Which of these 3 engines should I get for E class estate

[Steviesam]

Hello!

I wanted to ask those in know what you would get if you were me.
Whatever I buy, its being taken to Spain to live. Usage there will be "normal", mostly local with the odd longer drive. However, I am well used to foibles of diesels and short journey and I make sure they get a decent hot fast run regularly.
Any car will be 2011 ish with high mileage, over 100,000 miles when I purchase. I am not scared of high miles-looking at these that are available in Spain, they all have 200-300,00 kms, so 140-150,000 miles is ok with me.
Also I am now not driving like Nigel Mansell-more interested in longevity and ease of maintenance than speed.

So, E class estates, either 211 or 212....220/250 CDi, E200/250 CGi petrol or the 3.0 V6?

(I am also considering BMW F11 touring, but thats for the BMW section)
Thanks all!

[MustangGT]

My advice would be to buy a car in the local country, i.e. Spain.

[trevalvole]

I'd be inclined to avoid the ones with M271 petrol engines, as they can suffer with timing problems, and adding CGi, which I understand is direct-injection only (rather than mixed direct and port) will probably make the valves coke-up.

See the sixth post in https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/the-complete-m...

My gut feeling, is that given your use, a four cylinder diesel might be better than the V6 as, given the same use, they will probably warm up faster and burn off the particulates etc sooner. No doubt those who know about Merc diesels will be along soon to comment.

[Steviesam]

Thank you. It seems the taxis that do ninety million miles all seem to have the 2.1 4 pot diesel. I suppose that should tell me something!

[trevalvole]

2011 is probably too early for it to have an AdBlue system, but see the recent thread on this.

[Steviesam]

trevalvole said:

2011 is probably too early for it to have an AdBlue system, but see the recent thread on this.

Oh yes, thats a good point. Absolutely no adblue cars will be entertained!

[otolith]

I've had a couple of V6 diesel E class estates. A 2005 E320CDI and a 2010 E350CDI. They're both nice engines as diesels go, much nicer than a clattery four cylinder job. In terms of problems, yes, there were problems. They both let me down with failed alternators. The first one needed some electronics relating to the turbo replacing, and eventually needed a full set of injectors. The second one had an electric motor in the intake system gubbins replaced. It also needed a new torque converter, which was not cheap. Other than the drivetrain stuff, the rear air suspension on one of them needed fixing, ABS reluctor ring replaced, second one had an intermittent ABS fault I never got to the bottom of. They're big, heavy, complicated cars with expensive parts.

[Steviesam]

Christ. It just gets worse!!!

I just want a big estate that is reliable (or as reliable as it can be) is auto and comfy!
It shouldn’t be this difficult

[Spitfire2]

MustangGT said:

My advice would be to buy a car in the local country, i.e. Spain.

The challenge in that recommendation is the astonishing prices of used cars in Spain.

A equivalent car to a £3k e-class in UK can ve €12K in Spain

[Spitfire2]

I had a 2007 w211 e220 cdi estate.

Fabulous car but in the 3 years I had it I cant remember a time when I wasnt trying to solve one probkem or another.

Leaking injector seals (google black death)
Rear air suspension going down.
Rear air suspension not going down.
Abs ring replacement.
Propshaft bearing knocking between 15-20mph

Loved the car. Very economical. Wouldnt go there again if I was looking for an easy life. If buying I would consider lower mileage. Mine was boughy at 138k and scrapped at 166k

[JEA1K]

Steviesam said:

Hello!

I wanted to ask those in know what you would get if you were me.
Whatever I buy, its being taken to Spain to live. Usage there will be "normal", mostly local with the odd longer drive. However, I am well used to foibles of diesels and short journey and I make sure they get a decent hot fast run regularly.
Any car will be 2011 ish with high mileage, over 100,000 miles when I purchase. I am not scared of high miles-looking at these that are available in Spain, they all have 200-300,00 kms, so 140-150,000 miles is ok with me.
Also I am now not driving like Nigel Mansell-more interested in longevity and ease of maintenance than speed.

So, E class estates, either 211 or 212....220/250 CDi, E200/250 CGi petrol or the 3.0 V6?

(I am also considering BMW F11 touring, but thats for the BMW section)
Thanks all!

When are you planning on taking the car?

I looked into importing may car (E63 s estate) and was given a cost of 6000 euro, so I am guessing that most other E class's or similar will be 2000 - 3000 euro, plus you need to have owed the car for a minimum of 6 months.

[Steviesam]

I will have to stump up the duty and VAT, but will still be cheaper than the equivalent car there. That is 32% of the value of the car.

I have had a quote of 1300 eur to get all the paperwork done, MOT (ITV), regiatration taxes etc.

[GlenMH]

I have a 2011 E350CDI and have had it about 5 years at it has about 120k on it. Ownership has not been a pain free experience by any means:
Intake swirl flaps - coded out
EGR fault - coded out
Slow witted gearbox
Water pump
Thermostat
Infotainment controller rebuild
Poor fuel economy - Averaging 65mph today for a couple of hours so a 0.85 lepton cruise speed gives about 36 mpg
Heavy car so eats front suspension components and the inside edges of front tyres on a regular basis
Noisy on the motorway although that might be the Bridgestones fitted
Weak wheels - I am about to replace a front one that has met a pot hole and is no longer round.

I probably won't be buying another Merc after this experience...

[otolith]

GlenMH said:

I probably won't be buying another Merc after this experience...

To be honest, my last Mercedes was a 2010 E350CDI, and while I really liked the car, that was my conclusion too.