E series estate 4Matic opinions?

BillyBoy

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W213 E400d All Terrain
Make them am offer - they can only say no ;)
 

John Laidlaw

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Marco Polo

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Your Mercedes
S213 E220d SE 4Matic
Due to some expensive issues with my 2004 E320 CDI that I have owned for 13 years, I traded it in last week for an E220d SE 4Matic. I'm still learning about my 'new' car which has so much more - COMAND, parking assistance, cameras, sensors etc. but so far I'm very pleased. Even though it is only 4 cylinders compared with the in-line 6 of the E320, the turbo gives it 191 bhp compared with 201 bhp. So not such a big power difference, but the E220d has a 9 speed gearbox so it is very smooth, and so much quieter! When I was looking, there were only 28 4Matics nationally at all price/specification levels and only 8 in my limited price band of £18-£20K so I was very lucky to find this one. Also with the 12.3in digital infotainment display (still analogue speedo/rev counter but there was none around at all with the digital ones!). I'm looking forward to winter with the snow and ice to see how well the 4Matic deals with it - my first experience of 4 wheel drive.

Here's a couple of the dealer's photos. 60734959.jpg 60731569.jpg
 

ATP7

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Your Mercedes
E220 2002 estate 2.2 CDI
Due to some expensive issues with my 2004 E320 CDI that I have owned for 13 years, I traded it in last week for an E220d SE 4Matic. I'm still learning about my 'new' car which has so much more - COMAND, parking assistance, cameras, sensors etc. but so far I'm very pleased. Even though it is only 4 cylinders compared with the in-line 6 of the E320, the turbo gives it 191 bhp compared with 201 bhp. So not such a big power difference, but the E220d has a 9 speed gearbox so it is very smooth, and so much quieter! When I was looking, there were only 28 4Matics nationally at all price/specification levels and only 8 in my limited price band of £18-£20K so I was very lucky to find this one. Also with the 12.3in digital infotainment display (still analogue speedo/rev counter but there was none around at all with the digital ones!). I'm looking forward to winter with the snow and ice to see how well the 4Matic deals with it - my first experience of 4 wheel drive.

Here's a couple of the dealer's photos. View attachment 62895 View attachment 62896
What kind of issues you had with your E320 if I may ask? Considering at the moment whether to get one or to stick with my 2002 e220 for one more year

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Marco Polo

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Your Mercedes
S213 E220d SE 4Matic
What kind of issues you had with your E320 if I may ask? Considering at the moment whether to get one or to stick with my 2002 e220 for one more year

Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Tapatalk
Mainly the self-levelling rear suspension. It started in 2015 with the left side dropping right down overnight as though there was a hole in the airbag - not everyday but intermittently with no clear pattern of why it was happening. I got the impression that it was more frequent during the cold winter months. I took it to my indie specialist who I have been using for 10 years and trust implicitly. He replaced the control unit and sensors, tried another compressor, tested the airbags - everything he could think of. Sometimes it went for months with no problem and then I'd go out to it in the morning and it was down again! It always pumped back up to the correct ride height after a couple of minutes of starting the engine. We decided that if it got to the stage that it didn't pump back up, my indie would fit a conversion kit to change to a standard set up but obviously it would no longer be self-levelling.

Anyway, since August this year the problem had returned yet again and was happening much more frequently. Then my ESP/ABS warning light came on - I thought it may have been a related issue but that turns out to be another common problem. There is a thing on the drive shaft called the reluctor ring which the ESP/ABS system uses to determine the speed (i'm not a mechanic so have no idea exactly what it does, how or why - he just told me it needed replacing.) The ring itself is quite small but there is a fair bit of labour involved in fitting it. I asked him to give me a price to fix the suspension and replace this ring. It was coming to around £1500! With the MOT and a major service due in December. it seemed crazy to spend £2000 on a car that was worth not much more.

The paintwork was not too good considering the car had only done 83,000 miles - the clearcoat on one side (the side facing the sun throughout the day when parked on my drive) had broken down like crazy paving. The interior was a bit shabby as well having been abused by my 4 grandsons over the 13 years! So I decided the time had come to replace it.

