I'm about to purchase the above 3 year old vehicle. Full Merc SH and one owner from new on the plus side, but "out of warranty" and high mileage to consider too.........do any of you have experience of problems with these cars / engines ?
Any other advice also gratefully received ( e.g. should I be getting the auto transmission fluid changed at this mileage ? ) .
Many thanks.
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A fabulous car, very comfortable and one of the better diesel engines (I don't like diesels). The W211 is lovely to drive and people I know who have them seem to be happy with them.
I have no personal experience of their longevity, but one of my sadder pastimes when on business is to check the mileage of the taxis I travel in. I was in a W211 in Greece which had covered 770,000km.
Obviously, being a Mercedes-Benz, if anything does go wrong with it it will be hilariously expensive to fix, but you knew that anyway.
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Whoops, a bit trigger happy. I meant 470,000km.
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Thanks for your replies Bagpuss - in that case 80K miles shouldn't be too much of a concern I guess !
Cheers.
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Alas there are many tales of woe re this model.
do a forum search www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/search.htm
problems with corrosion - body and structure - also injectors/glow plugs, etc.
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Pah! You call that high mileage?
My 320 CDI has - this week - just tripped over 170,000 miles.
Problems? I had all the glow plugs changed about 2 years ago and the auto gearbox was overhauled in the Summer by a garage often recommended on this forum, at a cost of £1,600.
Otherwise I have been very pleased with it.
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I think the W211 has been less plagued with corrosion (although not entirely free of it) than its W210 predecessor has been. However, the weakness of the W211 seems to be electrics/electronics, if I recall correctly and if the online reports I've seen are representative.
See:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=38151&...f
and
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=39276&...f
and
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=39872&...f
Do a Web search, including the likes of :
www.mercedesproblems.com/
www.mercedes-benz-usa.com/
And there's a handy summary of problems encountered by some owners here:
forums.mbworld.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-4606...l
Plus a whole forum on the W211 at:
forums.mbworld.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=20
As to mileage, at 80k in three years the car has merely had a very healthy start to its life and is barely a teenager yet.
Glowplugs:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=4&t=39...0
www.mercedesshop.com/Wikka/OM606962GlowPlug
I'd get them checked and, if necessary, changed as a matter of high priority.
I can't forget Aprilia's well informed view of common-rail diesels: they are "high-maintenance" systems that need to be got 100% right all the time, such is their intolerance of any variance from spot-on tuning/configuration, unlike their noisier and less powerful predecessors.
(I'm an owner of and enthusiast about older MBs, but no expert on diesels.)
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Many thanks for your comments and the links ( Roger ) - much appreciated. It looks like I should ideally get the glow plugs checked before I part with my cash, but I'm not sure if this is achievable ( unless RAC / AA could cover this in one of their checks ).
I've now also discovered that the car has Airmatic suspension : nice to have I gather but potentially something else that could cause a headache !
I will contact a local MB specialise to see if they can offer any assistance ith the Glow Plugs or Airmatic ( and general check over ).
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I wouldn't worry overly about the glowplugs. I had a 'nasty moment' with a siezed glowplug on a CDI I was trading, but now there is a tool which uses shock and vibration to free them off.
In general whether or not you should buy the car depends upon your finances and attitude to risk. These are highly complex cars and, realisitically, repairs on many systems will have to be done by a MB dealership. Labour rates, esp in SE England, can be eye-watering. The chances are that the car will be reliable, however there is a possibility that you'll need a repair to the transmission, braking system or suspension system. If you are the kind of guy who wouldn't be overly affected by a £2k repair bill then go for it. If, however, a £2k repair bill means family arguments and no summer holiday then you'd be better off choosing a different car.
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Sparks; How long are you thinking of keeping the car, and what sort of mileage will you do?
You could consider buying Mercedes ServicePlus - this covers the cat until it's 6 yrs old or 120K miles (whichever is first). There'll be an inspection fee if the car is already out of warranty - maybe you could negotiate this in the deal?
Even if ServicePlus is of no interest to you, I'd suggest you get a quote anyway - the price will give you an indication of how much Mercedes expect that cas maintenance to cost.
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I like the idea of extending the warranty - have left a message with MB dealer to give me a call back about it.
Expected mileage looking ahead is approx 12K per annum for a couple of years, so "average" really.
Thanks for the advice / suggestion.
Cheers,
Sparks
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I've had four car-years of extended warranties, mostly the MB RAC one. Complete waste of money, I'm afraid. You might be surprised how much can be deemed to be wear & tear.
I now heed the wise advice of a poster on this forum several years ago: open a savings account devoted to car repairs. Pay in as much money as you would fork out on the warranty. If you need it, it's there; if you don't need it, it's still there and not in the coffers of an insurance company.
Whether you buy from a dealer or not, get an independent inspection done, preferably by a specialist in the marque.
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I've had four car-years of extended warranties, mostly the MB RAC one. Complete waste of money, I'm afraid. You might be surprised how much can be deemed to be wear & tear.
Mercedes ServicePlus is specifically for *wear and tear* items - it's a service and maintenance package.
Rather the opposite of what you're suggesting, there's been a great deal of debate on the MB forums about whether its coverage is as broad as a warranty and the general consensus, based on experience and some specific answers from MB, is that it's pretty close.
I was doubtful at first, but in reality Mercedes seem to be accepting that if something fails in the 3-6 year period then it must have worn out and is therefore covered. Makes sense really, as if an item failed due to an inherent fault then you'd hope MB would cover that (whether in or out of warranty).
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Thanks for that correction. ServicePlus is obviously different from the normal aftermarket warranty.
I'm getting no matches on "ServicePlus" or "Service Plus" in the MB Owners Club, perhaps because of more interest in older cars.
There is one long thread at mbclub.co.uk, in which I picked up "The lowest mileage they will quote for is 10,000" and a monthly sub of £48, and another for 20k per annum at £114 a month. You can't claim within three months of joining. There were plenty of favourable comments, although it's still early days.
There is a suggestion that it is MB's ploy to draw customers back from the independent sector. I wouldn't go back to an MB dealer for servicing anyway as they shattered my confidence several years ago. I'm pretty confident that I'm getting better work at much lower cost from my independent mobile mechanic. But the view could be well different from the driver's seat of a younger car.
We'll see.
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I've been very pleased with my E320CDI. Only one problem so far - a faulty airbag sensor - but then I've only done 16,000 miles so far, so it's only just run in. They are perfect on the motorway.
Like all cars of this clas, they are complicated and potentially expensive to fix if problems arise. Armed with a decent warranty, and assuming it ios otherwise straight, I would buy one.
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The deed is done.........and all is going very well thus far........a very comfortable, powerful, capacious estate car in Tealite Blue. Merc have offered me an extended warranty ( up to 100K miles ) which looks tempting, notwithstanding the "wear and tear" clauses in the small print.
Thanks for all the replies.
Cheers,
Sparks
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