Hello,

Lots of great/useful info here and I love the looks of a mercedes. Considering purchasing a used Benz (c or e series) 1997-2001 under 100,000 miles but I've heard horror stories about repair costs/problems. Any recommended models/years or what models/series/year seem to be problem prone?? Thanks

Speaking for myself, I had a 1998 C230 that I purchased in Dec. 2000 with 38,000 miles and I sold in in July 2007 with 150,000. Most reliable car I have ever owned (out of about 15).

Besides preventative and ongoing maintenance, I spent maybe $300.00 on repairs.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your search.

__________________
Anders

1995 E300
2015 VW TDI Sportwagen 15K
1977 240D (197K)
2002 Subaru Legacy L Wagon (115k) (Wife's)
Gone but not forgotten:
2005 Buick LeSabre
1998 C230
1984 300D
1983 240D
1981 300SD
1974 240D
1974 Fiat 124 Spider
1968 Triumph TR250

You can count on at least $2K-$3K a year, has been my experience. --That's driving less than 10K a year. The older the Benz,the greater the horror.

What are those "horror" stories you have heard about the "E" class?

The breaking rear window regulator (a do-it-yourselfer) costs about $200.00, the disintegrating harmonic balancer is covered by Benz (there is a long thread on this site, in any case you can check the serial number on the part itself and see if it had been changed or not) and the spring perch problem may only be an issue if you purchase a car from the snowbelt area. The transmission meltdown may or may occur at 100k miles, make sure the car had the t.oil/filter changed and you should be OK.
I have an MY 2000 E320 with 50K miles on it and not a single issue so far (I just replaced the battery last week as it was original and started to loose charge). I also changed the tranny oil/filter last summer just in case (and the thermostat as it was sticking). The outgoing oil was the same color as the oil that went it. Cheap insurance anyway. Other than that the car had been trouble free. What I don't like about the 210 is the turning radius, the damn thing turns like a tank compared to the 124, and the soft suspension (however my old 124 was lowered). Other than that it has been a wonderful car so far.
I can't speak for the older years. There was a face lift in MY2000, the new ones look better and have a few more features.

Alex

Thanks for the input! Much appreciated

Nonsense, don't belive that. If you buy an old Benz (or any other luxury car) better be handy with the wrench so you can do your own maintenance work.
But nothing as terrible as some may have you belive (if you do your home work and by the best you can afford). Make sure you buy one with service records, preferably one or two owners and accident free. This applies to any car not just a Benz.

Alex

I've had my 99 E430 for three years now and the only thing I've replaced/fixed is the oxygen sensor.

__________________
Jason Priest
1999 E430
1995 E420 - retired
1986 420SEL - retired

I am not sure if this is more of a statement about the cars or the repair people. That star on the hood looks like dollar signs to some repair people.

I bought a 1998 E-class wagon because I love the Mercedes brand; I looked at Hondas, Toyotas, etc. as my commuter, but I just keep coming back to the Benz. I estimate $1500 a year for repairs on any Mercedes I own. If you can live with that, then buy w210. Get a good one; there's plenty to choose from.

__________________
- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

The scheduled maintenance on mine plus some fuel leakage and electronic issues have resulted in me spending more than $3K/year on my 98 E300.

I never spent that on my Porsche.

We've had our E for a little over a year and about 16,000 miles (it now has 80,000 miles) and we haven't had to deal with anything broken, aside from headlights, which these cars seem to have an appetite for. We did inherit a good deal of the 60,000 mile service requirements, so getting all that sorted out was about $1300 (including transmission fluid/filter change as well as a new harmonic balancer - the recall is not in effect in Canada). I had this factored into the price when we bought it.

Now the C is a different story, and it has definitely cost money, consistently, over the life of the car (we've had it 8 years). The list includes: lower control arm bushings, water pump, a/c condenser, mass airflow meter, purge valve, body rust repairs, plus all the regular maintenance items you'd expect (fluids, filters, spark plugs, brakes, tires). I'd say this car has consistently cost us $2500 per year when you average it all out (repairs and maintenance).

If I was buying a C class and power was not important (ie just a commuter car) I'd get a 4 cylinder, non-supercharged. If you are willing to buy one with a 4 speed auto box (94-96 only) you'll get one of the most bulletproof powertrains that MB has put in a car in the last 20 years. Of course, you'll also get stuck replacing the various things that go wrong on a 10-12 year old car as a matter of course. If you're intent on getting a 6 cylinder C, I'd go with a 99 or 00 MY because all the big gremlins were sorted out by then.

If I was buying an E, I'd go with 2000-02, because again the problems were pretty much sorted out (except the window regulators, it isn't an "if", its a "when", but they're easy to replace yourself) and because the additional features in the "facelifted" car are beneficial (better frontal crash protection, side/headliner airbags and standard ESP).

__________________
Jonathan

2011 Mazda2
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1994 C280 (retired)

Between my wife, son and myself we have owned 6 E-Class Mercedes. Years 1991 to 1998. Currently we have a 1998 E430.

Maintenance costs have been reasonable on all of them.
The highest expense we had this year was for new tires. The only repair we had was a left rear window regulator and a belt for the aux fan.

The worst Mercedes we ever had from a maintenance standpoint was a C36 AMG. It was broken constantly and very expensive to repair.

__________________
Bill Wood - Retired Webmaster
My Personal Website
1998 Mercedes E430
2010 Toyota Sequoia
My Photo Albums

If you buy an E-class, get a 2000+ model year. They received a face lift and some nice upgrades. Also less chance of sludge and engine issues due to Mercedes not recommending synthetic oil in earlier models in conjunction with extended FSS intervals.

__________________
Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

I'd look for a 2000-02 E320. All the problems were worked out by that point, and you get all the nice updates.

I have owned MB's for a long time, and know many people who own both new and old ones. The $2k-$3k a year for maintenance and repairs rule is pretty good. Sometimes you come out ahead, sometimes not. Of course you can drive them into the ground for much less, I have done that too. Of course if its new and under warranty its much less, usualy only like $500 a year for the services.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Let's put things in perspective here - $2K to $3K per year is pretty accurate IF SOMEONE ELSE DOES THE WORK. If you do your own work, like many members here, you might spend half that amount or even less.

__________________
08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280