Opinions on this e420

[maximus]

Hey guys I tested this e420 today it is a 1997 with 83000 miles on it
the interior and exterior are in almost perfect condition ,it has all the options except it is not a sport.
When i check the engine I could smell engine degreaser like they just wash the engine but there was still grease around the valve cover gasket dirty!
As i was test driving the car when i was taking off the car hesitated a little bit the guy told me that it was because they just wash down the engine My question is should the engine hesitate even if it was just washed.THe asking price was $15000 when i told him 13,500 he did not want to go for it but when i told him I was paying cash he said he was going to talk to his boss and that I should call him tomorrow so what do you guys think.
thanks

[Gilly]

Drive it again and see what you think, he may be right, should dry out. May have filled a plug "hole" with water. Could also be a MAF sensor, etc.
They are nice though, I really like the 210 chassis E420
Gilly

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by maximus

When i check the engine I could smell engine degreaser like they just wash the engine but there was still grease around the valve cover gasket dirty!
As i was test driving the car when i was taking off the car hesitated a little bit the guy told me that it was because they just wash down the engine My question is should the engine hesitate even if it was just washed.

Hello Maximus,

My 0.02EUR on the topic -- valve cover seals on the W210's M119.985 shrink and degrade over time, causing both internal oil leaks into the spark plug wells and on external surfaces. I imagine that is what you observed on the vehicle in question.

The hesitation at launch is not caused by having just washed the engine. In my experience, there are several factors that cause a very noticeable "lag" when starting off:

* Sticky throttle cable -- lithium grease cures all.
* Engine not at operating temperature (ECU shift delay)
* Transmission vacuum low (modulator setting or leak)
* Air mixture is too rich (excess fuel)

Please note that "degreasing the engine" is not one of the choices :p In all fairness, perhaps he meant that cleaning the engine caused the coolant temperature to fall far enough to trigger the emissions-related shift delay.

-DM

[Gilly]

M119 engine, has electronic throttle.
E420 has 722.6, no vacuum modulator.......
If the mixture was too rich it'd throw a code.........
Gilly

[maximus]

Thanks a lot guys for all your replies I guess i am going to pass out on this e420 .I shoud probably look at an e430 also but i dont know if i can get one around 15k .

[Holson Adi]

I've driven a C43 (W202 with the 4.3L M112) and I didn't think that the engine sounded as exciting as the M119.

The exhaust though ....

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by Gilly

M119 engine, has electronic throttle.
E420 has 722.6, no vacuum modulator.......
If the mixture was too rich it'd throw a code.........
Gilly

Sorry Gilly.. should have clarified the statements. "In my personal experience" with vehicles other than a W210, the observations are accurate.

I disagree with the code comment though -- the controller compares readings across several drive cycles before triggering the CEL. Unless you read pending codes (and were certain the condition would persist), a rich condition during a test drive would be transparent. Except for raw fuel dripping out of the exhaust, of course ;-)

Moral of the story is, take the car out for another test drive before making up your mind. Unless the car has spotless maintenance records (and even then), be prepared for some expensive initial repairs. Just the nature of used Mercedes in my humble opinion.

-DM