cbpeck

Well, I pulled the trigger on a W210 4Matic wagon yesterday.

The wagon was manufactured in January 2000 and now has 83k miles. It is Neve White over Tan with Brown piping and all of the options that I'm aware of for that year including heated seats, rain sensing wipers, Xenon headlights, headlight washing system, F&R airbags, command navigation, and stereo upgrade (SA Code 810). It has most of the likely outdated Navigation dvds & even the original console phone with its factory instruction tag.

Was the stereo upgrade on the navigation equipped cars designed by Harmon/Kardon as I've read? How are the stereos?

The wheels are the factory pattern finished in chrome. I'm not sure if they were chromed at the factory or refinished after market. Anybody know?

I have most of the service records for the car, but not all. Enough to make me happy.

The only thing broken on the car is the mirror cover on the passenger sun visor (pretty common). Does anybody know how difficult it is to replace this piece?

The car is in Florida and won't be delivered for another 6-14 days (probably 14 )

I made the difficult decision to purchase this car sight unseen. I won't know if I made the correct decision until it is delivered, but it was being sold by the MB dealership in South Orlando and has been given a clear bill of health by their service department. It should be one of the cleanest W210 wagons anywhere. If the car is as clean as described I think I got a fair deal. If not, I may have overpaid a bit. We won't know until it is delivered.

MG

Congrats and Enjoy.

ejsheltra

Congrats on the purchase. It is a nice color combo and will serve you well. Most maintenance items can be performed DIY will just a little know how. It is a very reliable car and stil very striking even today. Best wishes.

cbpeck

Our wagon was delivered yesterday afternoon and we had it checked out by our MB mechanic last night. The car really is incredibly clean, even more so than I expected. I was pleased to discover that the spark plugs were replaced recently, the ball joints are solid and the tires are virtually new Michelin Primacy's.

There are a few things to be addressed, but nothing major. The most serious issues are seeping of transmission fluid from the 13 pin connection & seeping of hydraulic fluid from the rear right shock. I say seeping because there isn't enough to call it a leak.

Also, the folks in Florida used summer washer fluid and it froze into a block in the tank on its way up to Washington (on a truck). It thawed most of the way while we were driving to/from our mechanic and I was able to confirm that the headlight washers are working properly. I still don't have juice coming out of the windshield sprayers, so I'm going to have to take a closer look. The tank and lines appear fine. Maybe the nozzles are still frozen. Any ideas where to start?

We took a pretty big risk buying this car sight unseen, but I feel like the MB Dealership in South Orlando did a good job describing the vehicle and treated us well. We didn't get a steal on the car, but I think we paid a fair price for a very nice car that we will enjoy for many years to come.

RichardM98

Glad you're happy!

Transmission leak could become an issue. Repair is fairly easy. Just replace the 0-rings in the connector. Lots of DIY posts on that fix and I assume your mechanic could do it cheaply.

I'd keep trying the washer before digging into any fixes. If they haven't been used for a while they could be dry. Also, test back window washer. Sometimes the tips can be cleaned with a small sewing needle.

Shadow5501

You're a brave person; I can never quite convince myself to buy a car sight unseen.

I am shopping for a nice 210 wagon at the moment and am trying to understand the market. Would you be willing to share the purchase price? PM is fine if you'd rather not post.

Best Regards.

lkchris

Headlight washers are REQUIRED with the HID lighting option. (So is automatic headlight leveling.)

The top stereo is Bose, not Harmon Kardan.

The right rear "shock" is NOT a shock--it's a load leveler. The shock absorber function is performed by accumulators, which are round ***** hidden somewhere under the rear floor. DO NOT replace load levelers as a pair, as it's not needed and they are ~$700 each.

You may subscribe for free to the entire USA Mercedes spare parts system where you can find illustrated parts breakdowns of all systems.
http://epc.startekinfo.com

cbpeck

Thanks for the responses. Our mechanic is a close friend of mine who worked for our local MB dealership up until two weeks ago when he left to start his own shop.

We're gonna spend about $150 repairing a few things (including the transmission plug leak) and the car should be good to go until 100k when I want to drain & replace trans & brake fluid. We'll keep an eye on the hydraulic fluid level for now. If it continues to seep slowly out of the rear, right load leveler we should get at least another year or two out of it before we end up replacing it. Our mechanic seems to have a good sense of what needs to be done and what can wait.

cbpeck

Thanks. I learned that the car came with Bose shortly after that first post. As I understand it, H/K was the stereo upgrade in W211s with Nav. Obviously ours is a W210.

Thanks for the correct term for the rear suspension system. I'm pretty clear on how they work now and have found new OEM replacement load levelers for $300. Not sure what my mechanic will charge to R&R, but we'll find out when it becomes necessary.

I've already benefited from EPC, but for those who aren't subscribed I'd recommend it!

TonyC

Congrats on the W210t! I have the exact same car, and after replacing the mirror cover 3x total on both sides, I gave up. Now it's just broken & the vanity lights won't come on. The "hinges" are so fragile, and I'm not sure why