2008 E280 Cdi sport estate - buying guide/suitability?
Discussion
Evening all,
I'm In the process of looking for a new family car, and have see on work these locally and wanted to gauge opinion.
I only do 5-10k a year, mostly made up of 5mile each way commute, ferrying kids around, holidays (UK). Have a dog too so big boot needed.
The one I have seen has 90k on it, lots of extras etc.,7g auto, has FSH some MB, some independant specialist. It has no DPF, which obviously wouldn't be good with my mileage.
I'm a bit worried about repair costs, should I have any problems. This is at my max budget and definitely wouldn't have £1000's to put into repairs.
Any opinions / advice on this model range greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
I'm In the process of looking for a new family car, and have see on work these locally and wanted to gauge opinion.
I only do 5-10k a year, mostly made up of 5mile each way commute, ferrying kids around, holidays (UK). Have a dog too so big boot needed.
The one I have seen has 90k on it, lots of extras etc.,7g auto, has FSH some MB, some independant specialist. It has no DPF, which obviously wouldn't be good with my mileage.
I'm a bit worried about repair costs, should I have any problems. This is at my max budget and definitely wouldn't have £1000's to put into repairs.
Any opinions / advice on this model range greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
I have and E320 CDi Sport Estate - Fantastic car. My advice would be to get an E320 rather than an E280 as when I bought mine all the forums suggested the E320 was more powerful but had similar fuel economy.
Look out for the ones with the Harman Kardon upgrade, that sounds awesome. I've had a bit of work done on mine at a Mercedes Indy and it wasn't much different cost wise compared to my previous cars.
They are generally good and reliable cars and I've certainly had no reliability issues, just some suspension refresh works which is to be expected at 90k+ mileage.
Will have to part with mine in the future as I will need a car my wife can also be insured on and I honestly don't know what I would replace it with.
Look out for the ones with the Harman Kardon upgrade, that sounds awesome. I've had a bit of work done on mine at a Mercedes Indy and it wasn't much different cost wise compared to my previous cars.
They are generally good and reliable cars and I've certainly had no reliability issues, just some suspension refresh works which is to be expected at 90k+ mileage.
Will have to part with mine in the future as I will need a car my wife can also be insured on and I honestly don't know what I would replace it with.
I have an E280 Sport. I have had it since it was a few months old and currently around 113 000 miles. It is pretty reliable with the only things that have gone wrong being the plug pre heater control box and the air control valves getting stuck from a leaking oil seal. Both cost a few hundred each to fix. Other than that just regular servicing and a few new glow plugs. The combination of a heavy car and low profile tyres has meant a couple of new rims and a few welds as well.
The difference between the 280 and 320 is the engine tune (chip). They are both 3 litres and the 280 goes very well so at this age I'd be buying on condition and service history. If it has has a full MB service history to still get free roadside assistance if something does go wrong. Mine has the 7 seat option which sometimes comes in handy.
I run it on winter tyres all year round as it is truly hopeless in the snow. If you are in an area that gets a bit of snow I strongly recommend them.
The difference between the 280 and 320 is the engine tune (chip). They are both 3 litres and the 280 goes very well so at this age I'd be buying on condition and service history. If it has has a full MB service history to still get free roadside assistance if something does go wrong. Mine has the 7 seat option which sometimes comes in handy.
I run it on winter tyres all year round as it is truly hopeless in the snow. If you are in an area that gets a bit of snow I strongly recommend them.
I have a 2005 E320 CDI estate. It's remapped to ~290bhp. I've owned it for almost two years.
It's a nice, big, comfortable family barge. Eats long journeys. Quiet. Plenty of poke, especially post-remap. Feels well screwed together, for the main.
It's not been entirely trouble free, though, and when it has gone wrong it has been expensive, even using specialists (although now I have moved up north, my local specialist seems a lot cheaper than the one down south was).
The bonnet release cable snapped, which was a cheap part but a lot of labour.
The HID headlight failed, which was expensive for both parts and labour.
The soft close mechanism for the tailgate failed, meaning that the boot could not latch. That was very expensive in parts and labour.
The alternator recently died, causing brake failure on the motorway - no leccy, no brake assistance (and a long wait for the AA).
The turbo actuator recently died.
Fixing the last two only cost £600 together, which was a pleasant surprise.
So, I would say that they are nice cars, but they can go wrong and chuck up a big bill from time to time.
It's a nice, big, comfortable family barge. Eats long journeys. Quiet. Plenty of poke, especially post-remap. Feels well screwed together, for the main.
It's not been entirely trouble free, though, and when it has gone wrong it has been expensive, even using specialists (although now I have moved up north, my local specialist seems a lot cheaper than the one down south was).
The bonnet release cable snapped, which was a cheap part but a lot of labour.
The HID headlight failed, which was expensive for both parts and labour.
The soft close mechanism for the tailgate failed, meaning that the boot could not latch. That was very expensive in parts and labour.
The alternator recently died, causing brake failure on the motorway - no leccy, no brake assistance (and a long wait for the AA).
The turbo actuator recently died.
Fixing the last two only cost £600 together, which was a pleasant surprise.
So, I would say that they are nice cars, but they can go wrong and chuck up a big bill from time to time.
Thanks for the replies everyone, most helpful.
I have not had chance to see the car yet, the seller has said that this model is prone to rear arch rust issues and they have been painted on this one(looks spotless on photos).
Is this true, is rust a known issue on this model/year?
Cheers
I have not had chance to see the car yet, the seller has said that this model is prone to rear arch rust issues and they have been painted on this one(looks spotless on photos).
Is this true, is rust a known issue on this model/year?
Cheers
If it's the 7g 'box I think it's the facelift, post 2006? Shouldn't have any significant rust, these don't corrode like the previous W210.
The problems mentioned by the posters above seem common though, you'll find others mentioning them, plus more. The 7g box doesn't have a great reputaion either.
I ran a 2009 320cdi estate for 4 years and it wasn't cheap. Suspension bits, glow plugs, tailgate mechanism, turbo actuator and more. Plus servicing by a reasonably priced indy and tyres, easily cost me over £1k a year.
Not very economical either if i's the V6 rather than the I6.
Not in the cheap car to run category IME.
The problems mentioned by the posters above seem common though, you'll find others mentioning them, plus more. The 7g box doesn't have a great reputaion either.
I ran a 2009 320cdi estate for 4 years and it wasn't cheap. Suspension bits, glow plugs, tailgate mechanism, turbo actuator and more. Plus servicing by a reasonably priced indy and tyres, easily cost me over £1k a year.
Not very economical either if i's the V6 rather than the I6.
Not in the cheap car to run category IME.
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