Mercedes-Benz E250 CDi Coupe
Discussion
I met my Dad for a drink and as is often the case, the topic of discussion turned to cars. Whilst sat in the beer garden we had a brief look Autotrader at E Class coupes, as we were both of the opinion that they were now a bargain. Earlier in the year some could be had for a number starting with a 2, which is incredible really. Values had risen a little since but they were very much still in bargain territory. We both prefer the pre-facelift and one in particular stood out to me whilst we had a look before the convo moved on to other things.
I went away and thought about the car a little bit. My folks have been very helpful with our first baby so I made a decision to buy the car as a thank-you present. I'd done a similar thing years ago with a CLS as a thank you for putting me through uni, and that seemed to go down well. The car is a 250CDi Elegance which is Evo's pick of the range because of the ample torque, compliant suspension, and lighter engine up front which leads to better handling. This is certainly my experience in various Mercedes models.
The car in question is a 2009 Elegance with 49,700 miles and FSH - serviced every year. The asking price was £5,200. The subframe issue isn't a concern to me as a pattern part is only £250 and when the time comes I can swap it for my Dad within a weekend. I agreed to buy the car sight unseen as I have a reasonable eye for a good one. Other people had called but dallied due to lack of subframe replacement.
I took Dad for a drive up to Yorkshire to collect the car and the sellers were a nice couple, which always sets off future ownership on a positive note. There was a folder full of history and four new Conti tyres. An elderly friend of the couple had owned the car, passed away, and given it to the current owners but they had a newer Merc and didn't have a need for it. I had a look around and my offer of £4,600 was accepted, based on potential risk relating to the subframe.
We took a longer route home via the Dales and stopped off for a pint. The car park was jam-packed with noteworthy cars.
I drove the car home and I was actually blown away by it; it has the build quality of its 209 CLK predecessor with that solid feeling in a Mercedes of old. No surprise the German taxi drivers really liked this platform. The dashboard is absolutely solid over bumps with no flimsy plastic parts anywhere, unlike my CL. The ride on the Elegance suspension is nothing other than superb and the range of travel is excellent - control is a step on from the 209 CLK. The 3 series is more focused but the compromise is that solid feeling, and for me the balance of attributes in this car is pretty much ideal.
There's more than ample performance and the average MPG on a mix of city, A and motorway was 51.In terms of refinement the engine is perceptible at idle to 1200 RPM, and then at higher RPM, but for the majority of on-the-move driving it is impressively silent. Overall NVH is very low - it really is a very usable bit of kit.
The only issues are cracked wood veneer on the drivers door (common issue) and a couple of parking dings on the near side. My Dad was really chuffed with the car, so I'm happy. Actually I was so impressed with it that I am now looking at the pre-facelift E500 5.5 M278 V8 coupes in Elegance trim.
I went away and thought about the car a little bit. My folks have been very helpful with our first baby so I made a decision to buy the car as a thank-you present. I'd done a similar thing years ago with a CLS as a thank you for putting me through uni, and that seemed to go down well. The car is a 250CDi Elegance which is Evo's pick of the range because of the ample torque, compliant suspension, and lighter engine up front which leads to better handling. This is certainly my experience in various Mercedes models.
The car in question is a 2009 Elegance with 49,700 miles and FSH - serviced every year. The asking price was £5,200. The subframe issue isn't a concern to me as a pattern part is only £250 and when the time comes I can swap it for my Dad within a weekend. I agreed to buy the car sight unseen as I have a reasonable eye for a good one. Other people had called but dallied due to lack of subframe replacement.
I took Dad for a drive up to Yorkshire to collect the car and the sellers were a nice couple, which always sets off future ownership on a positive note. There was a folder full of history and four new Conti tyres. An elderly friend of the couple had owned the car, passed away, and given it to the current owners but they had a newer Merc and didn't have a need for it. I had a look around and my offer of £4,600 was accepted, based on potential risk relating to the subframe.
We took a longer route home via the Dales and stopped off for a pint. The car park was jam-packed with noteworthy cars.
I drove the car home and I was actually blown away by it; it has the build quality of its 209 CLK predecessor with that solid feeling in a Mercedes of old. No surprise the German taxi drivers really liked this platform. The dashboard is absolutely solid over bumps with no flimsy plastic parts anywhere, unlike my CL. The ride on the Elegance suspension is nothing other than superb and the range of travel is excellent - control is a step on from the 209 CLK. The 3 series is more focused but the compromise is that solid feeling, and for me the balance of attributes in this car is pretty much ideal.
There's more than ample performance and the average MPG on a mix of city, A and motorway was 51.In terms of refinement the engine is perceptible at idle to 1200 RPM, and then at higher RPM, but for the majority of on-the-move driving it is impressively silent. Overall NVH is very low - it really is a very usable bit of kit.
The only issues are cracked wood veneer on the drivers door (common issue) and a couple of parking dings on the near side. My Dad was really chuffed with the car, so I'm happy. Actually I was so impressed with it that I am now looking at the pre-facelift E500 5.5 M278 V8 coupes in Elegance trim.
Lovely looking thing! We actually picked up a facelift a few years ago post Covid and only just moved it on. 2014 220 Diesel- I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did but it was rock solid, rode well, quick enough and returned great economy. Same interior as yours as well- Think we part exchanged for £3k at maybe 150k miles with full main dealer history. Only issues we had to manage were- Sticking Panoramic roof/perished seals, Steering column motor getting stuck and that was it!
Aren’t Mercedes still (bizarrely) offering a goodwill replacement to the subframe? I thought I read that a few years back and had my specialist check mine to see if anything was needed but thankfully ok.
I thought the later model headlights and led rears made the car far less dated so opted for a later one. I also quite liked freeing up the centre tunnel from the gear selector.
I had read the 250cdi was the sweet spot between economy and performance so limited my search to that spec.
I had also come from a wonderfully pretty (IMO) Mercedes clk cab. The timing chain stretched on that and off it went to the scrappy. At the same time some family issues arose necessitating a 600 mile round trip every 6 weeks or so and hence a diesel suddenly seemed attractive. 3 years in and it’s been great. Biggest expense over normal servicing was replacing the brake lines which I understand is a common fault on these and also on the C classes of the same era.
I thought the later model headlights and led rears made the car far less dated so opted for a later one. I also quite liked freeing up the centre tunnel from the gear selector.
I had read the 250cdi was the sweet spot between economy and performance so limited my search to that spec.
I had also come from a wonderfully pretty (IMO) Mercedes clk cab. The timing chain stretched on that and off it went to the scrappy. At the same time some family issues arose necessitating a 600 mile round trip every 6 weeks or so and hence a diesel suddenly seemed attractive. 3 years in and it’s been great. Biggest expense over normal servicing was replacing the brake lines which I understand is a common fault on these and also on the C classes of the same era.
Found of these too, having run a 350 version (a dodgy Cat S no less) for 3 years up to 150k. It's nice seeing a non AMG one as it's a bit different - a retrimmed steering wheel would see the rest of that interior right 
Mine was stranded once by the electric steering lock failing, it's common on these and after the motor had been replaced I noticed how lethargic my old one had sounded. Just something to look out for.
Mine was stranded once by the electric steering lock failing, it's common on these and after the motor had been replaced I noticed how lethargic my old one had sounded. Just something to look out for.
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