1999 E320 100,000 Miles, buy or sell?
 

So an older lady passed away, I have been asked to help sell her car, its an MB so they call me. I am thinking, perhaps I want it .
Fully serived by factory , all intervals to this point .
Pros. Cons of this year model, this is pretty pampered MB/
Thinking of it for my youngest ..
Appreciate any insight Looks to book around 7K??

As long as it passes a P.P.I. shouldn't be any hassle.

Things to look out for are rust in spring perches and doors, transmission has been serviced, oil leaks from front of engine at oil filter and cooler. Rear window regulators.

well I am the PPI guy :) except I only am comfortible around the older ones, hence the post. Thanks for your input, will do

I personally think its a great engine. I'd say if you like the car, do it!

$6-7k sounds about right. We picked up our 2002 CLK320 for $6500 with 103k.

Ron

I have a 1997 E420 and a 2002 E55. The W210 is an excellent car. Silky smooth, nice handling and very reliable. Overall I've had very little go wrong with my E420. It's like a Japanese car, you just change the oil put air in the tires and drive.

I'm not too familiar with the v6 engines but I can tell you about the chassis and transmission.

1) - Transmission, i was designed as a sealed for life unit but could use a fluid flush and filter change. The 722.6 needs special fluid , use the MB approved stuff.
2) - Transmission conductor plate - Can case limp home mode if it goes bad, replacement is about $150.
3) - Brake switch - can cause limp home mode and ASR light to trip. Replacement is cheap
4) - Rust, check everywhere, specially spring perch and behind the rubber door seals.
5) - Sway bar bushings - Make an annoying rattle
6) - Control arm bushings - Cause a shake at 70mph +/- that feels like out of balance wheels
7) - Blower motor regulator, goes bad. I think the 99's have the updated unit

Aside from this, it's a very comfortable, well built and reliable car. As it's an 99, it uses OBDII which makes diagnosing problems easy.

perfect , thanks AL, I plan on driving it next day or so , I will update then..

1999 E320 100,000 Miles, buy or sell?
 

I now have 177k on my "98 E320 and going for 200k. Things to check:
1) Crank position sensor
2) Harmonic balancer
3) Spring perches for rust
If it has proper service records it should be a good car and $7K sounds about right.

Ron, a few years back I posted a "common issues" thread in the W210 forum help/diy stickies over at benzworld. If you're doing the PPI it's useful to work from.

If that trans hasn't been serviced that would be the first thing I'd take care of.

Good luck.

Radiator replacement is required if it is the stock Valeo unit. It leaks coolant into transmission then it goes BOOM!

spring perches
 

can I reweld to beef it up,or do I need to add metal?

If it has no rust and hasn't been wrecked, I'd buy it in a heartbeat, if I needed a car. Maybe even if I didn't. I love my 210. I drive lots of new rental cars around having to travel for work and always enjoy coming home to the 210. It represents one of MBs best efforts.

Mine has started to rust through from the failure of the clear coat in lots of spots so I will probably let her go. Were it not for that I would happily continue to fix the little things that come up. But I will find another 210 soon.

The repair on the perches is rivetted-on perches, not welded. If I had one I would be tempted, even in good shape, to rivet the piss out of perches. BIG rivets, not pop rivets. Big Daddy rivets you need a 3 foot long rivet gun to attach, or an air-powered gun.

If the trans hasn't been serviced I would count my blessings and leave it alone.

OK . drove her and saw the massive archive on service. one owner , all service records
all done at MB
Highlights:
new CAT and exhaust
crank pulley
tranny flush and fluid
harmonic balancer
front end ball joints
valve cover gaskets.oil pan gaskets
drives great, some vibration at speed but needs tires and may be the reason
I did not see anything on radiator
absolutely no rust
interior good, headliner loose
I am going to pull the trigger, like I need another MB:)

The problem with the perches is not the attachment, it's the sealant. They were hit or miss as to how well they sealed the welds. If you peel it back to check, then you have to reseal, if it's all corroded, you'd have to replace, and there's likely to already be enough degraded metal at that point that you won't have anything to weld to.

That said, if you have some metal and could figure out where to tie on to strengthen it, it's worth a look-see.

Good luck.

you guys kinda hykjacked my thread. Its ok ...... but I really am looking for input on the sale /no sale ideas

I've always wondered if 4Matic perches could be added, they have a brace already. Or if the brace could be added.

With the new cats and the rest of the history, sounds like you have a winner there. Enjoy.

Don't worry so much about the spring perches, with that history I'm sure the dealer has examined for failure. Mine, even with the rust problem on the body has none whatsoever on the spring perches. The sealant on them has held perfectly.

I did review more closely the recall. THis car was checked , but HB was not replaced. I am going to get under it and make sure the part in not in the recall batch. I suspect if it was they would have replaced, but I have heard if it looked good they may have left it.
In any repsect it deserves a look. and BTW the dealer will no longer honor the recall, because it was already "signed off on'' hmmm

If MB serviced it's likely that issues like spring perch corrosion have been looked at. 7K may be a little high. If you want it, I'd offer 6K and see where it goes. W210's well taken care of can last 250K and are reliable, safe (5 star/4 star) and economical (~19 city/ 28 highway).

My dealer replaced the HB even though it looked good.

yes , my concern, I will know in a few days

It would depend on the sale price I could get it for.

The headliner is a $450.00 job, as quoted to me (for my W210) by an indy trim/upholstery and headliner shop in Dallas that I visited recently.

The good thing about a car of this age with complete records where you know all the weak points of the model, and that you have had the luxury of being the sales consultant contacted to view and drive the car, so once the sale price is established and negotiated, it's easy to go from there, yea or neah.

Our CLK320 is pretty good with economy. We average 26mpg although mostly freeway...still pretty respectable.