New W211 owner with a couple of questions.

[HankScorpio]

Hi all

Just sold a very nice Volvo V70R and bought myself a 2007 E320 Sport. Seems in fairly good condition for 140,000 miles. Was previously owned by a garage owner so seems well looked after (less than 1000 miles between some services, which were every 6 months). Kids seem to like it, which is a bit of a surprise considering one of them cried when 'The fast Volvo' went.

Got a few plans for it, just ordered an Alpine Ezi DAB to take care of phone, streaming and DAB. It's got fairly scabby wheels so I'll take these off and repaint them at some point. Code reader says an oxygen sensor is on the blink but nothing on dash. Reset the code to see if it pops up again. Seems like an easy enough job to replace. I'm fortunate to have a mate who has far too much money and has just bought some portable ramps so getting under it will be easy enough

Got a couple of questions for you knowledgeable folks if you don't mind.

The armrest has the uhi connector in it. Can I cut this off and run 12v power from the cable that I can use as a charger? Seems fairly pointless still having it in there. I have a soldering iron and I'm not afraid to use it

There seems to be 2 things in my glove box: a small jack socket at the top and a very, very, long cable with an old school mini USB cable on the end. This is run from outside the glove box but I haven't taken anything off to chase it around the car yet. Are these both likely to be aux inputs?

My map lights work and the main interior lights work if I press the button on the roof. Can't seem to get them to work on opening the doors though. Also seems the ambient lighting, footwell lights and glove box lights don't work (passanger vanity light does though). I've checked ambient light settings and it's on. Are these on a separate fuse that could be blown or are there just a load of blown bulbs? Any ideas greatly appreciated.

If I'm driving along with my foot just on the accelerator, I get what sounds like a resonation in the exhaust. It goes when I put my foot down a bit further. Is this common or does it point to something on its way out?

No doubt I'll have more questions when I've done more than the 120 miles or so I've done already. Got to admit I'm quite impressed by the car... Less impressed by the £133+VAT quote for a front cup holder Think this one will stick around for a good few years... Or until I get sick of spilling coffee on my crotch.

Thanks all, any help greatly appreciated. Attached a photo of the old and new cars. What can I say, I like big, fast old buses

 

[Wighty]

Welcome buddy , I’ve got the same car .
O2 sensor won’t normally throw an engine management light on the dash , but will have stored a fault code . Easy change though , it’s underneath by the gearbox sump .
Auxillary socket in the glovebox , yes .
Haven’t you got a 12v socket under the radio and another behind the UHI by the air vents in the rear (below them , in the ashtray ) .
Look at gearbox ATF and filter change every 40k miles , I would do the rear diff as you just have got the car .
Change the pcv tube on the engine that runs to the turbo .
Engine mounts may be needed if they haven’t been done yet ?
Change the orange turbo inlet seal on the front of the turbo , they leak onto the inlet port motor below and pack it in .
Buy an icarsoft MB2 for code reading .
Lube the headlight level sensor arms with grease, they rust and break . One in the front right wheel arch on the spring ,the other above the rear diff .
Find a good MB indy , where do you live ?
Change the air filters or check them anyway .

 

[Wighty]

Cup holders used to be £40 from MB ?

 

[A.J.]

Hi and welcome to the forum At least you will save a few quid on front tyres, I had a V70R a few years ago and ti went through front tyres like a dog goes through biscuits. Not my favourite car I have ever had

 

[HankScorpio]

Thanks Wrighty. Thanks for all the info, I'll start to tick them off the list.

Yes I have the 12v socket under the stereo and probably in the back (not been in the back to have a look yet ). As the armrest will most likely be used to throw my phone in, thought it could be good to have a charger in there. If there's a 12v in the back of the unit (one for the back seats), then I might try to piggy back off that. With a wife and 2 kids in the car on long journeys then charging space is sometimes at a premium.

