I'm am going to look at a used 1998 E300TD. Is there anything specific I should check to make sure it is in good shape? How is the year and model for quality? Would anyone be afraid of buying one with 135K? What is a decent price for this car with 135K?

Thanks for any help!

I just purchased a 98 E300D with 98,000 miles for $19000. It was optioned up with leather, zenon, rain sensing wipers, ect. Great car.
Look at the dash for cracks. This model is bad about it. Doesn't hurt anything and can be a way to negotiate the price down. Look at the service records and see it the car has been regularly serviced by a Mercedes Dealer. Walk around the car looking, test all windows and power accessories. Even windshield wipers and washers. If you buy the car and the transmission fluid has not been changed, change it. Mercedes calls it sealed but the Dealer here says it should be changed every 100,000 miles.
Good Luck!

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1995 S-350
370K + SOLD
1952 220B Cabriolet
39K kilometers + SOLD
1998 E300D
310K +
2012 E350 BlueTec
120K

All of what oldsouth said, and, because the car has miles on it, have a compression check done. If the compression is good, chances are the rest of the problems will be expensive but not so expensive as to make the car a bad deal. Check to see if the glow plugs have been replaced recently and if not, they should be checked out at least to verify all 6 are working. Changing a glow plug on this car is unnecessarily cumbersome and if it is done by MB service center guys, very costly. The plugs are not issue, it is how to gain access at $80 to $100 per hour that causes the problem. If you are a confident DIY mechanic, that issue becomes less of a cost problem and more of an issue with your time. Others on the site have done the job and posted detailed instructions. I have yet to experience the joy of taking off the intake manifold though, and do not look forward to it.

All the other issues with car are the same for all the W210 series vehicles. Overall, I love mine. Great economy and performance balance. Jim

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Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

Is a compression check fairly easy to do on this engine? We have a 3.5 hour drive to actually look at the car, and the nearest MB dealer to do the check is another 2.5 hours from there and wouldn't be able to see it for another 2 weeks. The car is advertised for $14,500. Good price if everything checks out?

$14.5 is a very fair price for that car.. but he may not know that.. after all that is what he is asking. Offer $13 or $13.5.

Other things to look for - lower front a-arm bushings that are cracked - may cause clunking or noises when turning Check the AC carefully. If you have a pencil thermometer stick it in an outlet with recirc on and full blast cold air inside the car. It should read in the mid 50's or lower. Check if AC compressor was replaced - mine had a bad seal. See if the low pressure R134 connection is clean or there is evidence of hands working around there ie dirt cleaned off fender, while replenishing 134 to hide a leak. Run all power seat controls back and forth. Bad contacts cause erratic motion. Check rear view mirror - if it is wobbly, the ball/socket is broken. Notice if there is any rattling in the Gear shift while at speed - worn rear bushing on shift linkage. Check rear end for leakage or if it is stained. Carefully look at the base of the direction/light stalk on the column. If it is loose, a new one will be required. From the inside of the trunk, look at the tail lights and sockets, If there is delamination of the solder channel ways, then you may have power problems to the lights.

These are my experiences after 104k miles as the original owner. Some can be fixed using help from this forum. The others will depend on your capability. Also some of the fixes repair the problem permanently (like the mirror and seat switches. In my opinion, the engineering and plastics chosen for some of components of the 210 are way off the mark. Maybe they outsourced that work back then!

Hope it helps and god luck.

Also, check for rust around the front upper coil spring retainers, it is called a "spring perch" and they are now known for premature failure. Currently there are people in the US bringing attention of this new issue (models W210) to the NTSB as this is a very serious issue and you should look very carefully before looking at anything else on the the car!

I'm surprised nobody has posted this warning to you above?

I've read elsewhere on the net that rust is a major problem for the 95-2003 E class. I live in Minnesota, so rusting easily is a concern. Anyone had any rust problems with them?

Just for the record, I was just thumbing through the NADA book. Retail for '98 was I believe $18,100. Trade-in was a couple grand below that, $15,000 or so.

At that mileage there isn't too much to worry about as long as the oil was changed regularly. Our '99 has over 170K and runs great. No oil burning or excessive soming. My '97 is the same with just over 153K.

Overall these are great cars. Just check the preliminary items. Also.... Get the VIn of the car and go to a Benz dealership and have the VMI printed out for it. This will display anything that the car was brought into service for. Just a tip...

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#dieselFLEET
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'97 E300
'99 E300

There are post's here on this forum about this subject. Use the search button at the top of your screen and look up "Spring Perch" you will find quite a bit of info.

Our 98 E300 was a "cursed" car, and we sold it not because it wasn't a great driving car, but because of all the time it spent on the hoist. The glow plugs were the worst problem, really impairing operation. We also had AC/ACC problems, control arm bushings and ball joints, final drive seals, main seals (both), cracking dash and broken power windows.

Talking to my indie, the glow plug problems seem to be able to be solved, but not by our dealers.

I would probably prefer a higher mileage E300, feeling that it would be a sorted out car.

Make sure you take the time and bother to have a PPI done. One major problem can be a bank-breaker.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

Sounds like you got a Lemon!

I'm not sure, but I doubt most all W210's are plagued with as many problems as you have indicated that you have had with yours, sorry to hear that!

However, the amount of material I have read, some here in the US, and many in Europe, about 5,6,7, year old W210's having unusual and premature rust, and having seen an MB W210 with big blotches of rust in the paint, I have strong doubts that I shall ever own one. I like my W124 much better and I have no cracks in my dash!

I'd like to speak for a minute about the window regulator problem in the later model Mercedes cars. I have a '95 350 and '98 E300 and have had rear window regulator problems in both. I finally decided to do the job myself the last time. The dealer always told me the cable and design of the thing is the problem. I agree with the design being bad, but the cable is a robust stainless steel cable that was not the problem on the one I replaced. The Problem IS (LISTEN MERCEDES) the cable runs around two pulleys and guess what. These pulleys are made of plastic and have no bearing in the center, just a bushing. One of the plastic pulleys was busted. Dang, a moron would know on something strung as tight as that cable is, to build it with a metal pulley with a bearing on it. I was really disappointed when I pulled the regulator out of the door and saw the problem. No wonder dealers do not complain. Easy job and you get to do it often. What ever happened to Superior German Engineering?? Guess all them engineers moved to Japan.

Sorry for the rant. I love my Mercedes, but I hate any company that cuts corners. It is beginning to show in reliability ratings. Really disappointing.

__________________
1995 S-350
370K + SOLD
1952 220B Cabriolet
39K kilometers + SOLD
1998 E300D
310K +
2012 E350 BlueTec
120K