I agree that the 210 channels the old Ponton fender's look.

I am in the "210 is beautiful" camp.

__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

Not sure why you think obsidian black on black was a rare color. I thought every E300 imported to the US was that color. Among the reasons why I bought the E320 station wagon was that the dealer couldn't find an E300 in anything other than obsidian black.

For racking up the miles it is hard to beat a good, properly maintained 98/99 E300. That is what the wife daily drives and she averages around 3k/month. I do like the W211 cars a lot and am in the market for either an 05/06 CDI or 05-09 E class with the bluetec. With the exception of the high priced motor oil and the occasional seal replacement there is nothing wrong with the bluetec engines in my opinion. It is just a little more cumbersome to deal with under the hood but a big positive is not having the SBC.

I had a customer bring a 99 E300 (~250k miles) to the shop the other night that he was considering purchasing. It was a little low on power but the asking price was only $2000. Found the boost signal tube from the intake to the solenoid off, replaced the rubber hose with a new piece, hooked it back up and poof, he had power like it should have. He ended up purchasing it for $1800 and the a/c worked great in the car too. It was a steal if you ask me.

__________________
Jim

I always thought they (W210) were kind of cute, and a low mileage, turbodiesel was among the candidates when we got the S430. I knew my wife would pick the big, comfy one, but I would have been fine with the little diesel. Don

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John 5:25

Obsidian black, was an upgraded cost color.

__________________
'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

The #199 Obsidian Black was rare. I've seen few with that color. 85% ofw210s I saw were 040 gloss black.

I think Beetles look great, so I'm going to take this as a complement. I'm in the "210 is beautiful" camp, even the non-turbos.

__________________
Charlie

---------------------------
'66 VW 1300 96K miles
'97 E300D 239K miles
'85 300D 203K miles (sold Sep 2012)

Yeah, I believe that the W210 was the most luxurious model they released, even more so than the W124. A lot more refined, softer ride, more comfortable on longer trips (I have back issues, even at my young age), overall a better car. The rust hasn't been an issue, never driven in salt. It has two small spots, with a flawless undercarriage.

I can't understand the hate for the W210, it's crazy. They're phenomenal cars. I've had a W123, W124, and now a W210 that were all diesels. Hands down my favorite MB. The W123 is just a timeless classic though, and if there were more examples out there that were clean and well-kept, I'd buy another. The W210 is a better car though.

Skid Row Joe, I'm surprised that you have had as many issues with your E300 that you mentioned. Very rare that this car has needed anything besides routine maintenance in 12 years since it's been in the family. From my previous service records from the original owner, nothing was done as well besides routine maintenance.

__________________
Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k

The issues mounted in $$$ quickly on my bought-new E300, since I put nearly 100K miles on it inside 4-years. I bought the car as a business tool, and didn't do any research before buying. The only research I did was in whether buying new or used. A '97 E300 with 75K miles on it was at $35K asking, and a new one, ('99 E300TD) was $42,500.00 out-the-door. I went with new. I've since decided not to buy MBs new, so, I've got the time to assess whether I want to be "in" for this or that model. The beauty of this Internet age is that doing your homework on any given model is a lot easier to do before buying. I'm glad I bought mine, It was light-years ahead of what MB had been making in their diesel cars, but it came at a cost. My brother now owns the car and it's now his to work through the issues that develop on it. I warned him beforehand, but he still wanted the car.

The Obsidian black is a stunning color, btw.

__________________
'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

I remember the launch, and the Engineering work pre-launch, and many of us were very disappointed that Mercedes was working so hard to keep costs down, in an attempt to move from their high-cost highly engineered cars to something that could compete in the marketplace with re-badged Toyotas (aka: Lexus, my brother was Product Planner, All New Vehicles for Lexus at that time, I remember that side of the story also). The W210 was definitely a change in direction for Mercedes-Benz cars. Unfortunately however, the W210, W202, and my favorite whipping-boy the new ML series needed to move into a competitive price position and shed costs to remain profitable.

Anyhoo, I never loved the front of the W210, certainly one that leaves strong opinions. However, I was on the road this week, was passed by a BMW 850, ... and was reminded of this thread. Who in the BMW world doesn't know what their "Bangle-Butt" era was? Those big butt cars that looked like someone put a pickup-truck capper on the back of a sedan (or coupe), and took them from a company that made cars as beautiful as the 635CSi or the M-coupe, and this was their answer to styling?

I guess that we can say (or I will anyway) that this wasn't a strong era for German styling. They were no longer going to Gregario, Pinninfarina, Bertone, et al for styling and trying to do more in-house, and certainly had some ... interesting designs.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

So can you answer these questions for me:
Was the W210 the first MB to be completely CAD modeled? If so what CAD platform did they use? CATIA?
And was it the first production MB to be fully CAN bus for body as well as engine (as opposed to the last 124s that just used it for engine management?)

Or was the W140 the first for these now common place attributes?

__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

I don't know what car was completely CAD modeled first, but they were Dassault/Catia at the time. Also used for the first aircraft completely modeled on CAD, Dassault's own FalconJet, ... and then Boeing, both Catia. I loved Catia over other solid modelers, but haven't been on a tube since V5, ... would probably love to have a seat of Solid Works at home (now also owned by Dassault/Catia).

As far as CANbus, again not my area, sorry! I'd be guessing W140, but it (my '93) still has discrete components that don't share data (at least mine does), so I would still call it a hybrid application not total CABbus.

You sound like a guy who remembers SCO.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

After all these years of owning my w123 wagon, I still look back at her after I park and walk away...

My 99 210 wagon... great ride, good mpg, mine had it's issues... lots of them. never caught me as a "good" looking car.

My 124 sedan... got better as I owned it... took a lot of changes to get it to where I thought it was a good looking car. (face lift for one)

Cant see not owning a w123. Just bought wife a Xc90 Volvo 2.5 AWD. I still like driving the w123 wagon more.

W210s do drive nice and I don't mind how they look, they are still everywhere here so unless its an E55 I don't really think about it beyond oh, I have one of those too. Mine is probably going to be off the road for at least 6 months while I try to figure out how to get the transmission to shift again or decide a replacement car would be preferable, so I don't think I could recomend one as a reliable daily driver. I do think they are probably the last reasoonably modern diesel that a normal person could maintain without having to pay someone else to do a lot of the work.

Well, in 12 years the car hasn't broken down or had any major issues. I'm beyond happy with it. It's a comfortable ride, soft & smooth. I'd love to pick up an E55 as my second car. The only thing that is a problem with these cars is rust. I'd love to know why I find more rusty W210s than I do W124s. What is the difference?

__________________
Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k