Which one to buy

dave9val

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I am looking to buy my first mercedes but it is a minefield out there. I would like an estate diesel with auto box. I do quite a lot of caravaing so it must be a good towing car. Can anyone advise me which is the best model to go for.
 

deejaybee

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Need more info

Hi,
Welcome to the forum. You will need to give a bit more information:

- are you wanting to buy new or used?
- what is your budget?
- how many miles / year and do you do long/short journeys mostly?
- how long would you like to keep it?

I'm sure you will get plenty of advice / opinions.

regards,

Dave
 

television

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Yes, welcome to the forum but as deejaybee a little more info please
 

brandwooddixon

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Its a bit difficult to say as they could all be excellent towing vehicles, although towbars are unavailable for some models (notably AMG versions).

If you could let us know what you currently use and what you would like different to it then we could give you a better idea.

Otherwise for an enormous boot and lots of pulling power the post 2005 E320CDI estate would be my choice, but it may not fit your pocket.
 

mattsurf

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I use my Mercedes E320CDI estate for towing a trailer tent and a medium size box trailer. This is an excellent tow car - in fact with the trailer tent on, you really don't even realise that it is there, there were stretches in the dark on the Motorway in France that I really had no idea whether it was still attached.

If you are considering towing a caravan, I am sure that a 220 CDI will do the job, however, please go for a 320 CDI it makes the journey so much easier - and the difference in second hand value is very little.

In terms of price - you should pay less than £5000 for a W210 (pre 2003 old shape), you can pay up to £8000 for a low mileage one, however, I would be wary of paying this much money on a car that will rust pretty soon and is now out of MB 8 year warranty. The newer shape W211 estate is available from around £8000, but I would look for a 2004 car or later (fewer problems and no rust), these probably start around £10,000. For £15,000 you will start to find low mileage E320 CDI estates with the new V6 CDI engine - I have just bought one and am mightily impressed - It is much smoother than the old IL6 (which was already a very smooth engine), I am finding that it is 10% more economical and finally it is much more powerful - in fact most GTIs will struggle to keep up in a straight line.

I did 50k miles in my W210 over a 3 year period, when I sold it, it had almost 170,000 miles - over that period it was the most reliable car I ever owned.
 

*Thumper

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It would be usefull if we had a budget, to direct you ............ are you buying new or secondhand ?
 
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dave9val

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Sorry about the lack of info, My budget is around £12000 for a decent used one and I would like one with a lot off bells and whistles. If it lasts me for about six years I`ll be happy. I only cover about 8000 miles a year but that doesn`t mean I want a gas guzzler. Somewhere in the region of a combined 35 MPG would be fine.
 

*Thumper

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What caravan do you hope to pull with it ??

I tow my 2005 Elldiss, which is 1.55 tons, with a C class (170BHP) .............. and previously with my wifes 54 plate C class 220 .....which had 150 horses, in diesel mode ..and coped quite well with the van........... and returned 29-32MPG on a run .............. 45+ single

Your budget would get a nice one ........... mind you .it would also get a decent E class aswell ........... The 220cdi engine is very strong, and good for towing
 

turbopete

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e class diesel seems to fit the bill perfectly for you! go for the biggest engine if possible though (320 cdi) and you will never look back, except to check the van is still attached! i have the older E300 turbodiesel, and its just a mountain of torque! a 320cdi would be better still! depends on your budget really as others have said!
 

teabag

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Sorry about the lack of info, My budget is around £12000 for a decent used one and I would like one with a lot off bells and whistles. If it lasts me for about six years I`ll be happy. I only cover about 8000 miles a year but that doesn`t mean I want a gas guzzler. Somewhere in the region of a combined 35 MPG would be fine.
An 04/05 E320Cdi Avantgarde seems to fit the bill perfectly as it ticks all of your boxes, there are currently 3 on autotrader within your budget albeit with circa 90,000 miles on the clock with full service histories.
I would not let this kind of mileage put you off as this car is cabable of double that without any major problems; on the mileage you project over the next six years it will only take the total to around 140K so this would only be very low miles at 10 years old when you decide to sell.
 
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dave9val

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I have tracked down a 2004 E270 avantgarde cdi auto estate with 60000 miles on it. Do you think this would suit my needs. It is within my budgit and is a 2 owner car. What bells and whistle does this have and were there any problems with it that I should be wary about.
 

television

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There should be nothing wrong with that car,,its a good year and many of those owned by members here.

If you get the VIN number,you can feed the 17 figures into this site here and see what the car has
 

brandwooddixon

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The Avantgarde of that age has more items included than the Elegance.
MB's are still heavy on the options list and so you'll have to enquire after each individual car to ensure that it meets your requirements.
 

mattsurf

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Try the 270 and a 320 - both have very good, reliable engines. The 270 is not as smooth as the 320 and it is noticable lower powered. About 6 months ago, I tested one with just 33k miles which was for sale at £12,000. In the end I decided to wait and get the 320 as it has a much nicer engine. Eventually I found a 2006 E320CDI with just 40k miles and with the later V6 engine (229 bhp and 540 NM of torque) for just over £15000.

The combination of this engine and 7 speed box must make this one of the best tow cars around
 

television

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The combination of this engine and 7 speed box must make this one of the best tow cars around

I would not have thought that there was much difference in towing any of them :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 

Blobcat

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Bargain would have to be a late pre-face lift 211 with the IL6 320CDI engine, if I wanted to tow a caravan that is what I would spend £12K on.
 

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