E270 CDI W211 Buying advice

mssond

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Hi all, I am new to this forum, and looking for some advice on buying a W211 E270 CDI Auto on a 03 plate, I have been to see the car, and was happy with the car mostly, there was a lack of service history, and engine did appear to be a little rough, but I put this down to needing a service?? the car has got 32k on the clock, and the engine sounded a little loud compared to my current 525d, even when warmed up, but only under hard acceleration, there was also a whining/whistling noise around 2.5k to 3.5k rpm, which I thought was the turbo,

but after some reading, I am slightly worried this could be the Glycol issue?

Can someone please help with some advice on buying this car?
 

television

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Hello and welcome to the forum.

You could check on the make of the rad for the glycol issue,,it was the Valeo rads that leaked and this caused a humming or droning when pulling lightly at engine speeds of between 1200 to 2400 RPM. Cars fitted with the Behr rad do not get this problem,,,if it has a Valeo rad and there is a white spot on the oil cooler then it is a modified rad fitted.

The car may be galvanized, but not all were until 04-03 and after 04-04 they had Nano paint, so do check the rear wheel arches for any bubbles in the paint on the inside edges
 
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mssond

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thanks television,

generally does do the E270 CDI's sound a little rough?
also the whining/whistling happens when standing still and revving in neutral (as well as when moving), so am I correct in saying this does not sound like the glycol issue?

can anyone recommend a good specialist in the southwest? near bristol? will prob get the car serviced and checked over once I have it,
 

television

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Robin Lamb, an indie in Gloucester is good.

Some others can answer the engine bit better than I can
 

jberks

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Well, you can tell its a diesel - lets put it like that.
As far as a whistle ...no. The only time I got a whistly, whoosh was when the turbo pipe split. The diesel rumble turns into a whine and a growl over 2krpm that, being off-beat 5cyl has a sort of V8 sound to it.

Aside from the galvanised bit on the wheelarches, something that has alarmed me is that my Dads (2002) 211 has started sprouting corrorsion on the Aluminium panels. The boot lid started at the top corner - we put that down to a one off and MB sorted it a few months back but he's just found a small bubble on the bottom 1/4 of both front wings (between the wheel and the door). Very small (1 one one side and 2 on the other) but clear evidence that there's a problem thats been there since the factory. We'll see what MB have to say.

He also has a chunk out of the paint on the front wheelarch thats been there for > 2 years (he didn't know I had a touch up pen) and thats completely corrosion free - so a corrosion free damaged area and spots of corrosion from under the paint - on the same panel - go figure.

Anyway - mines spotless but forewarned and all that.
Look for a weak battery as they can sprout battery draining problems and any electrical gremlins walk..no run away.
The 270s to seem to suffer from engine mount issues. Not a big issue but I had mine replaced 3 years ago and some of the noises that had disappeared have started creeping back. Not bad and not worth fixing but just a feeling that a new set would bring the refinement back to scratch.
Find a good one, and most are good, and I think they take some considerable beating. I use mine on a 100 mile daily motorway commute and she's quiet and effortless.
Compared to a 525 you should find its handling a little worse but the ride and refinement better, performance similar and the way other road users treat you, much better.
 
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mssond

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Well, The diesel rumble turns into a whine and a growl over 2krpm that, being off-beat 5cyl has a sort of V8 sound to it.

Thats exactly how I would describe the sound of the car, the garage owner said it was a whistle, but I said sounds like whine over 2k rpm, and the yeah the diesel rumble had died down, good to know the engine sounds right,

The 270s to seem to suffer from engine mount issues. Not a big issue but I had mine replaced 3 years ago and some of the noises that had disappeared have started creeping back. Not bad and not worth fixing but just a feeling that a new set would bring the refinement back to scratch.

I think this one might have the same issue, car was a bit shaky when I turned the engine off, my instant thought was engine running rough, or engine mount not quite right, I will get that looked at, just out of curosity, how much would a job like that set me back (please say 1p)?

