Polar Bear

Hello Everyone,

I am looking at a 1996 E320 US model at a new car dealership that I have consider purchasing. It seems to have many options - heated seats, headlamp washers, CD changer, analog phone, ASR, etc. I used to own a 1999 E55 AMG so I am a little aware some of the problems these cars may have, but I didn't own it quite a year. One thing I noticed is a little rust on the trunk lid below the license plate. It is not touching the trunk lock, but is right beside it. It is to the point where the paint is bubbled. It is about the size of a quarter. They are fixing that after I pointed it out (whether I buy it or not). The defroster vents has a crack that runs along the inside edge that is visible looking in from the windshield, but not from the inside. The car just turned over 60,000 miles, and has service records up to about 40,000 if I remember correctly. It is a one owner car, and was in the state of Illinois most of its life, so it was a northern car. It has a clean carfax. I can get the car for about $13.5, perhaps less. It doesn't show any signs of being repainted other than the trunk getting fixed. Does this seems to be a good deal for a car with this mileage and condition?

Should I check anything else before I make an offer? Any other common rust spots? Anything that typically gives problems on a 1996? When I test drove it a few days ago, I noticed the "EC" light on the climate control was lit up. I understand this could mean the A/C needs serviced, or perhaps the person in it before me left it on "EC." I intend on looking into this...

Also, the car had a power antenna that raised about half way, but only when the cell phone was turned on. Is this correct? I assume it's a cell phone only antenna, and the radio antenna is located in the rear window.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Top Jimmy

OK, I am a Gearhead from way back, but never appreciated MB until my first purchase in Dec. 03 when I bought 1996, E320, with 59,000 one owner miles and all books and records. I bought it from a dealer in Texas having never driven it or any other MB for that matter, but had for years been taken with the looks and style of the car. Over the past year, it has been a joy to own and drive. All of my experience and education about the car has been self-taught with a lot of help from the great folks here. There are plenty of people on this board who have forgotten more then I will ever know about Mercedes automobiles, but I can give you some insight as an owner of this particular model.

I had it checked by the local MB dealer after bring it home from Dallas. The dealer confirmed what I thought when I picked the car up… it was in great shape. I believe the ’96 and ’97 models were the only years of the new style to have the in-line 6 cylinders giving way to the V-6 in ’98. If you have test driven the car you should notice that it pulls very hard around 3200 RPM and again around 4200. While I have not driven a V-6 version, I love the torque of the inline 6. Transmission is silky smooth, unless under hard acceleration. There seems to be a censuses that these transmission will “hold” in second gear during a warm up period, which, when I have had the car out on colder days, seems to be true – i.e. nothing to worry about. Other aspects of the car I love are that it is well balanced, larger than the C class, and according to my dealer, is extremely solid and reliable. I also appreciate the fact that it was a good compromise for us, it is safe (front and side airbags), reliable, and sharp looking, but, I didn’t have to raid my 401k, or kids’ college funds to get it.

What I have done for the car to date I consider "normal" wear and/or within the limits of "stuff" happens. These include Replacing a tail-light assembly because of a short that the dealer could not repair ($55 on e-bay, then DYI); Replacing a cracked headlight lenes ($110 on e-bay and DYI); Tires (needed) and Brakes (needed). For a brief period, I noticed a smell of gasoline after parking it in the garage, but seems to vary depending on where I buy gas - so I am unaware of any problem that needs to be repaired for that.

With respect your specific questions, I have not noticed any rust on the car, but then again, it spent its life in Texas. I don’t know about the EC light. I would definitely ask the Dealer to fix that and explain to you what specifically was wrong. The power antenna is indeed for the phone. I don’t know what “half-way” up means, but know that the antenna is not long to begin with and, like you said, only operates when that phone is powered.

At 60,000 miles, you can expect to have the brakes serviced soon, if they have not been already. At the dealer, I was quoted $550 for the front pads and rotors to be replaced. At a local shop that does work on only MB and BMW, $400. But, thanks to the kind and knowledgeable friends here, I will be ordering my own pads and rotors and doing the job myself, once the weather warms a bit here. You might want to negotiate that off the price, then DIY after the fact. Tires are another thing to consider. You need good ones to enjoy the car’s ride and handling the way it was intended. They are expensive, but oh so sweet.

The price sounds reasonable, especially if it is from a Benz dealer, or a dealer you feel comfortable. If it is from a Benz dealer, they can pull the cars service/warranty history for you just to give you a little extra something beyond the Carfax report.

Best of luck.

E-Klasse

Jimmy said it all. If you are a DIY guy, you can do the brakes yourself and save money. The car is easy to work on. At 60K miles I would change the spark plugs too. This is another simple job on the inline 6. Just don't put Platinum plugs in. Stay with the Bosche Super Coppers.

Shane C

I got 96 E320 also and very happy with it, hell I love it. check for leaking oil from headgasket and steering rack which I have had to replace. dash board is notorious for cracking. I dont think there is a member here that regret's purchacing a w210. My only regret is I didnt get a E55

Polar Bear

I had a 1999 E55 and it was so much fun. I wouldn't mind getting another, but they are quite a bit more right now than an E320 and I have invested some extra money in my business and don't have the extra cash right now. But you're right - that's one if the things I am concerned about is getting used to the loss in power compared to the E55. The E320 is very impressive for a 6 though!

Polar Bear

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

My E55 had Xenon headlamps and I do miss them. If one acquires the xenon headlamp assembly (from ebay, etc), is it pretty much plug and play? I contacted Steve and he said he was out of stock on them.

