Looking for a 2004-ish E class estate. Anyone?
Discussion
Have you looked into this at all?
The 2002-2006 W211 had all sorts of issues, including the infamous Valeo radiator (you might be just out of that with a 2004 car, but it's hard to tell) and the SBC brake pump which has a limited life and has to be replaced. The mid-2006 facelift cars are much, much better.
Does it have to be an E? C Class was facelifted mid 2004 and they're pretty good (I've got one).
The 2002-2006 W211 had all sorts of issues, including the infamous Valeo radiator (you might be just out of that with a 2004 car, but it's hard to tell) and the SBC brake pump which has a limited life and has to be replaced. The mid-2006 facelift cars are much, much better.
Does it have to be an E? C Class was facelifted mid 2004 and they're pretty good (I've got one).
Edited by Deva Link on Tuesday 9th November 21:54
I edited my post now.
Have a look here, for example: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/mercedes-benz...
Have a look here, for example: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/mercedes-benz...
JABB said:
OK, moving about a bit.
Id the Petrol car (320) a better bet than the CDi?
The early petrols may still have a Valeo rad.Id the Petrol car (320) a better bet than the CDi?
Some say the 320 petrol is a bit lacking in torque - I haven't tried one so can't comment. Personally, I prefer a revvy petrol to a non-revvy diesel. What you lose at the bottom end you gain at the top.
The 320 petrols are pretty rare though - I imagine the company car tax burden pushed new buyers to oil burners.
In the end I went for a pre-facelift E500 - a Feb 2005. All the kit imaginable bar one or two items (no distronic, no linguitronic, no air conned seats) and six months in and a few thousand miles later it all still works just fine.
The E320 petrol is nice, but does drink a bit more, you will see around 24mpg compared with 36 from the cdi.
The E350 however is better and seems to return around 28mpg average, and at the same time the later 3.0 cdi from 56 build onwards was actually worse consumtion wise, and does around 34mpg.
The E320 petrol is however silky smooth and really does show up the diesel in this respect.
I had the V6 E320 before my E320cdi and wanted another petrol, ideally an E500 or if not an E350, but there just isn't the cars out there, so went with an E320cdi in the the end, and it is fine.
The E350 however is better and seems to return around 28mpg average, and at the same time the later 3.0 cdi from 56 build onwards was actually worse consumtion wise, and does around 34mpg.
The E320 petrol is however silky smooth and really does show up the diesel in this respect.
I had the V6 E320 before my E320cdi and wanted another petrol, ideally an E500 or if not an E350, but there just isn't the cars out there, so went with an E320cdi in the the end, and it is fine.
One thing I will say, is that on a run the petrol will see 33/34 on a run where as the diesel is only slightly better at 37/39.
And, on cold days and short journeys the petrol will still do 24ish and the diesel is down to around 26ish, so not as much as people think/expect.
The petrol is silky smooth, you really do wonder if it has stalled whilst sitting at lights, not something you can say about the diesel.
But then the diesel and auto 'box does seem to be effortless in every day driving, basically, buy which ever one you can get in the colour/spec./age/mileage you want, I would take either.
And, on cold days and short journeys the petrol will still do 24ish and the diesel is down to around 26ish, so not as much as people think/expect.
The petrol is silky smooth, you really do wonder if it has stalled whilst sitting at lights, not something you can say about the diesel.
But then the diesel and auto 'box does seem to be effortless in every day driving, basically, buy which ever one you can get in the colour/spec./age/mileage you want, I would take either.
gizlaroc said:
I had the V6 E320 before my E320cdi and wanted another petrol, ideally an E500 or if not an E350, but there just isn't the cars out there, so went with an E320cdi in the the end, and it is fine.
I started looking in Feb and still have my Autotrader alerts running. In that nine months I've seen ads for a total of four E500 estates and one 320 petrol estate.....The good 500's (mine and one other) vanished in days. The others (funny colours/bad specs/overpriced) hung around for a while.
Pages and pages and pages of diesels, though.
Sorry to barge in, but I am looking for something a bit similar, but probably slightly later (and so more money). I have also posted an enquiry as to what are the "bad years" for MB; so far a response to that, and a comment on the Honest John page linked to above, suggest that 2006 is when they started to get less problematic again. So is this:
E350
Ok, or not...? A fair few miles, and enough money that one stops to think twice. All thoughts gratefully received.
E350
Ok, or not...? A fair few miles, and enough money that one stops to think twice. All thoughts gratefully received.
That should be fine - just make sure it really is a facelift, the visual difference is very subtle. I *think* they dropped SBC at the facelift so that issue goes away. And maybe the 7 speed box was intro'd at the facelift too - again, I'm not certain on the timing of that.
Some early 7 speed boxes did have all sorts of issues relating to change quality. Just make sure it changes up and down really smoothly, ideally from cold if you can test it when cold. And try it driving very gently and then again more firmly. The ATF should have been changed at 37,500 miles and MB say it's a one off but specialists say it should be done regularly and it's a time consuming job with the 7 speed box as it really needs to be hooked up to StarDiagnose (the MB diagnostic tool).
Otherwise it looks a heck of a lot of car - it must have listed well towards £50K.
Some early 7 speed boxes did have all sorts of issues relating to change quality. Just make sure it changes up and down really smoothly, ideally from cold if you can test it when cold. And try it driving very gently and then again more firmly. The ATF should have been changed at 37,500 miles and MB say it's a one off but specialists say it should be done regularly and it's a time consuming job with the 7 speed box as it really needs to be hooked up to StarDiagnose (the MB diagnostic tool).
Otherwise it looks a heck of a lot of car - it must have listed well towards £50K.
NLB said:
Sorry to barge in, but I am looking for something a bit similar, but probably slightly later (and so more money). I have also posted an enquiry as to what are the "bad years" for MB; so far a response to that, and a comment on the Honest John page linked to above, suggest that 2006 is when they started to get less problematic again. So is this:
E350
Ok, or not...? A fair few miles, and enough money that one stops to think twice. All thoughts gratefully received.
80k is nothing for one of those. I bought my 500 on 90+k and the only visual clue is a slighlty worn seat bolster. It's tight and rattle-free to drive and all of the toys work perfectly.E350
Ok, or not...? A fair few miles, and enough money that one stops to think twice. All thoughts gratefully received.
I would have thought that that 350 would be a faceflift.....but not sure about that one.
Anyway, 350 and 500 estates are rare as hens' teeth. If you are at all interested buy it. You may not see another one for months on end. I can't recall ever seeing a 350 estate on Autotrader.
EDIT....there are two there at the mo......
This one's a 7 seater with air and 17's - and lower miles - I'd personally trade some of the looks of the other one for the Air and & seats of this one
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...
Edited by angusc43 on Saturday 13th November 20:56
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