Yes, and be sure to inspect electrical connector at front of transmission for leaking. MAF sensors don't last forever, either.

If looking at a low-mileage 2002, remember that warranty on CAT converters is 8 yrs/80K miles so inspect and you might get new ones for nothing.

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

We work on all German cars, but at least 50% of the cars that come in the shop of W210 chassis cars right now. In all honesty, they seem require a LOT less "maintenance" than an old W124 chassis but I don't think they are near as robust. Give me a '95 well-maintained E320 with 250K on the clock and a '98 E320 with similar maintenance and miles and the W124 would probably be tighter, quieter, and the interior would probably be in better shape due to better materials. That being said, late W210's are great cars and easy to work on, and the problems other than the transmissions and spring perches are all usually minor. The M112 has lots of room under the hood to get to stuff, but I think the M113 V8 might be a slight touch more reliable and would be my choice.

Kent, thanks for the note. Good idea on the cats. I have a friend that works for a local MB dealership (repair) -- I'd get him to handle it.

Arkie, great information. Thanks for relaying it. My W124 seemed like it would've run for years and 300k miles...but I'd have to live with that dang front cover oil leak. Nice to hear about how the W210s require "a LOT less maintenance than the W124s chasis"... Because that's what I spent most of my spare time doing with our W124 I see the W210 as being another transition car that we'll probably pick up at under 80k and drive until 150k or so. Good to note about the interior wear/quality difference. One thing about the W124, the leather seating/trim was so durable and high quality. I'd be suprised if the W210s aren't close to that quality...but I've not seen one yet.

Just curious, why would the W113 V8 be more reliable than the 320 model? Internally (timing chain, piston ring/valvetrain wear, etc.)? Or externally (water pump, air pump, sensors, fuel injection, etc.). Great to know what to expect.

Enjoy the beautiful fall days, Arkie. I'm a former MS / GA resident. No pines/hills/slab crappie in Dallas ;(

I think the M113 ends up being more reliable because it doesn't have to work as hard - that's why there is very little fuel economy penalty. If you drive the 2 on a daily basis, the V-6 always seems to be in a slight strain compared to the V-8.

The W210 is a pretty good successor to the W124, about what you would expect. I'm actually thinking about one myself - just waiting for the right one to come along. You can certainly find low-mileage E320's for cheaper than similar E430's right now. If I wait long enough, I might just hold out for the W211 - everything so far on the ones we see seems like its going to be a good car long-term, though I'd want the earlier ones that still have the M112 vs. the M272 (the M272 of the E350 has had some problems with countershaft gears stripping and it requires engine removal to put new shafts in, and pulling the timing chain - though we haven't had one in the shop for this yet).

Your insight has inspired more questions -- hope you don't mind.

--- Interesting. Our '95 E320 always seemed to have an abundance of power, IMHO. Of course, my wife went from a n/a Volvo 940. Is the M113 power less linear (noticable across the entire RPM range) than my '95 was?

---- Everything I read about the W211s was "stay away from the early ones (E320 model)...go '06 and up. So I was convinced that if we jumped on this new of a model, it would be an '07. BUT, it sounds like the '06/7 E320 models have potential issues with the crank countershaft. Not good. But good to know. Any more details we'd all greatly appreciate.

(Is it just me, or do the 211s look my "generic" than the 210s?)

In all honesty, we're mostly working on 04-06's right now (W211's), we're just doing oil changes and a few brake fluid changes on anything newer. The common problem we see on W211's is the auxilliary battery and a few of the charging module for it.

I find the M112 plenty adequate for "just driving around." Yes, the M113 is going to feel as if it's working less hard because it can just waft along on all that torque. But I almost never rev the M112 beyond 2500RPM in normal driving, how much less stressed can you get than that?

Relative to the M104 I find the M112 seems to have a smoother torque curve. It pulls better right off idle and doesn't suddenly come on the cams like the inline six. You could say it feels less sporting, but I find the power characteristics to be better for workaday driving. (I currently own one of each.)

- Jim

Well, there is the rust. Oh, and the rust.

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Roger E.

Hey guys, just wanted to update you. I'm flying from Dallas to Alabama tomorrow a.m. to pick up a three-owner 2002 E320 Special Edition (silver/silver) with 77k. The price is just at $10k. She has the 17" five-holers, which I love. The car is for my wife.

