Which Diesel W124 or W210

[mattsurf]

I currently own a very late W124 E280 Estate, which has only covered 96k miles. This is my second W124, having owned an E320 in the past.

I would now like to switch to a diesel - for a bit of variety, however, I can justify the decision economically, I think that I will save £800+ per year in fuel costs.

Having looked through the classifieds and ebay for the past 6 months, I have a number of choices - go for a late W124 E300D, with 150k miles (I have seen a nice manual one, are they really bad?), or go with a W210 with turbo Diesel, or save up a little and go for a W210 with the 320 CDI enginge

I really like my W124, it is much nicer looking than the W210 and feels much better quality, however, all the diesels have 150k+ miles - The cars are getting on a bit now and I am worried about maintenance, although the owner or my local mercedes specialist does drive one with 350k miles. The advantage would be that I could sell / px my car and have very little outlay for the diesel. Does the W124 fitted with the OM606 engine feel very outdated now? how is the real world performance; My driving is 95% either rush hour on motorways or driving the 250 mile motorway round trip to stansted.

The W210 with the OM606 Turbo Diesel does not seem to be too popular in these forums - I think that I could get a nice one for £4500, would I be better with the older W124? do all W210s rust badly? how reliable is that engine?

The W210 with the 320CDI engines are now down to £6500 for a 150k mile car - I know that the engine is much more technical, however, it is much faster then the others and much more efficient too.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

No contest, the 320CDi is in another dimension compared to the other diesels you mention. My advice would be to spend the extra and get a CDi, lowest mileage you can, with FSH.

It's so good you will forget most of the time that your driving a diesel and the really big plus is that although you get immense performance you won't visit the filling station very often.

My ave mpg is 34 and I do a lot of non motorway stuff. Expect 38-40mpg at 70-80mph.

If you do decide to buy the 210 do your homework and check for rust. There are a lot of well cared for non rusty examples out there but you must check the tops of the doors under the seals and the front crossmember which are the main problem areas

Hope this helps!

 

[blackbelt]

Go for the E320 CDI..

My advice would be to go for the newest E320 CDI with the lowest miles you can afford, just make sure it has full main dealer service history because if it does then mercedes should repair any problems with rust you may have on the car.
The guy who deals with this side of the warranty for mercedes here in Manchester is spot on and I have never had any issues requesting warranty work from him, I don't know what it's like around the country though.
Don't let the rust issue put you off, it may not be as well screwed together as your "old" E-Class, IMO the E320 CDI engine is THE perfect combination for speed and economy.