Normal temp operating range?? 2001 E320
 

just got the car, its my first W210
when Im cruising down the road it sits right at 80C at the halfway point but when i sit in rush hour or downtown stop and go traffic it creeps up a little. its never went alarmingly high, just enough to notice a definite temp change.
then I hear the fan kick on, and it returns close to its normal spot.
Is this something I should be worried about? Ive put roughly 1000 miles on the car since purchase
just wanted to note this happens weather the climate control is on or off. A/C or not. also the average outside temp is about 50F

That sounds perfectly normal.

If you don't know when the coolant was last serviced you should take care of that, too.

I doubt you hear the fan kick on - the fan is pulse width modulated and has quite some variable speeds, the only time Ive heard it was when I parked a hot car in a closed garage and then started it 10 minutes later, that fan was extra loud.

in normal operation the gauge sticks to 81C or 82C, sitting in traffic it will creep to 98C.

Anything above 105C and below 80C is not normal.

Yeah the M112's seem to run a little warmer in hot traffic and slow driving than the older ones. All of the ones in my family seem to go closer to 85-90C in slow traffic or sitting.

The fan is a fully variable speed seriously powerful unit. When its hot out it can move some serious air!