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Bought a used Mercedes E-class for just 4.5L: Initial impressions

4th September 2023, 13:08 by Ananth Iyer

Bringing home a Benz is truly special especially the first one. Even more so when it's a dream that has been there for a long time.

BHPian cefiljoseph recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

"Where curiosity meets forbidden fruit, the heart wrestles between the desire for pleasure and the fear of consequences."

Most of us on this forum would agree that Germans stand at the top of the car food-chain. It's no news but why is it so? German engineers over the last century have near perfected the art turning engineering into enthusiastic little toys for the car loving child that lives within us. This little child amongst all of us irrespective of our current age loves to be coddled in the laps of luxury, loves to feel safe like we were with our parents and loves to be have a blast on the open roads without worrying about fuel economy as if money can just be printed like that. Umm that's kind of what the governments do these days oops. Well, that's a story for another day

Everyone in the community agrees that these cars are relatively harder to take care of. A major component going wrong or a accident outside the seven year zero-depreciation insurance period would be enough for an owner to swear one of these brands out for their life. Even more so at this vintage of fifteen years it's would painstakingly hard to keep one running if not impossible. Or is it?

Through this thread, I wanted to share the continuing journey of how we bought and are owning a Mercedes W211 E280 CDI E-Klasse after yearning for a German car for almost a decade. I don't just want to talk about it with an enthusiast lens but also through socioeconomic and psychological perspectives which are discussed or even observed far lesser in comparison.

Might not have been the easiest ownership. Just like with any good things in life it comes at a price

In search of a star.

Are car enthusiasts born or created?

Spoiler alert: It's both.

I was in the middle of a an entrepreneurship session with one of the pioneers, Mark Searle from Berkely University. He was talking about the trainings he does to inculcate leadership skills in individuals and how powerful the skill was. One curious student asked Mark, "Aren't people born as leaders and is it something really that can be coached?" Mark graciously answered with a counter example of athletes. Are the best athletes born or coached? It's both plus their environment, privilege they hold in the society, genetics all play significant roles in it.

In my humble opinion, this is wonderful analogy to think about car enthusiasm as well. Most people have an innate love for cars. Some people get it genetically, some have the conducive condition and financially sounds families which fuel this passion, some have good environments where they are around people who loved and talks about cars. However, there are levels to this. Someone might just momentarily observe a car passing by and think, "that's a good car" and someone else might build their entire lives around cars. i.e., own a garage to fix cars, make content around cars, be in business of selling and buying cars, the world is your canvas.

I too had a story of getting into cars very young. I have always been fascinated by the idea of cars. I feel it's the humanish design that connects us with cars in some sense. Like we have two hands and two legs, cars too have two front wheels and two rear wheels. There is an heart that beats it a.k.a the engine(motors too). A network of wires like our nervous systems and so on. Just like with humans when all of these things come in unison it gives the effect of creating something that's greater than the sum of all parts. Germans have a word for this called Gestalt. Perhaps the German engineers understand this and it's no coincidence that they end up making the best cars out there.

I kind of knew this from a very young age that I really wanted one at home. I was maybe six or seven when I learned that BMW makes really fast cars. At the time going fast was the only parameter I looked for when evaluating a car. Oh, it still is. Just that I tweaked the definition of "fast" from speed to the sensation of speed which is what we experience

Anyways going back to my six year old self, I had been a agnostic child which isn't a good place to be when your mother is a hardcore believer. It's always like this isn't it?

Challenging my mother about god not existing was my sport then. At some point she had told me that god gives us the things we ask for. To prove her wrong, I asked her that if I pray for a BMW will god give me one? Being low-key done with me and as a last resort to get me to pray she told yes god will give you a BMW if you pray for it sincerely.

I took this seriously and started praying everyday mostly loudly saying "please give a BMW in our home" hehe

Till day not sure if it was the power of manifestation of the magic of god himself , a few years of me praying continuously, when I turned ten, my father in fact did trade the Innova we had then for an E90 320d. It was truly an on top of the world feeling to have it.

Forget being in it, even being around the car filled me with pride and joy

BMW shenanigans and realignment

Happiness doesn't last long especially when you have a BMW

Wasn't any different for us, maybe god wanted to teach me a lesson for question it's existence, he gave us this e-series bimmer. Don't get me wrong it was exceptionally engaging to be in it and feel the peppy acceleration and engagement even as a passenger at least for me when my father drove it around.

However, for better or worse, we felt the sour of this lemon early into the ownership. There were some weird rattles and issues that happened within the warranty period which didn't really inspire confidence to keep it longer. The fact that the Kochi dealer then, Platino Classic were downright frauds and horrible to deal with (Read - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...o-classic.html (BMW terminates dealer agreement with Platino Classic)) made this decision even more easier. Immediately after the warranty period, baby bimmer was gone. Having learned our German car lesson, we played it safe and got a good 'ol Fortuner.

