E320cdi or low mileage E300td

[G-a-r-y]

As you may be aware I'm looking for a E320CDi, W210- I think?
Looking around I have found a few low mileage E300-TD's as opposed to CDi. The cars seem to look the same and I think a 300TD would be quick enough because I remember have a "run in" with one in my Mondeo TDCi and it was hard to keep up.
So what are the main differences and would they be easier to maintain myself?

 

[robs-mbz]

Hi Gary,
I recently bought a 1997 E300TD and I have to say I have been more than pleased with it. Performance wise, I think I read somewhere that 0-60 in 8.5s, max speed 130mph, for a car of its size and weight AND ECONOMY! I think that is excellent. I do all my own maintenence and have seen nothing yet to daunt me, just hoping I dont have any electrical problems because that could possibly test me a bit! Engine oil change can be expensive because you need almost two gallons of fully synthetic oil, filters not too bad at about £7.00p. Transmission fluid needs to be changed every 60,000 (my next job) there are plenty of threads on here showing you how. Mechanically it seems pretty conventional and straight forward.
One thing to consider when looking for one is they do rust, quite alarmingly! You should spot rotten wheel arches and door bottoms easily enough but peel back the door seals at the tops of the doors, you could be in for a shock! More importantly you should take a VERY close look at the front spring top mounts (spring perches) take the wheels of if at all possible and have a real good look at them, mine looked fine till I stripped off all the sealing mastic around the seams, then I found the start of some surface corrosion which I have since treated and soaked in waxoil, in fact I am so paranoid about them that I spray them every couple of weeks with more thinned down waxoil! The other bad spot is the front suspension crossmember which rusts badly, this can only be spotted by taking off the plastic undertray, again, prepare yourself for a shock! My car also had some surface corrosion on the underside of the floorpan below the rear seat area which again I have ground back, treated and waxoiled.
Take a look at the transmission oil cooler pipes that run along the underside of the radiator, another rust affected part that can have catastrophic effects on the gearbox if they rot through, mine were really bad, I replaced them myself and at £36 the pair from Mercedes you are not going to break the bank!
Do have a REALLY close look at any prospective purchase, my car to be honest looks totally immaculate topside but had just the start of the usual rust underneath.
As far as differences are concerned, as far as I am aware, apart from the increased capacity, the main difference is that the E300 has mechanical injection while the E320 has electronic common rail injection, maybe other members could tell you more. The E320 obviously has a performance advantage, again I think I read somewhere, 0-60 in 8 secs and 145mph. The E320 has a considerable increase in torque however and a slight increase in BHP.

Dont let all this put you off a W210 however, they are a wonderful car!

 

[Blobcat]

If you think you will be happy with a 300TD pls do not try a 320CDI.

The CDI is so very different to the previous TD's as to be almost unrecognisable. If you have been used to a Mondeo TDCI then the 300TD old school technology maybe quite a shock. Another point is that the 320CDI's came in with the face lift to the 210's this really did give the car a much more modern feel inside.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Spot on Blobcat, the CDi drives more like a petrol in every respect bar thirst.

I think the trade are taking advantage of the popularity of the facelift 210 320CDi, secondhand values are high and so finding a cheap good one is impossible.

Well worth the extra investmant though.

 

[Flying Scot]

