Buying Estate E-Class - Advice Please :-)

[Valery]

Hi all!

Apologies if this not the right place to ask - feel free to link me to where I should be or if there is a wiki/answer page to this request.

I'm looking to buy a Mercedez Benz E-Class estate, noting that the price of 2-3 year old vehicles is relatively low at the moment as all the ex-rep cars are being traded with not much demand...

My current vehicle is a VW Passat and I bought this mainly for the reliability as I'm a Sole Trader going to sales meetings as well as venues for events. So I don't drive every day but when I do it is many miles and I need as close to 100% reliability as possible.

The VW has served me well but after 10 years of solid service I'm getting to the point where it's about time it is replaced before it lets me down.

I was just wondering if anyone has any specific points as to the reliability of Mercedez-Benz and the E-class (the reputation is solid - is that your real world experience??), and also the running costs. The VW was relatively cheap to service and maintain even at official VW dealers, and what small things did go wrong with it (boot latch needed replacing, wing mirror smashed, that kind of thing) were reasonable (low £100s, not £1000s).

Coming out of lockdown I need a reliable car (that impresses clients), but money is tight so I can't afford to take on considerably higher running costs!

Any information relating to the specific subject of buying an e-class, comparing VW to Mercedez-Benz, or of Mercedez Benz ownership/costs in the UK would be greatly appreciated!

V

 

[BillyBoy]

The W213 estate is a superb car. I'm on my second. The first was an E220d, and to be fair, that's plenty. Look for the Premium or ideally Premium Plus pack. The trouble is that MB kept changing what was in each pack, but my 220d had Premium Plus and that included Pano roof, Burmister sound, Drivers Assistance pack and Intelligent Lighting system. The last two are REALLY good features in my view. Very comfortable ride, loads of boot space etc.

It was extremely reliable, and never missed a beat. Economy-wise, I used to get high 40's mpg on the commute to work - mid 50s pushing up towards 60 on a good run. It was a 66 plate, so just before the change in RFL so was £30 a year for road tax. Servicing was as per MB, but either get a service plan (ideally B-A-B) or use an indy.

My current one is the All Terrain E400d which is not much different until you put your foot down . 4WD gives plenty of traction. Would buy another one, but not so keen on the front of the facelift - that said, if they go the way of the S-Class with the interior of the next revision, this one may be my last...

 

[Valery]

Many thanks for that - some solid tips in there! Boot space is a big deal for me getting my work gear in, and I had seen the E-class had slightly more than the C-class which is why im going down that route.

Yes I'm gonna miss the £30 tax disc as well, but £160 isnt a huge leap in car terms for the new one i suppose. I was more worried about my insurance jumping massivley but i checked that on a test car and it wasn't a huge incrase.

Yeah I'll probably stick with the dealer servicing if its not too expensive? For the VW i was on the 'long life' or 'high milage' or whatever it was called plan, which was £450 and then 18 months later £350 and then 18 months and repeat. Is is much more for MB official servicing?

 

[Blobcat]

Many thanks for that - some solid tips in there! Boot space is a big deal for me getting my work gear in, and I had seen the E-class had slightly more than the C-class which is why im going down that route.

Yes I'm gonna miss the £30 tax disc as well, but £160 isnt a huge leap in car terms for the new one i suppose. I was more worried about my insurance jumping massivley but i checked that on a test car and it wasn't a huge incrase.

Yeah I'll probably stick with the dealer servicing if its not too expensive? For the VW i was on the 'long life' or 'high milage' or whatever it was called plan, which was £450 and then 18 months later £350 and then 18 months and repeat. Is is much more for MB official servicing?

You can’t beat an E Class estate for boot space. They’re also really comfortable for long periods.
If you can get one with a Mercedes warranty as piece of mind - assuming you’re after a diesel

 

[BillyBoy]

Service-wise probably not that much difference in price, but bear in mind MB are every 12 months rather than 18. Service plans are around £37 per month I think, but buy before the more expensive B service and get a 3 service plan (B-A-B) for best value. If you need things like brake fluid change, it can be quite a good saving. If you don't get a service plan, don't be afraid to haggle. MB do fixed price servicing, and if you phone the booking number you normally get through to a "group" team ( in my case, Inchchap), but I went to the garage and asked to speak to the service manager and he was happy to knock 15% off - probably more if I'd pushed him.

 

[Blobcat]

Service-wise probably not that much difference in price, but bear in mind MB are every 12 months rather than 18. Service plans are around £37 per month I think, but buy before the more expensive B service and get a 3 service plan (B-A-B) for best value. If you need things like brake fluid change, it can be quite a good saving. If you don't get a service plan, don't be afraid to haggle. MB do fixed price servicing, and if you phone the booking number you normally get through to a "group" team ( in my case, Inchchap), but I went to the garage and asked to speak to the service manager and he was happy to knock 15% off - probably more if I'd pushed him.

I also asked for MB forum discount and discount because it was >4 years old and discount because it was my money...

 

[Valery]

I also asked for MB forum discount and discount because it was >4 years old and discount because it was my money...

and did it work? haha!

