Am I nuts buying a 2000-2002 E320 with over 100K on the odometer.

[djart]

I recently wrecked my 2002 Subaru WRX with 120k with my six month old son in the car.


I was not paying attention in stop and go traffic hit pickup truck and snapped the less than 48hour old timing belt I just spent $850 installing at the dealer. The body damage and the snapped timing belt totaled the car! I now have about $7000 to spend!

I do all my own maintenance on my car. I have done Brakes and installed new Air conditioner compressor on the Subaru! With exception the timing belt I thought I should let someone with insurance do that and I thought the receipt from the dealer installed belt would help with resale!


I have a little Benz experience with my Grandfathers mint 87 grey 420SEL. Did trany oil filter change yes both converter and transmission, checked chain guilds, basic oil change ect.


I love the build quality and want a car I can have for at least 4 to 5 years. The user groups are as nutz about the Banz cars as the Subaru people are with theirs! I feel with the user groups i should be able to handle most repairs.


My questions are.


1. Can I expect another 100,000 miles out of the car with out major failure? I count major failure as a repair costing over $1000.
2. Can a better than average DYI person handle most Benz issues?
4. Has anyone regretted a after 100K purchase of a 2000 to 2002 E Class?

Many thanks

Arthur

[pawoSD]

Originally Posted by djart

I recently wrecked my 2002 Subaru WRX with 120k with my six month old son in the car.


I was not paying attention in stop and go traffic hit pickup truck and snapped the less than 48hour old timing belt I just spent $850 installing at the dealer. The body damage and the snapped timing belt totaled the car! I now have about $7000 to spend!

I do all my own maintenance on my car. I have done Brakes and installed new Air conditioner compressor on the Subaru! With exception the timing belt I thought I should let someone with insurance do that and I thought the receipt from the dealer installed belt would help with resale!


I have a little Benz experience with my Grandfathers mint 87 grey 420SEL. Did trany oil filter change yes both converter and transmission, checked chain guilds, basic oil change ect.


I love the build quality and want a car I can have for at least 4 to 5 years. The user groups are as nutz about the Banz cars as the Subaru people are with theirs! I feel with the user groups i should be able to handle most repairs.


My questions are.


1. Can I expect another 100,000 miles out of the car with out major failure? I count major failure as a repair costing over $1000.
2. Can a better than average DYI person handle most Benz issues?
4. Has anyone regretted a after 100K purchase of a 2000 to 2002 E Class?

Many thanks

Arthur

1. Not if it has had nothing major replaced.
2. On the older ones yes, on the newer ones (which includes a 2002) not on your life....they are VERY complex.
3. I would probably never buy one.

If you want an inexpensive to maintain and easy to work on car, go 1995 or earlier....and diesel for extra simplicity.

An '87 420SEL is a much simpler vehicle than a 2002, and much easier to work on.

[suginami]

Originally Posted by djart

1. Can I expect another 100,000 miles out of the car with out major failure? I count major failure as a repair costing over $1000.
2. Can a better than average DYI person handle most Benz issues?
4. Has anyone regretted a after 100K purchase of a 2000 to 2002 E Class?

Many thanks

Arthur

The answer to question one is yes, although nothing is guaranteed. W210 chassis cars have proven to be among the most reliable Benz's ever made. They don't have the engine wiring harness, head gasket problems, a/c evaporator leaks, or throttle actuator problems of the earlier W124 chassis.

The answer to question two is you should be able to handle nearly all the regular maintenance items, but like every modern car with OBD-II, you won't be able to diagnose problems well without a scanner.

[jcyuhn]

Maybe.

It's a good car in many respects. But the transmission is not certain to make more than 200K miles. Many do, many do not. And it costs quite a bit more than $1K to replace.

[pawoSD]

It should also be pointed out that none of it matters if you are twittering while driving again and rear end someone.

[Hatterasguy]

Not spending over a G note, NFW. But being able to fix sure, E210's are pretty DIY friendly.

Mercedes will last hundreds of thousands of miles if you take care of them, but they are not cheap to keep. Running another 100k miles on a 100k mile W210 is nothing.

[pj67coll]

Spring perches!?!?

- Peter.

[Skid Row Joe]

Originally Posted by djart

I recently wrecked my 2002 Subaru WRX with 120k with my six month old son in the car.


