Newbie greetings from London

[Conor]

Hi Guys,

I am happy to introduce myself as one of your latest members..

My name is Conor and I am based in London and hoping to get back into driving as I have been without for the past couple of years. My previous car was a 2007 Mk V Golf GTI - which I loved and made a huge mistake selling.. but never look back right!?

My next impending purchase is going to be something that will hopefully remain speedy but practical to support my wakeboarding endeavours.

Over the 3 years that I had my Golf, I did approximately 15k miles, 5k per year, relatively low. So with that in mind, I have decided to take a punt and buy a high mileage W211/W212 E Class estate/wagon. Preferably petrol if one can be found.

In fact... I have just found this one: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201812123218827

What do people think? It is clearly a lot of car for the money.. but the challenge now is to find out what it is not, for the money. Who wants to help me build a checklist?

Thanks guys and see you on the boards

Conor

 

[AMGeed]

Welcome to the forum Conor.
I can't advise on the W212 not having one, but a V6 petrol wagon makes sense in London with the emissions areas due to be extended.
Unfortunately your link doesn't open at any particular car for me.

 

[Conor]

Hey AMGeed,

Nice to hear from you, thanks.

Well, that is exactly what I was thinking with Petrol. Older diesel owners are going to be in for price hikes in London in the coming years I think.

If you Google "201812123218827" it should bring up the link to the Navy with Cream leather E350 CGI. That link in OP worked for me which is strange.

Do you know anything about the CGI engines?

 

[dry run]

Hi and Welcome. Can't comment on petrol versions of the E Class, but 180K does seem a lot!

 

[Taffy7hfa]

Hi Conor, nice car but somewhat overpriced with that mileage

 

[Conor]

Interesting.

I was thinking that I could offer 4500 for the car considering the mileage -- there is actually 189k on the clock. Also some staining on the front passenger seat it would appear. (Wouldn't bother me a lot).

What kind of money would you guys be looking at for the car?

I have checked out the MOT online. It appears to have done a consistent ~20k miles across 3 owners. This seems a little dubious to me.

Also, I imagine I will probably only do about 5-7 miles per year so I won't need a lot out of it over the next few years.

What do people think a 3.5 ltr V6 petrol is good for, mileage wise?

My biggest concern is about immediate work that may be needed and could add up cost wise. I am concerned about springs, spark plugs, disc brakes and steering related mechanics.

 

[Conor]

I won't require a huge amount from this car really. Day to day, I don't need it. It will be mainly used for ferrying myself and friends out of London on day / weekend trips.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Welcome Conor
The 212 is a nice place to be, I’ve had 2
That mileage might put me off- it’s nearer 190k really- but then there have been 250-300k examples too so maybe I’m being picky
Seems to be advertised warts and all/ honestly at least

 

[Conor]

Hi John,

I agree that the high mileage will put many off but I don't plan on doing much and willing to punt on it considering I wont depend on it.

What are the warts that you would consider in the advert? What I see is:

* Possibly cosmetic damage on the rear driverside bumper (pic 4)
* Soiled front passenger seat (pic 6)
* Would assume heavy wear on leather of driver seat during entering car, given it's not shown (pic 6)

I am in the process of researching the various aspects of the car. I need to learn more about the CGI engines and also what a 3.5 Ltr V6 version will do.

 

[Conor]

See the controls on the left of the driver seat, what do they do? I have seen them on some cards and it would appear they are come kind of optional extra seat settings? Pneumatic controls?

 

[John Laidlaw]

See the controls on the left of the driver seat, what do they do? I have seen them on some cards and it would appear they are come kind of optional extra seat settings? Pneumatic controls?

Yip dynamic control / massaging seats Conor I believe
It’s been well kitted out for sure
The warts and all you picked up on - also it’s presented on the pics quite dirty which is honest enough.
Could do with some wheels n tyres pics - those tell a lot about how well the cars been cared for ...

 

[Conor]

Thanks John, yes, looks like a decent spec alright.

