taha121

Hello All,

Right now I have two 2000 w210 e320's. They go as follows:
Gold 2000 Mercedes E320 4matic (218,000 miles)
Black 2000 Mercedes E320 RWD (133,000 miles)
Unfortunately, both of them have issues. Let me begin with my black one.


Now I bought my black e320 about two months ago and the engine and transmission hold their own great. No leaks in the engine bay, anything like that. However, the body has extensive rust and new panels to the point of bondo and primer spots everywhere. I have contact with a friend of mine who does body work who is willing to fix all rust and body panels, paint the car with a clear coat as well for $700 as stands. Yet, while all is well and that $700 is a steal, I discovered that my rear differential has a small leak on the right side seal. The leak doesn't hit the ground, but there is gear oil around the area. It's bad enough though that the the driveline position sensor and speedometer sensor have given me the dreaded check engine light, but bear in mind I have been on the highway a good 200miles without any sort of actual issues. Now I can have that fixed for around $70 from another friend. It also needs new rear struts, but it's my personal driver and I'm not too concerned with ride quality.
So in total the car will run me: $1900 to buy
+$700 paint and rust repair
+$70 Diff Seal Repair

So total this 2000 E320 with 133k miles will cost me: $2670.
So is it worth it to repair all?

Now the second one is the toughy. This beautiful gold e320 was my mother's and she bought it at 120k and drove it up to the 218,000 mile mark. However, she wasn't exactly good with taking care of her vehicles. Right now as it stands the car needs front and rear shocks urgently, a new outer tie rod on the passenger side, a motor mount (the car shakes at idle), a new horn, New ABS Sensors all round, and worst of all it is going to need what my mechanic tells me is valve seals. Now the issue I have with the repair is recently I did the first oil change on my black E320 after purchase and I discovered it took OW40 full synthetic only. Meanwhile my mother took the car to Mr. Quick Oil Change and for all the 120k to 218k intervals, stuffed the modern marvel engine with dino 5w30. Upon examining the engine bay, the entire compartment under the serpentine belt was full of black grease. I cleaned it out and it doesn't seem like it is leaking anymore, but the car does give off blue smoke when it is started and when you idle for a while then take off. Not only do I want to fix the valve seals, but I also would like to make the switch to 0w40 to prevent further damage. So here is as follows the costs list (I'm not including buy price because it was a long time ago).
Rear Shocks- $120
Front Shocks-$320
Installation-$60
Outer Tie Rod- $16
Installation-$15
Alignment- $75
Motor Mount- $37
Installation-$30
Horn- $23
Installation- $20
ABS sensors all round- $81
Installation- $40
Valve Seals- $34
Installation- $200
0W40 Complete Oil Change- $50

Total Cost To Bring The Car Back To Great Running Shape- $1121

Looking at it in perspective, I can't get a car as good as the 2000 4matic will be for $1000, but dear MB Specialists, is it worth the repairs?

Also my cheap installation prices are due to my friend being an MB specialist and giving me great deals.