New daily? ~ 1998 Mercedes-Benz E240 W210

[sc_rufctr]

Hi all, My old VW has seen better days so...

I'm considering a 1998 Mercedes-Benz E240 W210 as my new daily. (Classic White)
It's so damn cheap... It's in good condition and has travelled about 113,510KM. (70532 Miles)

Has anybody owned one of these cars? How reliable are the engines?

I intend to DIY it.

[kaisen]

We don't have the E240 in the states, but we certainly have W210s and we had the C240 with, I'd imagine, the same basic motor.

[sc_rufctr]

Thanks Eric. I didn't know that.

What I really want to know is how reliable are the newer 6 cylinder Bens engines.

I've owned my VW Golf for ages and it's been a good car but the quality and reliability of certain components could have been better.
I've always liked the look of the W210 cars especially the twin head lights up front.
I recently fixed (polished) the plastic head lights on a ladies car I was dating (long story). I was impressed by the condition of her car for its years.

Were these E Class cars good cars, in general?

The car I'm considering has a cloth/velour interior. I would prefer that because I've seen some horrid/dry and worn leather 10 year old MBs.

[rdrr]

Hi Peter,

I've owned a 2001 W210 E200K for the last 7 years. Different engine, but the rest is pretty similar.

In the time I've owned it , I have had a few issues:
1. Powersteering pump - very noisy. replaced under warranty, but still makes noise occasionally.
2. Clunk in front suspension - can't remember exactly what needed replacing...balljoint probably
3. exhaust manifold cracked - rewelded and has been fine since.
4. LCD in instrument cluster losing pixels - there is a cheap fix.
5. Rust - this can be a serious problem. Check all doors, spring perches, bonnet, under rear windscreen, around taillights. On my car, three doors were very rusty along the bottom.
6. MAF sensor
7. Recently my brake lights are working intermittently. Looks like the bulb sockets - apparently a common problem.
8. Airbag sensor in passenger seat.
9. Leaky diff.

Other than that, just regular oil, filter, changes.

To me, most of the stuff was not a big deal, but the rust really annoyed my. Merc initialy refused warranty, but then offered parts at 50% off to repair - even so it was a $6000 repair. I did not take them up on their 'generous' offer and repaired the doors myself.

[HHI944]

I've owned a 2002 E320 for a little over a year and 55kish miles with very little problem, replaced the front CVs, motor mounts and brakes. Having 170k, I run it on 10w40 now as it was starting to lose about a quart between changes on 0w30.

Oh, yeah, I'm starting to have the passenger airbag sensor issue as well, apparently a fairly simple fix once you buy the part.

[ben parrish]

We have owned a 98 E320 wagon for about 5 years....great car.
My wife is hard on cars and this one gets used hard as a kid/lumber/dog/trash/etc. runner. It's also our road trip car because it is so darn quiet and comfortable on the highway. Handles fantastic. Currently has 150k. I consider the car to require nothing other than routine maintenance. I do all repairs myself and have probably only spent 2k in five years for the following repairs.
Water pump at 135k-routine maint
Front rotors at 145k-routine maint
Clunk in front end over bumps-common-drop links and bushings
Replaced rear accumulators at 120k-common for wagons
a/c compressor failure at 130k-one of those things
Replaced cats at 100k-common to the 320's
Bad EGR sensor-no harm to engine just throwing a code