I have put approx 300k miles on two 210 E's and have owned at least one 210E for the last 15 years. I will agree that the dash is less than steller but never had any of the other issues mentioned above. In fact, I still have the 210 E55. Runs like a champ and is so very reliable and still very fun to drive. Just can't seem to part with it.

I took a vacation day today, so I had some extra time, and I stopped in at the used car place and the owner let me drive the car.

I noticed a few things, electrical stuff like the driver's side seat switch was a bit funky, the volume control on the radio was also a bit funky, but the passenger seat switch worked fine.
The brake pad wear light was lit, and the car had to be jump started.
He opened the trunk to jump start it with a booster pack.
The car was repainted, he said because the original paint was faded.
There is no E420 on the decklid...

There was more wind noise than I expected, and a bit of vibration at highway speeds.
The odo seemed stuck around 70K miles, and the trip odo never went past 000.0.
Handling was pretty good, and it had no problems getting up to 80 mph in a little hole in urban highway traffic

The guy said I could take it home and get it to a trusted indy who can do an inspection for $159.

He even said the price was flexible.

I know the rational thing would be to buy a pre-owned Honda Accord, but I just like Mercedes better.

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

a pic

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

I would definitely get a PPI inspection on that one with the issues you describe. Could be some simple items or a money pit.

Stuck odometer is the deal breaker for me personally, I don't mess with true miles unknown cars. But that's up to you.

I do love Beryl blue though!

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

I will not try to talk you out of that car as long as the ppi comes back decent. That car is infinitely better than driving a soul-crushing minivan or crappy bmw. Buy it. Just buy it