1997 E430 is it a good car ??????? help
 

we picked up a 1997 E430 with just 90,000 miles on it blk / blk and its in very very nice shape needs heater blower motor / relay ? no fan speed and a set of tires other than that it starts runs super quiet and very responsive - the further along i go the more the cars i have owned and worked on are dissapearing sooo is this a keeper i paid 4900 bucks for it < its a long story / dont know if i was hosed yet -- in jersey -- jz

If it is a '97 ....
 

then it is an E420 with a really good engine, if taken care of. If transmission has not been serviced, that needs to be done. As for the heater blower, there is a good chance that it's the blower regulator and not the blower motor itself. That's easy to fix. Just search this forum for instructions. $4900 for this car in good shape is a good deal. Did you get any service/repair history with it?

no i dident get any service info at all about the car but cars that are well cared for inside and out < cept for door dings and cerb rash ( jersey ) inpossable when you have to off street park for the sweaper every day > CITY < it runs and drives sweet very powerfull starts right up 30* in the morn now ??? can service it in my shop just dident know anything about this model u said 420 body well they all look the same to me 420 430 97 98 ??? will have to look closer - going after the blower relay tomorow its way cheaper than the motor was told to ground the motor and it should go to HI if the relay is defective so i will see - its iffy on what trans 722.6 is what i keep seeing and it takes special oil < been rebuilding transmissions since 1965 and that is a great smoaking mirror to be safe Mobil ! syn trans fluid will do the job - dodge adapted when MB owned them a syn oil for the diesel trucks they were having problems with at the time oil turning brown right away, it could also be that but i have used both cant see a difference the rubber seals and clutch material is all the same type of paper ans poly mixes used for the higher temps and low friction use of the OD units today ??????? anyway thanks for your help i want to give it to the wife but dont need the thing being a pain u no -- jz

Whether it's a 97 E420 or a 98 E430 is pretty important stuff on a lot of issues.

the vin check said E 430 and the cars badge and owners book ????? i dont know but when you try and find a 97 430 its not listed in edmons and vehix for 97 that i know - 98 yes but not 97

a 1998 E430 would have started to be manufactured in late 1997 (so the door plate won't tell you much). If you see the oil filter on top, front of the engine, it is an E430. E420 have a wider head cover and the filter on the passenger side.

If you have the 722.6 trans (you should confirm), then use the special MB fluid/filter not Mobil 1 syn.

Drain plugs in pan and torque convertor will get 90%+, You need special dipstick tool to set final level accurately. Very important that you do. See DIY's for details.

Go to this site and plug in VIN. You'll get all your questions answered -- model, chassis, engine, trans, etc. . No guessing.

http://old.mbclub.ru/mb/vin/?lng=eng

thanks

Your title is the definitive indicator of what you bought - hope you got a title. If you don't have a title the 10th digit of the VIN will tell you the model year - V for 97, W for 98, etc. and the 6th and 7th digits will tell you the model - 70 for a 430 and 72 for a 420. You're not alone but it never ceases to amaze me how many people don't know what car they own.

PS - either way you have a 722.6 transmission and need the MB fluid.

between the site info from richardM98 and denyel , it must be a 420 with 430 badges and car info -- and in jersey no title its stolen --- sooo now knowing that i paid what its worth, no real deal and that is ok its is a nice car thanks again - jz

John -

One last tip re:trans fluid. You can get the OEM fluid (MB packaging) from *************** or fastlane (this site). Considerably less than dealer.
Part No. 001 989 21 03 10. ($14.84/l last time I bought). This is the original 5sp fluid. However, some posters have said that MB is also approving the new 7sp fluid for use in the older transmissions. I haven't confirmed that but price is about half(?) of old fluid. I just did mine and decided that the extra $60 (for the older fluid) spread over 80,000 miles wasn't much of a hit.:D

Good luck with your 'new' car.

Your car still has a VIN number. What is it?

E420's have a 4.2 liter M119 engine.

E430's have a 4.3 liter M112 enigne.

1998 E430's and later cars have CAN bus, E420's don't. E430's also have fiber optic connections for the cd changer.

thanks richardM98 for the trans fluid tip


i do not have car fax sooo i do not know much about this car but chassis # is --WDBJF72F8VA309227 title sand what i found -- E420 1997 DOD 3 /12/ 96

W210 are a great car. If well taken care of with a carfax and inspection before purchase you should be good. I have the 2002 E320 and have only put basic servicing into it(Brakes, tires, fluids, whipers, rotors, filters) Its a great car. Test drive it and look out for rust, leaks and all the basic things and you should be good.

It is an 97 E320 according to Autocheck.

may have had as many as 6 owners (hard to say as these could just be changes of address depending on state and title requirements)

Had a duplicate title issued in July of this year (Title #:WN200820400000191)

Also been in NY and NJ all its life. Shows a bit over 80K on it... and it was in an accident, hit an Animal of some sort with the Right front on 1/22/2006