W211 Information

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Xtype

Original Poster:

2,788 posts

197 months

Wednesday 18th April 2012
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Hi All,

I was looking at buying a new car in the next few weeks I was going to get something sporty but my wife said I would get bored and start to loose intrest etc...She is quite right too smileI like my big comfy cars that cruise along without much effort.

So I started to look at E320's and was wondering what should I look for when buying one? how reliable are they and what are the V6 Diesel engines like?

Having never owned a Mercedes before except for AMG the Avantgarde is the highest spec trim level for the E class?

Cheers all.

e320dave

685 posts

150 months

Wednesday 18th April 2012
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I have a late 2006 E320. I got mine in the sport Trim. I bought it 2nd hand and was not specifically looking for a sport. It has everything the Avantgarde has with the addition of bigger wheels (I think 17" instead of 16"), sport seats and tinted windows (maybe a couple of other bits as well). Mine also has the AMG styling pack (18" AMG III wheels, skirts and bumpers). Try going for the post facelift 211 (late 06 onwards). They have managed to iron out the gremlins and rust should not be an issue. There are a lot of electrics on the car, so I would advise to make sure that everything works as it should, otherwise it could be costly to fix.
The V6 diesel is a good engine. Plenty of power. However I do find that my MPG is not good at all (approx 32mpg on motorway). I am not sure if this is normal with my driving, but I used to get a lot more out of my 530d that I had before.
As far as reliability goes, so far in the 10 months I have owned mine, I have had to do the following:
-2 new rear tyres
-new pads and discs up front
-New front lower nearside ball joint
-Glow plugs
-Lots of Diesel!

Can't put those down to unreliability as they are considered consumables and can need replacing on any car.
Lastly like most RWD, they are st in the snow, however Winter tyres and wheels (needed as mine were staggered and didn't want winters on 18s) worked wonders.

yellowbentines

5,296 posts

206 months

Wednesday 18th April 2012
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I had a W211 2008 E220 cdi Avantgarde estate for 3 years and 40000 miles, loved it and it needed nothing other than routine servicing, paint and leather looked like new when I traded it in. Sold it and missed it so badly I bought another E-Class 2 weeks ago, albeit a W212 E200 cgi (petrol).

Avantgarde with auto, full leather with heated seats and COMAND is a very well specified car, and
Avantarde trim as standard comes lots of things you might not get as standard on the equivalent trim BMW/Audi such as electric seats, electric heated power folding mirrors, bi-xenons, parktronic front & rear, auto lights, auto wipers, hold function, multi-function steering wheel etc etc.

I didn't feel the E220 cdi was underpowered personally, obviously not as swift as the V6 E320 cdi but cheaper to service and fuel, although probably not by much on fuel as I used to get 38mpg combined on a good day.

yellowbentines

5,296 posts

206 months

Wednesday 18th April 2012
quotequote all
Oh, and yes, they are rubbish in snow, last winter I left it at home and drove the MX-5 during the worst of the bad weather as it was at least easier to push out of deep snow!

G Man

4,053 posts

259 months

Wednesday 18th April 2012
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We spotted some massive saving on E class at drivethedeal.com last week fwiw
If you want more mpg than the V6 diesel the E250 is twin turbo'd then the brabus chip makes it comparible and the warrenty is still MB
The avantguard comes with xenon and leather and the ride is better than the Sport.

Xtype

Original Poster:

2,788 posts

197 months

Wednesday 18th April 2012
quotequote all
cheers guys,

I'm looking to get a face lift model, 06+ and I quite like them in Black, grey and the golden/silver colour..Cubanite? so is the sport model higher spec'd than the Avantgrades? I'm still coming to terms with the naming! smile

Edited by Xtype on Wednesday 18th April 21:45

yellowbentines

5,296 posts

206 months

Thursday 19th April 2012
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Xtype said:
golden/silver colour..Cubanite?
Me too, see my previously owned in my profile for my old cubanite - marmite colour but I loved it and it hides the dirt pretty well.

e320dave

685 posts

150 months

Thursday 19th April 2012
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The sport is the highest spec (although not much difference between the two - prob just wheels and one or 2 other little things), however as G Man mentioned, the ride on the sport could be harsher than the Avantgarde. My car does have the airmatic suspension (not sure if this is standard accross the range) so the ride is not that bad. Unfortunately when I bought mine 2nd hand, there were not that many decent E320 estates around so didn't get much choice on colour/spec so ended up with silver. Would have liked black with a light colour interiour, but alas it was not meant to be. At least I can get away without washing it for a quite a while without it looking too bad. As mine is used with the dogs, I am glad mine came with tinted windows which it seemed most of the Avantgardes did not.

