E300 Turbodiesel

[dirtymonkey29]

looking on buying an E300 turbo diesel soon, around 98' or 99'. is there anything specific to look out for? i dont want to buy a lemon.

cheers

 

[Bolide]

Search this forum for "W210" and "rust"

Mechanically I believe that model was meant to be Mercedes most reliable car

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[hmang]

the 320 cdi must have been introduced around that era.

worth considering

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Rust. Wheel arches, behind the rubbers on the tops of the doors, exhaust, etc. Look in the engine bay, behind the headlamps, near the radiator etc. Engine crossmember can get rusty but you need to remove the front undertray to check. Front spring perches have serious rust issues hidden behind the mastic covering, only way to check is to remove the mastic.

Fuel leaks. Look in the engine bay, fuel pump is under the intake manifold - look for dampness. Not a major problem but irritating.

Gearbox - should shift smoothly and quietly at all speeds, although it will be a bit unrefined from cold (design feature, they all do it). If the ATF has never been changed, it will need doing.

0-60 time will be under 9 seconds. At 90mph it should cruise very quietly. Listen for timing chain clatter on startup - rare but important. Chains last 100'000s of miles, they hardly ever need replacing. Listen for injector knocking, injectors are easy to get to though. Glow plugs are another matter - if the yellow glow plug light stays on once the engine is started, at least one GP has failed - thats a big job, and not easy - it can get very expensive if a GP snaps in the head.



These are common problems/issues - but don't let that frighten you. These are excellent cars and the engines are proven to run beyond 500,000 miles without any work whatsoever. Transmissions are good for half of that, if serviced regularly they'll probably run even longer. Generally they're excellent, reliable, comfortable cars that won't give you any serious problems. They also hold their value well at this age.

 

[dirtymonkey29]

ok....dont want to sound too dim but what are Front spring perches? would they be the top and bottom cup that the spring seats into?

anyone got a picture? just want to know what im looking for