2002 E320 4-Matic Wagon 53k miles $10k

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08-06-2013, 12:49 PM

biggerocean

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2007 subaru forester

2002 E320 4-Matic Wagon 53k miles $10k

Hello,
I'm new here (forum & MB's) and looking at purchasing a 2002 E320 4matic wagon as a second car. The low 55k mileage is encouraging and if the body is clean, I am thinking I'd like to make an offer. Unfortunately the car is being offered by a non MB dealer and there are really no MB dealers in the area for which I could take the car prior to purchasing & have them ball park the condition of the mechanicals.
My question is what are the known big ticket repairs that I could ask the seller about prior to purchase. If repairs or items have not been done to the car, then I could at least have some idea what kind of money I'm looking at for near term needed repairs.
All comments welcome.

Thanks,
JP

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08-06-2013, 01:10 PM

raymond g-

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99 E320

here is a list of Technical Service Bulletin titles. There haven't been many
recalls but a couple which come to mind are the harmonic balancer (only for
specific part numbers), and door gaskets.

There are other problematic issues which surface more than I think they should:

SRS sensor in front passenger seat fails
Air conditioning failure, uneven cooling, lukewarm cooling
Poor Smartkey remote distance
Poor design in taillight circuit
Brake light sensor premature failure
Cruise control sensitive to uneven tire match
Shifter very susceptible to liquid intrusion
Steering column squeaking
PSE pump located in easily flooded
Fuses beneath rear seat located in easily flooded location
Pixels disappearing on instrument cluster messaging window
Cracks in the dashboard surrounding the airbag
Sunroof may get jammed if not maintained/lubricated
Seat heating element may crack and fail
Premature failing of the rear window regulator
Sometimes folks encounter hard downshift from gear 2 to gear 1
Premature failing of the electrical, door pin switch (controls cabin lights)

here is a cheat sheet of sorts of other FAQs but i'm not sure how useful they'll be pre-purchase

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08-06-2013, 01:48 PM

RichardM98

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98 Brilliant Silver E320 Wagon

Does the car have complete service records? No major gaps. Funny how often those records disappear when there is an issue.

I would encourage you to find a competent MB mechanic to have the car professionally inspected. Check local independent auto shops. Insist on a written report covering scope of inspection. Pass on anyone not willing to put it in writing. Of course, expect to pay $200-$300 for a quality inspection.

IMO, $10K is a little high. These cars are capable of up to 250K so lower mileage isn't such a big plus to the buyer. If it were me, I'd offer $9K less any issues found during the inspection as a starting point.

Finally, there are lot's of W210's out there. I would look at at least 4-5 before making a final decision.

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08-06-2013, 03:51 PM

RichM

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2 2001 E320s, 2005 E320 4Matic

This car is not coming from a private seller. It is either a trade-in or went through auction. Unless there are some receipts that were kept with the car, there is no paper trail of service. This has nothing to do with issues. This is a 55k car. Unless something failed, I would expect little in the way of routine service other than oil changes. If the car was serviced at a dealer, CarFax will give you this service info. I would be more concerned what part of the country the car came from. If from the snow belt, rust issues would be my concern more than service history. Definitely spend the money for a PPI. More than likely you have a local repair shop that specializes in German cars. Also get a CarFax, and not one from the dealer. The info you get (how many owners, mileage, accident history, and possible service history) is worth the money.

Price... 10K is high. Depending on where you live, they can go for a premium. If you live in one of these areas, they dealer may not want to come down much, but closer to $8,000 is ideally where you want to end up assuming there are no major issues.

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08-07-2013, 10:25 AM

biggerocean

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2007 subaru forester

Thanks for all the informative response. Very helpful.
I will definitely locate an independent mechanic familiar with German vehicles to perform PPI since there is no MB in the area. I'd like to think I could get the price closer to $8-9K as suggested, but <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w

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es; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> (assuming body & mechanicals are good) thinking this might be difficult in my area (north east). When comparing to NADA & KBB guides..$10K seems somewhat fair-average?

JP

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08-07-2013, 12:24 PM

RichardM98

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98 Brilliant Silver E320 Wagon

KBB is generally the highest (think retail) which is why sellers often quote it when selling a car. Also, repairs can be expensive. While a luxury car like an older MB can be bought for pennies on the dollar, the repairs and maintenance are generally higher than when the car was sold new.

Check out this thread on recent purchase - http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...uspension.html

Last edited by RichardM98; 08-07-2013 at 12:34 PM.

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08-07-2013, 12:33 PM

RichM

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2 2001 E320s, 2005 E320 4Matic

Unfortunately, you have the double whammy working against you. Location and low mileage. According to Black Book, these two add an $1800 premium to the car. The reality is a mechanically sound rust free car is going for around $10K at retail. The only leverage you may have is lack of interest in the car. Most dealers don't want to sit with a car as this costs them money. If they have had the car for a while, they may be more inclined to deal. You still want to be in the 8K to 9K range. Above 9K, the car has to be absolutely perfect.

If you decide to go forward and have an inspection, make sure they do a thorough rust inspection. Spring perches, broken springs, wheel arches, door sills (make sure the pull back the rubber trim pieces), rear hatch etc. Mechanically, I would not expect issues with a car with this mileage. If the mechanic is familiar with MBs, he will know the drill. Transmission. Has it been serviced. Black clip on the fill cap indicates not. Plug that connects the transmission to the computer. Is it leak free? AC. Fully functional and leak free. You can check the stickies at benz world and get instructions on how to check actual values and check for trouble codes. You can do this on the way to the PPI. Correct coolant. Should be a light amber color. The newest MB coolant is blue. If it has been serviced at a dealer the coolant may be blue. Green is not good. Rear suspension. Accumulators and shocks. Are they leak free? The rest of the stuff is generic. Suspension, brakes, exhaust system etc.

Last edited by RichM; 08-07-2013 at 12:59 PM.

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