Hi Gary,
I recently bought a 1997 E300TD and I have to say I have been more than pleased with it. Performance wise, I think I read somewhere that 0-60 in 8.5s, max speed 130mph, for a car of its size and weight AND ECONOMY! I think that is excellent. I do all my own maintenence and have seen nothing yet to daunt me, just hoping I dont have any electrical problems because that could possibly test me a bit! Engine oil change can be expensive because you need almost two gallons of fully synthetic oil, filters not too bad at about £7.00p. Transmission fluid needs to be changed every 60,000 (my next job) there are plenty of threads on here showing you how. Mechanically it seems pretty conventional and straight forward.
One thing to consider when looking for one is they do rust, quite alarmingly! You should spot rotten wheel arches and door bottoms easily enough but peel back the door seals at the tops of the doors, you could be in for a shock! More importantly you should take a VERY close look at the front spring top mounts (spring perches) take the wheels of if at all possible and have a real good look at them, mine looked fine till I stripped off all the sealing mastic around the seams, then I found the start of some surface corrosion which I have since treated and soaked in waxoil, in fact I am so paranoid about them that I spray them every couple of weeks with more thinned down waxoil! The other bad spot is the front suspension crossmember which rusts badly, this can only be spotted by taking off the plastic undertray, again, prepare yourself for a shock! My car also had some surface corrosion on the underside of the floorpan below the rear seat area which again I have ground back, treated and waxoiled.
Take a look at the transmission oil cooler pipes that run along the underside of the radiator, another rust affected part that can have catastrophic effects on the gearbox if they rot through, mine were really bad, I replaced them myself and at £36 the pair from Mercedes you are not going to break the bank!
Do have a REALLY close look at any prospective purchase, my car to be honest looks totally immaculate topside but had just the start of the usual rust underneath.
As far as differences are concerned, as far as I am aware, apart from the increased capacity, the main difference is that the E300 has mechanical injection while the E320 has electronic common rail injection, maybe other members could tell you more. The E320 obviously has a performance advantage, again I think I read somewhere, 0-60 in 8 secs and 145mph. The E320 has a considerable increase in torque however and a slight increase in BHP.

Dont let all this put you off a W210 however, they are a wonderful car!

HELP not sure if i can agree with your definition of wonderful. It sounds horrendous though it does sound like your focused on keeping the rust at bay. But to have to do that well i for one will stay away from a 210. I am looking for a Merc diesel with some decent go and economy and a turbo would be nice but i am not into a LHD 124 Turbo Diesel so was looking at the newer cars - not now methinks. Mechanics and electrics i can fix but trying to keep rust at bay is a totally different ball game. It would seem that the 210 is never going to be a classic Merc like the 123/124 and similar older Mercs as the 210's will all end up in the scrap yard as the bodies fall apart long before the mechanical parts wear out unlike the previous generations of Mercs.

 

[Hibbo]

HELP not sure if i can agree with your definition of wonderful. It sounds horrendous though it does sound like your focused on keeping the rust at bay. But to have to do that well i for one will stay away from a 210. I am looking for a Merc diesel with some decent go and economy and a turbo would be nice but i am not into a LHD 124 Turbo Diesel so was looking at the newer cars - not now methinks. Mechanics and electrics i can fix but trying to keep rust at bay is a totally different ball game. It would seem that the 210 is never going to be a classic Merc like the 123/124 and similar older Mercs as the 210's will all end up in the scrap yard as the bodies fall apart long before the mechanical parts wear out unlike the previous generations of Mercs.

Unfortunately I agree with David completely (in the nicest possible way), I too am half decent with a spanner and three quarters decent with a multimeter; but bodywork <family fortunes incorrect sound effect>

Just reading through your post I was staggered by not only the amount of rust, but also by how accepting people are about it. It's meant to be an E-class Merc!

I hate to be negative but it pains me that the replacement for the might w124 was such a let down - 8 year old Mercs shouldn't need that amount of rust-fixing.

The one good point is that there will be plenty of om606turbo engines waiting to be rescued from w210 rust heaps for my r107 SLD (SVO)!


PS. David, have you thought about a w202 turbodiesel estate? I think the w202 was still from the w124 mould.

 

[robs-mbz]

Its not as bad as you think! I was pointing out the worst case scenario's, the rust on mine was all just surface rust thats been well ground away, treated with Kurust, red oxide paint and waxoil, dont forget the car is nine years old! What I was trying to say is dont be put off by the bad press that the W210 has had over the years, there are still plenty of good ones out there, that with a little ongoing TLC will last for many years to come!

How many dog rough, tatty, rusty 123/124's do you see - Plenty!