Back, then I did't realise the nuances of warranty or anything. I thought my dad was doing the stupidest thing when I saw him exchanging a 3er for a glorified Toyota pickup. However, ten years later taking the Fortuner for it's service and seeing the advisor struggling to cross ten grands for it, I couldn't have been more wrong. Seeing the mighty Fortuner still looking and driving like it's almost new made me realise that German cars shine during the warranty period while the Japanese shine once it's out of it.

All that said and done, as much as I loved and appreciated the Fortuner, there is no denying that a German car leaving creates a void that only another German can fill.

"Longing is the bridge between the present and the someday we dream of"

Years went by, while the world changed, our love for cars remained the same. Having a German was still the dream. My mother did buy a boring Dzire sometime in between but that didn't change anything. I moved out of my home to Delhi for my undergrad at Ashoka. However, a semester and half into my dream college experience, pandemic changed our lives in way we couldn't imagine and I was back at home. With the newer disposable incomes and changing economies and personal priorities, we started talking (well me mostly nudging my family ) about getting a German during this period. Seeing the value and the stigma going away in the used car segment we had decided that it had to be a used German. It wasn't a serious search or anything but we did visit some of the large used-car dealers to scout for one semi-seriosuly.

Soon the pandemic situation subsided, I returned to college in my final semester and landed a job in Mumbai. That's when Coco came into life.

Coco in some sense was the precursor to get W211. Getting her inspired confidence in pre-owned cars and we were ready for a bigger German bet

As you mature as a car enthusiast you incline more towards a Mercedes.

I know it's a big claim to say that Mercedes is the best brand especially on an automotive forum where all kinds of people exist. Yet, I stand by my words and let me try to convince you too to go for a used Mercedes

I was always a horses guy - the best car in my eyes would be the one that went the fastest and that was it. However, the more I started going deep into forums and research, I realised that Mercs were more reliable since we were looking at cars in the 10-15 lakhs budget. Moreover, we didn't want a German for the sake of the brand but for the car itself. So, we didn't want it to be just another 4-pot sedan. We were strictly looking for something special ideally a V6 or a V8.

Started by compared the Bimmers and Mercs from the same era. E60 v/s W211, E90 v/s W204 and E65 v/s W221. Time and again, realised that Mercedes was simply ahead in terms of the engineering, design and manufacturing. Someone might say that the bimmer counterpart is more athletic and while that is true, it is not the point of a Mercedes. It's simply to to glide over tarmac which they excel in. It's this kind of honesty to the purpose while cutting out the noise on focusing on other aspects like performance that got me hoooked on to it. However, this comes with Caveats. It's only for specific eras where this is valid. Moreover, it's particularly true for turbodiesel Mercs. As a counterexample say if the I was looking at something after 2013/14, I would gravitate more towards the equivalent bimmer unless of course it's the S-Class which captures the Mercedes persona the best.

Honesty to it's ethos - This is something that's always beautiful whether it's done by a car manufacturer or a human. When you are focused at a goal and in the case with Mercedes to offer the best luxury and quality build as it's first priority, it becomes an art piece on wheels.

Heritage and Tradition - Mercedes literally invented the car with the Patent Wagen. They survived in the industry for more than a century which is not just exceptional by car manufacturer standards but also by any organisation standards. This gives them a really good understanding of making cars especially when it comes to ergonomics and design. The rear parking sensors that appears in the Rear view mirror one brilliant execution of this. The list doesn't end there. The headrests that fall down on the touch of a button, REST option on the AC which directs the hot air from the engine to prevent condensation are all clever touches that comes with expertise that is only unique to a Merc. To add to this, the precise placement of hand rests on the door pads and the the sun visor that extends when blocking the sun are all features that add intangible value but never come on a spec sheet. These are things we really appreciate over time. I'm sure that there are many more features that I'm yet to discover in these stars that is yet to reveal it's marvel going forward.

Engineering, built and design quality - Mercedes spends massive amounts for R&D and it's observed in the innovations they make and the superior nature of their cars. The built quality is also commendable. This is why it is often called as indestructible tanks. Well, almost.

On the whole, a V6 or a V8 Mercedes E-class/S-class respectively seemed like the perfect fit for our use case and requirements.

This is by no means to say other manufacturers are not great, it's just that it's a matter of fit and a true blooded star seemed to be the perfect fit in our case.

Now we get into the harder part - addressing the challenges, deciding on the exact model and finding a decent example.

Scale model exhibition at LandMark Thane. Living in Hiranandani Estate, they were our beloved friendly neighbourhood Mercedes Benz dealer. Quick to answer any queries and always supported in our ownership as you will be reading ahead.

Money don't jiggle jiggle, it folds.

