New user, looking at buying E-class

[Parrot of Doom]

Hi there

A friend of a friend (and a very very trusted friend) is offering me a 1998 E-class saloon, Avant Garde 2 litre petrol, auto, 36k miles and 2 owners. Colour is a deep mauve/purple, and it has one or two cosmetic trim improvements (I believe it has some nice alloys and possibly a different grille arrangement on the front).

The car is described as mint, and I'm possibly going to look at it mid-week. Price is £5500, although it has a trick stereo that I'll probably ask to be removed to get the price down.

I'm a bit worried about the service costs, and the rust issue. My last car was a TVR Chimaera, so I'm well aware of the need to keep rust at bay. For that car, I used a product called POR15 to keep the rust from the chassis. I plan to use POR15 on the underside of the Merc to do the same. Is this ok?

What are the service costs at your average specialist/dealer - and is it possible to obtain a service schedule, as I intend to keep the car for a good long while and service it myself (apart from the biggie services).

My car history is (in most recent order), TVR Chimaera, Audi TT, Audi A4 (old shape), Volvo V70, Volvo 850, Vauxhall Carlton

 

[jberks]

The corrosion problem begins under the paintwork so I'm not aware of any pre-emptive treatment that would help. MB have announced a recall to put silicone under the door seals that may help though. Other than that, the front cross member may benefit from a treatment such as you describe. The wheel arches are the only other spot which you need to keep an eye on. The sills/chassis is basically ok and pretty well factory protected in my experience.
Dealer services are around £250+ for an A and £450+ for a B service. Specialists around half that.
The service schedule is in the service book and you can get CDs on the W210. There is no haynes manual though.

 

[MIW615]

Hi there

A friend of a friend (and a very very trusted friend) is offering me a 1998 E-class saloon, Avant Garde 2 litre petrol, auto, 36k miles and 2 owners. Colour is a deep mauve/purple, and it has one or two cosmetic trim improvements (I believe it has some nice alloys and possibly a different grille arrangement on the front).

The car is described as mint, and I'm possibly going to look at it mid-week. Price is £5500, although it has a trick stereo that I'll probably ask to be removed to get the price down.

I'm a bit worried about the service costs, and the rust issue. My last car was a TVR Chimaera, so I'm well aware of the need to keep rust at bay. For that car, I used a product called POR15 to keep the rust from the chassis. I plan to use POR15 on the underside of the Merc to do the same. Is this ok?

What are the service costs at your average specialist/dealer - and is it possible to obtain a service schedule, as I intend to keep the car for a good long while and service it myself (apart from the biggie services).

My car history is (in most recent order), TVR Chimaera, Audi TT, Audi A4 (old shape), Volvo V70, Volvo 850, Vauxhall Carlton

Recently purchased a 3 year old Avantgarde and love it to bits, the only thing I found wrong was that the previous owner scuffed the wheels badly and salt / water has got under the laquer - so I am as we speak having them re-profiled and re-cut (diamond finish)

 

[Parrot of Doom]

So, if the car (1998 ) has no visible signs of rust on the panels and under pieces of trim, its probably fair to assume that it isn't going to start any time soon? Presuming it hasn't already been repaired/sprayed that is?

Is it easy to fit armourfend on the arches and boot lid, to prevent damage from flying debris?

 

[clive williams]

Parrot,

I bought a 2001 320CDI estate two months ago with starship mileage in the same colour and avantguard spec. From a careful going over the car has suffered BADLY from stone damage and the paint finish is notably THIN. I negotiated a sizeable reduction on the sale price re: the condition and I intend to have my usual bodyshop redo the front completely and the rear tailgate, which is blistering under the grab handle.

Had the last owner not used an indie for the last service I could have claimed on MB's rust warranty but I will have the comfort of a proper paint job and having saved enough money on the sale deal to pay for it.

