Considering an E270 CDI

[Owen2206]

I recently went to my local independant dealer looking to purchase a car to replace my outgoing lease car (currently Audi A4 Avant). Was thinking of a 2008 Mondeo or Passat.

I do around 25,000 miles per annum and the salesman is pointing me towards a 2007 MB E270 CDI (manual transmission) with around 34,000 miles on the clock at a price (to be confirmed) around £17k.

I would be grateful for opinions on reliability, economy, value for this car.

As you can see this is a step up in the type of car I was considering and I would welcome opinions.

Thanks

Owen

 

[outsmartsmart]

I think you will get a fairly common first view that MB and manual is a bit of a no-no

 

[Rory]

Would there be a 2007 270CDi? Lost track of the timing, but they ought to have dropped the 5cyl by then, unless the car had been sitting around for a while before being registered.

As mentioned above, manual is pretty unusual in any Merc, never mind an E Class. Also 34K miles is alreay a fair number, if you add 25K/yr then your soon going to up around 100K. That will really kill the value of the car, but one way of looking at this is, if you're OK with a manual then it might not matter too much. Manual should certainly be a bit more economical.

Again, without checking, £17K sounds high. If it's manual, does it also have cloth seats - another MB nono?

 

[Micman]

Finding a manual E-class is rare, they are undesirable - and as such worth a lot less than an equivalent auto. No wonder the guy is pointing you towards it - he wants shot of it.

Putting it bluntly, if an E-class hasn't got an auto box and leather seats you don't want it.

Am I right that you are going for an estate again, to replace your A4?

If you don't want an auto then I reckon the Passat estate would be a very good choice, or another newer A4 if you don't mind having similar again.

If you want something more like the E-class but with manual gearbox - how about a nice Audi A6 estate.

Then again (excuse me everyone why I say the following swear words on this forum), a BMW 5 series diesel estate, although it will carry a heavy price tag.

 

[*Thumper]

I had no trouble selling my wifes manual C class, a couple of years ago ..in fact being a manual, made it more sellable .............. second hand buyers see them as just another car, with a star as a nice touch !

 

[Micman]

I had no trouble selling my wifes manual C class, a couple of years ago ..in fact being a manual, made it more sellable .............. second hand buyers see them as just another car, with a star as a nice touch !

I would say the C-class is a slightly different kettle of fish, although the auto box is still more common on them too.

As for the E-class it really does have to be an auto - there is a big price difference between used autos and manuals so don't pay over the odds for a manual. Just having a quick look on autotrader for example. Searching for an E-class, National search, any model up to 3 years old returns only 23 manual cars compared to 778 auto ones! That's about 34 auto cars available for every manual one.

Do the same search on the C-class, national search, up to 3 years old you get 165 manuals to 1590 autos. That's less than 10 autos available for every manual model.

So yes, manual on a C-class is more common than the E-class.

 

[PanzerMcGrory]

I recently went to my local independant dealer looking to purchase a car to replace my outgoing lease car (currently Audi A4 Avant). Was thinking of a 2008 Mondeo or Passat.

I do around 25,000 miles per annum and the salesman is pointing me towards a 2007 MB E270 CDI (manual transmission) with around 34,000 miles on the clock at a price (to be confirmed) around £17k.

I would be grateful for opinions on reliability, economy, value for this car.

As you can see this is a step up in the type of car I was considering and I would welcome opinions.

Thanks

Owen

Was he wearing a mask?

you wont get a 2007 E270.

For that money at a push you could get the 3.0 litre 7 speed V6 deisel auto that will easily go to the moon and back, and it must have leather and an auto box.

You dont buy a peice of German quality like an E-class then sit on cloth and manually move a gear lever around like a mere commoner

 

[J400uk]

E270 didnt exist for the 2007 model year, it was replaced by the far superior E280.

Also you don't want a manual, you really don't. The only Mercs allowed to be manual are the A, B and SLK. Anything else will be worth pennies when you come to sell it on and be a pain in the arse to do hill starts in because of the parking brake.

 

[st4]

Was he wearing a mask?

you wont get a 2007 E270.

For that money at a push you could get the 3.0 litre 7 speed V6 deisel auto that will easily go to the moon and back, and it must have leather and an auto box.

