2001 Mercedes E320

speeder · speeder's Garage

Anyone have experience with this vintage E-class? They have always been my least-favorite series with the V-6 and the Chrysler stain but the wagon is kind of nice and they can be had in good shape for no money at all. I'm thinking about looking at an '01 model for sale.

Anyone?

HHI944 · 01-26-2010, 07:21 AM

I picked up an '02 4matic wagon about a month ago. It's been a good car so far, tons of cargo room, pretty comfortable interior and decent mileage. It's pretty funny how cheap you can get 'em right now.
Pelican Parts has all the parts you would need too.

speeder · speeder's Garage

With cash in hand, you can get them for almost exactly 1/10th of what they cost new. $60k then, $6k now. This would be w/ 100k+ miles in decent shape. That's what I'm seeing anyways. I've always had the impression that they do not compare w/ the previous model, (W124), in quality but the 124s were one of the best 4-wheeled cans ever bolted and welded together so that doesn't automatically make them a POS.

How do you like the way yours drives? What kind of mpg are you getting city/hiway? Thx.

HHI944 · 01-26-2010, 08:45 AM

I paid 7 for mine, but it was right at 100k and the interior is immaculate down to the cd changer and navigaion still functioning. I get about 18-20 in town and 26-28 on the highway. It's not fast by any stretch of the imaginaion, but it's not slow either. Handling is actually pretty impressive for the size of the car, though I'm not sure how much of that is the awd. I'm happy with it so far, it provides a comfortable ride and tons of cargo space.

speeder · speeder's Garage

Thanks. That's good mpg for the weight of that car. $7k is still dirt cheap, that's a lot of car for the buck. And yours is an '02 w/ 4-matic.

not sharp · 01-26-2010, 11:43 AM

paid 5K for 100k car. Auto dim mirror, heated mirrors, heated seats, power seats-lumbar, voice activated cd-telephone-radio, moon roof, runs strong, handles great, looks GOOD.

notfarnow · 01-26-2010, 12:13 PM

I have a '99 e300d. I love the car. It's been dead reliable, looks great, handles and drives beautifully. Parts are cheap and the car is a dream to work on. Actually cheaper to run than the '96 vw Jetta it replaced.

They're heavy cars and they can chew through tires pretty fast if they are out of alignment or the suspension is a bit loose. Front end parts are cheap and really easy to put in, so it's well worth keeping it tight.

Front spring perches can be an issue, especially in the rust belt. Actually the concensus seems to be that the w140s are more rust prone than the w124s, but I think the worst rust issues were late pre-99. Some earlier w140s had wire harness issues too.

Stuff I've had to do include:
-starter
-rear calipers (rebuild kits @ $25/side)
-shocks all around
-outer tie rod ends, lower & upper ball joints

I find it to be a very comfortable cruiser, and plenty of power ( I think the 3.0 diesel was actually faster than the 3.2 gas). Handling is great for such a heavy car. The wagons are CAVERNOUS, I wish they sold them as a diesel in NA. I hear the 4matic works great, again, not available as a diesel.

I know people LOVE the w124s, so do I, but I find the w140 looks and drives a lot more modern than the earlier cars.