I see the roll call has been quiet for about 1.5y now. Figured I'd drop kick it back to the top. ;)

Yesterday I brought home to FL somewhat of an impulse buy from a dealer in NC...on an obsidian 2006 with 169k on the clock. Wife is thoroughly pissed, and would you believe it got worse when I reminded her that we already discussed the car the week prior and she approved. Haha.

Anyway, it's got a couple of quirks like any older Benz that I'll be ironing out: like the pano roof shim bit, rear sunshade stuck deployed, , and on and on. No black death to be seen, virtually no rust even being an MD car for the first half of its life.

With the new wheels again sparked my desire to learn everything about it. So I'll be in and out the forums more often. I'm just excited to find a solid CDI for a price I could swing. I can't afford to do deletes. ;)

https://imgur.com/a/rCfzU04

Raven- congrats... just bought 1st CDI- out of Florida few weeks ago.

How much did u pay for yours?

I am getting some Code- after 45 minute xpressway drives- re-start car ... goes into limp- NO TURBO-- code 2513 (i was told by local shop/Star read)...

Problem goes away after - stop/re-start... and ONLY Pops up when 45+ min. 75mph drives... local drives for 20 minutes- no issues?

$5850 before all the "taxes".

Seems a bit steep for the mileage.

Price seems about right to me. I tell folks they should be able to find a CDI in essentially perfect condition, 150-175k miles, for around $6000. Better deals can be had, but you have to be very patient.

A friend picked up a 05 E500 sport for $4000, 98k miles 1 owner full dealer service history, every option except panoranic roof. The $2000 difference buys a lot of gas, not to mention the 70k fewer miles. I think some people are so focused on getting a CDI they forget it's just one of several different engines put in w211. The price premium for the CDI just doesn't make sense.

05 320CDI
 

I am new to the MB/diesel world just purchased an 05 E320 CDI with 244K.
Strong running beast i am using it as a daily driver 77 miles one way averaging 35 mpg. any advice .....

Keep up on the scheduled maintenance, drive the hell out of it, Enjoy.......best three pieces of advice I can give.

I would add: Every oil change, remove the plastic covers and inspect the injector area for the signs of "Black Death". Also, change your trans fluid about every 25,000 miles. Use a good synthetic (Valvoline Max-Life) or equivalent, and change the connector plug, and bolts as well (the complete kit is the best value).

Be prepared to spend on it, parts/labor, and the associated downtime.

Remove the serpentine belt and spin the idler pulleys and tensioner pulley by hand. If they spin freely and you can "hear" it replace them. Hard to describe exactly. These are fairly cheap parts that when they fail can leave you by the road. If original at 244k miles it is time to replace them.

I’m joining this group
 

Pleased to add myself as a member of this CDI group, having found in January 2022 a near-perfect ‘05 E320 with 112,000 miles for $8,000. It’s a rust-free southwestern car from a gentleman belonging to one of my mailing lists. The car had been purchased from and serviced by the same dealer since new and came with all its records. The only significant repair I’m facing is the rear window shade, stuck in the extended position. I’ve found a couple of posts on the repair procedure; it’s just a matter of setting aside the time.

Looks like a very nice car, you did well!

That white CDI does look super nice.

I suppose I can add my self to this list of CDI owners. :laugh4:
https://i.imgur.com/CoiVAAu.jpg

The sunshade is repaired!
 

The rear window sunshade is repaired! Took longer than I wished because so much had to be removed just to get the sunshade out of the car. One can understand why a shop has to charge so much to do the repair. The problem turned out to be the failure of the little electric motor that makes the screen go up and down.

The little motor was poorly made by whatever subcontractor Daimler-Chrysler chose. The motor case is made from cast pot metal—a tube and two end plates. The “front” end plate (this end has a worm gear) has a tiny sealed ball bearing sitting in a recess of the front plate.

Unfortunately, the sub did a poor job. Because of the worm gear, there’s a lot of in-out stress on the motor shaft and consequently on the bearing and its fitting in the end plate. Eventually, the bearing comes out of the end plate, the whole motor shaft slips a quarter inch or more, and the motor jams.

Repair was simply to re-seat the bearing and do a better job keeping it from shifting. Most of the time was just to get to where the motor could be worked on. This is a fairly common occurrence in this model. It required removing the rear seat, the c-pillar covers, all 3 rear headrests, the rear speakers, and finally the sunshade could come out.

https://jeremynichols.smugmug.com/2005-E320-CDI/i-SsMJkN5/A