harsh but switching to standard tyres removes a lot of primary chop and vibration over the normal standards of roads we have in the UK.
In terms of options, there is a bit of variation depending on build dates but early cars up to around 2018 were fitted with an 8” Garmin based navigation system called Audio20 which is rubbish and looks terrible because the dash becomes a slab of shiny plastic. COMAND Online was always an option which gave you a larger 12.3” screen along with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Post 2018 the 12.3” screen became standard with a new Audio20 Nav system which is fine and made the COMAND upgrade less critical - but there’s not CarPlay/AA on these. COMAND was standard on 6 cylinder cars.
Premium pack adds electric memory seats, panoramic roof and keyless entry/go. Premium Plus adds the premium kit plus Multibeam LED headlights - which are brilliant - and Burmester stereo.
You’re probably looking at an E200d or E220d based on your requirements. The E200d is absolutely pointless IMO - same engine, same economy, less power and they don’t seem to be any cheaper. The E220d is fine for a daily driver - it’s pretty refined for a 4 cylinder diesel, just under 200BHP so it goes well enough and the 9 speed transmission works very well with it. 70mph on the motorway is about 1200rpm.
In terms of high mileage, the 4 cyl diesels can develop issues with timing chains stretching - seems to affect high mileage cars used around town, possibly related to the stop-start. It is possible to change the chain alone with the engine in situ but if you want to do the guides - which are plastic and will be wrecked if the chain has worn slack it’s an engine out job. I wouldn’t go anywhere near a used one with timing chain noise unless it’s £3k cheap enough to have the engine out. The most common issue appearing at high mileage is failing rockers and hydraulic lifters on the exhaust side. This gives a quite pronounced plop-plop noise at idle which sounds louder when the air filter is removed. If you catch this early you can just replace the rockers and lifters - do all 16 - which is not the end of the world, but if left this will damage the camshaft lobes and you’ll need to replace the whole camshaft and carrier assembly. A main dealer will want over £2k for this.
The cars can hide high mileage well, and mileage blockers are available so I’d beware of anything that may have been cabbed or used heavily around town. Motorway miles are far less of an issue,
I learnt a lot from this.
R1
I just sold my 2017 220d 4matic, it was great car, however one of the reasons I sold it was adblue issues, Mercedes’ wanted just under 2k to replace the tank, 3 months after the warranty expired, which I was not particularly happy with. I understand that some other owners had the same issue fixed for free, whilst other had to pay the full whack. The dealership split the costs with me in the end. The other issue I had was suspension bushings. The car had only done 35k.
dictys said:
I just sold my 2017 220d 4matic, it was great car, however one of the reasons I sold it was adblue issues, Mercedes’ wanted just under 2k to replace the tank, 3 months after the warranty expired, which I was not particularly happy with. I understand that some other owners had the same issue fixed for free, whilst other had to pay the full whack. The dealership split the costs with me in the end. The other issue I had was suspension bushings. The car had only done 35k.
Wow, just 35,000 miles.What briefly happens to the adblue tank, that it needs replacing ?
Suspension bushings, were you aiming for the pot holes
Just joking
Register1 said:
Wow, just 35,000 miles.
What briefly happens to the adblue tank, that it needs replacing ?
Suspension bushings, were you aiming for the pot holes
Just joking
The adblue pump is in the tank situated in the boot and when the pump fails Mercedes replace replace as a unit, ie tank and pump.What briefly happens to the adblue tank, that it needs replacing ?
Suspension bushings, were you aiming for the pot holes
Just joking
Regarding the NoX sensors, they sit in the bottom of the exhaust and get damaged by condensation, hence why they fail frequently.
Mercedes solution to this has been to drill small holes in the exhaust to allow the condensation to drain out.
Completely not going to be an issue but the 9G box won’t change into 9th gear until 78mph so your wife is never going to use it 
At least that was my experience in the E220d. Great car though. So much so I’d consider changing my C63 - probably not for the E220d but maybe the E300e or E350e, although I have been telling myself this for the last year!
At least that was my experience in the E220d. Great car though. So much so I’d consider changing my C63 - probably not for the E220d but maybe the E300e or E350e, although I have been telling myself this for the last year!
