My dilemma right now is I have to get a new car and I'm not going to go $crazy$ because due to the current RE situation in Michigan I need to play it safe. Right now I'm thinking 1995 E320, or find a screachin deal on a W210 or buy and average W124 and wait until a perfect W210 presents itself.

There are tons on ePray but I'm scared $hitless with some of the shady dealers these days.

Many here are more familiar with their W210 Wagons than me, but here's my perspective of the buying process.

Compared to sedans, wagons are typically beat up. On average, they show nowhere near the pride of ownership that sedans do. Expect to find stains, dents, scratches, and just general thrashing that comes from buying a kid/dog/stuff hauler. My experience - it took 2 months of looking, to find one I found acceptable - and there are tons of them for sale around me. Were I not looking for a 4-Matic, the search might have been quicker. The 2WD models outnumber them about 4 to 1 around here.

Yes, I'm picky...which combined with the average wagon condition, added significantly to the wait when buying used. But I think being so, paid off in the long run.

First - I'd avoid non-MBZ dealers and lease backs like the plague, as you typically can't get service records on these vehicles. This eliminates more than half the available cars around here. And while you might occasionally find a Starmark wagon at an MBZ dealer that has been gone through top to bottom, you'll pay a huge premium for it.

Folks here stress how important good service records are, and I'm glad I took that advice. They not only give you specific information on whether known issues were addressed, but they are a key indicator of how well the vehicle was maintained over it's entire life. Was maintenance done on time and properly? Or were there near zero records done for the first few years, only to be followed up with numerous visits to fix neglected issues? Even when complete records are found, inspect them carefully - two 2000+ cars I looked at, had been serviced at generic auto repair centers, and had their factory installed and mandated synthetic oil replaced with dino. Of course, the owners were quite happy to wait 10K miles between changes, as that's what the reset display was telling them.

And finally...I know it's been stated before, but the absolute best thing you can do, is get a pre-purchase inspection at a qualified independent. Around here, the dealers won't even do them.

First car I looked at that passed the documentation check, was taken to my mechanic. Records looked great, drove like a dream. Mechanic hooked it up to his scanner, and got nothing - the CEL was burnt out or disabled, and the diagnostic system was fried. Buying that car would have resulted in a very rude and expensive surprise at SMOG time.

In short...if your schedule allows, just take your time, and wait for the right one. There are great cars, and great deals to be had...if one has a little patience. You just gotta wade through a bunch of crap to find the right one.

I absolutely agree with this statement. Ours is a perfect example. There is a small stain on one of the rear seats and there are some odd cut marks in the rear door panels that are only visible when the doors are open. The car was mechanically strong and passed the PPI with my MB Indy, and my wife isn't as picky as I am when it comes to these things, so it was the right car to move forward with. But these cars definitely get a different kind of use than the sedans do, and it shows.

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Jonathan

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

So true, but I am not going to be picky because wifey and the rugrats trash a car in one day so I'm more interested in so-so interior with a solid service history.

Me too - I'm more interested in overall reliability of this model. A few minor stains, nicks and scrapes don't worry me too much.

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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

I think when I am firm on the price I am willing to pay I am going to put a bounty out for Mbshoppers to find a good example $1000 reward to find a good one....I bet I will have a perfect example at the right price in days,,if not hours.

Heh...mine, while 95% or so overall, had "dog damage". The third row seat belts were munched a bit from the previous owner's Labs. Given that the vehicle is used to haul my own three pooches around, I was willing to overlook a bit of canine bad behavior.

Still...when it comes to abuse, I'll take dog thrash over kid thrash any day.

I usually see about 22-23MPG average on a tank. That's probably 60%city/40% urban highway. Most tanks involve a trip out to DFW or downtown.

+4 on the difficulty of finding a clean wagon. I wasn't looking very hard, but it was almost a year before I stumbled across one clean enough to bother. Many I saw were amazingly beat at 5 years of age. Mine has a very clean interior, low miles, and is Starmarked. Well, the interior was perfect - I own a 75lb dog and a fleet of dirty bicycles.

Agree with the importance of service history. Since these cars get an oil change once every 10-12K miles, it is imperative the correct synthetic be used.

Overall reliability is the same as the sedans. I don't know of any wagon specific problem areas. In about 4 years of ownership I've had one window regulator go out, replaced the instrument cluster due to 2 bad pixels (gotta love Starmark), a new MAF recently, and a flaky headrest motor. The broken window mechanism was the closest thing to a service affecting problem.

I did get a BAS/ESP/ABS error a few weeks ago, but that hasn't happened again. Just last week I finally replaced the original 7 year old battery. It's not a bad car.

The wagon at the Lexus dealer seems awfully low priced. Not sure I know what market is on these, though. Could be a good value if nothing major is broken and the service history isn't too scary. The pictures don't look too bad, but I find you cannot really tell anything from digital photos. Nav on a wagon is rare, most of them have only a few basic options. Worth a look, you know how they should drive.

- JimY

I have had my 1999 E32 wagon for almost a year now, it is my 3rd MB, first two were 124 sedans, wife still has the 400e. It dives like a tank, fast but somewhat deliberate, and gives the impression that is armor plated. W210 is a whole different driving experience, much more responsive, my wife describes it as twitchy. I also have a GMC Suburban desert truck, I bought the wagon to take over 90% of what I used the 'burb for. I waited until I found a 2wd with MB-Tex, as we scuba dive and the wagon seemed a perfect replacement for the 'burb, short of off-roading adventures. I live in the desert, so the 4-matic seemed like extra weight for little gain. Don't have to worry about leather seats in a wetsuit!

It doesn't have quite the hauling capacity of the 'burb, but uses half the fuel and drives much better. Mine has the 3rd seat, but since it is back to my wife and I, we don't use it. I put a cargo net on the floor in the back to keep the milk jug from rolling around on the way home from the grocery store.

I get about 20 in town, and got 26 on my last trip to Lake Havasu, running 80 the whole way.

It took me several months to locate what I wanted, bought it on eBay out of Miami, as they are very scarce (as in none) in the Phoenix area. It is everything I wanted and expected out of a car/wagon/light hauler. Is it an S-class prestige car, no. It was a reasonable cost ($9K with 64K miles), do almost everything well hauler that drives like, well, a Mercedes E class.

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Arctic white '90 300e 150K
Arctic white '92 400e 100K
'94 Suburban 4x4 diesel, 150K

The rear doors are so wide that they're virtually unusable in a tight parking spot.

I'd pick a wagon over an ML, with or without the 3rd row seat. If you have more than two kids, might want to consider something with more seating than what the 210 w/3rd row offers.

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1982 240 D, 308,000 - 321,127 miles (sold)
1982 300 TD,166,500 - 226,000 miles
1998 E 320, 120,000 - 144,000 miles
2005 C 230 K, 26,000 - 77,000 miles (sold)

I remember seeing '70's-era slow-motion video of crash tests involving station wagons with rearward-facing third seats as they were struck from the rear by another vehicle. Unbelted occupants wound up traveling through the wagon's rear window and landing on the hood of the striking vehicle. Pass.

I just found a similar video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESLf2m2yt1Q