I was not paying attention in stop and go traffic hit pickup truck and snapped the less than 48hour old timing belt I just spent $850 installing at the dealer. The body damage and the snapped timing belt totaled the car! I now have about $7000 to spend!

I do all my own maintenance on my car. I have done Brakes and installed new Air conditioner compressor on the Subaru! With exception the timing belt I thought I should let someone with insurance do that and I thought the receipt from the dealer installed belt would help with resale!


I have a little Benz experience with my Grandfathers mint 87 grey 420SEL. Did trany oil filter change yes both converter and transmission, checked chain guilds, basic oil change ect.


I love the build quality and want a car I can have for at least 4 to 5 years. The user groups are as nutz about the Banz cars as the Subaru people are with theirs! I feel with the user groups i should be able to handle most repairs.


My questions are.


1. Can I expect another 100,000 miles out of the car with out major failure? I count major failure as a repair costing over $1000.
2. Can a better than average DYI person handle most Benz issues?
4. Has anyone regretted a after 100K purchase of a 2000 to 2002 E Class?

Many thanks

Arthur

Look for a W210 with 50K or so miles on it's clock, if you can find one.....and oh yeah, buy a diesel.....especially if you're going to take it to 200K+ miles or more. At least that's similiar to what I did when buying my first several year old MB diesel many years ago. I bought one with 93K on the clock, and took it to 305K on it's clock before selling it for 40% of what I paid for it 8 years earlier. -The greatest value deal on earth to me at the time - many years ago.

Buy a MB diesel, you will be glad you did.

[pawoSD]

Why not go older and get a W124 or something, can get a nicer car for the $$, they drive awesome....and are easier to work on. I plan on taking my 300E well into the 200k-300k range. Already driven it over 6k and it has been great so far. In fact I am taking it on a 150 mile trip tomorrow and a 500 mile trip this coming weekend. O'l diesel needs his brakes worked on, so the gasser is taking over.

[aklim]

Originally Posted by djart

1. Can I expect another 100,000 miles out of the car with out major failure? I count major failure as a repair costing over $1000.
2. Can a better than average DYI person handle most Benz issues?
4. Has anyone regretted a after 100K purchase of a 2000 to 2002 E Class?

Not a chance. AC issues can cause you problems that are out of that range. Like with any car, it is hard to say when it comes to AC. I have had a car go for years without a recharge and some that have a broken compressor.

To a point, yes. You can fix it up if you had the tools. Take AC work for instance. I don't have the tools so I have to send it out. When my rear end had a leak, I had to send it out

I got my car at 50K and it has close to 250K on the clock. I live in the salt belt so I have to fix rust and the spring perches. Other than that and the AC, most money I have spent is on service. I have changed fluid in the trans ever 60K and no problems yet.

As to gas or diesel, unless you are traveling lots of miles like we are (150-180 a day), I would get gas over diesel.

[djart]

Thank you for the quick responce! I finding it very hard to find the a W210 in my area that at least meets my paint standard. I first look for well taken care of paint, then pray for compete paperwork! I feel that if the owner took care of the paint then there is a chance that the paper work is compete! I would love to go older W124 however I have a 40 mile commute to work each day! I think the only W1XX I would want is the 86 through 91 SEL's.

There is a nice BLK 99 300 Turbo D with 117K at the local MB deal but the window sticker says $18 and the internet has it listed for $14. That pricing annoys me to no end! So I have not been there to talk to them yet!

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/ctd/1225808268.html

Thank you for the twittering comment, however the baby started to cry and I look back to hand him back his towel thingy he dropped, and then I heard panic breaking in front of me! Instead of blindly cutting into the lane with full speed hwy traffic I choose the pick up in front of me! SO it goes!
I told that to my wife and she does not believe me either!

Again Thank you for the imput!! Please keep your thoughts comming!

[aklim]

Originally Posted by djart

There is a nice BLK 99 300 Turbo D with 117K at the local MB deal but the window sticker says $18 and the internet has it listed for $14. That pricing annoys me to no end! So I have not been there to talk to them yet!

I wouldn't worry about it. Just go talk to them and see what you two come up with that is less than 14K

[Zeus]

Arthur -

I have over 180,000 KM on my E430. You can handle most maintenance items as mentioned - brakes, oil, tranny fluid, etc. I have also done some other repairs including motor mounts (easy), transmission electrical connector (O-ring leaks, easy diy), etc. If you buy a scanner, you'll be able to read codes.

