2000 e320 looking to buy - what to look for
 

Hi everyone

I've been away since my nephew totaled my 190 16V last year. I'm now considering buying an e320 2000. I test drove one today and put down a deposit. The car has 35K miles on it. Pretty low miles but looks like it has some pretty good wear on the inside. The headliner around the back seat is pretty dirty and some signs of kids turned loose inside the car. It must be a mom's car. The car apparently just came off a lease. The outside is in pretty decent shape. It's black and charcoal interior. Also, the dash clock and odometer LCD under the speedometer and tach look like they're burning out. Some of the numbers are barely legible. Is this a common problem. The dealer says it needs new bulbs. I'm not sure about that.

In test driiving the car, it seems pretty tight still. Good solid feel. On thing I did notice is a feel of drifting or wallowing. Could this be a sign of needing alignment.

Anything else I need to lookout for? Any tips would be a big help before I plunk down $17K.

Thanks in advance.

Check if the harmonic balancer has been changed with the updated part. Also, check for maintenance records on the car, if the inside is that beat up after only 35k miles and 5 years, I would be slightly suspect on how the rest of the car was cared for.

It sounds like this car has more miles then actually showing on the odometer. Have you looked for signs of this other then what you mentioned? Have you done a carfax?

I know that the LED light failure in the dash displays is a very common problem in that vehicle and other Benzs that used the COMAND system/display. I've seen it many times while researching the E's and CLK's from '00 to '02. It usually surfaces early though so most have been fixed under warranty. (unless low mileage to model yr like your prospect)

I wonder why the previous owner didn't have it fixed under warranty? Also I'm pretty sure (but not certain) that solving that display problem is not as simple as replacing bulbs. I think the whole cluster or at least a good portion of it needs to be replaced.

http://i24.ebayimg.com/03/a/05/80/07/33_4.JPG
http://i6.ebayimg.com/02/a/05/79/99/12_4.JPG

Good luck and let us know what you find out/end up doing. ;)

Look for a Japanese import. You can buy a new or nearly new one for that price. I personally don't like them but in the long run you'll be better off. Quality is far better than a MB.

Picked up the car
 

I finally picked up the car over the weekend. Thanks for everyones input. The instrument cluster does need to be replaced. It looks just like the picture you provided. It was not the bulb being burned out as they had initially indicated. I got a $500 reduction in price. The dealer said if I decide to have it replace, they will replace for $600. I think I'll wait a while. The only thing that is illegible is the outside temp and part of the clock. I'm okay with that.

Other than that, the car is in pretty good shape mechanically. I also had a 20 point inpsection by another dealer. It checked out. After the inside/outside was detailed, it actually looked much better.

The things that I need to take care of are; new tires for the Chicago winter - The Michellins are horrible. I also replaced the battery over the weekend. The car died a couple of times while sitting out in the cold.

I do have a couple of follow up questions. I did a search and did not find the answer. I borrowed an OBD reader from Autozone (Actron) to see if there's any hidden codes. I've used this same tool on other cars before (Volvo, Lexus, VW) and it works well. It seems to support all the protocols. But, it gave me an "Link Error" when I used it on the E320. Does this model use a different unique (Mercedes only) protocol. I thought Mercedes uses the ISO protocol. Does anyone have any info on this one.

The other thing is that the "Express" function of the power windows for both up and down does not work. When I push the button past the click-point, the windo just stops . I reset it following the manual instruction when I changed the battery, but it doesn't seem to work.. I'm not sure if it was that way before I replaced the battery. Any ideas.

Thanks in advance. I will post these 2 question in a separate post.

The OBD II code reader should work, try it in 3 different key positions. They're all a little different.

This car included scheduled maintenance during the warranty period. With 35K on the clock, it's probably had 3 services - 2 'A' and 1 'B'. Since the owner didn't have any out of pocket and the dash display nags you to have the car serviced, it's likely the basics were done. That said, dealers only change the coolant and brake fluid if the owner requests that service (even though it's covered during the warranty period), so you may need to bring that work up to date.

You should be able to have a dealer run a VMI for you - it'll show warranty work so you can determine whether the harmonic balancer has been replaced. I forget whether the VMI shows the routine servicing.

- JimY

[QUOTE=Flippu10
The things that I need to take care of are; new tires for the Chicago winter - The Michellins are horrible.
[/QUOTE]

My 98 E320 had the same problem when I brought it back from San Diago. The original owner replaced the original tires with Michelins that were intended for summer driving. I ended up buying a set of snow tires (Michelin Pilot Alpine) and a set of knock-off rims that I switch out in the winter. Now the car handles like a 4WD vehicle.

You are also due for a spark plug change, Mercedes recommends 5 years or 100K miles which ever comes first. If you wait until 100K miles the plugs will be very difficult to remove. When I replaced my plugs I used anti-seeze on the threads and dielectic greese in the spark plug boots.

Good luck with your new Mercedes.

Tried again, worked fine
 

Thanks for the quick response and help. It worked on position 2. No codes found.

Dealer checked routine maint
 

The dealer checked it out for me as part of the 20 point inspection. Basic maintenance was performed. All recalls including harmonic balancer were performed.

I already changed the oil and filter over the weekend. I plan to do a tune up next weekend (plugs and air filter replace). I'm also putting in Auto-RX to clean out the engine then I will use Mobil 1. I noticed some tar buildup on the inside of oil filler cap.

More Old Wives Tales. :rolleyes:
I'll match my car against ANY riceburner out there, anytime. ;)

This car will have had Mobil 1 all its life, so I wouldn't bother with any "clean out" additives. Change the oil and it'll be fine.

- JimY

Don't do that.

The C class like yours is a mercedes that actually compares to the japanese cars. And you paid about 12K more. A used merc especially pre 2000 is a better deal then the japanese cars and feel moe solid. But i would take a 2004 Accord over your 2000 C Class anyday considering i get a newer car that is more cost effective with leather seats, cd changer and all the goodies for the same price approx. When u go into the E class, S class, Slk's and actually anything over the C class is when merc diffrentiates itself from the japanese and can be worth paying the price.