Compared to a 525 you should find its handling a little worse but the ride and refinement better, performance similar and the way other road users treat you, much better.

agree with the first 2 points, but I thought other road users had nothing but awe for BMW drivers :p
 

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Hi, I would walk away there are lots around ,buy as new as you can with miles on it to make it cheaper! with good history ,ex company perhaps , good hunting , Rap
 
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mssond

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Hi, I would walk away there are lots around ,buy as new as you can with miles on it to make it cheaper! with good history ,ex company perhaps , good hunting , Rap

I cant see much reason to walk away, car looks straight, everything appears to check out, the few bits which where worrying me, so far appear to be the norm for the car
 

television

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I cant see much reason to walk away, car looks straight, everything appears to check out, the few bits which where worrying me, so far appear to be the norm for the car

It would not cost much to take the car to an indie, and ask his thoughts
 

Cole@MBS

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Customer of ours, member on here, bought the same model, but a 320, come in for a parking sensor fault, cured that, while fitting i see the floor pan covered in oil, after a looky, His local dealer had fitted an injector, cracked the rocker lid getting it out, we replaced the lid and recut the injector seats, i went to test drive it and within 20 yards found the gearbox was shot due to the good old valeo rad being shot!

Waiting now for a week so we can replace the rad, converter and gearbox,

Be careful when buying this model at this age, his car looks 100% perfect, but is far from it!!
 

ALFIEBEARD

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E270 cdi w211

Hi I also own a E270CDI W211 2004 35,000mls and I have only experienced one fault which was to do with the SBC braking system,I did experience one or two other problems but they were to do with crap workmanship from our Dealership, here,s my opinion of the 5 cylinder Merc,s:

(1) Yes they are rather vocal mainly when cold.
(2) They are fantastic motorway cruisers.
(3) They average around 43/45mpg when driven normally.
(4) The interior comfort is excellent.
(5) When required they can really shift especially if chipped.
(6) The Autobox tends to change down instead of allowing you to use the engines fantastic torque.
(7) I have been reliably informed that the 5 pot engine was one of mercedes best engines, and are pretty bulletproof.
(8) Mine has not used any oil between Services,(unlike my old 5 series BM).
I would recommend the E270 as a very good car, I have grown to really love mine and can now say its one of the nicest cars ive driven, and lastly they look great a true touch of class. As everyone else has mentioned the earlier prior to 04 W211 can have Autobox / Glycol problems when fitted with a Valeo radiator, and the odd one showed signs of rust early in life, but if its not rusty and its got a Behr radiator I reckon you,ve got a good motor so just enjoy it:), and dont pay main dealer prices find a good Independant.
just my humble opinion which is worth exactly what you paid for it;).

Good Luck
Alfie B
 
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Dosco

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Excellent post Alfie, nails everything down in a simple and tidy fashion:cool:
 

television

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Excellent post Alfie, nails everything down in a simple and tidy fashion:cool:

Yes that was very well put, also hands on experience :D:D
 
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mssond

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ALFIEBEARD

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guys the old merc flopped, (turned out it was clocked :( ) now going to have a quick look at this one, but in this pic it looks like either its been front ended or the bonnet is popped, can anyone confirm that it wat the front looks like when you have pulled the bonnet leaver from inside and not opened the bonnet fully???

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...iceasc&anchor=advert200937341738437&logcode=p

Hi that looks like the shut lines on the wing seem correct but the bonnet looks popped, Mine has even shut lines when open and shut ie open same distance all round and shut very tight lines all round, truthfully though at the asking price of this car I reckon I would expect it to be a load of crap, ie you get what you pay for and around 6k or 7k you wont find a good E Class W211and certainly not a diesel ,you may be better going for a good W210 as at least if its NOT rusty it should provide reliable transport,
sorry to sound blunt but thats my opinion anyway.

Alfie B
 
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mssond

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Hi that looks like the shut lines on the wing seem correct but the bonnet looks popped, Mine has even shut lines when open and shut ie open same distance all round and shut very tight lines all round, truthfully though at the asking price of this car I reckon I would expect it to be a load of crap, ie you get what you pay for and around 6k or 7k you wont find a good E Class W211and certainly not a diesel ,you may be better going for a good W210 as at least if its NOT rusty it should provide reliable transport,
sorry to sound blunt but thats my opinion anyway.

Alfie B

Nope this is exactly what I am finding, but you dont know until u look, so looking at higher mileage/higher price examples now,
 
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mssond

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Ok finally got one, ended up with a 2005 plate, 115k, fully loaded (from what I can tell the extra's are satnav/vid, memory seats, sun roof, is there any other extra's you could get on these??) for 10k, 1 owner, full service history, couple of marks which the dealer will sort out (he actually pointed these out to us),

just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your help :)
 


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