Mercedes estates (newbie)

[JonWill]

Hi there,

Sorry for waht is liekly to have been a common question - but I'd be grateful if someone could help me out ...

I am about to have to grow up and ditch my trusty Saab convertible (child, dog and move to the countryside) and think an old mercedes estate is probably the way forward. I've got 5-7K to play with and that seems to get me a C or E class estate with 80K miles, with either the 1.8, 2.0, 2.4 engines. So ...

What's the difference between C and E class?

Which engines are best/ dogs?

Is there a site I can find historic specs/ perfomrance online?

And does anyone know a nice reliable second hand Mercedes dealer/ specialist in West Sussex ...

Soorry for all the questions, but these lists are normally an excellent place to start ... I'll miss my old Saab one ...

Thanks,

JonWill

 

[Bolide]

Merc estates

JonWill


The older W124 model E Class estate (1985-1996) with square headlights is reckoned to be one of the best Mercedes ever built. They're huge inside and very comfortable. Later cars (approx 1993-1996) come in E200, E220, E280, E320 and E300 Diesel versions. They're all good engines though the E200 is a tad underpowered

The E280 and E320 suffer from head gasket failure over about 100k miles. This is an expensive job but many cars have been done already so check the service history. The engine bay wiring loom also has a tendency to fail on some models (1994/95 E280 and E320 models, I believe) though, again, many have already been fixed. The diesel has no real issues and the later multivalve diesels (1994-1996) are very sought-after

The only other typical W124 problems are failed aircon (normally a holed condensor), stuck sunroofs, rusty wings and clonky autoboxes. Everything else is bullet-proof if maintained scrupulously so buy a car with history

The later W210 model E Class estate (1996-2002, I think) with round headlights doesn't have as much of a following partly because many cars have rusted prematurely. Early cars in your price range had 300 Diesel, then 300 Turbodiesel engines or 230, 280 and 320 petrol engines

The W202 C Class estate is much smaller (it's 11" shorter) and has less interior & luggage space. It arrived (in 1993?) when the C Class replaced the 190. There wasn't an estate version of the 190 so the C Class was the first small Mercedes estate. I'll let other chime in with info about the C Class

In general I'd say be a fussy buyer, test drive cars and be clear on the colour & spec you want. There are plenty of good cars out there

This is a topic that's been covered before and you'll find plenty more info by searching this forum or looking on other websites. You'll be pleased to hear that you're not the first to have moved from a Saab to a Mercedes estate - I know of a few other switchers!


Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Plenty of E240 estates out there so take your time and be fussy. 7K will buy a 210 series 99-2000 reg car dependant on mileage. I've owned a merc estate for the last 13 years and theres not much I havn't carried in it over the years. With the rear seats folded you will manage to carry house doors layed flat, that gives you an idea of the enormous carrying potential.

I've always gone for the 7 seat option (helps to sell the car on) and my kids have loved the experience of sitting in the boot seats. At present I'm running a e320cdi astate which is the first diesel I've owned but am delighted with it.
I wouldn't consider any other car.
Hope this helps!

 

[tom7035]

I'd recommend the 124 series, although older it's in a totally different class than the later 210. You'd have a lump of cash left too, to enjoy something else with!
Happy motoring.

 

[MondeoMan]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the W210 (E-Class from 96/7) rust problems (search the forum for horror stories). As long as the car has a FMBSH Mercedes will fix it, but that's not good enough for me and sadly means I'll never own one. The C class is very short on rear legroom, but doesn't have the corrosion issues (but none of the more recent cars are as good as the old in this respect).

 

[flagstaff]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the W210 (E-Class from 96/7) rust problems (search the forum for horror stories).

Bolide mentioned it in the first reply.

 

[television]

300te

I had a 1990 300TE in Sweden very nice,only problem in 60k was the water pump. The seats though are not as good as the Saab as they are short on the squab,this makes your back side ache on a long run. I found the MB tex was hard to keep clean, though in the USA Tex is the first choice. Longest run was 1400km in one day,Stockholm/ Hamberg. As the other people say look out for rust on the 210, they had servere problems during there first winter in Sweden. We have quite a lot of 124's here in the West country, a lot of them are rust free, even under the back. Out of my 435 cars owned I put it in the nice to drive box. Malcolm