Right of the bat when the conversation comes up about getting an older Merc, everyone straight up jumps to the conclusion that it's an endless money pit and something only a madman can do.

There is some degree of truth and sincerity to this advice. It's no surprise that many cars are abandoned on roads. It usually happens at a point where the cost of saving the car is more than it's current value. However, there is more to it.

Let me unpack this. Take the most extreme example of W220/W221 S-Klasse. These cars can be had for as low as 2-3 lakhs. However, the cost of repair including the Airmatic, Air Conditioning systems, Steering Rack, Electricals etc might cost maybe 10-20 percent of the cars original price. In the case of a W220/W221, this amounts to 10-20 lakhs. So why would anyone in their right minds be willing to shell out this kind of money when the car's value itself is peanuts. One word - experience. If you need to get the same experience today of the W220/W221 S-Klasse, there is no other way but to spend 2-3 crores to get the latest W223 S-Klasse. This perspective is what most people lakh in my opinion. Therefore, in my opinion, while the money might seem high in absolute terms and might not be justifiable for everyone to spend, in my humble opinion it's moeny that's well spent.

This isn't just theory. Many people do in fact realise this and keep their stars shining as bright as possible.

In a world where a Jeep compass costs 30 big ones, getting a big mighty S for the same is a steal. It's definitely not a bad place to be.

Does it comes with risks? Of course it does. Does it mean you don't do things that involve risks? Anything worth doing rarely comes without risks. Excellence doesn't come from avoiding risks rather by learning how to manage it. In this case, what it means would be instead of a Creta or a Compass you now get to have a V6 or a V8 Mercedes beauty.

I also think it's an ego risk that you have to take. I have seen two kinds of approached people have when they hear about us getting a W211. The first approach is trying to learn more about the ownership so that they can someday potentially get one. This is a growth attitude that benefits everyone. I really appreciate this and I'm willing to help anyone out there with whatever little information and experience I hold. There is a second approach that is horrible - to simply complain about anything and everything once they know we got a W211. Oftentimes, I have noticed that these comments comes from people who have absolutely no idea about these cars and just want to add on to the negativity. They are also not even willing to hear about anything and appear to be out of reform. These are the people who say things like, it will be scrapped after 15 years or this will always give you troubles and stuff. Now, I get there are some merits to this but it's not things which aren't addressable. You can pay the green tax get additional five years, do preventative maintenance to keep the car fresh again and so on. Complaining does no good. Thinking about solutions is what moves us forward and improves life.

Too many stars in the Galaxy

Now that it was decided that we were getting a full-sized star, we started hunting for models more seriously and comparing the models with each other.

S500 - this was the first car we seriously considered. We specifically only wanted the V8 since we would be shelling a lot on it, might as well be a V8 and enjoy the endless torque. We saw some examples in Mumabi but on further checks found one or the other issue with them. Like with all other places, dealers tried to do horrible things. Finding a good example became a challenge and we then decided to not splurge for the S and look for a more reasonable E.

Then I moved the conversation towards getting an even older model with lesser complications yet with the complete persona of a star. W123 is what I'm talking about. Reliable, timeless and relatively easy to keep running. However, the current giving rates of 7-8 wasn't cool in my opinion but still it would be a financially terrible things to do since it holds value. I and my dad test drove some examples. We concluded that when there is a W211 and W212 going for the same price, it doesn't make sense to get this when those cars are much more fun and simply put better. We really didn't want to give into any artifical hype that was created around these cars. Maybe if it were 2-3 lakhs a W123 would have been fine.

So, after moving from a modern star to a classic star, we once again decided to look at more modern models - W211 and W212. However, like we earlier decided, only the V6 versions would be considered.

I drove some W212s but didn't really connect with the car. Don't get me wrong, it was a good car but it just didn't speak to me.

Then I went and drove the W211 and it was instant love. We saw some cars in Thrissur, Kerala where we are from and in Mumbai where we were both working at the time.

First we saw the car in Thrissur. It looked decent so we decided to take it for an inspection at Infinity Autodynamik which is a competent independent shop there. They diagnosed it with multiple issues and faults and told us to pass it.

Then I saw another car in Mumbai which was a final year special edition model. it seemed like the perfect and best W211 to have. However, this car too seemed fine but when I sent it for inspection, they found it to be in poor condition.

Then I found another example in Mumbai which seemed to be in good condition. My dad too came up with a lead that he had a colleague who owned a W211 and was ready to part with. On hearing the name of the owner I realised that both of us had found the same person. Maybe it was sign. We saw the car, went through service records, checked it and sealed the deal. We had agreed on some work that needed to be carried out before handing over the car to us to which he obliged. We closed the deal for 4.25. We also had a thumb rule that we would need 10-20 percent of the original cost of the car saved for immediate maintenance and upkeep. For the W211 this amounted to 5-10 lakhs.

Bringing home the best star for Christmas