Greetings to everyone after many months off this forum

My W124 is going to retire after a short but adventurous career in our household, it will be sold next month and replaced.

The next in line will be a superb example of an E320 Elegance 4Matic from 2001, in blue-gray metallic livery. The negotiations had been concluded and paperwork is under way. It has the following features:

- M112 V6 engine;
- 5G-Tronic automatic transmission;
- dark-grey leather interior;
- Xenon headlights;
- on-board navigation;
- ABS+ESP;
- 18in wheels;
- "power everything" seats, mirrors, windows

I would like to know which are the weak spots of the model, what to expect and which maintenance is to be performed (and what consumable items such as fluids to use).

Thank you,

~Nautilus

__________________
1990 260E Sportline (that's 300E 2.6 for our American friends) -> sold
2001 E320 4Matic Elegance -> my Dad's daily drive
2005 Seat Leon FR 1.8T

Congratulations to your new ride. I am having almost the same transition from W124 to W210. After my beautiful and reliable 1989 300CE was wrecked I am now waiting for delivery of a E320. Due to budget restriction it is not a 2001 like yours but a 1996 with 130K miles.

I read that 2001-2005 models suffered some quality problems in the time of Daimler-Chrysler merge, hope that your car is not affected.

I paid 6,950.- for mine, If yours is under 10K it is a good deal.

__________________
1996 E320 since 1/16/08, 171K miles as of Feb 2011

---------------------------------------------------------
1989 300CE - R.I.P. Dec 29 2007
Other MBs (sold): 1992 300E-24 - 1979 350SLC - 1984 230E - 1990 300CE

Nautilus,

Do a quick search, tons of info about 210 models here, including weak spots. Here are a few items off the top of my head (in no way fully inclusive):

- chassis rust (door frames, trunk lid, wheel well arches)
- harmonic balancer
- catalytic converter failure around 150,000 Km (rattles)
- frequent bulb replacement (tail lights and city driving lights especially)
- front seat creaks
- signal stalk on steering column gets loose
- instrument cluster console pixels missing (facelifted models, 2000 MY+)
- corrosion at battery pan

As far as fluids, the key here is to use only MB and MB-approved fluids. I would be sure to use an approved oil, MB spec 229.3 or higher I believe for your model. I would also do an extra oil change in between recommended FSS intervals, especially on a car with some mileage. Sludging and engine wear/oil consumption at the rings in these engines (M112/113) can be an issue. I've got some oil consumption on my M113 that I'm presently dealing with.

There is also the debate about the 'lifetime fill' of the transmission fluid. Personally, and my tech agrees, I think this is BS and I changed my fluid and filter and will do so every 50,000 Km or so. If changed, use only MB tranny fluid.

Enjoy the ride, the W210 is a great car! I miss some aspects of my 300E - like it's incredible build quality and ease of most DIY jobs - but the performance of the W210 makes up for it. My only complaint here is that I found the stock suspension a bit too soft (my car has the E55 suspension, so it is lowered and stiffer). You are going to love the tranny and engine performance and the xenons are fantastic. No going back now.

__________________
Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

Thank you all

By conversion from kilometers to miles, car has 90k miles on the dash

In your currency it's a lot over 10,000 - the dollar had a pretty nasty slide against the euro in the last few months

~Nautilus

__________________
1990 260E Sportline (that's 300E 2.6 for our American friends) -> sold
2001 E320 4Matic Elegance -> my Dad's daily drive
2005 Seat Leon FR 1.8T

No problem, you are welcome. It's a funny coincidence - I bought my E430 from a Romanian (here in Canada). Veni, vidi, vici.

__________________
Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

Interesting pattern here, I replaced my '89 W124 300TE 156K miles last year with a perfect '01 W210 4-Matic wagon w/52k miles. Garage kept, not a water spont on it.
MB replaced the instrument cluster (pixel issue) under warranty, balancer was not in the scope of the recall, replaced a bulb or two here or there. I elected to have the dealer service the trans at 56k while still under warranty. I change oil every 6k w/filter. I just put new rotors, pads, and sensors on the front due to warpage. MB would not cover this, but that's no big deal since I can buy at cost from them. We bought this car for the long haul and the pleasure it returns while driving it. Dennis

__________________
....just drive'em!
'89 300TE White w/Blue, 152K SOLD!
'93 300E Blue w/Tan, 154K SOLD!
'01 E-320 4-Matic wagon, 130K
'67 Vette Conv. White w/Blue, 217,421K

Hi Dennis,

1. Did your car has a longer warranty than 4 years/50K miles? my friend's 2005 CLK 320 has 56K miles and the warranty has expired although just 2 and 1/2 years old.

2. Is there any recall number or TSB for instrument cluster of W210 (pixel issue), I got the same issue.

Thanks!

__________________
1996 E320 since 1/16/08, 171K miles as of Feb 2011

---------------------------------------------------------
1989 300CE - R.I.P. Dec 29 2007
Other MBs (sold): 1992 300E-24 - 1979 350SLC - 1984 230E - 1990 300CE