Greetings and E Class Estate Questions...

[unharmed]

Hey Guys,

Just discovered this forum and have already learned stuff from browsing it.

I am in the process of looking for a largish family car and (seeing as I have loved every Merc I have had the pleasure of driving) my eye has turned towards E Class estates. I have seen a lot of examples advertised for between 4 and 5K GBP but which span quite a large range of model years and conditions. Is this a reasonable figure to expect to pay for say, a late 90s model in good condition? Are there any model/engine combinations that are more or less desirable for any reason?

My criteria at the moment are:

• I am not fussed about 'luxury' features: I don't care if I have to wind my windows down or adjust my seat manually for instance
• I would much, much rather have a manual transmission
• I have no personal preference about petrol or diesel

I also would like to know exactly what the Elegance/Esprit/Avantgarde designations actually mean

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[Blobcat]

Hi & Welcome,

If you want to shift gears yourself, then are you sure you want a Mercedes?
The auto's are excellent and with the foot operated handbrake the manuals can be somewhat challenging.

Rough guide to the specifications;
Classic = Basic spec
Elegance = Comfort and higher spec
Avantgarde = Lower/Sports Suspension and higher spec
Espirit = Somewhere above Classic although only on the C class'

To me the C class is somewhat Cramped and the E class is Enormous. Late 90's = a 210 in E class models which have been known to have some rust issues...

Pls try a few out and see what you think.

 

[unharmed]

Hi & Welcome,

If you want to shift gears yourself, then are you sure you want a Mercedes?
The auto's are excellent and with the foot operated handbrake the manuals can be somewhat challenging.

Rough guide to the specifications;
Classic = Basic spec
Elegance = Comfort and higher spec
Avantgarde = Lower/Sports Suspension and higher spec
Espirit = Somewhere above Classic although only on the C class'

To me the C class is somewhat Cramped and the E class is Enormous. Late 90's = a 210 in E class models which have been known to have some rust issues...

Pls try a few out and see what you think.

Cool - thanks, Blobcat.

Yeah, yeah I know about the manual thing...*sigh*. Maybe it's time to lose that little hang-up
Actually, the only manual Merc I have driven was a 2006 C180 Kompressor (hire car) and the transmission was very good IMHO. The foot/handbrake took some getting used to but I found the actual mechanism relatively unobtrusive.

Thanks very much for the designation descriptions - that helps alot.

I've read a few threads on the rust issues so think I know what to check for there. Not sure if I'm willing to make the price jump to post 2004 models though :sad:

 

[hawk20]

Cool - thanks, Blobcat.


I've read a few threads on the rust issues so think I know what to check for there. Not sure if I'm willing to make the price jump to post 2004 models though :sad:

You don't need to. See the Galvanising of Mercedes thread and you will see all E class, saloons and estate were galvanisised from first quarter 2003 onwards.

Borrow an E with auto. You will never look back I had all your reservations till I drove the Merc autos. Same performance and economy (near enough) as the manuals on most models. The tiptronic allows you to choose to change whenever you like. But the auto does it fine most of the time, which in UK traffic is lovely.
The E280 has a wonderful engine as do the diesels. I had an E estate for years and you wouldn't know it wasn't a saloon to drive. Elegance has the best ride IMO on the UK's awful roads.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Hey Guys,

Just discovered this forum and have already learned stuff from browsing it.

I am in the process of looking for a largish family car and (seeing as I have loved every Merc I have had the pleasure of driving) my eye has turned towards E Class estates. I have seen a lot of examples advertised for between 4 and 5K GBP but which span quite a large range of model years and conditions. Is this a reasonable figure to expect to pay for say, a late 90s model in good condition? Are there any model/engine combinations that are more or less desirable for any reason?

My criteria at the moment are:

• I am not fussed about 'luxury' features: I don't care if I have to wind my windows down or adjust my seat manually for instance
• I would much, much rather have a manual transmission
• I have no personal preference about petrol or diesel

I also would like to know exactly what the Elegance/Esprit/Avantgarde designations actually mean

Thanks in advance for any help

I have very similar circumstances and decided to go for a E300 TD

I looked a quite a few cars, if you fancy a manual maybe a Volvo estate might be more you cup of tea, i looked at a nice V70 XC, but decided i would rather have a diesel engine in the end.

The E class is a big car, i have the 7 seat option which is nice to have. If you go for a W210 then you must make sure that the rust it will have has not been covered up to sell.

I managed to haggle the price down on mine kjnowing it had a few rust problems, nothing too bad but enough for me to get it booked in for some work next week.

Your right about not worring about the toys, when they work they are nice to have but when they break it can get expensive.

For me the main selling point was the diesel engine. Despite what some say i fing it gets pretty decent mpg, at a minimum i have got out a tank is 430 miles. You will not get near that with a petrol.

If you get a 1999 or 2000 model then it should still be under warranty when it comes to the rust issues.

 

[izzi613]

Cool - thanks, Blobcat.

Yeah, yeah I know about the manual thing...*sigh*. Maybe it's time to lose that little hang-up
Actually, the only manual Merc I have driven was a 2006 C180 Kompressor (hire car) and the transmission was very good IMHO. The foot/handbrake took some getting used to but I found the actual mechanism relatively unobtrusive.

Thanks very much for the designation descriptions - that helps alot.

I've read a few threads on the rust issues so think I know what to check for there. Not sure if I'm willing to make the price jump to post 2004 models though :sad:

The manual transmission in the post May 04 cars were much improved over the earlier manual boxes in the C. Previous to that you will read in lots of places how unsatisfactory they were. Buying a manual C will save you money but be very difficult to sell on. Buying a manual E will be even more difficult to sell on. My Auto C180K is the smoothest Auto I have ever driven (that includes a 2000 740i and 2000 A8 4.2) and would highly recommend merc autos. With a larger engine (mine only has 143bhp) I could imagine they would be even better...

 

[type49]

If you want a manual Merc, buy a BMW -- AAAAAagh I'll get shot for that! With a manual Merc you will be limited on engine choice & very limited on finding one in the first place. You'll also have a job to sell it again. Drive a couple of autos first, you'll soon fall a love & look forward to traffic jams.

 

[Darrell]

My wifes w202 and my sisters w203 are manuals!

 

[izzi613]

My wifes w202 and my sisters w203 are manuals!

And your point is....

 

[Darrell]

W2o2 is an awful gearbox,all notchy and jerky.W203 is far better.My sister actually wanted one rather than an auto even though she couldn,t find a manual to test drive.

 

[izzi613]

W2o2 is an awful gearbox,all notchy and jerky.W203 is far better.My sister actually wanted one rather than an auto even though she couldn,t find a manual to test drive.

Ok, what year and reg is the W203?

 

[Darrell]

W203 is a c180k avantgard on a 54.I think she got it in Nov 2004.Are these gearboxes better as I haven't driven it to compare.

 

[type49]

W203 is a c180k avantgard on a 54.I think she got it in Nov 2004.Are these gearboxes better as I haven't driven it to compare.

This will probably be a facelifted model, so yes, they are much better.


Still not as good as Audi though. I've only driven 2 new-ish BMWs. One was good & one was Ok-ish.

 

[Darrell]

I will have to give it a try.She had loads of problems with it at first and the dealer was not at all helpfull.Luckily they weren't too to serious and she has done around 60,000 miles in it.It's a company car and she is up for a new one soon.

 

[unharmed]

Thanks heaps guys for your help.

I have re-evaluated my position and am now in the market for a w124 estate

Thanks again.