I'm near Bury St Edmunds, but Im happy to travel to a good garage. I used to go somewhere an hour away with the volvo.

 

[HankScorpio]

Hi AJD.

I loved the V70R. It was a jap import and pretty much mint. Had 50,000 on the clock when I bought it. Best thing about it was that I kept it for 2 years, put 25,000 miles on it and still sold it for £200 less than I paid for it. I liked the fact it was understated (even if it was bright blue) for such a quick car.

Sitting in the e class though, I do wonder how the extra 5k I spent over an e class could be justified (because it can't) . The merc is definately a nice place to sit.

I didn't seem to get through front tyres that fast. And certainly not as fast as the Fabia VRS I had a while back. It was fwd with a dsg box, 1.4 engine, turbo and supercharger. Nearly impossible to pull off without some degree of wheelspin (or maybe that's due to my size 11s). Luckily it was a company car so I didn't have to pay the tyre bill.... But it did wind my boss up no end.

 

[A.J.]

Hi AJD.

I loved the V70R. It was a jap import and pretty much mint. Had 50,000 on the clock when I bought it. Best thing about it was that I kept it for 2 years, put 25,000 miles on it and still sold it for £200 less than I paid for it. I liked the fact it was understated (even if it was bright blue) for such a quick car.

Sitting in the e class though, I do wonder how the extra 5k I spent over an e class could be justified (because it can't) . The merc is definately a nice place to sit.

I didn't seem to get through front tyres that fast. And certainly not as fast as the Fabia VRS I had a while back. It was fwd with a dsg box, 1.4 engine, turbo and supercharger. Nearly impossible to pull off without some degree of wheelspin (or maybe that's due to my size 11s). Luckily it was a company car so I didn't have to pay the tyre bill.... But it did wind my boss up no end.

Mine was that Metallic Orange I didn't find it that quick either, that was one of the disappointments. I did follow a Sierra Cosworth however so t had a lot to live up to. what prompted me to a V70R was that the police used them so they must be good As far as front tyres were concerned I was 25 years younger then and drove with a lot more enthusiasm than I do now

 

[HankScorpio]

Ah, not so understated then

Did you have the orange/tan interior?

 

[Wighty]

Thanks Wrighty. Thanks for all the info, I'll start to tick them off the list.

Yes I have the 12v socket under the stereo and probably in the back (not been in the back to have a look yet ). As the armrest will most likely be used to throw my phone in, thought it could be good to have a charger in there. If there's a 12v in the back of the unit (one for the back seats), then I might try to piggy back off that. With a wife and 2 kids in the car on long journeys then charging space is sometimes at a premium.

I'm near Bury St Edmunds, but Im happy to travel to a good garage. I used to go somewhere an hour away with the volvo.

You have an excellent Indy over in Stowmarket , Alex Crow is his name

 

[A.J.]

Ah, not so understated then

Did you have the orange/tan interior?

It was at least 25 years ago now and I think it was a Black interior

 

[HankScorpio]

You have an excellent Indy over in Stowmarket , Alex Crow is his name

I'll hunt him down. Thanks very much.

 

[Mr Hatt]

