Off to look at a '99 E240 Tip Auto - any pointers?

[Ginger Monkey]

Hi,

Having spent weeks searching for a suitable E300DT to no avail, I thought that I would take a look at an E240. The car in question is a '99 Tip Auto being sold privately. I understand that this car is a 2.6 V6 and that I should see 26ish MPG generally and about 35ish on a run (if driven sensibly).

I also realise that although this is a face-lift model it may well rust as badly as the earlier cars - so I'll be on my guard. That said, are there specific things I should look for in this type of car other than the following:

Knock at front- drop links

ABS pump area - fluid leakage.

Exhaust.

Rear shocks, self levelling.

Air conditioning - condenser.

Auto Box.

Wipers - the front one.

Thanks to all of you that have helped so far and offered pearls of wisdom. Is there a Merc specialist in the Hemel Hempstead/M25/St Albans area, or one of you chaps, that might inspect the car for me? (For a fee). I will be in the area on Thu afternoon.

GM

 

[reefer]

try george fraser m8

took my e class there only to find it was a seller!..didnt even charge me for getting it up on the ramp and having a look about
get an rac inspection done on the car or something along those lines at least if you dont take it too george

 

[Ginger Monkey]

Thanks for that.

 

[johnmc]

Rust will plague your E240

Hi,
My recommendation would be don't buy one, especially a pre-2002. Check out the technical forum for rust issues on the W210 Eclass. The car will need a detailed bodywork and chassis inspection for:
- Rust on the doors (especially tops of the door frames under the rubber seal)
- Rust around the bootlock and number plate surround.
- Rust around the front wing indicators and wheel arches.
- Check for spots on the rear quarter panels.
- Check for rust on the chassis front sub-frame (look straight down at the cross-member between the radiator and engine block).
- Lift the bonnet and check the seam welds running front to back inside the bonnet lid.
- Check the suspension towers for surface rust.

Merc will only fix this if the car has a full Merc service history, and at 5 years old you may need to contribute to costs. This is no joke, take a look at the technical pages. Walk away unless you are convinced the car is clean and has been repaired already.

John

 

[reefer]

must agree with john on this one....DONT BUY IT!
yes they are lovely cars
yes they drive fantastic
yes they are quiet cheap to insure
yes they are quick
having owned one for 14 months would i buy another?.....no chance!!
only 3 mercs to buy in this world now im afraid....pre 1995 one, toy one and a AMG which are built in germany
please dont confuse the reliabilty and workmanship that merc have been known for over the last god knows how many years..as the post 95 cars have no connection to this what so ever apart from a badge

btw..my doors didnt rust under the top rubber seals..i just had holes appearing in the bottom of the doors!!!!!

lastly if you do buy one..never lean over the wings looking into the engine bay..they dent just by leaning on them :roll:
and when your chassis simply rots away..mercedes will put it down to driving the car into the sea!!! and wash there hands of any warrenty connection with it :evil:

 

[jberks]

Hi,
A couple of points,
The '99 will be a 2.4 not a 2.6. I don't believe this makes any difference though and 35mpg (37 without the aircon) is achievable if your careful, but it drinks the stuff around town. As far as rust goes, yes there are some really bad ones, and I have had some work done on mine - boot lock and 1 door) but it's generally fairly clean. Merc haven't argued at paying for it, so you could think of it as a regular free respray service - certainly got rid of a couple of irritating scratches!
The Oxygen and mass air sensors are also notorious (just cost me £500) and the plug leads can corrode, leading to a lumpy idle (another £250), so they can be pricey to run.

I know the old mercs are regarded as great from a quality point of view but my dad's new 1980 250 e class never returned more than 20mpg and was as slow as a slug. Plus I do remember it breaking down on several occasions with timing chain and head gasket problems. When he sold it in '86, 150k miles it was rusty as hell and belching black smoke on kick down. The ones that survive today were the good ones out of thousands I guess. Plus remember how bad the other manufacturers were in those days - what other car of the time could do that mileage, whereas he got >200k out of a cavalier recently and it's still going strong and never broke down.

That said, I've just cruised over the pennines at 80 mph in my E240 in smooth silence and the trip says 35.5mpg. So its not all bad !
Good luck with whatever you get and do have a specialist look it over and advise what it is likely to need in the near future, not just how it is today.
cheers,
Julian