How much is a three years service plan (even list price) then?

Has anyone had any major issues with parts breaking and expensive repairs? For example the engine ECU went in my friend's car and VW were asking for £3k to replace it. Turns out it could be easily repaired for £300. This is another reason I'm not going to buy another VW - the local garage has tried to overcharge me on multiple occasions for things that they make sure only 'they' can fix unless you find the right company that have the workarounds...

 

[Blobcat]

and did it work? haha!

How much is a three years service plan (even list price) then?

Has anyone had any major issues with parts breaking and expensive repairs? For example the engine ECU went in my friend's car and VW were asking for £3k to replace it. Turns out it could be easily repaired for £300. This is another reason I'm not going to buy another VW - the local garage has tried to overcharge me on multiple occasions for things that they make sure only 'they' can fix unless you find the right company that have the workarounds...

It did work, discussed directly with the service manager. Although I now use the services of one of our "local" (Only 250 miles away... ) highly recommended Indies form the board for servicing and Call MB Grangemouth for parts with a healthy forum discount

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

What age of car are you looking at buying - or what is the budget?

 

[Valery]

What age of car are you looking at buying - or what is the budget?

budget around £20-22k - although i've seen quite a few £18-20k that fit the bill.

For me it's more about getting the right car. I was initially saving up over many years to buy brand new and treat myself, until it was explained to me how you lose a third of the value the second you drive off the forevourt, and i sort of went off that idea on principle. Open to having my mind changed back again tho haha

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

As one of your needs is as near to 100% reliability as possible a low miles E220d estate would fit the bill they are proving very reliable <100k miles. What I would do is buy from a MB franchise @ £20k and use the rest of the cash to buy extended MB warranties. Cars have become much more complicated since your VW purchase and to meet your reliability criteria that would be my choice. The W213 chassis is the best E class I’ve driven (and I’ve owned a few) so do your due diligence when buying and I’m sure you will enjoy the car.

You may be able to tailor a deal when purchasing the vehicle regarding a service contract and warranty extension that’s what I’d be looking into. My son has owned a E220d for 3 years and relies on the car for commuting to work and meeting clients so extends his warranty annually Mobilo is ideal in those circumstances, although to date he has had no faults with the car @ 50k miles.

Good luck with the hunt and take your time to find the right car and deal. I recall my son bought his with 18k miles on the clock and the brakes were noisy so they changed front and back discs and pads as part of the purchase deal - no issues to report with the car since.

 

[barian]

I have a 2019 E220d SE estate. It is used almost entirely for longish journeys, sticking to the speed limits, and the trip computer is showing an overall average of 61mpg. It is probably optimistic, but not by too much. I agree with the comments above on the driving assistance pack and ILS. I would add that the 360 camera is very useful for positioning what is a fairly large car in parking bays and the automatic parking system works well (cue comments about proper drivers not using such things!). Too soon to comment on reliability from personal experience, but no problems so far. On the RFL, I think you will find most if not all will have been over £40k list so it will be more than £160 for the first 5 years - £390 total currently. The main dealer service plan cost is £42/month. £37 is the offer price for cars under 12 months old.

 

[oliveau]

In terms of servicing I use an Indie in UK and I'm delighted with the service that I've had over the last 5 years. Free loan car and always happy to offer advice.

 

[Janchee]

Hey there, I have an E220d 66 plate AMG premium plus. Agree with earlier comments that the intelligent beam, 360 cam and boot space are the best features!

I bought my car second hand from a private dealer in Scotland. Had 33k miles on it. I’m sorry to say this, but it’s been unreliable and the Mercedes after service has been poor (although dealers will differ)

The drivetrain has been solid however, I have suffered the following in just 1 year of ownership:

- 6 Exterior LEDs blown
- Brake judder that I nor the dealer can get rid of. Two part discs and are renowned for brake judder
- New lower front control arms
- New alarm
- New air suspension compressor
- New air suspension pressure relief valve
- New steering wheel adjuster motor

Car is booked in over the next few weeks to look at:

- Steering rack issue (makes a crunch noise)
- Car is swaying from side to side, potentially four new shock absorbers
- Dual digital display has started to go cloudy around the edges

What I’m expecting in the near future:

- Adblue system crystallisation

To be honest, I don’t know how the car was driven before I owned it but it had a full MB service history. It seemed like the the 19” alloys and Run flat tires hasn’t helped the drivetrain. I swapped these out for PS4s as soon as I bought it.

In summary, get the car approved used from a MB dealer. They are pretty good at sorting things out if you have an issue. Then buy the MB extended warranty. I bought mine 3 months ago after the third party one ended, and they’ve already shelled out 2.5k plus. These cars are not cheap to fix and when they go wrong, they can cost a lot. For example, the ad blue system which you can find multiple examples on this forum — around 2k to fix at dealer. Warranty will cover this.

The 66 plate was the first release of the S213 so, to be fair I should expect issues. MB are good at making quick design changes from field feedback so I’d expect 18 models to be solid. As an example, the shock absorbers fitted to my car are the old part number, they were updated with 12 months of S213 release.