Hi and welcome I too had a V70 R back in the day and always say that Volvo build quality and comfort is one of the few cars comparable with Merc of the same time period, (not sure about the modern stuff, Volvo are owned by India and Merc use Renault engines in smaller stuff) Tell your kids there is no shame, I cried too when the V70 came to the end of its lease but my E320 soon cured that.
You have the right year and engine so off to a good start OM642 in 2007 is about 250 brake and with a map 300, with seven gears its one of the smoothest combinations out there and box will soon learn your driving style and up its game for you, those wheels are quite sort after but a bitch to sand down, a nice set of AMG 5 spokes of the same size look a lot better, the UHI will give you the 12v you crave and the lambda sensor will have a faulty heater but still be fine, the heaters last ten minutes and do not set lights off when dead. Footwell lights and courtesy lights in middle and front of roof lining should all come on with unlock on remote, sounds like they are turned down to lowest setting, find that on steering wheel buttons menu with on/off, you can turn them from nothing up to quite bright and set the time period they are on. The sound from the exhaust is probably the bracket between the two banks at the back, they are joined by this adjustable strap in the middle and its the only part that rusts and breaks, get you stick welder on. Cup holders come up on here regular for realistic money, just keep checking parts for sale, anyway you should be used to expensive parts prices, Volvo invented it.
Its a very different beast to the Volvo mainly because two small turbos replaced by one biggun but I found I felt more like a grown-up in the Merc, dont get me wrong you will surprise a lot of lesser car drivers when you smoke them but it will be more graceful, less of a hooligan than the V70R and although only 2 wheel drive you will never lose an S211 on a bend and will stop quicker and smoother than most things out there.
If you want an instant power increase dump the rear facing seats, at 42kg it makes a difference.
Although I have owned a lot of newer stuff I always go back to these and have a 2009 at the moment having written off a CLS earlier in the year (just an E320 with a coupe body and only four seats) When you need new tyres dump the run flats to make a smoother ride and survive potholes without damaging the wheels, run flats are too solid for our roads and your wheels are £700 each new, you will enjoy this car, congrats on a good choice regards Steve

 

[Mr Hatt]

Forgot to mention.... say goodbye to 25mpg you can expect 40 to 50mpg now depending on how you drive

 

[HankScorpio]

Yeah, I'm probably not going to miss that bit too much.

Managed to get 28mpg out of it... All the way to Paris

 

[Mr Hatt]

Yeah, I'm probably not going to miss that bit too much.

Managed to get 28mpg out of it... All the way to Paris

You did flippin well at that, that was not the AWD was it, I was lucky at 25 and averaged 22 most of the time

 

[HankScorpio]

Yeah, 2006 awd. Must have had the wind behind me.

Or maybe I counted the miles we did on the channel tunnel

 

[HankScorpio]

Spoke to Mr Crow this morning. Seems like a very nice chap. Filled me with confidence and I'm more than happy to take the land-barge there within the next few thousand miles.

On top of the Alpine Ezi DAB, I've just ordered a new 12v socket to sit behind the dash so I can plug it without any wires showing. I've also ordered a double USB socket which I'm going to fit in the armrest (piggy backing off the rear 12V socket). I highly doubt I'll be approaching anything near the 15amp limit of the circuit, even if I have everything plugged in. Going to take the armrest apart and see if I can remove the UHI connector as having superfluous equipment in the arm rest is winding me up more than it should.

Also got some heat shrink to make me look like a pro. If it was the volvo, I'd probably just wrap it in tape. Being a mercedes owner has changed me

 

[M80]

If not mentioned already,
try your lights when it's darker and the light sensor sees the need. Your 4 doors should also have red warning lights for upcoming traffic and pool lights so you can clean you shoes at night.

 

[HankScorpio]

Thanks M80, I'll give it a go later tonight.

One final question gents (for thus post anyway) relating to aux inputs: in my glove box I have the 3.5mm Jack socket and a very long cable with a mini USB on the end. I presume the cable is plugged into the aux port on the stereo, although this is only an assumption. Will the fact there's a cable plugged in mean the 3.5mm jack socket is now defunct?

Thanks guys, you really are a very helpful bunch.

 

[Wighty]

Thanks M80, I'll give it a go later tonight.

One final question gents (for thus post anyway) relating to aux inputs: in my glove box I have the 3.5mm Jack socket and a very long cable with a mini USB on the end. I presume the cable is plugged into the aux port on the stereo, although this is only an assumption. Will the fact there's a cable plugged in mean the 3.5mm jack socket is now defunct?

Thanks guys, you really are a very helpful bunch.

I’m sorry buddy that’s all the questions you get for the first year, sorry rules is rules