Have the MB VMI sheet - and understand why the first owner got rid of the car after three years.... Get this: 13 warranty services under 30k in three years -- 2!! steering racks; cam position sensor; control arm mounts, one cat, flexible srv. (FSS) system?, axle seal ring, pinon bearing drive?, upstream 02 sensor, brake light switch,CD changer) -- and again at 61k (light engine work? and CSI clean up.

Also spoke to the shop that maintained it under a third-party service warranty and got the skinny, verifying that all services were done on schedule. Also spoke to the third owner (the car is at a car lot) who loved the car and said it never gave him a lick of trouble. Don't think he considers replacing two window regulators, a cooling fan (wobbly shaft), front rotors and pads, and the ACC control unit "trouble" . He bought the car from a good friend of theirs (2nd owner) -- so I think I've got a pretty good sense of the history.

I'll report in often on what I'm taking on regarding preventative maintenance etc., and with questions I'm sure. My wife and I are excited to be back in the MB fold, for sure, even with the wrench turning I'll have to do.

Thanks to everyone that responded to this thread and especially to Paul for e-mailing back and forth with me.

Wish me luck on the 600+ mile drive back to Dallas tomorrow!

Ah, so you didn't manage to kick the habit! Welcome back to the fold.

Sounds like a nice car you found. I'm a little surprised you had to go so far afield to find a good example, given that you live in DFW.

The VMI on my ex-2001 wagon had more work than you would like to see as well. But you know what - by the time I got it, everything had been sorted out. One window regulator was the worst problem I had in 5+ years.

Best of luck with the new ride.

- JimY

Hey Jim, thanks for the note and vote of confidence That's exactly how I explained the VMI to my wife. And is exactly what the case was with my 960 volvo... the dealer repair receipts from the orignal owner stack 1" high -- but even with 160k on the odometer, she's the most reliable car I've ever had.

I was surprised too. about the lack of quality cars in the DFW area.. but everything I was finding here was either retail priced or had prior accident issues. One car I looked at last week ('02 / black) had factory paint all over it except for the rear drivers door and quarter and one side of the trunk lid, yet the hood and fenders had been removed.

Not a good sign. And none of that showed up in the carpy carfax report. Total red flag.

The quality/private party valued cars just aren't here -- which suprised me. I concluded that all the nice one or two owner cars were getting snapped up by wholesalers and then auctioned, which are primarily procured at various car dealerships in the metroplex. Most of the car lot cars (craigslist, autotrader, etc.) I saw had issues.

Nice thing is my flight will cost nothing (employee perk). I'll just lose hotel fare for a night and some fuel money and about 10 hours of driving time

Welcome back to the fold, Chris. Looks like a nice car, except for the fact that it's missing a V8.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Holy hell that list reads more like an Audi's repair history than a Mercedes' (M-class excepted ). Must've been a Monday/Friday car during Oktoberfest or something. Should be a good car for your wife if the last owner had no issues, though.

I suggest picking up a crank position sensor and replacing it ASAP as a precautionary measure (it's at the right mileage for it to fail, there's a 50/50 chance of it giving you any warning before it fails, and when it fails it WILL leave you/your wife stranded), and you should change the trans. fluid, filter, and electrical connector assembly if there are no records of it being done when you get it home, too. Diff fluid wouldn't be a bad idea either, depending on when the warranty work on that was done; nobody ever remembers to do it.

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-Kevin
Past: '67 250SE, '86 & '87 560SELs
Projects: '73 Buick Riviera, '75 350SE (grey market, stick shift)
Cars that actually run under their own power:'87 300D Turbo, '03 Corvette Z06, '07 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Limited

Arkie is right. I had an E320 and now have an E430. The car is a lot more "plug & play" than the E320, although that was reliable too. There's nothing to adjust - just wait for something to fail. My nits:
- Interior CAN bus gremlins are tough to troubleshoot (lose all windows, reset battery to fix, repeat)
- Headliner is sagging in the rear - the W124 had a better one.

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Prost!

We don't see much interior CAN problems on the W210 for some reason, we see more on the W220 and W203 (door control modules, seat modules, rear SAM's). Gotta love cars that lose their battery overnight!