5 Qs on W210 Estate ownership

[John Turner]

Any answers appreciated from recent owners of W210 estates:
(1) Does anyone know which month the 30yr warranty came in during 1998?
(2) What are service costs like on a 5-6 year old car?
(3) What are average real fuel consumption levels like for a 300TD and a 240 V6?
(4) Are any owners who traded up from a W124 estate disappointed? (if so - what are the major issues)
(5) Previous strings show rust to have been a problem, but then those with rusty cars probably respond robustly! Are there year R/S/T W210 estate owners who are still satisfied that they have no rust problem?
Many thanks
John

 

[mikemoss]

Can't answer all your questions, but here goes on the ones I'm qualified to talk about.

1) I think Mobilo Life came in for all cars registered from September 1998 onwards. The 30-year anti-perforation rust cover seems bomb-proof if you have full MB service stamps, and likely to be honoured if an inde garage has used genuine parts and followed the servicing schedule to the book.
2) Don't know yet - my 1999 E320 estate came with an A service just completed. However, the MB Owners Club card gives me a similar discount at MB Bath to the one I previously enjoyed under their 'mature Mercedes' scheme, ie a worthwhile discount on both parts and labour.
3) Can't comment.
4) Not disappointed at all. The driveline is infinitely superior (smoother, quieter, faster, more responsive than my 1990 300TE), the interior is an altogether more pleasant place to spend time, there's more space, the external mirrors are far better, the alarm/immobiliser actually works etc etc.
5) No signs of rust yet, apart from just a hint around the tailgate handle which is a known bad spot. None at all on the wings, tops of doors etc which seem to be a common problem. I'm counting on that Mobilo Life warranty to see me through if I'm living in a fool's paradise - see the thread under Technical on this forum for more good experiences than bad in getting these rust problems resolved.

On balance, if you fancy a W210 estate I'd say go for it. My W124 was still going strong at 15 years old and 160,000+ miles, but the interior was looking shabby, small things (distributor cap, thermostat housing, radiator, brake disks etc) kept needing replacement and rust had just started on two wheel arches. One test drive should convince you that the later model represents a genuine step forward in virtually all areas.

 

[John Turner]

Many thanks Mike for taking the time to make a detailed response. Much appreciated.
John

 

[jberks]

Hi,
Like Mike I can't answer them all,
but
1) Don't know
2) I can only comment for the petrol (My e240) - Dealer services are around £250 for an A and £450 for a B - specialists around half that. The costs are wear and tear/mileage based rather than age so it's difficult but to give you an idea, recent bills are pads front and rear, plus front discs, engine diagnostic and a geometry reset £450 , new o2 and mass air sensors £500 roughly.(both in the last 2 weeks - ouch). The V6 may need plugs at 60k which is around £200 so check it's been done.
3) 240 v6 - The figures are very close to what merc quote, 19 stop/start short journey, 26 short A road stuff and 30-37 (regularly get 35) motorway traffic/speed dependant. 300TD will be a lot better, but will probably cost a lot more to buy.
4) Mines a saloon and yes I have had rust - boot lock 1 door and some very slight suspect bits (driver's sill and front cross member if you examine very closely) that I will have looked at shortly, but so far, merc haven't argued. Use the details on the "E class rust " entries to check round before you buy.
Hope this helps,
cheers,
Julian

 

[johnmc]

Hi John,
I've got a W210 saloon. Maybe the following will help:

1. Mobilo Life started September 1998 according to my leaflet in the
service book. Some pre-reg cars might have it to. It seems like it
is worth having for the rust problems (they will fix all panels and
chassis items ONCE in 30 years if you keep it serviced for life with Merc).
They may also partly fund repairs on goodwill up to 30 years. I suspect
that goodwill will expire in reality after 10 years.
2. Service costs are in the range 150quid (A service) to 400quid (B). I use
Vardy Continental in Glasgow. Big dealer, better service price. I've an E200 so add on maybe 50 more for that? Haggle the price though, they do compete. You can also minimise costs by managing your oil changes. See the "assyst" article in the technical section. Oil changes can be padded out to 18kmiles if you cheat, just a little, and get cheaper oil changes between services.
3. E200 gets about 26mpg vs 31mpg specified, but I do about 10 short trips during the week in traffic and motorway miles at the weekends.
4. Don't know.
5. I started the recent rust thread, and it the issue has made me pretty mad with Mercedes. I've run different Mercs for 9 years and the quality is going definitely going South. Check the rust carefully. There should be a record with Merc about the work done to it already. Remember that it is a one time free repair in 30 years. Check with the dealer and maybe use it to leverage the price. The car drives well, the quality just upsets me, so it's the wife's car now and I use the Seat.

A couple of other tips:
- Air mass sensors fail on a lot of cars. Mine was replaced at 25kmiles.
Watch for starting issues when partly warmed up. The duff sensors can't tell what temperature the engine is at when in the in-between hot and cold state. The starter turns over for ages and when the engine fires it runs really rough for a bit.
- My rear brake light housing melted inside causing electrical issues. May have been a duff bulb overheating.

Nice cars to drive, always fancied the estate but went for a big MPV instead due to the quality problems, otherwise I'd have two W210s. Not what they used to be....!

John

 

[John Turner]

Many thanks Julian and John for some further very thorough and helpful replies. It is great to have this first hand information - I am a cautious buyer!
Kind Regards
John

 

[Ginger Monkey]

Hi,

Well done! You managed to ask a question about rust and not get attacked for going over old ground!

From my experiences (although I'm still looking for the ideal car) the 30 year rust warranty was intoroduced on cars registered after 28 Oct 98. Before that they came with 1 year only! (According to MB UKHQ). There appears to be some room for negotiation regarding full service history for the warranty - depending who you speak with. 3 dealers told me yesterday that they would deam the 30 year warranty to still be in force providing there is no more than a 12 month/12k miles gap between MB main dealer services - so the warrantey should still apply even if a service is completed by an independant agent in this period.

I've looked at 3 post 97 E class estates and they have all had rusty door frames! So beware!

Hope this helps,

Adam

 

[maddog]

Hi,

3 dealers told me yesterday that they would deam the 30 year warranty to still be in force providing there is no more than a 12 month/12k miles gap between MB main dealer services - so the warrantey should still apply even if a service is completed by an independant agent in this period.

My MB dealer advised me to bring the car in when the ASSYST tells me rather than every 12mths which works out every 15-18mths due to the low mileage i do.