E240 Elegance Estate - Bargain or Money Pit?

[deejaybee]

I went to view a '98 R-reg E240 Elehance estate yesterday. It is a 7 set model with grey leather interior, only 2 owners with 83K miles. On the face of it a bargain as it was generally in good condition with Main Dealer history to 50K miles and then by an independent dealer (non-specialist) with the second owner with regular servicing every year, the last one in Jan this year at 81.5K miles.

The problems are in two areas. It has some rust on the two rear doors under the top rubbers and at the bottom (the bottoms are the worst with each door having about a 1/2" hole near the back). There is also quite bad rust on the rear tailgate at the bottom of the window aperture - not quite perforated but heavy surface corrosion over half the length of the window.

The second problem is the engine. It starts and runs well but has mayonaise in the top of the engine clearly visible under / through the oil filler cap. However, there is no sign of oil in the coolant tank. Could this be a head gasket problem or possibly gearbox cooler?

Also the ASR light is on.

The seller is asking 2690 for it which is already quite cheap given the mileage, but obviously the problems could be a substantial cost to rectify. The seller is a small trader working from home and clearly didn't have much knowledge about the vehicle and specific problems. He was quite shocked when I showed him the rust on the doors and he indicated that he would be willing to reduce the price, I reckon I could get him down to 2300-2400 but still not really sure if it is worth investing in a vehicle like this.

Any thoughts on the viability / problems and what might be involved in repairing would be welcome. Note that it was registered in Feb 1998 so it is not covered by the 30 year perforation warranty. Also it has not been serviced by Mercedes for the last 5 years, so I don't think Mercedes would contribute to any body repairs?

regards,

Dave

 

[jberks]

The mayo is probably normal. Most cars have it and my 240 certainly did and that was 100% sound.
The rust sounds to be the main concern together with the ASR light which could be nothing or else get very expensive.

If in doubt, get a full AA/RAC inspection carried out, or possibly better, have a local indie specialist look it over to give a view on the ASR. That should show if there are any issues but provided the ARS is a simple fix and the price allows a decent repair on the paintwork - a couple of doors from a breaker shouldn't be too painful - and it passes the mechanical checks then I don't see a reason to run.

As far as avoiding expensive issues - plugs should have been done at 60k - have they? and have the gearbox oil and filters been done? - if not budget for that too.

 

[Dosco]

The rust is the biggest issue also check the front wings where they meet the front bumper and be aware that the X member under the engine is also VERY prone to the rust beetle. I suspect the mayo is due to many short runs. As jberks I have the same issue but have noted that it does not occur following a decent long run.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Hi,
It's the type of car you expect to see at auction which is where the trader probably bought it, or it is being disposed of by the trade. I would tread very carefully, the dealers margin is probably small and no doubt he will probably try and sell you a warranty which won't cover the ASR as it is a known problem. Once you start spending you could wish you'd walked away. Plenty of E classes of that generation out there without problems.

Have you considered lifting your sights slightly and going for the facelift? The 2.6 engine is in my opinion the better proposition.

Hope this helps!

 

[MarkwithaMerc]

Dave,
hi! i recently bought an E240 estate, (W210, or is it S210?), car privately, bit later, 2001, with 62k miles and comprehensive history, but not all MB. Cost me a bit more than 2.7K though. Apart from a comment in an MOT pass cert. that the car had oversills, (?), I got no rust except for a patch under the MB star on the tail gate. I've got no warranty either.
Last owner paid in excess of 10K in 2006 from MB when it had 46K miles.
This is the V6 2.6 l engine and, apart from one or two annoying problems with either plug-leads and/or MAF as well as rain sensor failure, is running well. Don't know about the ASR but we got no mayo here, yet!

I am just a Merc beginner but I am very happy with this car, even though the consumption is only 27MPG! ((On a run!) My Jaguar S Type, (1964), does 19 MPG so I'm not complaining!))
Just for your information!
Good luck!
Mark

 

[karlefr]

Look for a better one, definitely a face lift one, most times no rust at all!

 

[deejaybee]

Decided to get an E320 instead!

Thanks for everyone who replied on this. I decided not to buy this particular car but I have just decided to buy a 97-R E320 Elegance estate with leather interior which I hope will be a better buy.

It has done 94K miles and has Mercedes s/h up to 2004 and 60K miles. It needs a good clean and a service and it does has some rust on the tops of the doors and a bit on the tailgate, but not as bad as the other car I looked at, also it doesn't have any warning light up either. I am buying this privately for only 1950, so at this price with 10 months MOT and half a tank of fuel I think it is pretty good value. I will be picking it up tomorrow and giving it a good run at the weekend to see what it is like - wish me luck!

thanks,

Dave

 

[Ron Palfrey]

Sounds a much better proposition. Good luck with it.
Ron

 

[alexspurs61]

Dave,
hi! i recently bought an E240 estate, (W210, or is it S210?), car privately, bit later, 2001, with 62k miles and comprehensive history, but not all MB. Cost me a bit more than 2.7K though. Apart from a comment in an MOT pass cert. that the car had oversills, (?), I got no rust except for a patch under the MB star on the tail gate. I've got no warranty either.
Last owner paid in excess of 10K in 2006 from MB when it had 46K miles.
This is the V6 2.6 l engine and, apart from one or two annoying problems with either plug-leads and/or MAF as well as rain sensor failure, is running well. Don't know about the ASR but we got no mayo here, yet!

I am just a Merc beginner but I am very happy with this car, even though the consumption is only 27MPG! ((On a run!) My Jaguar S Type, (1964), does 19 MPG so I'm not complaining!))
Just for your information!
Good luck!
Mark

Hi Mark - S210 is the correct nomenclature for an estate of that vintage. W=saloon, S=estate. But both will have VINs starting W....ho hum

That smaller V6 is well thought of by many - I drove a couple and whilst no rocketships, very smooth

 

[karlefr]

Congratulations!!!!!!!! At that price you don't have to worry to much about anything!!!!!!!

 

[MarkwithaMerc]

Alex
I have read that the bigger engines are better on consumption, is this correct? the 430 seems to be 1 or 2 MPG better than the 240 which seems a bit hard to understand. Any comments from anyone?