Mercedes-benz E320 CDI
Part one: Introducing our £3000 auction bargain.
Many executive motors that were once bought new for eye-watering sums of money have now depreciated to a level that makes them a tempting purchase. Our newest project car is one such example. It’s the Avantgarde version of the Mercedes-benz E-class S211 model, which first appeared in 2002 and was facelifted in 2006. Inside, there’s leather upholstery, with heated and part-electric front seats, separate climate controls for the driver and front-seat passenger, a fully adjustable steering wheel, lots of useful storage compartments and a built-in CD player. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Open the boot of this estate and the cover retracts to reveal 690 litres of load space. And if you need to transport more than five people, the flat floor hides two rear-facing seats with seatbelts.
You have to drive this car to fully appreciate its specification, including a seven-speed automatic gearbox that changes up and down almost as seamlessly as the Prius CVT ’box – the gears can also be operated manually via the gearstick. A button controls comfort and sport settings for the gearbox/suspension and there’s a stalk switch for cruise control, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, parking sensors at the front and rear with a display on the top of the dashboard, and an onboard computer that calculates average speed, fuel consumption and the amount of time spent driving.
If these toys don’t impress, the performance figures surely will. The 3.0 V6 diesel engine can propel this 1885kg lump of steel from stationary to 60mph in 7.1 seconds thanks to a whopping 540Nm of torque between 1600-2400rpm. Surprisingly, such performance isn’t too thirsty – we calculated nearly 38mpg after filling up and completing 545 miles in a few days.
We found our E320 CDI online through BCA, winning the sale at £2700 with fees of £300. The V5C shows two owners: the Mercedes main dealer, then a lady from September 2007, who bought it from the dealership in Poole. The vehicle has a claimed full service history, although we cannot find any documentation to support this. The only service receipt we have is for April 27, 2016, when it was serviced and got its MOT at Inchcape Mercedes-benz of Oxford with 178,563 miles on the clock. We contacted them to check and they confirmed the vehicle had undergone a gearbox and engine oil change along with filters and a couple of rear tyres. However, we also discovered that they had serviced it since 2008, often completing oil and filter changes twice a year. With an average of 20,000 miles per year being covered, it appears the previous owner was meticulous about servicing and this attention to detail has paid off – even the windscreen wipers carry the Mercedes logo!
Other data
We have looked into the vehicle’s MOT history. We checked it online at www.gov.uk/check-mot-history. There’s no information for the first test, which would have been in 2010, but the one in February 2011 is recorded, when the vehicle was almost four years old and had covered 74,797 miles (almost 19,000 miles per year on average). It passed with one advisory concerning slight play in the nearside front balljoint for the lower suspension arm. This wasn’t identified in 2012 when the vehicle passed the MOT and had covered 94,415 miles – maybe it had been renewed? Despite the fact that the next MOT wasn’t due until February 2013, there’s a record of a test on July 9, 2012, when there was 103,494 miles on the clock. That time it failed on a rear numberplate light, but also had a list of advisories, including damage to the nearside side repeater and deterioration of front suspension bushes on both sides.
For the next MOT in July 2013, with 121,248 miles recorded, it passed with advisories for a crack in the windscreen, cuts in one of the tyres and a couple of corroded brake pipes. The list of rusty brake pipes had grown by August 2014, when there was a recorded 140,480 miles,
and again in July 2015, with 160,903 miles showing (a worn offside rear tyre meant a fail, but it was renewed). A tyre was the cause of another fail in April 2016, which corresponds with the aforementioned receipt from the Mercedes dealership in Oxford. This time, the corroded brake pipes were not listed, so they may have been replaced.
When we took delivery of the vehicle, we had a few days remaining before the MOT expired. Editor Martyn Knowles had the Merc delivered to his home, so he booked a test and left with a fail sheet that listed a worn rear tyre and the headlamp aim being too low. Plus, the other rear tyre was close to the limit, so he had both of them renewed. As for the headlight aim, this had to be adjusted considerably to the correct height, so needs further investigation – perhaps the bulb is secured incorrectly.
Judging by the MOT history, our Merc seems to be quite heavy on rear tyres. Otherwise, the regular servicing has ensured the vehicle has been trouble-free and many of the advisories seem to have been resolved before they have turned into a failure. So, it would appear we’ve bought a project car that doesn’t need much work. Or have we?
Body scrapes
Looking around the exterior, there are a few scratches, dents and damaged trim to sort out. On the offside rear, the trim is missing from the corner of the bumper and it’s cracked in the middle. We suspect a low impact-prang is the cause, so requires further investigation.