Looking to buy an E240(1999) Estate

[paulburrell]

Am new to MB's so is there anything I should look out for. Car has full MB History and has done 100k miles.

Any tips gratefully received

 

[230K]

Hi

Only tip i would give you is buy a diesel instead, oh and check for rust.

230K

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I'm biased, but here goes.
If your requirements are for a large comfortable estate your looking at one of the best. There are issues that you need to consider before buying however:
1) Do your homework before buying by looking up issues like rust on 210s etc on the forum. That way you will not be ill informed when you view.
2) 240 is a good engine especially in 2.6 form (the earlier ones were 2.4)
3) Make sure that the car has a complete service history.
4) If your usage involves high mileage, you will be better off with the diesel CDi variant.
5) If your intention is to keep the car for a longish period, and your mileage is low, the petrol engine is worth considering.
6) If your intention is to keep the car for a shortish period you stand to loose a lot of the residual value, most people are now looking for diesel estates.

Good Luck!

 

[paulburrell]

Malcolm

Wow the rust issue is a bit of a surprise I thought Mercs were bullet proof. Can you elaborate on the petrol v diesel debate with the e-class. Is the 240 particularly thirsty - what sort of mpg can I expect? I have a 4.6 Range Rover that I'm looking to offload because of fuel consumption issues(14 mpg tops). I don't do a massive amount of miles, probably 6-8000 per annum, I just begrudge paying Grabbing Gordon any more of my hard earned cash.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Have a search of some of my posts. some are probably a bit strong but I now have 6 years with the CDI estate....

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Don't worry too much about consumption Paul, you should easily double the Range Rover figures and a little bit more. JBerks is the best person to talk to about the 240, he owned one for 2 or 3 years, I'm sure he'll post tomorrow.

As for the CDi diesels (especially the 320), I've owned mine for about 14mths now and I am delighted with it. the engine is a gem, consumption is 26 worst, 42 best and mean 34. As you obviously like V8s you wouldn't be diaappointed with the performance its awesome when required. As I say I'm biased.

 

[Stulc]

Hi

Only tip i would give you is buy a diesel instead, oh and check for rust.

230K

It's a 99' 280 Iv'e got an auto est.....lovely car but can be ****** thirsty.....so I dont suppose a 240 (petrol) will far behind.

 

[AdrianDW]

I've a 240 (2.6) saloon doing 2K miles a month, and overall get around 26mpg. That's based on a 24 mile urban home-work trip every day, around 160 miles on the motorway at the weekends, and a mix of a-road / motorway for the rest. On normal (i.e not supermarket) 95RON. I'm not particularly light-footed either! I guess the wagon would be a little more thirsty.
The only downside is that the mileage mix and my driving style seems to mean the service intervals won't stretch beyond 9-10k.

...So anyone got a nice 320CDi they want to do a straight swap with mine for

 

[jberks]

Hi all,
I had my E240 for nearly 5 years. It was a 2.4 like the one you're looking at. (2.6's came in mid 2000) The economy isn't too bad on a run where I've seen a little over 35 if you take it steady over 100 miles or so. Extra urban at 26 is bang on but with any bigger engined motor, traffic is a killer as it takes a fair amount to keep it running - I have seen 13 on a few crawling journeys but 16-22 on short hops is realistic. After the Range Rover it will be a big improvement though.

The engine is incredibly smooth though not the most powerful and you do need to keep it singing above 3k to get any real go out of it, but then as its sweet, thats no hardship aside from the fuel usage.

Check it over thoroughly and check the history. Plugs need doing every 60k or so and aren't cheap. I was fussy, but mine had 2 occasions where it ran a little lumpy. On both occasions a new set of leads solved it but they are damned expensive too.

You should be up to speed on the rust issue. Some are good, some are bad, but be careful and do check thoroughly. Boot lock, top of doors, front cross member, wheelarches.

They are great comfy motorway cruisers and capable of big miles so a good one will be a good investment. Just be careful as a bad one can be a money pit. Shame you didn't want a saloon - I know where my old one is!

 

[paulburrell]

Well I've done it. saw the car yesterday and agreed a price for it this p.m(private sale). The car has 100k on it but seriously looks like it came out of the showroom yesterday morning, it was immaculate, absolutely stunning. When I spoke to the owner, the first thing he said was "you know about the rust issues don't you". Well, thanks to you guys I was forwarned and therefore forarmed. I started looking in all the usual places and I guess the seller must have been watching from his front room. No rust anywhere, he announces that in the last 18 months the car has a had 4 new doors, back hatch resprayed and both front wings treated. Crossmember looks good from above, but am getting an MOT done so that the garage can confirm whether that has rusted away underneath. Car has full MB history and so I am happy to stick in a claim if this is indeed the case.

This will be my first MB, so am looking forward to seeing whether it's a dud or not. I wonder whether it will be as reliable as my Porsche GT3? Maybe, but not as much fun and not quite so fast.

Will no doubt be a regular visitor to this site to pick up tips/problems etc. BTW where can I get a workshop manual on CD??

Thanks to everyone for your help and sharing your expert knowledge.

:-D :-D :-D