I am about to head down to VA to buy a 99 Black/black E320 (91k miles) for the wifey. I am an E-class kinda guy, but have all been w124's, and I am not going to give her my 300ce, so the E320 is a safe bet. We are going for W210 V6 of some capacity, so I am trying to learn more about them.

My question is, are there any typical issues (that are not listed on edmunds or consumerguide) that I should look for or ask about?

Thanks ahead of time, I just want to make the best decision.

 

i would be careful on the sensors and maybe transmission problems, but other than that, it's a great car!

 

Rear window regulators! Dash temp and clock LCD for lost blocks/pixels. Door sills for rust.

 

Does the prior owner have his maintenance records? If you can take the vin# and get the service history run at a Mercedes Dealer. The vast majority of repairs seem to be for Maf and 02 sensors, cat conv sensors, window regulators, A/C coolant exp tank ( a very expensive one I might add). Check to see if they replaced the Tranny fluid yet, and if they did not do it immediately.

If the car has had most of these things done already, chances are it will have a relatively trouble free life now. I've never had any problems in the driveline.

 

Thanks. What kind of transmission problems are you talking about? Slippage or rough shifting?

 

I have read about door seals, I will check the dash guages. Thanks.

 

WDBJF65H2XA757781

See that is my consern about this one car, I have never bought a car without service records. This car is at a wholesaler and the auction does not provide service records.

I will check those things too, thanks.

 

 

u know u want a V8 .....

check to make sure A/C works....check the oil....check to see if the seats are fully directional, often the headrest fails...check the mirror to see if is still hads the spring attached...

 

Check for rust under the carriage and especially front spring perches.

 

Ok great, but this is for wifey and she does not need that much power, nor can we really deal with the cost of gas either.

 

 

nice that E class looks exactly like mine.. partially because it was a 99.

the transmission problem was rough shifting. sometimes when i drive slow, it roughly downshifts.

 

On sunday we drove 2 hours down there, made arrangements to have our 9 month old son watched, get there and no sales guy. Called multiple times, waited a while, and called again. Walked around car a little, checked everything I could from the exterior. (Cracked driver side fog light lense, leather more worn that I have seen on any 1999 car, buttons missing and damaged on center console, trunk not quite aligned perfectly on drivers side seam, small chips on front of car.)

Wifey got very pissed, left a note and stern VM message. Drive towards home, stop in Potomic Mills, grab some sushi, head home. Spent 1/2 a weekend day away from my son, sister in law was in from out of town, missed bears v. seahawks game.

Get a call first thing this morning from sale guy who was supposed to be there. Says he was in a 'fender bender' that morning and get there shortly after we left. Says he will refund us $100 off the price of the car.

I am not quite sure what I want to do at the moment. Decent car, great price, shady salesman, lost most of a weekend day.

 

my vote woruld definatly go for a pass. unless your in a critical situation where u need another car right now. i'm sure its not that hard to find a prime 99 E320

 

My worry is that we will not find one for the price of this one. If you guys can help a friend out and give me a heads up on a 99 E320 near 21017 ? I dont want to have to look at Camrys again.

 

To me, sounds like the guy was bull****ting you. 100.00 off to "attract you" even more to buy the car is scary, considering that you never know how much more money you'll spend after you get the car. Sounds like you can get it at a good price, but you have to take into consideration, it's at a broker, the sales guy etc.

To me, impression is everything and your gut has a voice that you can't ignore. Be safe, wise, and move on man. There's more out there...

 

I agree, I had to let that one go. I did find a few similar cars...

the wifey loves this E320 4Matic (click here) (but I have my worries about the 4Matics).

Green 528i (click here)

Very attractive A6 wagon (click)

Blue 2002 TL

Silver TL Type S

Tan 528iT but very greasey sales man called..

 

In my opinion, the E is nicer than all of the ones shown. However, the Tl is a lot newer, and may have less pricey issues.

From what I hear though, the 4matic is practically bulletproof.

 

What are we talking about in miles per gallon difference? (non 4matic to 4matic) and those are mostly for example, not a thing of having to choose one of them

 

For What It's Worth - I was in your shoes about a year ago. We looked at the Acura's for a while but decided against them. Seems like there is a Transmission problem that requires the transmission to be replaced. Acura, instead of fixing the problem, extended the warranty out to 100K miles on the transmissions. Many Acura owners are aware of this, and sell their cars shy of the 100K mile mark.

 

There are numerous ones around that mileage range, and I have had more than my fair share of transmission problems with my explorer (3 rebuilds). And in a few of the adds, there have been some that stated that they just replaced the transmission in the RL.

 

Looked @ the E320 wagons?

 

A few, but have not seen one in our price range that is not more than 3 hours drive away.

 

E320 MB seems to have 2 major problems (1) Rusty front spring perches (2) Head gasket leaks at around 10-yr old or 80-120K miles. Not sure if the leak is due to its aluminum head and difference in thermal expansion of metal or due to faulty design of its original head gasket