Mercedes Benz E250 (W210)

[n2rox]

Hey guys,

Im looking forward to buy a 1999 Mercedes benz w210 e250 model (avantgarde) diesel car, please let me know about the fuel consumption,availability of the parts,maintenance cost, and finally is it a good daily running car??

Merc specialists your help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

[The Don]

  On 3/15/2013 at 4:06 PM, n2rox said:

Hey guys,

Im looking forward to buy a 1999 Mercedes benz w210 e250 model (avantgarde) diesel car, please let me know about the fuel consumption,availability of the parts,maintenance cost, and finally is it a good daily running car??

Merc specialists your help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Look, if you are worried about fuel consumption and maintenance cost you probably shouldn't be buying a Mercedes Benz. They are premium cars wherever they are sold and are well engineered complicated machines which require specialist maintenance and spare parts are expensive.

Personally I think it does well on fuel for a car of its size and weight, and maintained well it will be as reliable as any other car around. But Mercedes Benz parts are expensive and you will pay a premium for them. That is simply how it is. Finding specialists to maintain them shouldn't also be an issue as there are a few around.

[Supra_Natural]

  On 3/15/2013 at 4:06 PM, n2rox said:

Hey guys,

Im looking forward to buy a 1999 Mercedes benz w210 e250 model (avantgarde) diesel car, please let me know about the fuel consumption,availability of the parts,maintenance cost, and finally is it a good daily running car??

Merc specialists your help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

The simple answer is, No.. not if your primary concerns are the ones listed above. If those are your main concerns then you really should be looking at a CT210 Corona Premio. Of course the Premio will not give you the Mercedes Benz badge (which I suspect is very important to you) but it will be a better choice as a daily runner as long as you find a good one.

[Magnum]

Is 99 model face lift?

[CJ5]

  On 3/15/2013 at 4:06 PM, n2rox said:

Hey guys,

Im looking forward to buy a 1999 Mercedes benz w210 e250 model (avantgarde) diesel car, please let me know about the fuel consumption,availability of the parts,maintenance cost, and finally is it a good daily running car??

Merc specialists your help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Hardly anyone buys a Merecedes Benz inquring about fuel consumption and maintanence costs. Luxury comes at a premium isn't it???? If you have the dough it is indeed a good daily runner.

[GTAm]

Actually almost all modern Mercs, high performance cars excepted give excellent fuel consumption, despite their weight. I know a few owners who can confirm this. The W210 and even the W220 are noted for their excellent fuel economy. I have checked this with several owners and the numbers are quite amazing. This particular car being a diesel should be even more economical.

The biggest worry about the W210 was the electronics failing when it was still current. By now all those would be sorted in a well cared for car.

As for parts availability, you should not have any problem with such a popular model. When it comes to prices of parts there are two things to remember. If you go to the agents they'll take your pants off. However other suppliers offer parts and very reasonable prices. There are also people who import some used parts too.

Considering the longevity of the car and excellent engineering an old Merc (provided cared for previously) makes an excellent daily runner IMHO.

[Supra_Natural]

  On 3/19/2013 at 7:07 AM, GTAm said:

Actually almost all modern Mercs, high performance cars excepted give excellent fuel consumption, despite their weight. I know a few owners who can confirm this. The W210 and even the W220 are noted for their excellent fuel economy. I have checked this with several owners and the numbers are quite amazing. This particular car being a diesel should be even more economical.

The biggest worry about the W210 was the electronics failing when it was still current. By now all those would be sorted in a well cared for car.

As for parts availability, you should not have any problem with such a popular model. When it comes to prices of parts there are two things to remember. If you go to the agents they'll take your pants off. However other suppliers offer parts and very reasonable prices. There are also people who import some used parts too.

Considering the longevity of the car and excellent engineering an old Merc (provided cared for previously) makes an excellent daily runner IMHO.

Gtam do you really think a W210 is a good buy? They were universally considered to be a step back in general quality from the W124 that was the benchmark, weren't they?

Edited March 19, 2013 by Supra_Natural

[GTAm]

  On 3/19/2013 at 9:53 AM, Supra_Natural said:

Gtam do you really think a W210 is a good buy? They were universally considered to be a step back in general quality from the W124 that was the benchmark, weren't they?

Correct Supra the W124 was considered one of the last Merc that was engineered up to to a standard - which was the MB ethos up till then. The W210 on the other hand was supposedly the first Merc to be engineered down to a price target. So it indeed was a step backwards with Mercedes choosing cheaper global suppliers over their trusted old ones.

The thing is however it wasn't as bad as most of the press made it out to be, which is quite normal with the press when a manufacturer's PR is weak. There were lots of glitches in the electronics which I recall reading was from a Taiwan supplier which must have shocked the traditional old Merc boys whose average age must have been (I'm guessing) 60+ at that time for not been "Made in Germany". But the truth is EVERY (except for maybe Rolls/Bentley, Ferrari - small specialists etc) other manufacturer was were engineering a car down to a price. This meant that BMW and Audi were eating into Mercs dominant status as "THE premium car" and a growing majority of consumers were really not willing pay a premium for the 3 pointed star however superior this somewhat illusive quality was. I recall in those days Mercs commanded as much as a 20% premium over its German rivals if you were to compare models spec for spec. As you might guess that business model was doomed to fail.