This engine (M112/113) is pretty advanced, especially for its day, and hence doesn't require as much maintenance as older engines.

Other items that fail or require replacing can also be done DIY, like O2 sensors, crank position sensor, etc.

The apparent *opinion* that the 722.6 transmission is weaker than its predecessors and prone to early failure is not true, IMO. It has proven to be a very robust transmission. There were some failures with early models and possibly also due to not changing the transmission oil (per Mercedes' 'Lifetime Fill' marketing BS). However, many W210s are going well past the 200K mark on original transmissions.

In fact, the 722.6 transmission is finding its way into many other cars, including some with pretty powerful engines inluding:

- Dodge Viper
- Jaguar XFR (or XFK, can't remember)
- Dodge Challenger XRT

I would not hesitate to buy a used 2000-2002 W210. Look for good records though and check oil change intervals. Make sure they weren't too far apart and look for synthetic oil used since Day 1, preferably with MB spec 229.3 or higher oil used. Check if transmission fluid and filter were changed using MB fluid. If you end up buying one, change the transmission fluid and filter upon purchase if there is no record of it having been done recently.

Good luck!

[Jim B.]

For a W210, comb through the Autotrader, cars.com and other sites for cars for sale in the Los Angeles area, the best selection, great weather, and car culture mecca of the world there drives prices down, and gives the best selection, best prices and best condition cars. You can even probably pick your color.

Fly in, rent a car for a couple of days then drive home.

I got my 1991 SEC there, as CPO from a Mercedes dealer, near Disneyland, and records I discovered in the car the dealer did not throw away led me to track down the PO that turned out to have owned the Beverly Hills Hotel!!


Paul S. ("suginami" <---- post #2 above), has the most gorgeous W210 I ever saw in my life. I know Paul and have personally seen this car. He found it, traded in by a rich Persian family from Beverly Hills, at the Lexus dealer on Wilshire in Beverly Hills, and stuffed with records, in mint condition, and nabbed it.



The best of the best ones are there and sometimes get traded in to these white glove dealers, in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Hollywood, and upscale indie dealers on Sunset Blvd and the rich parts of Orange Coujnty to the south of LA ...


Around there, they are nothing special, just "Beverly Hills Volkswagens". Not hard to find a minter for a real cheap price. A nice leetle vacation too.



They are good cars too. They had to be, they were ordinary taxicabs everywhere in Europe the last time I was there, several years ago. The taxicabs there HAD to be good. Mercedes Benz knows this.


And don't forget to salvage your personalized plates off the wrecked Subie for your next car (or your garage workshop wall) before it goes to the junkyard

[Skid Row Joe]

Originally Posted by djart

Thank you for the quick responce! I finding it very hard to find the a W210 in my area that at least meets my paint standard. I first look for well taken care of paint, then pray for compete paperwork! I feel that if the owner took care of the paint then there is a chance that the paper work is compete! I would love to go older W124 however I have a 40 mile commute to work each day! I think the only W1XX I would want is the 86 through 91 SEL's.

There is a nice BLK 99 300 Turbo D with 117K at the local MB deal but the window sticker says $18 and the internet has it listed for $14. That pricing annoys me to no end! So I have not been there to talk to them yet!

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/ctd/1225808268.html

Thank you for the twittering comment, however the baby started to cry and I look back to hand him back his towel thingy he dropped, and then I heard panic breaking in front of me! Instead of blindly cutting into the lane with full speed hwy traffic I choose the pick up in front of me! SO it goes!
I told that to my wife and she does not believe me either!

Again Thank you for the imput!! Please keep your thoughts comming!

Buy this one, '99 E300TD with 114K miles for $9,500.00 before someone else does. It's located in Louisville, Kentucky, not all that far from you, and the owner is a member here. He also has a '95 E300D for sale. He seems like a heck of a good guy, and he has fixed all issues on both cars. Good luck!

epssax
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 185


Pics of 1999 E300TD
Here is a link to a pic on photbucket. It will show both of my cars for sale. I do need to sell one of them! I am asking $5500 for the '95 and $9500 for the '99.

http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...ent=1999LF.jpg


Thanks, Ernie in Louisville