[flipsyde]

A very close friend has narrowed down a 2005 Mercedes E270 CDI to be his first german car. Its done about 65k kms and every service right upto the 50k km has been done at the Mercedes A S S. The 60k km service alone was done at an independent garage owned and run by a ex-merc service advisor.

The car was owned by an MNC company who has then transferred it to one of its directors so technically its a second owner car.

The car is impeccable inside out. No dings, scratches, dents etc. The interior hardly shows any signs of wear at all.

What I want to know is other than a poor NVH engine is there anything potentially wrong with the car in general? All the electricals seem to be in order. There is a slight lag in power under 2000 rpm after which it really is upto speed.

This car is very impressive and I certainly would recommend it to my friend. But sadly I am no merc expert and I would rather take their suggestion and advice regarding this. I request all merc owners/enthusiasts/experts to please pour in your opinions. I need to take a call on this car by the weekend.

Thanks.

[svsantosh]

You have posted 1 side of the coin - the Heads. Where is the price quoted/asked part? That decides the answer part

[lamborghini]

flipsyde: The E270 is a superb car, and we love ours a lot. However, do keep in mind that the merc is expensive to maintain, and these cars are not very reliable.
If your friend is interested in buying one, make sure he knows to keep around 1L (at the very least) handy for services and repairs each year.
Also, he needs to find a good, independent mechanic, who has worked on Mercs and has good experience. This would greatly reduce the service cost, and once we switched over to an independent S.S., we definitely saved quite a lot of money.
From our experience, some of the issues faced are:
- Turbo getting clogged - avoid premium diesels
- Horn not suited, and needs replacing every few months
- Interior build quality not upto mark
- A.C. issues
- Heavy smoke under acceleration - regular fuel helps in this regard as well
In fact, here is the review of our car if it is of any help: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...0-000-kms.html

I would recommend this car only if your friend can afford the maintainance, in addition to some spare cash handy in case anything big goes down. Do look into the service history carefully: Our E and GTOs C Class had a lot of issues cropping up in the fourth year of ownership, though the rest were quite trouble free.
Also, If the car has had many parts replaced during its lifetime, it could be a problematic piece, and would be better avoided.

What is his budget like? Priorities?

[anekho]

That's quite a few kilometers on the clock. Expect costs for replacements of several components that start faltering when the kilometers rack up.

The previous generation E class wasn't really known for reliability, so if your friend has another car to fall back on when the E needs attention as well as the resources to maintain the E he can consider buying it.

To be honest it depends on your friend's priorities - if his aim is to get a reliable comfortable saloon, he has better options. If his heart his set on the E and is able to maintain it, he'll really enjoy it, niggles or not.

In case you haven't already, read GTO's long term review on his C-class (link). It'll give you a better understanding of the costs involved and the experience in general.

Finally, what price has he been quoted?

[flipsyde]

The price is 17L which I was told is not negotiable. It does scare me when I read reviews about the Mercs showing trouble after 4-5 years.

This is going to be a third car at my friends place. They already own an Optra and a Fiesta for daily runs. I asked my friend to put aside 50k a year towards maintenance which he is willing to do. I ran across some part pricing with him such as the turbo, suspension and brake components, he seemed ok with it. He does understand the car originally costs 40L and so the spares are going to be expensive. I guess he has come to terms with that.

His original budget was 15L but he was ok increasing for this particular car. He tried the C220 CDI but felt he needed more space.

[scooby05]

Originally Posted by flipsyde

The price is 17L which I was told is not negotiable. It does scare me when I read reviews about the Mercs showing trouble after 4-5 years.

This is going to be a third car at my friends place. They already own an Optra and a Fiesta for daily runs. I asked my friend to put aside 50k a year towards maintenance which he is willing to do. I ran across some part pricing with him such as the turbo, suspension and brake components, he seemed ok with it. He does understand the car originally costs 40L and so the spares are going to be expensive. I guess he has come to terms with that.

His original budget was 15L but he was ok increasing for this particular car. He tried the C220 CDI but felt he needed more space.

Chennai cars are normally well maintained. Price ideally should be 15lacs. Since the car is used 65k and 6 years all the initial problems, including the SRS etc have been sorted out. Ensure that the suspension/brakes/electricals are in good order, do a diagnostic check.
She will give good service. offcourse the face lift post july'06 E280cdi's are better and more dependable cars, but quote at 20+

[V-16]

I agree with Scooby on the price bit. Actually after the introduction of the six cyl 280cdi the 5 cyl 270 was routed out due to some issues. Best is to get the car checked at an authorized dealer's to find out if it has any problems. The price of fixing these problems can be deducted from the agreed sale price.

