new guy confusion!!!!!!
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 7
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W210
new guy confusion!!!!!!
Hey guys,
Let me start of by saying that ive been a mustang owner all my life ive had pretty much every model there is. i was also a technician for mbz for 2 years. and i recently worked on a 96 w210 420 and i fell in love with it. the vehicle needs a trans but the car is in perfect 10 out 10 conditions excluding the trans. the car is a one owner and was garage kept. not to mention it only has 66k miles. i now have a 5.0 mustang and now im debating if i should sell it to buy the benz. but im concerned i dont know alot of there w210s i know more of the newer models. what should i be aware of? should i do it? help plz im in a world of confusion
.. thanks in advance...
Let me start of by saying that ive been a mustang owner all my life ive had pretty much every model there is. i was also a technician for mbz for 2 years. and i recently worked on a 96 w210 420 and i fell in love with it. the vehicle needs a trans but the car is in perfect 10 out 10 conditions excluding the trans. the car is a one owner and was garage kept. not to mention it only has 66k miles. i now have a 5.0 mustang and now im debating if i should sell it to buy the benz. but im concerned i dont know alot of there w210s i know more of the newer models. what should i be aware of? should i do it? help plz im in a world of confusion
.. thanks in advance...
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 52
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E
Buy the Mercedes, these cars are unlike any other.
Take a look at this thread for information on the W210: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ues-index.html
Take a look at this thread for information on the W210: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ues-index.html
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 7
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W210
Trust me I'm leaning towards the Benz but I also remember when I worked for them that parts are expensive . For example I can find a mustang trans anywhere for a couple of hundred bux I've been looking 2 days for a trans for the Benz and there all over 2k yikes
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,803
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From: Charleston, SC
GL450
You can find smaller parts from parts.com or autohausaz.com. For a whole tranny, yes, you probably are looking at that much. You can probably rebuild it for less, depending on the issue.
Bear in mind the 420 motor is not the best. The 430 is more reliable. But if you get a steal on the car, it could be worth it.
Bear in mind the 420 motor is not the best. The 430 is more reliable. But if you get a steal on the car, it could be worth it.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,803
Likes: 12
From: Charleston, SC
GL450
At that price, you can probably rebuild the car for $5k. If it is mint other than the tranny, that's not a bad deal. Given you're a tech, other than the new trans, it should be pretty cheap to maintain. Maybe not Mustang cheap, but for an originally $50k car, not too bad.
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Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2011
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W210
Awsome thanks for the input. I am kind of over the mustang world but never forget it I'm ready to start driving luxury and performance at the same time... And I gotta start somewere why not here... One more question tho.. is the 96 a good year.
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Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 293
Likes: 3
From: Chicago
2002 E430 4MATIC
Just some random thoughts on E420. To begin, it's a 1997. They only made the E420 W210 for one year. At least in the US. The easiest way to tell a '96 from a '97 is the transmission. '96 was a 4 speed, '97 got the new 5 speed.
We bought our '97 E420 new and kept it for 11 years putting on over 100,000miles. Not one issue with the engine and only a minor problem with the transmission (Valve Body).
We did have the main wiring harness replaced as we kept blowing out light bulbs. Sometimes 1 or 2 a day. Took way too long for the dealer to finally find the root cause. Ours was a very early May '96 build so that might have been part of the problem. In fact it was the first E420 delivered to the dealership.
The reason we sold the car was rust. Trunk lid, all 4 quarter panels, had significant rust. Once that happens I lose all interest in a car.
Since you are a Mustang person, you'll be familiar with horrible performance in the snow. Even with a fresh set of Bilzaaks the car is a bit of a cow on ice.
All in all we drove her for 11 years and would have kept her longer if not for the rust and a bunch of normal maintenance items starting to pile up. (Tires, tie rods, tune up, etc). So we traded up to a 2002 E430 4Matic 3.5 years ago for a net $10,000. Got a car 5 years newer, with 30,000 less miles, brand new conti extreem contact tires, fresh tune up including plugs, tight suspension, AWD, no rust, and the normal face lift improvements.
Was 97' a good year....well I'd say the W210 got better every year and the newer ones are clearly better cars. But any issues that are unique to a '97 have probably already shaken out.
We bought our '97 E420 new and kept it for 11 years putting on over 100,000miles. Not one issue with the engine and only a minor problem with the transmission (Valve Body).
We did have the main wiring harness replaced as we kept blowing out light bulbs. Sometimes 1 or 2 a day. Took way too long for the dealer to finally find the root cause. Ours was a very early May '96 build so that might have been part of the problem. In fact it was the first E420 delivered to the dealership.
The reason we sold the car was rust. Trunk lid, all 4 quarter panels, had significant rust. Once that happens I lose all interest in a car.
Since you are a Mustang person, you'll be familiar with horrible performance in the snow. Even with a fresh set of Bilzaaks the car is a bit of a cow on ice.
All in all we drove her for 11 years and would have kept her longer if not for the rust and a bunch of normal maintenance items starting to pile up. (Tires, tie rods, tune up, etc). So we traded up to a 2002 E430 4Matic 3.5 years ago for a net $10,000. Got a car 5 years newer, with 30,000 less miles, brand new conti extreem contact tires, fresh tune up including plugs, tight suspension, AWD, no rust, and the normal face lift improvements.
Was 97' a good year....well I'd say the W210 got better every year and the newer ones are clearly better cars. But any issues that are unique to a '97 have probably already shaken out.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,249
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From: Richmond, CA
2001 E320 Wagon, 2006 LBZ Silverado, 2007 E63 (sold), 2001 E55 (sold)
If it's in your budget check out the W210 E55s ('00-'02 are the best years). The only real killer on them is the front brakes which will run you about $600 in parts for rotors/pads. Other than that, they're very similar to the E430 when it comes to maintenance and cost of parts. Oil changes are expensive (take 8 quarts), but you're good for quite a while with synthetic. Also expect to get 15,000-20,000 out of a set of tires on them and they'll run at least $1,000 for a decent set.
