E320 CDI to buy or not to buy ?

[THOMO]

im looking to buy one.but they seem to be riddled with problems.honestjohn.co.uk is swaying me not to buy one.help me decide.

 

[carabind]

new or second hand? If latter,what age and how much?

 

[THOMO]

my limit is 10k so im looking at 52-54 plate.

 

[ALFIEBEARD]

I would think a 54 plate 320 CDI for £10k will either have been round the world or have no service history or been a total loss, but Your'e budget would get a reasonable 02
with a few miles on so look out for Valeo problems(do a search on here) and also check for rust, otherwise save up a bit more and go for the latest one you can afford, I reckon the E211 is a lovely car and if looked after should last a long time.

Alfie B

 

[THOMO]

I would think a 54 plate 320 CDI for £10k will either have been round the world or have no service history or been a total loss, but Your'e budget would get a reasonable 02
with a few miles on so look out for Valeo problems(do a search on here) and also check for rust, otherwise save up a bit more and go for the latest one you can afford, I reckon the E211 is a lovely car and if looked after should last a long time.

Alfie B

i have more money alf ,its whats the other half will allow me to spend .would you have a word with her and see if you could squeeze another 6k out of her

 

[pugwash]

I looked at the E320 CDI a few months ago, I did see a nice 54 estate for £10.5k mind you it had done 104000 miles which put me off a bit. There are lots of cars out there around the £10k. In the end I brought a C320 CDI estate for £11K which has the V6 diesel 7 speed auto which seems much smoother than anything else I had driven.

 

[THOMO]

I looked at the E320 CDI a few months ago, I did see a nice 54 estate for £10.5k mind you it had done 104000 miles which put me off a bit. There are lots of cars out there around the £10k. In the end I brought a C320 CDI estate for £11K which has the V6 diesel 7 speed auto which seems much smoother than anything else I had driven.

thanks pugwash ,i did not know they did a 320 cdi in the c class.i take a peek through autotrader later.

 

[pugwash]

There aren't many C320 CDI's out there, they came out about 2005 I think. Very expensive to buy new, but you can pick them up second hand at a reasonable price. Great fun to drive and economical

 

[steve berry]

I would avoid a e320 cdi at all costs, black death and numerous electrical faults in my experience

 

[as400]

I would avoid a e320 cdi at all costs, black death and numerous electrical faults in my experience

I in contrast would thoroughly recommend you buy a e320cdi!

Bought my black 03 plate Avantgarde with full leather and command for £7K.

Yes £7K! Shall I say that again?

It had 2 previous owners from new a FSH and 170K on the clock. A lot of people will think that with that sort of mileage they will wake up one morning and the car will have exploded into a zillion parts overnight.

Far from it, if you didn't look at the trip you would have no idea the car had done that sort of mileage, it drives perfectly, smooth with huge power and 45 mpg on a run! The quality of the interior parts is outstanding.

The dealer bought ex fleet cars from BAA some of which have done over 300K!...mileage on a well service E series cdi is pretty much irrelevant.

Since buying it there have been some issues let me be honest, the electrics have been perfect, no problems with anything and the way the music dips when a phone call comes in is very convienient, the Sat Nav is good enough to get me to where ever I have wanted to go and its still running on the original 2003 DVD disc!

The things that have gone wrong, a small suspension strut was knocking which was replaced for less than £100, a crank sensor had to be replaced for a similar amount and the independant Mercedes specialist (MBS of Southampton) dealt with the 'black death' (not as bad as it sounds!) for less than £96.

That's it. The car drives so well, economy and power and status and practicality...I've owned quite a diversity of cars from BMW's to TVR's to Subarus and god knows what inbetween, but this car ticks all the boxes.

The car looks gorgeous, much better than the current model W212 which is too American looking, the W211 looks Elegant!

So just go for one that has a FSH, forget the mileage just get as many 'toys' included as you can!, really consider the 320 size engine over the smaller variants, and remember that the Elegance model has softer suspension over the avantgarde which is slightly lower and more sporty if your an 'enthusiastic' driver.

The only other car that competes is the BMW 530d. Test drive both if possible.

Check out what Parkers has to say.

http://secure.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/mercedes-benz/e-class-saloon-2002.aspx

 

[ryanadam]

Some say he is foolish others brave must be one or the other to pay £7000 for a car with 170000 miles or have you just been lucky.bill

 

[as400]

No one intelligent has said I was foolish.

The car has been to both an official MB dealership and a superb independant, both say the car is in great shape.

With a FSH one with 300K shouldn't be turned down just for that reason alone, now that would be foolish!

 

[Rory]

Rust is a huge issue on the earlier ones - get on that at least 2004 when they were all galvanised.

 

[as400]

E CLASS -211 series- saloon and estates: -

"All steel panels were galvanised from Quarter 1, 2003, production onwards.
During the previous quarter (Q4, 2002) the process was gradually introduced
on the production line and therefore some vehicles were galvanised during
this lead-up period, but not all"

 

[benz1]

I have an 04 E320 cdi and FULLY recommend it. Now 102000 miles on the clock and drives/feels like new.

By the way what is this 'Black Death'??

 

[The Pan Man]

Mileage is all in the mind. I have a very nice E270 CDi 53 plate AG Xenons command Half leather that you can have for £10000.00 It's only done 104,000 miles and next week it will take 3 big blokes 3 golf bags and 3 cases on a 650 mile round trip all on one tank of fuel. Whats not to like.
PS If you buy a C Class you willl always be thinking what if I had bought that E Class. Much nicer car all round.

 

[as400]

I have an 04 E320 cdi and FULLY recommend it. Now 102000 miles on the clock and drives/feels like new.

By the way what is this 'Black Death'??

Do a search lots of info, but in essence the injector seals deteriorate and carbon deposits escape and congeal over the engine, if left over time it looks very dramatic and can cause problems, but if caught early enough can be treated without too many problems.

My car went for an official MB health check and they didn't see it, but it was picked up immediately by MBS of Southampton. Once the engine cover is off its pretty obvious really!