I'm expecting the new paint finish to be less fragile than MB's

Clive

500E
320CDIT210

 

[jberks]

To be fair, a '98 model is likely to have some rust somewhere and I would be a little suspicious if it hasn't got any, and the owner claims it hasn't been done either. I had the following areas attended to under the warranty on a 2000 E class. Boot lock, F O/S wheel arch, door frame (under rubber seal) on all 4 doors, Drivers side sill, Bottom half of R N/S door. To be fair, I was extremely picky and the 3 of the doors were done when I found just a small rust stain on the inside of the seals (couldn't see the rust) and this was over a 3 year period. Once fixed, no traces returned, but as above, the paint is a little thin in places and I attended to the inside of one wheelarch myself as it had chipped. Again, a little wire wool, jenolite and touch up and she was as good as new.
If it has a full MBSH then just bob it in to the dealer and they'll sort it, if not, go over it with a fine tooth comb. Pay special attention to the underside of the door seals and the condition of the chassis cross member which can only really be inspected when you remove the engine under tray. Don't get the wrong idea, a good nick W210 is a wonderful motor - (though after a TVR, an E200 is going to be a bit sluggish!), its just not a blind purchase like a W124 is.
Unless it's really bad (like Olaf's) just keep a close eye on it, and deal with any signs immediately. I'm not certain what success you'll have with any pre-emptive action though as a lot of the problems were built in at the factory, with water based paints and non galvanised steel so if it has problems, they're already there (hence why MB are paying out millions to fix them).

 

[classe]

Recently purchased a 3 year old Avantgarde and love it to bits, the only thing I found wrong was that the previous owner scuffed the wheels badly and salt / water has got under the laquer - so I am as we speak having them re-profiled and re-cut (diamond finish)

Hi Where are you having them done? any good reports? How much?

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Well, I bought the saloon.

E300 DT Elegance
163500 miles
FSH (partial dealer, on-off so it won't get the warranty for the bodywork)
AC
Auto
Cruise
Cloth seats
Auto dimming mirrors (although driver's mirror glass was broken)

Paid £4800 for it, and they're sorting out a new MOT, its not taxed so I'm paying them to 12months tax it, and they're going to contact me about the mirror (I imagine the fancy glass is expensive).

I'm picking it up tomorrow (provided it passes its MOT).

I think I'll take it into a Merc specialist, have them check it over fully, and from then on just get it serviced by my mate until either I die, or the car dies, or I hit the jackpot I'll keep the receipts, but I don't really care about resale value as its cheap to begin with and its not going to lose much more money now.

Rust-wise, there is some bubbling around the wheelarches, a bit of rust coming through underneath the handles and indicators but nothing massive (just tiny flecks under the paint). The top edge of the driver's door (behind the rubber trim) isn't in great shape, so I'll have to get that sorted out. Underneath the car looked ok, the spring seats were fine (I'll paint all those bits with POR15). I'll also have a look behind the engine tray and paint any exposed metalwork there as well. Boot lock was perfect, as were the other doors, so either they've not really been used (it has a remote boot thingy on the keyfob), or they've been attended too already. Paint looked uniform and good, I couldn't see evidence of any crashes.

Tyres were a bit badly worn, perhaps a few months left, but they're not too expensive to replace.

The stereo was a Blaupunkt unit with some kind of keycard - is that the standard unit?

 

[maddog]

From the picture it looks like the front offside wing has been re-painted

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Yes, its difficult to tell isn't it? We had a good look around the car and the panels all looked the same colour, I think we'll have to wait until its cleaned up and in sunlight before we know for sure.

Getting it HPI checked anyway, so if theres anything other than a minor accident/respray I'll be negotiating for a discount.

 

[maddog]

Yes, its difficult to tell isn't it? We had a good look around the car and the panels all looked the same colour, I think we'll have to wait until its cleaned up and in sunlight before we know for sure.

Getting it HPI checked anyway, so if theres anything other than a minor accident/respray I'll be negotiating for a discount.

i would get it hpi'd and inspected BEFORE parting with any money.

I had a potential purchase HPI'd once and it turned out the garage had just clocked it, it then started a big trading standards investigation and got the guy banged up!!!

Saved me £6K as well!!!

 

[MIW615]

Hi Where are you having them done? any good reports? How much?

I posted this a couple of weeks ago................

Information for members, I have found a company that specialises in wheel re-furbishing that are very experienced and don't charge a fortune.

For £49.00 per wheel they will stip, paint, diamond cut, fit and balance my new tyres and collect and deliver. I will post pictures when they are finished. Here's their web site.................

http://www.wheelrefurbishing.co.uk/

They are due back this coming friday so will report then

 

[classe]

:smile:

Thanks MIW615 I look forward to seeing them

Classe

 

[Parrot of Doom]

i would get it hpi'd and inspected BEFORE parting with any money.

HPI certificate will be supplied with the car, and I haven't paid in full yet (just a large deposit).

 

[230K]

From the picture it looks like the front offside wing has been re-painted

Ditto

230K