Soft Top said:
Completely not going to be an issue but the 9G box won’t change into 9th gear until 78mph so your wife is never going to use it
At least that was my experience in the E220d. Great car though. So much so I’d consider changing my C63 - probably not for the E220d but maybe the E300e or E350e, although I have been telling myself this for the last year!
Really 78 mph ?At least that was my experience in the E220d. Great car though. So much so I’d consider changing my C63 - probably not for the E220d but maybe the E300e or E350e, although I have been telling myself this for the last year!
That's not good ratios.
For example my wife's 3.0L V6 Touareg, has the 8 speed box.
It will happily drop seamlessly into 8th at 50 mph, and stay there at 50 to a degree.
Charliecloud said:
If that 55 per day is the round trip and 40 of which is motorway, why just a diesel ?
Advantages - unlikely to have been a taxi, petrol is cheaper than diesel. No Adblue issues.
Wife does 55 miles there and back, of which 40 miles is on motorway,Advantages - unlikely to have been a taxi, petrol is cheaper than diesel. No Adblue issues.
You mean an E class petrol job ?
mine will change to it at about 73 in eco
i have a love hate relationship with my s213 220d
its a nice car but by christ mercedes build quality has almost totally vanished with it, pretty much everything in the interior creaks, groans or vibrates. i dont like how it rides on the 20's and runflats huge amount of tyre noise too i have the full air suspension on mine and its still crap im sure its broken but mercedes say no. but i still love driving it.
its also the only car ive ever owned thats gone up in value
i have a love hate relationship with my s213 220d
its a nice car but by christ mercedes build quality has almost totally vanished with it, pretty much everything in the interior creaks, groans or vibrates. i dont like how it rides on the 20's and runflats huge amount of tyre noise too i have the full air suspension on mine and its still crap im sure its broken but mercedes say no. but i still love driving it.
its also the only car ive ever owned thats gone up in value
quinny100 said:
The E Class is pretty well specced as standard. In terms of your essentials, they’re all Auto, all have cruise and speed limiter, all have the 64 colour ambient lighting (later cars gain the ability to cycle the colour) and all have the 4 centre vents.
SE cars are far less common than AMG Line - they do have softer suspension which is good round town but feels a bit floaty at motorway speeds. AMG Line cars were fitted with run flat tyres as standard - the ride isn’t particularly harsh but switching to standard tyres removes a lot of primary chop and vibration over the normal standards of roads we have in the UK.
In terms of options, there is a bit of variation depending on build dates but early cars up to around 2018 were fitted with an 8” Garmin based navigation system called Audio20 which is rubbish and looks terrible because the dash becomes a slab of shiny plastic. COMAND Online was always an option which gave you a larger 12.3” screen along with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Post 2018 the 12.3” screen became standard with a new Audio20 Nav system which is fine and made the COMAND upgrade less critical - but there’s not CarPlay/AA on these. COMAND was standard on 6 cylinder cars.
Premium pack adds electric memory seats, panoramic roof and keyless entry/go. Premium Plus adds the premium kit plus Multibeam LED headlights - which are brilliant - and Burmester stereo.
Amazing advice - just reading this now as also in the market for an Eclass
You’re probably looking at an E200d or E220d based on your requirements. The E200d is absolutely pointless IMO - same engine, same economy, less power and they don’t seem to be any cheaper. The E220d is fine for a daily driver - it’s pretty refined for a 4 cylinder diesel, just under 200BHP so it goes well enough and the 9 speed transmission works very well with it. 70mph on the motorway is about 1200rpm.
In terms of high mileage, the 4 cyl diesels can develop issues with timing chains stretching - seems to affect high mileage cars used around town, possibly related to the stop-start. It is possible to change the chain alone with the engine in situ but if you want to do the guides - which are plastic and will be wrecked if the chain has worn slack it’s an engine out job. I wouldn’t go anywhere near a used one with timing chain noise unless it’s £3k cheap enough to have the engine out. The most common issue appearing at high mileage is failing rockers and hydraulic lifters on the exhaust side. This gives a quite pronounced plop-plop noise at idle which sounds louder when the air filter is removed. If you catch this early you can just replace the rockers and lifters - do all 16 - which is not the end of the world, but if left this will damage the camshaft lobes and you’ll need to replace the whole camshaft and carrier assembly. A main dealer will want over £2k for this.
