Hey guys, I've don't some reading through the forums looking for common issues, difficulty and cost of repairs, etc. And I would just like some advice on the Benz that I'm looking at. It is a 1996 E320 with the INLINE 6 ENGINE! I understand that there's a big difference to consider between the I6 and the V6. The car only has 118k miles, and LOOKS to be in excellent shape. I drove it today and it drove like a Rolls Royce (lol like I'd know how they drive XP) very smooth and very quiet. No hesitation on acceleration, no jerky shifting or nothing. I am a 21 year old male from South Carolina USA and I'm looking for a car that will last me for quite a while with hopefully only minor issues. Now, the million dollar question, is this a good car to buy? The asking price is $5,500(of course I'm not going to pay that much). And should I go back to look at the car, are there things that I should look or listen for? Thank you all very much for any and all replies.

 

In line 6 is a gorgeous engine but the M104 engine suffers from weak head gasket. Check the headgasket, if fine or already replaced then you have a smooth riding vehicle.. :-)
Check for rust all around the car, especially around the front wheel suspension (spring perch).
Have fun and join the smooth ride... :-)

 

Hello and Welcome to the forum.

There are three active sites when it comes to the W210 model -- this one, benzworld and peachparts. I believe all three have a 'common issues' sticky which you will want to read. However, since most W210's came with V6 it dominates. You could also look in the W124 forums since that engine was used it it.
Since I can't examine the specific car you are looking at, I can only give general recommendations. First, cosmetics are nice but no one ever got stranded in the middle of nowhere because the front seat had a tear.
1) Are all of the documents there -- OM, radio man and receipts/invoices for all repairs and maintenance. People who take care of their cars tend to save those things.
2) Get a CarFax report. They're not perfect (things not recorded) but useful for who owned the car and when and where. For example, if it spent most of it's life in a state which uses salt in the winter, rust might be an issue.
3) If $4-$5K represents a substantial purchase, hire a professional MB mechanic to do an inspection. FYI - if the current owner hesitates about the inspection - run away! No doubt on a car of that age he find enough issues to negotiate the price to cover his $200 or so fee.
4) Don't forget that 19 yr old luxury car only costs about 10% of when new BUT the cost of operation including maintenance, repairs and fuel are MUCH MORE than when new. Also, most owners of W210's do most of their own maintenance. It's a pretty easy car to work on but you still need experience and a few tools. Having an independent MB shop do the work roughly doubles the cost and having a dealer do the work triples the cost.
A well maintained W210 is pretty safe and economical and can last a very long time. 250K on the odometer isn't unheard of.

 

Thank you both for the help. I was talking to a co worker who knows a little about Benz and he was also telling me that the I6 was a good engine. I didn't really look much under the hood, but I plan to go back and look at it some more before talking turkey with the dealer. The dealer told me that it had been checked out by a mechanic (who, I don't know) and they said that it was in pristine condition. But they said that if I wanted to take it to someone I knew that I was more than welcome so to be on the safe side I may take it to the Benz dealership right down the street. Hopefully they won't charge me an arm and leg to check it out either. I've had bad luck with vehicles in the past, particularity Chevrolet. And now I'm driving a Dodge and it's giving me loads of problems as well. So hopefully German engineering will work out for me and not fail me for a while. Thanks again guys.