You dont buy a peice of German quality like an E-class then sit on cloth and manually move a gear lever around like a mere commoner

I'd agree with this. £17k would get you into the facelifted 3litre V6 car and a nice AG auto with real leather.

The manual 270cdi, wouldn't pay more than £10k for it.

 

[Dosco]

I think you will get a fairly common first view that MB and manual is a bit of a no-no

Can't agree with that, I drive for a local PH company and 4 of the seven E220CDI's are manual. The lowest mileage is 275000 the highest is now in excess of 480000 only one has had a new clutch and one a new g'box (under warranty at 230k). As for hill starts well that is a skill that can be easily mastered.

Of course Mercs and Auto boxes go together like male and female, cheese and pickles, fish and chips!

 

[jberks]

I agree with most of the above. The 270 was phased out late 2004 (Mine is one of the last) so where's this one been?

The 270 engine is great compared to the 4 cylinder varieties but not compared to the V6 that replaced it. In its own right though, gutsy, economical and quiet and smooth most of the time. Just a bit of a tractor when cold or hussled. The torque curve is also a little short so the power comes in short but big fun wheel spinning dollops. Mileage wise, mine is now up to 73k (bought at 17k) and shes better than ever. I fully expect to get well into the 150k +s before considering changing. Definately a high mileage cruiser and a great motorway engine with enough grunt to leave most in its wake. I heartily recommend it for this type of work.

But, at that price, definatley not. You can get far better for that money.

I'll accept merc manuals are fine but why would you want to drive one? Manuals used to make sense, when autos were unresponsive, sapped too much power from small sub 100bhp engines and roads were clear enough to drive your petrol car with gusto, using the revs, holding onto gears in the corners and squeazing the power out on the exit.

Now Autos are the equal to manuals, diesel engines don't rev well so slotting through the gears with gusto is counter productive, any enthusiatic driving will be met with either a camera ticket or you can't anyway because of traffic. Plus, in a jam, a manual is a real chore. 1st is too low, 2nd too fast. Constantly swapping cogs and riding the clutch. Its rather like saying I don't want a washing machine, I prefer the tactile feel of my washboard!

I also do 25k pa. My current daily trip is Leeds to Sheffield and back. It starts with drive through the estate 1,2,3,3,2,1,1,2,3,3,2,1, max speed 25 etc, not much fun in a manual.(Not much fun in an auto either). Then along the ring road, steady 50 behind someone or other, a quick kickdown burn past a few cars on the dual carriageway followed by 30 miles of 50-80mph 5th gear cruising down the M1 where it doesn't matter what gearbox you have. Then a crawl through the traffic into the city, 1st to 4th gear, up and down and rarely in the same gear for more than a few seconds. Again, no fun if you're constantly riding the clutch and moving the lever. In my auto I sit back, rest my left arm on the centre console and let the computer seamlessly and almost undetectably sort it out. Its spot on 99% of the time. If I suddenly find myself with the need for extra speed, a gentle squeaze of the throttle elicits an emmediate response thats the equal to any manual driver. So why would you want a manual.
The Mrs did so after failing to persuade her, I bought her a manual freelander which she loves. They recently lent her an auto version whilst they sorted hers - now she still loves hers but says I was right, the auto makes so much more sense and she'll definately not have another manual. I want to ease the mileage on mine so intend to use hers a couple of days a week, but I never seem to get round to it. That ****** pudding stick just puts me off. It may be a light box and clutch buts its still a chore.

A friend also (a 25+kpa guy) was the same. It must be a manual. He used to drive an auto golf in the 80s, it was crap so he won't have another. Borrowed an auto version of what he had and went straight round to the dealer to change for an auto. He's delighted with his new auto. So much less hassle and no downside.

So steer clear of the manuals. Poverty spec mercs make little sense.Cloth/leather rather irrelevant IMO. I have leather and on hot days miss the fabric seats of my E240. They also have the odd crease here and there as leather does so look their age whereas the fabric on my 240 looked as fresh as the day it was delivered.

At that price get yourself either a V6 diesel or if the economy is an issue, a new generation 220cdi which has the same BHP as the 270.