I am excited to go and view this if I am honest, there is full MB history, supposedly, and I am trying to get access to that before viewing.

Also, I am a bit of a geek and was wondering if I should purchase something like this scanner to bring along on the day. I am thinking that plugging something like this in will possibly tell a lot - if these is something grossly wrong, I would imagine some error codes would be indicated. Or is this futile if the check engine light is not showing?

What do you think a dealer would say if I asked to plugin something like this in? If he tells me to get lost, could be a red flag.

http://www.diagnostic-world.com/pag...Diagnostic_Tool__270848-z=945511&p=129810.cfm

 

[John Laidlaw]

Full MB History (or even better recent Mercedes Independent service history) goes a long way.
Interested to hear what it’s like once you see it...
Some dealers would be reluctant to let you run a scan , but as you say if you ask up front then they can only say ‘no’..
Having a diagnostic kit like the MB V2.0 would be a wise investment anyway if you’re set on Mercedes so that’s a no brainer really
Only thing I would say is beware as there are clones around which have caught out lots of folks, including members on here, to that end if you do go icarsoft then UK Parts are the official dealer- and are cheaper at the moment
https://www.ukpartsdirect.com/vehic...ssional-diagnostic-scan-tool-icarsoft-uk.html

 

[Conor]

Interesting that dealers would be reluctant to allow a scan. If I was a dealer I would only disallow a scan if I knew something was wrong. Surely it is not unreasonable to ask for a scan on a car with 190k miles on the clock.

Thanks for the heads up on fakes, I am aware of this alright and was going to double check suppliers first -- thanks for doing that for me.

Conor

 

[A.J.]

Hi Conor, welcome to the forum

 

[Srdl]

Hi Conor and welcome to the forum. Yes, those are the “Multi-Contour” seats which use air pockets to adjust the side bolsters and lumbar support. I had them on my E Coupe and they were very comfortable.

The 350CGI engine is pretty rare which is probably why you haven’t had a lot of response. You may get a response if you posted a specific question under the “Engine....” section of the forum where some of the professional mechanics may see it and have a view.. A search doesn’t reveal much but this thread had a little comment about that engine:
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/index.php?threads/mercedes-e350-cgi-w212.158442/#post-1477875

From the photos, it looks a decent car and a full MB service history is a plus. However, I don’t understanding why a dealer would photograph a car in that dirty state so I hope he isn’t trying to hide anything!

Good luck on your visit.

 

[Conor]

Hi Srdl,

Ooh that seating configuration does sound nice alright..

I have received the service history from dealer and it shows a full Mercedes history, showing services twice a year - which is great!

Yes, I do believe that engine is quite rare alright. I did already read that comment you mentioned, thanks - I must say I would really like to acquire that engine as opposed to a diesel if I am honest.

Re the dirt. The mind boggles.. I am tempted to ash them to give it a quick rinse prior to my visit so I can confirm this is no glaring body damage.

I might post on the engine forum and see what comes up - thanks for that suggestion.

 

[Conor]

Morning guys,

I've just been having a quick scan of the photos again... On the 4th photo on the driver side tail, I noticed some oval shaped marking. It looks like a sticker had been removed and the adhesive left in place.

I wonder what this sticker could have been? A GB stick for foreign travel perhaps?

Just theorising here but... a quick Google shows many GB stickers have an oval shape.. this could mean much driving on say, continental Europe, thus the reason for the high miles, from at least one owner. They would likely be motorway too. That's the optimistic side.

Perhaps the sticker was for the local cabbie..? :/

What do you guys think?

Cheers.

 

[Srdl]

Yes, looks like residue from a GB sticker to me as it doesn’t have Euro plates and a cabbie is unlikely to have a car with a thirsty petrol engine. I do one or two Continental trips each year but only do a total of around 8k miles each year so that doesn’t necessarily mean high mileage.

 

[Conor]

Good points..

I actually chuckled a little once I realised it been pointed out how naive I was to think a cabbie would have petrol powered 3.5 v6 und the hood..