E class estate. New family wagon

[jimwilli]

Considering buying an e class estate so just seeking some advice. We currently have a bmw 97 316 and has been nice car to own, cheap and reliable. We had off original owners always been garaged etc. Too small for us now with family so had been looking what to change too.

I have been looking at w210 or w211 variants.

Are the 210s as bad for rot as has been reported? I don't mind having the car undersealed if I can find a clean enough one at the right money. I had our current car done with dinitrol all the cavities and nooks and crannies and has served us well. Unfortunately the guy packed up his business.

We only really need 5 seats but wouldn't complain with 7 and some of these estates seem to have. Missus only does 5 miles some days, 2.5 ea way so originally i was thinking petrol but maybe an older diesel wouldn't be so bad? I understand new diesels don't like constant short journeys. She does seem to clock about 10k a year so we must do regular weekend trips of over 100 miles. There are a couple of the 5l petrol variants for sale atm which wouldnt be so bad on the wallet with short journeys but it does seem unreasonable having such big engine. Clean air zones aren't really a consideration for us atm. Our city doesn't have one which again points me towards diesel although who knows what the future holds.

What else should I be aware of or look out for? I'm not a spanners kind of guy so realise the maintenance might not be super cheap. We've never skimped on the bmw its always gone to specialist. I'd prefer an older model assuming less to go wrong especially electrical?

[Kuwahara]

Finding a decent W210 will be a challenge, I ran a W211 saloon for a while as a stop gap and loved that car so easy to live with and preferred it to the W212 I had later.

There are good ones out there there but it might take a while they are old cars now.

[AC43]

Plenty of 211 E500s around. I ran one (a 7 seater) until it was 12 years old and on 145k. It's passed through another two sets on hands since and is now 19 years old and on around 190k.

It we pretty reliable for me. I only had to replace the compressor for the air suspension and a boot lock IIRC although it got a bit spendy for the later owners; I think all the corners were done wrt to the air suspension and I think something went wrong with the gearbox control unit (transducer plate maybe?).

Anyway, the bodywork is good on the 211s as they were galvanised. Mechanically they are pretty tough. I like the Airmatic set up and I bought a 212 E500 to replace the 211. Had to do do the rear air springs on that. Some people try to avoid in which case don't get a 500 as they all came with it.

[jimwilli]

Thanks is it just the 500s with the air suspension?

I like the sound of galvanised so would prefer the 211. I have seen a tidy 210 but who knows till you start seeing rot.

What age can i come up to before i have to start worrying about the short journeys and diesel and dpf?

Cheers

[trevalvole]

jimwilli said:

What age can i come up to before i have to start worrying about the short journeys and diesel and dpf?

Cheers

I'm not sure about dpfs, but I think the pre-facelift E320 came with a straight-six and the post-facelift a V6 which probably had a dpf. I also have some recollections of the view that the straight-six was a more reliable engine, so that might be a place to start investigating. On the other hand, the facelift got rid of the problematic SBC electro-hydraulic brakes. Very early cars may not have been galvanised: https://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/index.php?threa...

Edited by trevalvole on Monday 27th May 09:37

[AC43]

jimwilli said:

Thanks is it just the 500s with the air suspension?

I like the sound of galvanised so would prefer the 211. I have seen a tidy 210 but who knows till you start seeing rot.

What age can i come up to before i have to start worrying about the short journeys and diesel and dpf?

Cheers

Airmatic was standard on E500s and E55s. Optional on the others; relatively rare.

I have no 1st hand knowledge of diesels but I've seen people on message boards debating the relative merits of the earlier I6 and the later V6. Some people prefer the former for its simplicity and economy. Others prefer the V6 as it was the first time MB had something that would properly compete with the then-current BMWs.

[lowdrag]

Perhaps of no use if it has to be an E-class, but I have had Mercedes since 1992, all second-hand, and so far I have spent under £5,000 getting problems sorted. A couple of injectors, brake sensor, aircon pump and a few other niggles. The first was a W123, but since 2,000 an S202 (2000 - 2014, aircon and injectors), and since 2014 a 2112 S204 (160,000 and a brake sensor) which is now the shopping trolley, and I have a 2014 S214 (85,000) which over five years has not cost me a penny except servicing. They have been impeccable.

[AC43]

lowdrag said:

Perhaps of no use if it has to be an E-class, but I have had Mercedes since 1992, all second-hand, and so far I have spent under £5,000 getting problems sorted. A couple of injectors, brake sensor, aircon pump and a few other niggles. The first was a W123, but since 2,000 an S202 (2000 - 2014, aircon and injectors), and since 2014 a 2112 S204 (160,000 and a brake sensor) which is now the shopping trolley, and I have a 2014 S214 (85,000) which over five years has not cost me a penny except servicing. They have been impeccable.

I've had a Merc continuously since 2003; two C43s followed by two E500s. Very few problem over those 21 years although the earlier C43 (1999) had some paint issues meaning it was going frilly when I traded it in - that's the main reason I'd suggest the OP avoids the 210. Some MBs from that period are fine, others awful. It's a bit of a lottery.

I sold my other two to enthusiasts/people who knew them and they are still going strong. Event the frilly one, although someone must have spent a fortune on paint - it was spotted at Bicester last year.

[Willber]

211's are good - plenty about. The 220cdi uses the 5 speed 722.6 box which is very robust whereas the newet 722.9 7 speed is a bit less so. If you're not fussed about which engine you get just look for the best condition car you can.

I have a 2009 280cdi without DPF. They are tough on suspension so will need some upkeep. Rear airbags can go and ive just replaced the compressor on mine.

If you're used to maintaining higher mile cars then it wont be a shock - spend on maintainence and they're capable of huge mileage.

Just done 1500 miles to france and back in mine, 4 up and fully loaded, returning around 37-39 mpg, perfect car for the job.

[lowdrag]

Talking of long trips, this might reassure you. This the 2012 C200 CDi car with close to 150,000 when we did the trip. As said above, just one brake sensor changed so far.