Go for an SE Premium Plus spec. I don’t think the AMG line is worth it IMO. Make sure you get the big center dash, Intelligent beams, 360 cameras!

If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask!

For me I’ll be selling the car in 6 months and going electric.

 

[Valery]

Many thanks all for the advice here. Based on all these comments I've booked in to a MB official dealer to have a look at 2 or 3 approved used MB estates ( E220d AMG Line Edition Premium 5dr 9G-Tronic ) I believe this has all the features you all mention? Large central dash and the Intelligent Beam?

They are all 2019 onwards and very low milage (circa 2-15k miles) so hopefully I won't have any issues similar to some of those you have all mentioned.

It does mean I've had to up my budget somewhat, but I think it's for the best as it's been mentioned the computers can go wrong and cars are expensive to fix these days...

How much should I haggle at the garage? When I bought my first car 'cash was king' and you could get a good price paying cash, but now people have told me that they only really wanna do you a deal if you go on finance? Is asking for 2k off of a 29k car 'taking the ****'? Just wondering what my options for wiggle room are?

if the car is still within the three year manufacturer warranty, should I look at the extended warranties at the same time? Or wait until these run out?

Any tips on what to say, what to ask, and what to look for, when inspecting and test driving the cars? I've seen that it's worth making sure the onboard satnav works as some modelshad issues, and I note the above points about spongey suspension...

Sorry for the second barage of questions, I have been doing my homework I swear! But you've been the most helpful forum on any topic I've ever been on - so would value any and all advice!

 

[Benz17]

Just purchased a BMW 330e on behalf of my father, I did all the negotiations on his behalf, as he was out of the country, he stated that I should offer 2.5k below the sticker price, I thought that was taking the .... unfortunately on the 2 which I put this offer, we couldn’t do a deal as we were to far out on the asking price, but the one we bought eventually, to my surprise did reduce to 2k of the asking price, I really couldn’t believe it to be honest, it could have been due to doing deal at end of March/quarter, and also the ved on any car at 40k list price at new, and above, which it was, is £475 for 5 years from second year of registration, which will also probably apply to your 2019 eclass, you should check this with the dealer, you wouldn’t want any surprises.

So yes if you don’t ask you don’t get, you may not get, but meeting halfway and getting a 1k reduction is doable, but used car prices at the moment are strong, so who knows.

2019 car should be pretty solid, as any early faults would have been ironed out. Mercedes will send you out information on extending your warranty, before the current one is due to expire, so you could wait till the time comes.

Ask them that all the software is updated, I.e sat nav, and comand if it has it.

 

[keefysher]

You can play the finance game with them if you have the cash. Get the best deal they want to give you on finance, pay one payment then clear the balance.

You could ask for a maintenance package too.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

You can play the finance game with them if you have the cash. Get the best deal they want to give you on finance, pay one payment then clear the balance.

You could ask for a maintenance package too.

Exactly this!

 

[Cleck]

Exactly this!

I did this with the wife's Golf and I didn't even pay one payment, I cleared the finance the day we picked it up. Apparently the important thing is to 'Withdraw' from the agreement, not ask for a settlement.

It cost us about £8 in interest, calculated from the day we signed the finance agreement to the day we Withdrew. This was because VW were offering 2 years warranty, servicing, MOT's and Breakdown if you bought on finance. We still got all of these benefits after we Withdrew.

 

[Monday]

Many thanks all for the advice here. Based on all these comments I've booked in to a MB official dealer to have a look at 2 or 3 approved used MB estates ( E220d AMG Line Edition Premium 5dr 9G-Tronic ) I believe this has all the features you all mention? Large central dash and the Intelligent Beam?

They are all 2019 onwards and very low milage (circa 2-15k miles) so hopefully I won't have any issues similar to some of those you have all mentioned.

It does mean I've had to up my budget somewhat, but I think it's for the best as it's been mentioned the computers can go wrong and cars are expensive to fix these days...

How much should I haggle at the garage? When I bought my first car 'cash was king' and you could get a good price paying cash, but now people have told me that they only really wanna do you a deal if you go on finance? Is asking for 2k off of a 29k car 'taking the ****'? Just wondering what my options for wiggle room are?

if the car is still within the three year manufacturer warranty, should I look at the extended warranties at the same time? Or wait until these run out?

Any tips on what to say, what to ask, and what to look for, when inspecting and test driving the cars? I've seen that it's worth making sure the onboard satnav works as some modelshad issues, and I note the above points about spongey suspension...

Sorry for the second barage of questions, I have been doing my homework I swear! But you've been the most helpful forum on any topic I've ever been on - so would value any and all advice!

If you are looking at cars this new (and particularly diesels) do check how much you could get a new one for. If you look at the stock lists of the big MB chains (Mercedes Retail Group, Sytner, Sandown etc etc) they are stacked out with diesel E-Class models with substantial “manufacturer support” (Mercedes-speak for discount). No petrols though which gives you some idea of the way the market is going. If you need finance, the PCP interest rate on used cars is 2x that on new cars.