I could use some help. I have never owned a Mercedes befor and know next to nothing about them. The one I am looking at is 6000 miles past it service date. The sales men told me that the service charge is expensive, but I would rather hear it from people that have actually owned them. How much does it generally cost for maintance? Can I have it done by a regular mechanic or does it have to be done by Mercedes? Any information about these cars would be great. I went today to buy it but saw the service light. I would like to have a rough idea of what I am looking forward to. I plan on going back Monday to but the car.

 

If at all possible, I would advise buying a Starmarked Mercedes, or one with a valid extended warranty. They are good for eight years or 100,000 miles. My 2001 E430 has been a terrific car to drive, but I shudder at the repair costs if I didn't have the extended warranty.

 

The dealer that I will be buying it from is offering me a warrenty for $600 that covers the engine and transmission for 4 years. I will defently be buying the warrenty.

 

get a Starmark warranty, it will include much more than the engine and tranny, and based on our experience on a 99, you will want the Starmark.

 

and don't ever take your car to the dealer for anything that's not under warranty. ever! find a good mechanic through this board and save yourself a lot of money and grief...

 

I doubt you can get the starmark warranty on an older model W210 if NOT bought from an MB dealer. MB dealers ususally sell older models without the Starmark too.

 

Foregive my ignorance....

What is the difference between a "regular" warranty and a "starmarked" waranty?

 

I have a 98 e320 and I love it however, I should have gotten a 99 E55
a good mechanic that use is in Salinas, CA, name of the place is autowerks on John St., they do an excellent job and the price is not high. they specialize in euro cars.

the parts that I had to replace are:

front and rear rotors and pads
fan belt tensioner
transmission
motor mounts
plus oil changes and regular maintence ect.

 

You should know that these cars are not terribly reliable. MB let their quality slip after somewhere around 1995 with the W210 models. You'll have various electronic problems, a leaky head gasket and if you are unlucky corrosion too.

Regular service at the dealer will run you something like $300 to $500. Repairs can cost much more. Budget around $2000 per year.

Here is a partial list of things have I had to have fixed:
1. Various ball joints (upper, lower)
2. Head gasket
3. Mass air flow sensor
4. Cam shaft angle sensor
5. Many, many light bulbs
6. A/C failed
7. Power seat control
8. Glitchy CD player
9. Calipers
10. Starter cable, junction box (car needing towing!)
11. Lots of rust - repainting

Here is a quote from another site about the corrosion I mentioned:

If your car falls between (96-2002 E-Class) (2000-2002 S-Class) (200-2002 C-Class) I would definitely recommend rustproofing.

There is an inside trade secret which I am about to reveal to you!!

During those years Mercedes decided to do a bit of cost cutting and from what I heard it goes something like this.

Each new cars body shell was dipped into a special solution which would keep the metal from corroding. The solution was very costly and could only be used a few times (hypothetically lets say around 27) before it would become to weak and had to be replaced.

So if 27 cars were dipped the first one would have the maximum protection and the last one would have the minimum standard. So if cost cutting was the issue of the day, they decided to increase the the amount of cars dipped (hypothetically lets say 35) in order to save money.

This made the cars as vulnerable to corrosion as any other cars and with the Mercedes policy of not undercoating cars this left quite a few people with very little protection.

Now the reason you only see some of the cars corroding is because the first 27 have adequate protection but the other 8 do not. (keep in mind I am speaking hypothetically with the numbers).

The new guy in charge of MB is all for quality and has decided to do away with cost savings, so he decreased the number from (hypothetically) 27 to 20 because he wants everyone to have the maximum corrosion protection.

Now that leaves a few people with cars that are unprotected and showing signs of corrosion. These owners should see the Mercedes rep in their area and make sure they fix the car at little to no charge.

Having been in the business I can tell you that Mercedes is fixing an awful lot of cars out of the warranty period right now. They know this is an issue and will usually stand behind the product.

However, I have heard of some people being quoted only partial participation and that is wrong. This is obviously a Mercedes defect and the reason I am breaking this news is to make sure everyone gets a fair crack at having their car properly repaired.

Write you dealer and if that does not work write head office.
Expect to be helped on 98-2002 cars, I think the later ones are OK.

Now everyone please do not panic because not everyones car is affected, it is only those cars that were dipped in a weakened solution that are at risk. The problem is that you do not know if your vehicle falls into that category so I would recommend doing a thorough corrosion inspection about twice a year.