Just because they made those (inevitable) compromises does not mean that the W210 was not a good car. It was still a well engineered, very comfy, advanced machine and the early electronic glitches slowly disappeared. Perhaps it lacks some of the indestructible feel of a W124, but then no other competitor does too.

There were various quality issues reported internationally during that time. This is the case with so many cars today. Almost every month of the year you hear about a manufacturer doing a recall. However Mercedes failed to properly address the issue (Bad PR again) with properly orchestrated recalls probably due to their being used to their "infallible" reputation, and the 210 got bashed from some quarters naturally. However to my knowledge in Sri Lanka there have not been major issues except for a gearbox issue on a particular car - But hey how many gearbox failures does one hear about Land Cruiser Saharas? So I believe it's a quite a safe buy if the example is a non-abused one.

I don't know the production numbers for the 210 but I believe that despite that bad publicity it sold well.

The other thing is that the W210 is a world of a difference to drive compared to the W124 which to me is frankly one of the most boring cars to drive. Styling wise though I think the 124 is far more elegant and has aged much more gracefully than the 210.

[Magnum]

  On 3/20/2013 at 7:11 AM, GTAm said:

Correct Supra the W124 was considered one of the last Merc that was engineered up to to a standard - which was the MB ethos up till then. The W210 on the other hand was supposedly the first Merc to be engineered down to a price target. So it indeed was a step backwards with Mercedes choosing cheaper global suppliers over their trusted old ones.

The thing is however it wasn't as bad as most of the press made it out to be, which is quite normal with the press when a manufacturer's PR is weak. There were lots of glitches in the electronics which I recall reading was from a Taiwan supplier which must have shocked the traditional old Merc boys whose average age must have been (I'm guessing) 60+ at that time for not been "Made in Germany". But the truth is EVERY (except for maybe Rolls/Bentley, Ferrari - small specialists etc) other manufacturer was were engineering a car down to a price. This meant that BMW and Audi were eating into Mercs dominant status as "THE premium car" and a growing majority of consumers were really not willing pay a premium for the 3 pointed star however superior this somewhat illusive quality was. I recall in those days Mercs commanded as much as a 20% premium over its German rivals if you were to compare models spec for spec. As you might guess that business model was doomed to fail.

Just because they made those (inevitable) compromises does not mean that the W210 was not a good car. It was still a well engineered, very comfy, advanced machine and the early electronic glitches slowly disappeared. Perhaps it lacks some of the indestructible feel of a W124, but then no other competitor does too.

There were various quality issues reported internationally during that time. This is the case with so many cars today. Almost every month of the year you hear about a manufacturer doing a recall. However Mercedes failed to properly address the issue (Bad PR again) with properly orchestrated recalls probably due to their being used to their "infallible" reputation, and the 210 got bashed from some quarters naturally. However to my knowledge in Sri Lanka there have not been major issues except for a gearbox issue on a particular car - But hey how many gearbox failures does one hear about Land Cruiser Saharas? So I believe it's a quite a safe buy if the example is a non-abused one.

I don't know the production numbers for the 210 but I believe that despite that bad publicity it sold well.

The other thing is that the W210 is a world of a difference to drive compared to the W124 which to me is frankly one of the most boring cars to drive. Styling wise though I think the 124 is far more elegant and has aged much more gracefully than the 210.

I thought W124 is "over engineered"

and bdw weren't the electronic issues in the W210 fixed in the facelift model?

[GTAm]

  On 3/20/2013 at 10:08 AM, Magnum said:

I thought W124 is "over engineered"

and bdw weren't the electronic issues in the W210 fixed in the facelift model?

Yes you could say that. The 124 was answering a question most of the world's premium car buyers was no longer asking. I recall how people used to refer to a Merc as "a car of a lifetime". Now who would want to have only one car for their entire lifetime?

And yes the W210's bugs were ironed out eventually. It's logical to think that the facelift was sorted. The industry usually works that way. But initially Mercedes being not used to such issues, faltered and the press went wild.

[Magnum]

  On 3/21/2013 at 5:46 AM, GTAm said:

Yes you could say that. The 124 was answering a question most of the world's premium car buyers was no longer asking. I recall how people used to refer to a Merc as "a car of a lifetime". Now who would want to have only one car for their entire lifetime?

And yes the W210's bugs were ironed out eventually. It's logical to think that the facelift was sorted. The industry usually works that way. But initially Mercedes being not used to such issues, faltered and the press went wild.

I remember fifth gear doing an episode on W124 to prove how well engineered it was.

Anyway for me the W210 is my all time favorite from Merc, like E39 from BMW.

[Komisiripala]

I don't think op expected this much history.

[n2rox]

Thank you everyone specially GTAm its been a great help, I made my decision im buying the merc, haha gud one komisiripala

[Magnum]

  On 3/21/2013 at 9:43 AM, Komisiripala said:

I don't think op expected this much history.

Atleast we learnt something out of it, car history is always interesting