S211 E500 - Worth saving?
Discussion
Hi all.
I find myself in a conundrum and thought that, while probably not wise, it might be interesting to ask the PH-hive mind its opinion.
I have owned my S211 E500 for around 3 years now - it was, I`m sure you'd not be surprised to learn, a random ebay bid while sat round the pool on holiday possibly with a cocktail in-hand, that resulted in its purchase. Main reason being to use as my dog car to replace the V70 I was using at the time.
183K on the clock. It was at the poorer end of the spectrum condition wise, all wheels curbed, interior a bit grubby, few small scratches etc but with some decent service history and a nicely running powertrain. Previous owner had apparently used it for his twice annual commute to Spain.
I thought if I got a years use from it before the dreaded sagging corner(s) finished it off, I`d be happy. Fully intended and have treated it as pure shed material.
In the 3 years and now additional 14k miles I've covered its cost me an ABS ring (terrible job for a £12 replacement part) and I think 1 upper front arm and a lower balljoint.
Unfortunately it has also worked its magic on me - I love its ride, comfort and effortless performance. This leads me to the conundrum....
Chatting to a friend a few weeks ago about the car, I was considering spending a little bit of cash on it to refresh the front suspension arms and bushes as it has become increasingly crashy with a few knocks and other unbecoming noises.
As experienced sheders will appreciate, the car clearly overheard the conversation, on leaving my buddies place - oh horror of horrors, the dreaded suspension service icon popped up. Such irony.
The ADS (adaptive damping) valve has shorted on one front strutt. This puts the suspension into effectively some kind of passive damping mode akin to the harder of the 2 sports modes. There's no fix, it needs a new airmatic strut.
While there are aftermarket suppliers now, my investigations have shown questionable durability, no support for ADS and generally not the ride quality of the OEM Bilstein struts.
Aftermarket are ~ £300 - £450. Bilstein OEM are £1100. Per strut of course.
Slightly ridiculously the cheapest option for a Bilstein part is from Rock Auto ~ £700 delivered.
So - Do I cut my losses (currently tiny to zero) or do I sink 1 - 1.5K into the old girl?
What do you think?
I find myself in a conundrum and thought that, while probably not wise, it might be interesting to ask the PH-hive mind its opinion.
I have owned my S211 E500 for around 3 years now - it was, I`m sure you'd not be surprised to learn, a random ebay bid while sat round the pool on holiday possibly with a cocktail in-hand, that resulted in its purchase. Main reason being to use as my dog car to replace the V70 I was using at the time.
183K on the clock. It was at the poorer end of the spectrum condition wise, all wheels curbed, interior a bit grubby, few small scratches etc but with some decent service history and a nicely running powertrain. Previous owner had apparently used it for his twice annual commute to Spain.
I thought if I got a years use from it before the dreaded sagging corner(s) finished it off, I`d be happy. Fully intended and have treated it as pure shed material.
In the 3 years and now additional 14k miles I've covered its cost me an ABS ring (terrible job for a £12 replacement part) and I think 1 upper front arm and a lower balljoint.
Unfortunately it has also worked its magic on me - I love its ride, comfort and effortless performance. This leads me to the conundrum....
Chatting to a friend a few weeks ago about the car, I was considering spending a little bit of cash on it to refresh the front suspension arms and bushes as it has become increasingly crashy with a few knocks and other unbecoming noises.
As experienced sheders will appreciate, the car clearly overheard the conversation, on leaving my buddies place - oh horror of horrors, the dreaded suspension service icon popped up. Such irony.
The ADS (adaptive damping) valve has shorted on one front strutt. This puts the suspension into effectively some kind of passive damping mode akin to the harder of the 2 sports modes. There's no fix, it needs a new airmatic strut.
While there are aftermarket suppliers now, my investigations have shown questionable durability, no support for ADS and generally not the ride quality of the OEM Bilstein struts.
Aftermarket are ~ £300 - £450. Bilstein OEM are £1100. Per strut of course.
Slightly ridiculously the cheapest option for a Bilstein part is from Rock Auto ~ £700 delivered.
So - Do I cut my losses (currently tiny to zero) or do I sink 1 - 1.5K into the old girl?
What do you think?
CarlosSainz100 said:
What would you replace it with and would the car you buy be any better?
She's treated you well. Give her some tlc..
I know every s211 e500 that has been sold in the last 2 years.....She's treated you well. Give her some tlc..
I think I just needed a little push. Of course the little voice says as soon as I spend, something else will fail.
But of course I didn't sell the v70. So I have a perfectly serviceable car sitting there allready

Krikkit said:
Mercedes themselves are often competitive on price for struts - I'd recommend seeing what they come up with before you write it off!
I'd agree with the other posters though, if you like it then save it, it sounds like a good car.
So I called Mercedes - Slightly odd as the part they would fit is a re-man unit??? 700+VAT when old unit is returned. New was same as Bilstein UK ~ £1100.I'd agree with the other posters though, if you like it then save it, it sounds like a good car.
The chap was quite clear that they would routinely fit the cheaper part.....I wonder who refreshes the old unit.
Sub8 said:
So I called Mercedes - Slightly odd as the part they would fit is a re-man unit??? 700+VAT when old unit is returned. New was same as Bilstein UK ~ £1100.
The chap was quite clear that they would routinely fit the cheaper part.....I wonder who refreshes the old unit.
I used MB re-man rear springs for my E500; in addition to MB part numbers they had some Bilstein labels, so I think they go back to Bilstein for rebuilding. The chap was quite clear that they would routinely fit the cheaper part.....I wonder who refreshes the old unit.
Sub8 said:
Hi all. So while I have loved the E500 for the last few years, I havn't cherished her....
So it will soon be up for sale, you can guess where.
I couldn't resist the lure of a facelift E550 estate
that has replaced it.
I didn't notice this thread the first time around. I've the facelift S211 320 diesel, nice enough car, give it a clean and she sparkles like a silver penny. So it will soon be up for sale, you can guess where.
I couldn't resist the lure of a facelift E550 estate

Like yourself I kinda bought it as a stop gap when the PCP ended on my 320d. I went to look at an S class W221 but wasn't impressed. On way home I passed this car and bought it. Only £3750, have had it 5.5 years now. It's grown on me, especially recently as it's got through every flooded road around me where vans haven't. Well it's largely to do with taking it easy isn't it.
Anyway tell us about your new car, is it the facelift S211 with the 5.5 V8? If so a rare car. How do they compare? Is it a keeper?
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