Any Mercedes E-Class Experts?

Dr Who

Dr Who

Dr Who

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Looking at a Low Mileage 2001 E200 tomorrow not owned a Merc before, and am considering it because it should be better than my 318is Coupe.

Any experts here that know what faults I should look for on that model?

It is Petrol and Auto.
 
The W210 E Class was never a particularly great car and is even less appealing now most of them have quite literally oxidised away to almost nothing. The rust is absolutely chronic and you are fighting a losing battle by purchasing any W210 E Class.

Avoid. Probably one of the worst Mercedes saloons ever made.
 
[TW]Fox;19853886 said:
The W210 E Class was never a particularly great car and is even less appealing now most of them have quite literally oxidised away to almost nothing. The rust is absolutely chronic and you are fighting a losing battle by purchasing any W210 E Class.

Avoid. Probably one of the worst Mercedes saloons ever made.
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Gotcha, and will do :)

Exactly the info I wanted.
 
I'd be amazed if you'd found one without quite serious rust anyway - it was smack bang in the middle of Merc's darkest hour.
 
[TW]Fox;19853886 said:
The W210 E Class was never a particularly great car and is even less appealing now most of them have quite literally oxidised away to almost nothing. The rust is absolutely chronic and you are fighting a losing battle by purchasing any W210 E Class.

Avoid. Probably one of the worst Mercedes saloons ever made.
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Spot on.

Avoid. The W211 is a good choice, but then you might swell look at 5-Series BMW's/Audi A6's.
 
Thanks Guys, once Fox said it was a bad idea, I believed him :)

I will stick with my 3 series for now :)
 
I think this thread (well, Fox & Vita as they are the only people to reply) is overly harsh on the W210.

If you can find one which has not suffered from rust (if) they actually drive very smoothly, decent engines, decently built interior and decent gearboxes. The suspension is very soft on all of them but that suits it just fine.

Id certainly consider buying one if one a budget, there is nothing it competes with from this era which rides and drives as nicely as one. As a wagon they are incredibly spacious too, a really good workhorse of a car for moving loads around in comfort.

If at all possible though, the W211 is a much superior car.
 
Fox is right. Mercedes from this era had serious rust issues (apparently they used cheap metal from China with a lot of impurities to cut costs). It is really hit and miss. Some cars are rusting really, really badly. Others don't have any.
 
CaptainRAVE said:
Others don't have any.
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Exactly, and by now all that will suffer have suffered. Find one which hasnt (which weirdly do exist) and it is unlikely to at this point forwards.

Which then brings me back to my last post, other than the historical bodywork issues the cars themselves are good and drive best in class if you like the way this era of merc drive.

(Note the word "Drive". The handling is terrible as you would expect, but the overall drive is very pleasant and just what you want in a Mercedes thanks to the seats, suspension, gearbox, and engines)
 
Yep, dont buy that. It'll fade away during your ownership unless you pay out to get it sorted. Which probably isnt worth it on an E200.

2003 onwards should all be fine if you can stretch to the (excellent) W211 instead :)
 
I've still got my Dads w203 from around the same period, 2001. It is rusting quite a bit under the rear arches.

Turns out quite a lot had this problem throughout this era.
 
To add to my other post, if you are looking at a Mercedes from this era, check under the rear arches. This is the first place where the rust will start. Second place to check is the boot lock.

As Mercedes and any body shop will tell you, fixing/preventing the rear arch rust is next to impossible. My SLK has had the rear arches sealed, but STILL a little bit of rust is coming through. Will last me until my next SLK anyway :)
 
I thought the late 90s/early 00s Mercedes rust issues were caused by thin water based paint rather than issues with the metal used?
 
Joshy said:
I thought the late 90s/early 00s Mercedes rust issues were caused by thin water based paint rather than issues with the metal used?
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It is a bit of both. Poor quality steel, badly treated and then painted with terrible paint.
 
CaptainRAVE said:
Yup, this ^^

Is this fixed on the more recent Mercedes?
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Yeah. Each model is affected and then for the next model they are fixed. So for example my W220 is dissolving in front of my eyes but the the W221 is fine. It is the same story for the E class and the C class of the same era.

Mercedes won't pay out under the 30 year corrosion warranty either unless you've always had the car serviced at MB, done less than 100,000 miles and owned the car for more than 6 months. Even then, it is a battle.
 
CaptainRAVE said:
To add to my other post, if you are looking at a Mercedes from this era, check under the rear arches. This is the first place where the rust will start. Second place to check is the boot lock.

As Mercedes and any body shop will tell you, fixing/preventing the rear arch rust is next to impossible. My SLK has had the rear arches sealed, but STILL a little bit of rust is coming through. Will last me until my next SLK anyway :)
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How old is your SLK? Was any bodywork sealed/repaired by Mercedes under warranty at all?
 
This place is such a mine of useful info :)

Gotta get some M3 3ltr eccentric bushes now to improve the caster on my 318is and cure the tramlining from the M3 wheels.
 
DRZ said:
Yeah. Each model is affected and then for the next model they are fixed. So for example my W220 is dissolving in front of my eyes but the the W221 is fine. It is the same story for the E class and the C class of the same era.

Mercedes won't pay out under the 30 year corrosion warranty either unless you've always had the car serviced at MB, done less than 100,000 miles and owned the car for more than 6 months. Even then, it is a battle.
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Is the W203 as bad as the W202 C class of that era ?
 
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