The cars can hide high mileage well, and mileage blockers are available so I’d beware of anything that may have been cabbed or used heavily around town. Motorway miles are far less of an issue,
SE cars are far less common than AMG Line - they do have softer suspension which is good round town but feels a bit floaty at motorway speeds. AMG Line cars were fitted with run flat tyres as standard - the ride isn’t particularly harsh but switching to standard tyres removes a lot of primary chop and vibration over the normal standards of roads we have in the UK.
In terms of options, there is a bit of variation depending on build dates but early cars up to around 2018 were fitted with an 8” Garmin based navigation system called Audio20 which is rubbish and looks terrible because the dash becomes a slab of shiny plastic. COMAND Online was always an option which gave you a larger 12.3” screen along with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Post 2018 the 12.3” screen became standard with a new Audio20 Nav system which is fine and made the COMAND upgrade less critical - but there’s not CarPlay/AA on these. COMAND was standard on 6 cylinder cars.
Premium pack adds electric memory seats, panoramic roof and keyless entry/go. Premium Plus adds the premium kit plus Multibeam LED headlights - which are brilliant - and Burmester stereo.
Amazing advice - just reading this now as also in the market for an Eclass
You’re probably looking at an E200d or E220d based on your requirements. The E200d is absolutely pointless IMO - same engine, same economy, less power and they don’t seem to be any cheaper. The E220d is fine for a daily driver - it’s pretty refined for a 4 cylinder diesel, just under 200BHP so it goes well enough and the 9 speed transmission works very well with it. 70mph on the motorway is about 1200rpm.
In terms of high mileage, the 4 cyl diesels can develop issues with timing chains stretching - seems to affect high mileage cars used around town, possibly related to the stop-start. It is possible to change the chain alone with the engine in situ but if you want to do the guides - which are plastic and will be wrecked if the chain has worn slack it’s an engine out job. I wouldn’t go anywhere near a used one with timing chain noise unless it’s £3k cheap enough to have the engine out. The most common issue appearing at high mileage is failing rockers and hydraulic lifters on the exhaust side. This gives a quite pronounced plop-plop noise at idle which sounds louder when the air filter is removed. If you catch this early you can just replace the rockers and lifters - do all 16 - which is not the end of the world, but if left this will damage the camshaft lobes and you’ll need to replace the whole camshaft and carrier assembly. A main dealer will want over £2k for this.
The cars can hide high mileage well, and mileage blockers are available so I’d beware of anything that may have been cabbed or used heavily around town. Motorway miles are far less of an issue,
Trustmeimadoctor said:
mine will change to it at about 73 in eco
i have a love hate relationship with my s213 220d
its a nice car but by christ mercedes build quality has almost totally vanished with it, pretty much everything in the interior creaks, groans or vibrates. i dont like how it rides on the 20's and runflats huge amount of tyre noise too i have the full air suspension on mine and its still crap im sure its broken but mercedes say no. but i still love driving it.
its also the only car ive ever owned thats gone up in value
We picked up a 2018 220d 4matic SE Premium a year ago after our new Defender order fell thru. i have a love hate relationship with my s213 220d
its a nice car but by christ mercedes build quality has almost totally vanished with it, pretty much everything in the interior creaks, groans or vibrates. i dont like how it rides on the 20's and runflats huge amount of tyre noise too i have the full air suspension on mine and its still crap im sure its broken but mercedes say no. but i still love driving it.
its also the only car ive ever owned thats gone up in value
It’s rock solid and the cabin is squeak / rattle free although funnily enough as we set off from Heathrow’s long stay parking last Saturday it had picked up a really annoying rattle coming from the back, turned out to be two tea spoons we’d left in the boot.
The softer SE suspension coupled with 17” wheels make the ride around town a pleasure but it can be a bit floaty on the motorway but that’s a fair trade off and less chance of curbing an alloy when parking.
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