yellowbentines

5,296 posts

206 months

Thursday 19th April 2012
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e320dave said:
The sport is the highest spec (although not much difference between the two - prob just wheels and one or 2 other little things), however as G Man mentioned, the ride on the sport could be harsher than the Avantgarde. My car does have the airmatic suspension (not sure if this is standard accross the range) so the ride is not that bad. Unfortunately when I bought mine 2nd hand, there were not that many decent E320 estates around so didn't get much choice on colour/spec so ended up with silver. Would have liked black with a light colour interiour, but alas it was not meant to be. At least I can get away without washing it for a quite a while without it looking too bad. As mine is used with the dogs, I am glad mine came with tinted windows which it seemed most of the Avantgardes did not.
Airmatic isn't standard across the range, however most of the estates have self-levelling rear suspension, certainly my avantagarde did.

Avantarde does have slightly lower, stiffer suspension than standard, and in terms of spec compared to a Sport I think (correct me if I'm wrong) there's really not much in it other than the sport has bigger wheels, different exterior bodystyling/exhaust and slightly stiffer suspension again.

There are avantgardes out there with tinted rear glass, so I went for one and stuck on some 18" AMG wheels, sort of half avantgarde/half sport without the really stiff suspension smile

gizlaroc

17,251 posts

223 months

Thursday 19th April 2012
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I have always bought BMWs, but bought a 211 e320cdi estate as I needed the space.

Fell in love with it.

Best car I have ever owned.

Sold it last month, regretted it and bought an E350cdi estate today.

It really is all the car you ever need.

Xtype

Original Poster:

2,788 posts

197 months

Friday 20th April 2012
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cheers guys smile I cant wait to take one out for a test drive driving

yellowbentines

5,296 posts

206 months

Friday 20th April 2012
quotequote all
gizlaroc said:
Sold it last month, regretted it and bought an E350cdi estate today.
hehe another one who sold then regretted, I lasted 6 months before I had to get myself another.

e320dave

685 posts

150 months

Friday 20th April 2012
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I quite like the E350 CGI BlueEffiency sport. It's petrol, so the fuel is cheaper than Diesel to buy and the fuel economy (on paper) seems to be better than what I am getting out my E320CDI. Don't really do enough mileage to justify Diesel (approx 13k). Would prefer another BMW, but they just don't make the boot as big.

GTIR

24,741 posts

265 months

Friday 20th April 2012
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The W212 is an inferior car IMO.
Cheaper materials, cost cutting (no second drivers visor, no "rest" function on the heater etc) and the 220 and 250 engines are noisier, or most probably has less sound proofing. (I know many drivers who've "upgraded" to the newer model and wish they hadn't)

My 2007 E220 Avantegarde has been an amazing car. 370,000 miles and returns 50mpg (mostly motorway) or 45 combined.
Wheel bearings, front suspension arms at next service and just discs and the like have been replaced.

Plenty of power and people are often surprised its only 2.2 diesel. Very quite inside the cabin.

thumbup


Edited by GTIR on Friday 20th April 19:00

Xtype

Original Poster:

2,788 posts

197 months

Sunday 22nd April 2012
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Do you think I would be better of to get a diesel or petrol? I'll driving 14k miles a year at the very most, its not a huge concern the mpg, mostly as I do not enjoy driving diesels as much as petrol engines.

Edited by Xtype on Sunday 22 April 11:13

e320dave

685 posts

150 months

Sunday 22nd April 2012
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Xtype said:
Do you think I would be better of to get a diesel or petrol? I'll driving 14k miles a year at the very most, its not a huge concern the mpg, mostly as I do not enjoy driving diesels as much as petrol engines.

Edited by Xtype on Sunday 22 April 11:13
Depends really on what sort of driving you are doing. The newer diesels have DPFs which if you are only doing short trips will not get a chance to regenerate and will be costly if it goes wrong. Also here where I am diesel is approx 6-8p/l more expensive than petrol. With hindsight, I wish I chose a petrol as I only do about 13k a year, however I could not find that many around when I was looking (I was after 2.8-3L engine)