Hello all,

We have a 2005 E320 CDI and so does my mother. Hers has 80,000 miles and ours has 55,000 miles on it. We just purchased ours and I have not had to do any work to it. My mother's has a lower A-Arm bushing out and the car sqeaks loudly. Apparently she is to get new arms installed by an indy for a parts cost of $250.00 each. I have asked her to save the old parts as I plan on getting new bushings and rebuilding them.

My First Question for E320 CDI owners out there: Is this common? I realize that there is not alot of time for history on these cars, but thought that if anyone else has this issue, I could locate them here.

Secondly, on the same visit she needed coils/glow plugs (I am not sure which or if there is a difference on this car - I have replaced glow plugs on other cars). This seems odd at only 80000 miles. Anyone have any similar experiences?

Both of our cars have been dependable (in my view) up to this point as only oil changes, brakes, and general maintainence items have been required. I am a fairly competent DIYer and expect to get into the sensotronic breakes eventually, and other tasks like cleaning the EGR, etc.

As much as I like to drive, and maintain the older MB Diesels, things come to a point where the worn-out seats, and rust (in the northeast) become insurmountable issues towards driiving the older vehicles and it is time (for me) to move forward, accept change, and find a way to work on the new ones..

Thanks in advance for any responses...

I'm surprised to hear about control arms bushings going bad on a CDI. They are notorious for wearing on the W210's but those are older cars. It looks like MB still hasn't figured out how to make longer-lasting bushings on the newer cars. Needing glow plugs at 80K miles isn't anything unusual though. Don't know anything about "coils". That sounds like something from a gasser.

I agree the older MB diesels are getting harder to find in good shape. But here on the west coast it's still possible to find a decent one if you have the patience.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

It is a funny thing, I did not realize the control arms were such a common thing on W210's. I have a 98 E300 with 200K miles and never have had a control arm issue. But after searching the site, I see differently.

Just shows the value opf the site.

Did you buy your '98 used? If so, the arms or at least the bushings have probably been replaced already.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

Don't you have a W211, not a W210?

Sorry for the confusion-> We have both w210 and w211 (98e300, and 2005e320cdi)