Thanks

BenzVince

I never seen any rust problem on my car, since the car originally from AZ. The only thing that that EC light that you mention, it's the economy mode on the A/C control where you see the EC light there, that turns off the A/C but just blow air. I hope if that's what you're talking about, cuz you push it again then the A/C kicks in when you have the fan speed on. All in all, I don't have any problem with my car, it has 98k on the clock and running like a champ, no rust, no crack on my dashboard, all in pristine condition.

okc329

That is a possible indication that the refrigerant is low in the AC system. A real possibility is a bad evaporator. You have to pull the dash to do a replacement and it's expensive. I got an excellent job done by my independent on my '97 E320 but it still cost me $2500. I do think that that 96-97 cars were very good in overall quality though. In 2000 they took a lot of quality out of this model. A '99 E55 would be sweet to have!

Polar Bear

I ended up driving the car overnight and it ran really well. It had some oil in the plastic pan underneath the engine which my MB mechanic said could be coming from the timing cover. Also, there were some signs of oil on the back of the head and he said it could be a seeping head gasket. He said it wasn't enough to worry about, however, and he thought it was a good car. The car drove out really nice - I am still considering buying it. I would normally be really excited about it but after having the E55 it takes a little away from it - but it was still really nice to drive.

The EC light never came on anymore - unless manually pressed - so I think that was the case originally.

Top Jimmy

I am sure there are some nice E55's out there somewhere... but then again probably not for the price you are getting this one for.

Polar Bear

Well, I should have made the move when I could. It really turned out to be a nice car, but it sold the following week when I had a busy work schedule and didn't have time to finalize anything.

It seems that most of the E320s in this area are not equipped well - heated seats, headlamp washers/xenons, ASR/ESP is hard to find. I don't think I would be satisified getting one unless it was loaded. This one had a phone, ASR, heated seats, headlamp washers, and CD changer. I would have installed xenons after I bought it.

One thing I can't stand is looking though the owners manual and seeing switches and buttons listed that are "optional" and looking in my car and they are not there!

BenzVince

The first year W210 didn't have a lot of options since they just rolled out. I believe that xeon lamp didn't show up til the 97 model year. Good luck on your search.

Polar Bear

I didn't think so either, but I did see references to the Xenon bulbs in the owners manual for the 1996 E320. I don't think I have seen a 1996 in person that has them, though.

dnickell

Speaking of Albuquerque, or Alburquerque as some want to chage it to, I had a California '68 912 that was prestine. After 1 year of sitting outside in the winter in Los Alamos the dash cracked. I simply got a small cloth Porsche emblem and glued it over the 1" long crack. :p

I'd imagine if I'd had the leather care products available today that may have prevented the product. I regularly use Maguire's leather cleaner/presertive on our 2003 Subaru Baja and this "new" 1996 E320 I bought last month.

HTH

MissMyBenz

Considering purchase of a friends' E320. Just caught wind of it and thinking it might be an option. Need to get details from him, but know it is this body style possibly 96-2001. Haven't looked at the car yet but saw it several times a few months ago in passing. Black opal w/ chrome factory rims. Don't know interior color. If I recall correctly it did not have the turn indicators in mirrors, hence my guess at 96-01. Just spoke to my mechanic (independent MB) that used to service my car and he thought it could be a good car if the V6 not the straight six (98 or newer). I'll find out more tomorrow if we decide to pursue this, but any input would be helpful. Anybody have a link to changes by year, etc. This is my first post here, so I apologize if I've missed something obvious.

I'm a regular at Swedespeed (JoVolvo) but hope to become active here. I'm losing my enthusiasm for Volvos and would like to get back to Mercedes-Benz.

Mercedes-Benz19

Hey thats really sad. It happens eh, but i think the dealer should have atleast waited for you, i mean he did lend u the car for a day didn't he? O'vell there are more fishes in the sea. You will find a good car again, but this time jump on it ! I would also look at the BMW 528i, that car comes with a lot of standard options, and is good on gas.

ccmbduong

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w210/124171-96-e320-watch-out-problems-front-spring-towers.html

Before you purchase the '96 E320, make sure that you have your car inspected for the front spring perches, both of mine were rusted , nasty, Luckly MB took care of the bill. This should have been a recall due to a faulty mfg design. MB knows it, so it fixed my car without a fight after 9 years. I am still unhappy with MB because it plays around with our lives. When it comes to safety for me and my family, I have a very low tolerance. I appreciated that MB took care of the problem for "sustainable" business, I am not sure if MB will get a 2nd chance from me.
As far as the car goes, so far I don't have any complaints, it handles well, small cracks on dash board, leather seats do not hold up as I would like to see, mine is 68K miles now. I hope to keep it pass 250K miles then throw it out. If I am lucky, I won't need a head gasket. My '87 Camry has 200K miles, NEVER had a single problem, just regular maintenance

E-Klasse

The E320 short list:

96 to 2002 are the W210 E320
96 and 97 have the 3.2L inline 6
97 to 2002 have the 5 speed electronic transmission.
98 to 2002 have the 3.2L V6
2000 to 2002 have the blinker mirrors, different tail lights and other face lift changes.

aviaator

As mentioned before, the red EC light means "EConomy mode". When activated, the AC compressor will not engage and the vehicle will blow ambient air. It is normal and does not mean that the refrigerant is low. To get it out of EConomy mode, simply press the button, the red light will go out and the compressor will engage if needed.

FlatlineEF9

Correct, the Xenons were optional on the 96. I still have my brochure from the dealer.

MissMyBenz

As much as I wanted, we have passed on the potential purchase and I'll have to wait a bit to get back into the Benz family. I'll be hanging out here until I get my chance and hope to learn much from all of you. Cheers.