I really liked the car - it never let me down, always starting first time and drove well (the in-line 6 cylinder diesel of the 2004 model is a bit noisy, though, but maybe the later V6 was quieter after 2006, I think) and the size of the load area couldn't be beaten. 5 golden retriever dogs will testify to that. I've had E class estates for more than 20 years - S124, S210, this S211 and now the S213. There are probably many on here who've never had a rear suspension issue but it is quite common from what I've seen on here and other forums.
 

ATP7

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Your Mercedes
E220 2002 estate 2.2 CDI
Mainly the self-levelling rear suspension. It started in 2015 with the left side dropping right down overnight as though there was a hole in the airbag - not everyday but intermittently with no clear pattern of why it was happening. I got the impression that it was more frequent during the cold winter months. I took it to my indie specialist who I have been using for 10 years and trust implicitly. He replaced the control unit and sensors, tried another compressor, tested the airbags - everything he could think of. Sometimes it went for months with no problem and then I'd go out to it in the morning and it was down again! It always pumped back up to the correct ride height after a couple of minutes of starting the engine. We decided that if it got to the stage that it didn't pump back up, my indie would fit a conversion kit to change to a standard set up but obviously it would no longer be self-levelling.

Anyway, since August this year the problem had returned yet again and was happening much more frequently. Then my ESP/ABS warning light came on - I thought it may have been a related issue but that turns out to be another common problem. There is a thing on the drive shaft called the reluctor ring which the ESP/ABS system uses to determine the speed (i'm not a mechanic so have no idea exactly what it does, how or why - he just told me it needed replacing.) The ring itself is quite small but there is a fair bit of labour involved in fitting it. I asked him to give me a price to fix the suspension and replace this ring. It was coming to around £1500! With the MOT and a major service due in December. it seemed crazy to spend £2000 on a car that was worth not much more.

The paintwork was not too good considering the car had only done 83,000 miles - the clearcoat on one side (the side facing the sun throughout the day when parked on my drive) had broken down like crazy paving. The interior was a bit shabby as well having been abused by my 4 grandsons over the 13 years! So I decided the time had come to replace it.

I really liked the car - it never let me down, always starting first time and drove well (the in-line 6 cylinder diesel of the 2004 model is a bit noisy, though, but maybe the later V6 was quieter after 2006, I think) and the size of the load area couldn't be beaten. 5 golden retriever dogs will testify to that. I've had E class estates for more than 20 years - S124, S210, this S211 and now the S213. There are probably many on here who've never had a rear suspension issue but it is quite common from what I've seen on here and other forums.
Thanks a lot for the information! I'll keep those things on my mind, planning to get that v6 and eventually chip it, should be fun then

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malcolm E53 AMG

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Due to some expensive issues with my 2004 E320 CDI that I have owned for 13 years, I traded it in last week for an E220d SE 4Matic. I'm still learning about my 'new' car which has so much more - COMAND, parking assistance, cameras, sensors etc. but so far I'm very pleased. Even though it is only 4 cylinders compared with the in-line 6 of the E320, the turbo gives it 191 bhp compared with 201 bhp. So not such a big power difference, but the E220d has a 9 speed gearbox so it is very smooth, and so much quieter! When I was looking, there were only 28 4Matics nationally at all price/specification levels and only 8 in my limited price band of £18-£20K so I was very lucky to find this one. Also with the 12.3in digital infotainment display (still analogue speedo/rev counter but there was none around at all with the digital ones!). I'm looking forward to winter with the snow and ice to see how well the 4Matic deals with it - my first experience of 4 wheel drive.

Here's a couple of the dealer's photos. View attachment 62895 View attachment 62896

Very nice car you won’t be disappointed the 213 chassis is superb and the OM654 is proving to be a reliable and frugal engine (certainly in the 2WD can’t comment on the 4WD).

Hope you get as good service from it as your 211
 


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