Thought! I will start carrying my digi camera on my travels and post the images to prove a point!

 

[Blobcat]

Its not as bad as you think! I was pointing out the worst case scenario's, the rust on mine was all just surface rust thats been well ground away, treated with Kurust, red oxide paint and waxoil, dont forget the car is nine years old! What I was trying to say is dont be put off by the bad press that the W210 has had over the years, there are still plenty of good ones out there, that with a little ongoing TLC will last for many years to come!

How many dog rough, tatty, rusty 123/124's do you see - Plenty!

Thought! I will start carrying my digi camera on my travels and post the images to prove a point!

There are quite a few people who do not like the 210 . Whilst corrosion can be an issue MB are standing by the warranty and there are plenty of good ones out there

 

[Johnny G Pipe]

Did the rust problem get any better with the facelift, or are they just newer and so less affected?

 

[robs-mbz]

I can only go by what I have read, it seems like facelifted W210's are effected in a similar way, as are almost all Mercedes models from the late 1990's and early 2000's, just type "rust" into the search facility and see what transpires!

 

[Flying Scot]

Unfortunately I agree with David completely (in the nicest possible way), I too am half decent with a spanner and three quarters decent with a multimeter; but bodywork <family fortunes incorrect sound effect>

Just reading through your post I was staggered by not only the amount of rust, but also by how accepting people are about it. It's meant to be an E-class Merc!

I hate to be negative but it pains me that the replacement for the might w124 was such a let down - 8 year old Mercs shouldn't need that amount of rust-fixing.

The one good point is that there will be plenty of om606turbo engines waiting to be rescued from w210 rust heaps for my r107 SLD (SVO)!


PS. David, have you thought about a w202 turbodiesel estate? I think the w202 was still from the w124 mould.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO will a 606TD go into the 129 ? Nope Hibbo i have no idea what a w202 is i now know what a 123 & 124 & 210 & 211 is/are (i think) but really i am just a driver now not really a petrol head (well an old one maybe) but not really interested in being a merc model expert

 

[Flying Scot]

Its not as bad as you think! I was pointing out the worst case scenario's, the rust on mine was all just surface rust thats been well ground away, treated with Kurust, red oxide paint and waxoil, dont forget the car is nine years old! What I was trying to say is dont be put off by the bad press that the W210 has had over the years, there are still plenty of good ones out there, that with a little ongoing TLC will last for many years to come!

How many dog rough, tatty, rusty 123/124's do you see - Plenty!

Thought! I will start carrying my digi camera on my travels and post the images to prove a point!

really well look at the pictures of my R129 1994 vintage with 155K miles on the clock NOT a spot of rust on the car nor underneath her either.

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=9892&page=2

 

[Flying Scot]

is this what you mean Hibbo

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MERCEDES-C250...51QQihZ009QQcategoryZ9855QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Hibbo]

is this what you mean Hibbo

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MERCEDES-C250...51QQihZ009QQcategoryZ9855QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Yes that's what I mean.


If a 5litre V8 will fit I'm sure a 3litre turbodiesel can be persuaded, the r107 does seem to have the longest bonnet in the world one for the future anyway.

None of my Mercs have/had anywhere near the rust problems that you get with the w210, and the youngest is 13 years old! Even the 23 year old w123 is absolutely solid where it matters. Rusty doors and arches is one thing, but when they go around suspension mounting points

 

[Flying Scot]

Yes that's what I mean.


If a 5litre V8 will fit I'm sure a 3litre turbodiesel can be persuaded, the r107 does seem to have the longest bonnet in the world one for the future anyway.

None of my Mercs have/had anywhere near the rust problems that you get with the w210, and the youngest is 13 years old! Even the 23 year old w123 is absolutely solid where it matters. Rusty doors and arches is one thing, but when they go around suspension mounting points

totally agree you should maintain your car but the body should not need the sort of maintenance that he is suggesting here the older cars have managed to survive while they get ignored built to last is the term i believe

re the engine swap the V8 is short the 606 will be much longer