2004 E270 CDi Wagon Jobbie
Discussion
Morning all,
I went car shopping with my old man yesterday as he was in need a new daily barge / dog chariot. Initially went to look at a 530d which was the polar opposite of the advert, so looked about for other stuff in the area and ended up with a bit of an impulse purchase.
He's now got a 2004 54 plate E270 CDi Avantgarde. It seems like a nice enough car and it was cheap enough to be well worth a punt, but I know literally nothing whatsoever about Mercs at all, never had one and they've never really interested me massively, although now I'd had a look at it I'm now wondering if I can justify another dog wagon myself
Anyone got any pointers for worthwhile things to check and stay on top of? What are the common problems / weaknesses with them? It's an auto, mind I can't imagine they made many if any manuals.
Mileage is 140k, drives nicely and starts smoothly, engine is quiet, seems to shift well. Handbrake works on the first sort of click which the fella made a big thing of saying they often need adjusting and sorted out.
It's got a squeak / knock on the front left, which sounds to me like a rubber bush might be worn or dry or something. There's no massively apparent play in the wheel or feedback through the steering, it's just audible, so I'll have a look at that at some point.
What are the suspension like on these, is it just air on the back?
These are all questions ideally I'd have asked pre-purchase
I went car shopping with my old man yesterday as he was in need a new daily barge / dog chariot. Initially went to look at a 530d which was the polar opposite of the advert, so looked about for other stuff in the area and ended up with a bit of an impulse purchase.
He's now got a 2004 54 plate E270 CDi Avantgarde. It seems like a nice enough car and it was cheap enough to be well worth a punt, but I know literally nothing whatsoever about Mercs at all, never had one and they've never really interested me massively, although now I'd had a look at it I'm now wondering if I can justify another dog wagon myself
Anyone got any pointers for worthwhile things to check and stay on top of? What are the common problems / weaknesses with them? It's an auto, mind I can't imagine they made many if any manuals.
Mileage is 140k, drives nicely and starts smoothly, engine is quiet, seems to shift well. Handbrake works on the first sort of click which the fella made a big thing of saying they often need adjusting and sorted out.
It's got a squeak / knock on the front left, which sounds to me like a rubber bush might be worn or dry or something. There's no massively apparent play in the wheel or feedback through the steering, it's just audible, so I'll have a look at that at some point.
What are the suspension like on these, is it just air on the back?
These are all questions ideally I'd have asked pre-purchase
Unless it has a push button behind the gear shifter with a shock absorber symbol (which means it has Airmatic air suspension all round) it will just have air at the rear. At that mileage the rear shock absorbers are probably knackered, but if it stays level and adjusts to loads then the rear air springs will be ok.
I’d suggest an ATF and filter change to the gearbox, and as it’s probably the 722.6 5 speed box there’s a pilot bush (an electrical socket that costs about £12) that’s best changed at the same time to avoid leaks into the loom.
They’re quite hard on front suspension components, so the noise could be the main ball joint (easy change but requires a press tool), drop link or one of the arms - it can be quite hard to track the culprit down.
Pre-facelift cars have SBC brakes which eventually require the SBC unit replaced, and early cars had a Valeo rad that allowed ATF and coolant to mix which upsets quite a few things terminally, but if it’s made it to that mileage it suggests it’s not affected.
They’re pretty robust cars but they do occasionally have tantrums, but worth persevering with.
I’d suggest an ATF and filter change to the gearbox, and as it’s probably the 722.6 5 speed box there’s a pilot bush (an electrical socket that costs about £12) that’s best changed at the same time to avoid leaks into the loom.
They’re quite hard on front suspension components, so the noise could be the main ball joint (easy change but requires a press tool), drop link or one of the arms - it can be quite hard to track the culprit down.
Pre-facelift cars have SBC brakes which eventually require the SBC unit replaced, and early cars had a Valeo rad that allowed ATF and coolant to mix which upsets quite a few things terminally, but if it’s made it to that mileage it suggests it’s not affected.
They’re pretty robust cars but they do occasionally have tantrums, but worth persevering with.
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