davinet78

i currently have an e240 and am thinking of changing it for an e220 cdi or the C220 CDI because even though it has 7hp less it has much more torque and i think would be much faster. What are your guys opinions? Should i change the car? if so which one should i buy?

Diesel Benz

That E240 is not produced any more, are you comparing your car to the current E220CDI or some older E220CDI? The current one is quite a lot better than the first E220CDIs were, it has more power and less turbo lag and a balancer shaft making the 4-cylinder engine run nicer.

A 4-cylinder CDI would still have noticeable CDI engine clatter, nothing like old diesels but heavier than the 6-cylinder engines.

Economy would be a lot better than that of the E240. But new gassers have improved from the E240 too.

Generally a CDI with less peak power drives better at normal traffic because it has more power at the normal engine speed (I just compared my W221 CDI to an S550 on another thread, the CDI has more power at 1500 rpm than the S550, although I would consider the S350 the car to compare against the 320CDI).

I'm not saying my opinion really, I only have experience about one MB gasser in my family (not mine, it was not the black sheep of the familiy, at least not by colour, it was a white car).

Untertürkheim

Buy a used E320 CDI/Bluetec from the US. The dollar is weak now, and shipping will be no more than 1000€

That will be much faster than a 220 or your 240, and still use less fuel than your car.

Diesel Benz

That sounds like a good idea but I did not figure out where the OP actually comes from but I am assuming it would be pretty difficult to import "a US car" as an individual, unless one had been working in the US and bringing it back along with other moving stuff.

He may also come from a country with RHD cars.

Untertürkheim

I forgot about the RHD possibility. If he is from the EU, the car can be imported with few restrictions or required modifications. From what I remember, there is not even a light modification required when the car has BIxenons since those are the same for all markets.

Diesel Benz

I understand that either the cars are already compatible with EU rules or at least can easily be made the same. But the problem usually is to prove this for local officials. Even if everybody knows it is a German car, if you import the car, you have to be able to prove it on paper and I've understood this being difficult.

Different rules apply when you visit another country for some time and then bring the car and other stuff with you when you move back.

But things may have changed or perhaps it is easier to get the paperwork in some EU countries than others.

MBs anyway are sold so cheaply to the states that I could see all new European cars first sailing to the US and immediately back if it was easy to register cars coming from the US.

Untertürkheim

I have actually done a bit of research in this area for family members living in Europe. In Germany and most of the more advanced EU countries, the procedure is now very simple, with clear explanations of the importation process online. On the W211 for example, models with Bi-Xenons need no exterior modifications to meet German/French etc. standards. There are of course the American orange reflectors, but they do are not illegal. A simple speedometer swap and new rings in C for the climate control will make the interior identical to a continental car (except for the cruse control stalk and a couple of different buttons on the comand). Lastly, remove the 210km/hr governor. The one exception (which has no bearing on import legality, only on driving dynamic) is the american suspension, which I believe only differs on non-airmatic non-sport (Elegance) models.

The only reason everyone does not re-import to Germany, or re-export to everywhere else, is that MB dealers make buyers sign a one year non-export agreement upon purchase (as far as I have been told). Even so, there is a loophole for new cars, and no restriction on used.

So, if anyone in Europe would like to arrange something, I can be of assistance.

Dan Wang

Ask Steve (mbenznl). He has a 220cdi. I talked to him the other day about his car and he loves it.