dmauch

I have a chance to buy a 2001 E320 for about $2700 . It says it only as 105K miles. It is a dealer. I=The adds says it run great and there are no know problems. The only issue is a dent about the size of a grapefruit in the right rear quarter panel. Otherwise the upholstery and other feature looks good in the pictures.

ANY suggestions on what I should watch out for? Is it OK for me to bring my OBD2 tester and check it out?

TIA Dan Mauch

bbirdwell

If they do not trust you with your own OBD2 tester, run, don't walk, run away. Ask for maintenance records. The front and rear suspension will be needing replacement parts by now due to age and mileage. The asking price reflects that so don't fixate on it. A few hundred dollars and you can have a car that is great for another 100,000 miles. My W210 is a fantastic long-distance car at 20 years of age after a bit of work rebuilding the suspension.

kajtek1

IMHO the value of those care depends 50% on the paint.
If the paint is good and you can live with the dent, the potential mechanical wears are easy and cheap to fix.
But when the paint it flaking, will you spend $8,000 on MB-quality paint job to make it looking like Mercedes?
OBD scanner will not do much on those cars.
You need MB -oriented scanner with 38 pins.

fabbrisd1

As pointed out by other - anything needing full new paint is a walkway.

A OBD2 will show any current codes - OBD port under dash driver's side under area of headlight switch

At $2700 "dealer" probably secured it for $1200 or so - he kept/offered it because of low mileage.

Tires - check for uneven wear front or back which will indicate if there might be additional work when you replace with new tires

Brake - no big deal for W210 - rotors and pads are frankly cheap - any competant shop can do

Aircon - W210 aircon is as serviceable as any car - the only black hole here are those rare cases where evaporator leaks and replacement gets pricey

On the mechanical side - with this "low mileage" if it runs adequately normally the rest can be done in stages to bring it up to a 200K+ mile W210.

1. Transmission - is the key area for first-things-first proper service (correct fluid - correct service) - replacement of $14 tranny adapter plug - cleaning transmission control module

2. Fresh motor mounts - Lemfoeder or OE

3. Check rear "cats" - if blocked remove/clean/reinstall

4. Fresh Bosch/OE fuel filter and 1/2 bottle Stabil Marine/Blue in tank

5. Fresh Mann/Hengst air filter

6. Fresh Mann/Hengst oil filter & fresh 0W40 - 5W50

7. Fresh coolant - MB or Zerex G05 - distilled water for diluition if concentrate - check belt tensioner top confirm it's new type (replace if "old" type)

8. Clean MAF and do "TCU/TCM" tool less reset

9. Spark plug change - OE Bosch equivalent only

10. Clean battery terminal and cables - do proper systems reset - steering angle sensor - radio code to reactivate radio - reset each/4 windows - reset sunroof

dmauch

Thanks that was very helpful.
Dan

dmauch

Thanks

dmauch

Thanks
Dan

Strigoi

If you can live with the dent ignore all of the comments about paint. The W210 E320 isn't too expensive to maintain and will easily go a lot of miles with regular maintenance. My 2001 E320 wagon currently has 136k on it and I'm hoping to run it to 300k+. I love that car.

Take it to an indy MB shop and have a Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI) done on it. If the dealer won't let you do that, walk away. It may cost a few hundred dollars but it could also save you a lot of money.

Put your location in your profile. People may be able to recommend a shop that could check the car out.