I dont think its high maintained as such except service costs. Yes, i believe the electricals do have some Gremlins which appear and are very dear to repair/replace.

Else, if the car is in good nick and your Merc dealership agrees, offer him around 15 and seal the deal. Most important is to keep using the car and not keep it as a "Evening Party" car. as non-use surely create problems.

[flipsyde]

@Scooby and V-16 : I have taken an appointment at the Merc A S S for a bumper to bumper check on Monday. They should be able to clearly tell me what to expect to spend on the car soon after its purchase and there on.

15L would be a really sweet deal! But unfortunately the owner seems to be quite stuck on 17L. I will try to negotiate once I get the green signal from the A S S.

The car will surely be used on a daily basis but just won't see the rougher parts of town.

[lamborghini]

How about your friend consider another german instead? The Skoda Superb.
A new-ish used one could be had for around 17L. It will be cheaper to maintain, offers more space, more features.
And then a few years down the line, your friend could get himself a newer and better Merc/BMW.

By the way, check out the prices for used Audis as well. The A6 has a low resale value, and is a superb vehicle.

[flipsyde]

@lambo : Actually as silly as it sounds he's in it for the badge more than anything else. I have had limitless talks about how the japanese counterparts offer so much more for much less.

Audi A6 even with its drop dead value closes for around 22L thats the cheapest diesel I have come across yet.

[KiloAlpha]

I would avoid a 2005 Merc. They were generally sliding towards the bottom the quality charts.

Yes, there were some frequent, horrific and expensive issues with the diesels around the 100K kms mark - I am talking about engine/gearbox problems.

You might find more information on the forums in Honest John

[GTO]

Originally Posted by flipsyde

A very close friend has narrowed down a 2005 Mercedes E270 CDI to be his first german car. Its done about 65k kms and every service right upto the 50k km has been done at the Mercedes A S S.

Want honest advice in two words : RUN AWAY

The durability of parts in modern Mercedes' is extremely poor; what makes it worse is that they are (unsurprisingly) expensive. 60K kms is about the time when you'll see failure in major components. A car like this will cost him an average of 1 - 1.5 lakh rupees in repair & maintenance, not to mention the headache from breakdowns & days off the road. Note that this figure is for unauthorised workshops (don't even think of authorised Merc dealers).

Originally Posted by flipsyde

It does scare me when I read reviews about the Mercs showing trouble after 4-5 years.

You'll be even more scared after owning such a car. Trust me, no exaggeration. Mercedes has failed to live up to the traditional values of its brand.

Originally Posted by flipsyde

@lambo : Actually as silly as it sounds he's in it for the badge more than anything else.

How about street presence? Ask him to consider the Fortuner. Bullet proof reliability guaranteed.

[flipsyde]

@GTO : I was afraid of that! I told him all about the horror stories. But I guess love is a beautiful thing He is going for it. In fact he is making an advance payment on Monday.
I guess the best I can do at this point is get him introduced to a independent garage and sit with my fingers crossed.

I have been researching part prices for components which are due to fail around this time. I have shortlisted AC Compressor, AC Cooling Coil, Turbo, Suspension Components, Brake Pads etc. In fact I would really appreciate it if the knowledgeable few can educate me on how to procure parts for this car from abroad. This car sold quite a bit in the UK so parts should still be floating around. Also are there any people in India who buy and stock parts for the W211 E270 CDI? I would really like to keep their contact information with me just in case.

I hope everything goes well.

[GTO]

^ His new friend is gsfcarparts.com. Reliable folks & reasonable pricing.

[fre2bpowerless]

You should really tell him to reconsider, we owned a 2004 E270 Cdi it ran about 30k kms in 4 years. Some problems we faced are

2 changes of hose pipes within 6 months (they had a leak/tear)
Engine mounts had to be changed because of heavy vibration
Brake booster changed
Brakes failure twice, driver rear ended my car, rear ended a truck
ESP failure led to an accident
ABS failure
SRS failure
Door wiring changed (electronics on one door went out)
Ac had a long list of problems
Loads of other small issues

Car ran fine for two years, started giving problems at intervals. This was used by my parents and was maintained with Mercedes service. We sold it off with the buyer aware of the history (of course) he sold it within 6 months.

At times its not about the cost of ownership but had such failures happened on say the express highway, I shudder to think.