Mercedes-Benz W210 Owners

unkel wrote: »

You sure it's a W210? I thought they didn't start in RHD until '96, but I could very well be wrong

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Mercedes-Benz/E-230/New-type/840216/

The one in question, checked cartell, matches.

cantdecide wrote: »

That's for sale for a Loooooooooooooooooooong time.

What's the worst that could happen provided you don't blow the bank buying it? Avantgarde is the way to go if you can and don't get one with those awful I told you you should have upgraded to leather cloth interiors.

Checked wiki, and heres the common fault list for these;

Harmonic Balancer - If the rubber insert of the harmonic balancer pulley, or main crankshaft pulley, delaminates at high velocity, the pulley may grind through the timing chain cover and oil pan, causing several thousand dollars of damage. Owners should inspect the harmonic balancer pulley regularly for signs of rubber deterioration.

Blower Motor Regulator - If this part fails, the climate control fan will not operate faster than approximately 50% power. Mercedes updated the regulator to improve its reliability, but the redesigned regulator requires the installation of a new blower motor -- about $1,000 in parts. The old-style regulator, which is compatible with the existing blower motor, is no longer manufactured. The blower motor regulator may be replaced with the much less expensive W140 S-class blower regulator, provided that the E-class wiring harness is re-attached to the S-class regulator.

Front Sway Bar Drop Links - While not a serious concern, most E-classes end up with a sub 35MPH clicking or rattling sound from the front end. This is usually due to worn out front-end sway-bar drop links. These can easily be replaced by anybody with minor knowledge of vehicle DIY, for no more than around £20.

Front Spring Perches - Some owners have reported rust problems on the front spring perches - the top perches, which hold the tops of the springs for the front suspension. The perches are spot welded to the chassis, and factory coated in a weatherproof mastic to stop them rusting, however in some rare occurrences, water gets behind the mastic causing the perches to rust, and eventually to fail - leading to collapse of the suspension. The car remains controllable. This is a problem that Mercedes USA have acknowledged. The issue is not identifiable without first removing the mastic to check.

Body rust - Some early model year versions of the W210 displayed body rust, notably on European-sold cars. Rust would sometimes appear spontaneously on panels such as doors and roofs on cars less than a year old. In response to this problem, the manufacturer would normally change or repair the affected panels under warranty. Mercedes-Benz has been criticized in the European press for not officially acknowledging this problem. This was due to problems introducing water based paint technology.

Window regulators - The power window regulator, essentially the mechanism that transfers power from the electric motor to the window, has a few plastic parts that can fail after several years causing the power window to stop operating. DIY replacement of a window regulator can be done in about 1-2 hours at a cost of somewhere between $60 and $120 for the part.

unkel wrote: »

I was wrong about the RHD so

My BOI was dying to get one new back then and he only got a '96

Anyway, is that a 4 or 5 speed auto? I wouldn't go for the former as fuel consumption would be terrible. Anyway, can you not find the taxi drivers ultimate car, the 250d?

The last one I was in was just a few weeks short of having a million km on the clock

BOI?:o

Gonna phone the chap tomorrow and see whats what.:)