So I'm going to be buying a car either later this month or next month, and I really want a Mercedes. I know it isn't very GRM, but I was inspired by Tommy's Merc, and I've decided to take a leap of faith. I've been looking at W124s and W201s. They're essentially bulletproof, but my dad wants to buy me something newer. So what typically goes wrong on W210s? I know they have window regulator and blower motor regulator issues, and the harmonic balancer may need to be replaced. I see those as the three main issues (sway bar end links are fairly easy). Is there anything else I should be concerned about?
You're name is G-body Man. You can't go buyin' a ferin car! '87 Cutlass 442 or Buick GN are your only options, thems the rules.
He's Canadian, they are all ferin up there
t25torx wrote:
You're name is G-body Man. You can't go buyin' a ferin car! '87 Cutlass 442 or Buick GN are your only options, thems the rules.
I'd love another G-body, but I just need something semi-modern, semi-reliable, and at least semi-nice to drive around. It may be my car, but my dad will drive it occasionally, and he doesn't really fancy the idea of another G-body.
I can say for sure that W210s rust insanely bad here in Wisconsin. I'm always shocked by how rusty they are.
As far as general knowledge, AFAIK they are the first E-class platform designed after Mercedes started letting bean counters build cars instead of engineers. Mercedes was really in a slump from 1995-2005ish, it seems. The W124 was basically the swan song of "old Mercedes"; still had their insane old-world build quality and robustness, but was also a pretty modern vehicle.
Basically, I wouldn't want a W210 anyway, and certainly not over a W124. Considering parts are quite expensive and there are plenty of nightmare jobs on both, I'd take the W124 hands down, as they were at least engineered to last forever.
If you really want a car like this and the W124 is out I would look at a Lexus LS, BMW 5-Series or something else instead.
You could probably get a really nice, low mileage example of a later LS400 for less than a year's worth of maintenance for the w210 (ok, that's hyperbole, but you know what I mean). The w124 is no doubt a great car, but it's really hard to convince me of its superiority over the Lexus. Of course, doing a crazy superturbodiesel type build with a 5 speed and the OM604 is on the long list of future projects. Not a huge fan of the w201. Short of the 2.3 16v versions, which are reportedly e30 M3 killers, you get all the negatives of owning a German car with none of the positives.
penultimeta wrote:
You could probably get a really nice, low mileage example of a later LS400 for less than a year's worth of maintenance for the w210 (ok, that's hyperbole, but you know what I mean). The w124 is no doubt a great car, but it's really hard to convince me of its superiority over the Lexus. Of course, doing a crazy superturbodiesel type build with a 5 speed and the OM604 is on the long list of future projects. Not a huge fan of the w201. Short of the 2.3 16v versions, which are reportedly e30 M3 killers, you get all the negatives of owning a German car with none of the positives.
All the Lexuses in my area are either clapped out, or drift pigs.
I've heard from people who know that the W124 was the last of the Mercedes tanks that would run forever. I really like that traditional Mercedes grille. Can't stand that round headlight look of the W210. I can't imagine buying a Merecedes newer than 1995, as they have such a reputation as a money pit. If I found myself with money coming out of my butt, I could lease something new with the AMG badge on it.
If w124: 300ce or a 400e/e420. The 300ce is an inline 6 coupe. The 400e/e420 is obviously the v8 car.
From that era I'd buy the best w140 s500 I could afford. Absolutely beautiful cars.
Or a nice LS400 Lexus.
No w210's. You don't want that car in Canada.
Also, do yourself a favor. Import one from Southern California. W124's go for dirt cheap and so do nice w140's. Saves you rust issues and they're generally taken care of if you know where to look.
I'd also vote W124 with some caveats. I own a '95 E320, and it has been a spectacular car. It is pleasant to work on, and parts have been easy to come by.
Here is the caveat: cheap mercedes parts are really cheap, as in poor quality. Good parts are expensive, but the quality is worth it.
I would definitely vote for a M104 (24v) or M103 (12v) engine. The M103 will feel a little underpowered, but not badly. It is a robust engine without many flaws. The CIS system is a little bit of a pain to mess with, but if you have CIS practice it is no big deal.
The M104 is a beautiful engine. It has a well know head gasket failure at the intersection of timing chain cover, block, and head. It means oil in the coolant...not a catastrophic failure by any means. Mine has had it for years now and I just haven't gotten around to doing the job. Also, the M104 had a biodegradeable wiring harness. Things will start getting weird and you'll need to change it out. Super easy job, but even the cheapest harnesses are $900. Knowing about these two things means you might be able to get a '94 or '95 E320 for cheap.
Buy the nicest one you can. Really. I was young and poor not so long ago, and I made the mistake of not following this advice many times. I've learned my lesson now.
I have a W126 1990 420SEL. I bought it last December for $5k--really nice car, but I bought it sight unseen and missed a few things I would have seen if I had done a better job.
First, this is a car that defines the truism "It NEVER just needs a re-charge." The AC was AFU and the dash had to come out to fix it. I am embarrassed to tell you how much that cost. And the heat still doesn't work. Finally, the old style torpedo fuses are a total pain. You never know when you are going to have to fiddle with them to get the windows working or the wipers back on. They just need to be jiggled, but I've sanded and cleaned and have had no luck getting a long-term fix there.
On the good side, this car is fantastic. Love it. If you are a GRM dork with a fleet of cars that are all too small, too stiff, and too silly for reality, this is the cure. It's smooth, fast, comfortable, and great to look at. It's a lovely design and an entire herd of blue cows died to create the interior. Not only can you make babies in the back seat, you can RAISE them there too--it's that large. I have snow tires on mine and it's fine as a winter beater.
I wish that I had bought one with better paint (my silver is kind of chalking off) and working HVAC. Maybe next time...
I agree with the W124 recommendation. Just watch out for the "biodegradable" wiring harness issue. I would also suggest looking at the w126 for even more MB bank vault like feeling.
I think W210s get an unnecessary bad rap. This is purely anecdotal, but there's tons of W210s still on the roads in Germany. Some are taxis, yes, but a lot were privately owned. I would see at least 10 a day, if not more. They do rust, and that was evident on some of the models I saw, but as was said above, buy the best example you can find. Mercedessource on Youtube is a great resource, albeit he is a bit eccentric and makes you pay for his more in-depth videos. Still, his free videos have been invaluable in my quest of fixing up my W126.
Yeah, after owning a W126, any other Mercedes will seem like a Honda in comparison.
Esoteric Nixon wrote:
I think W210s get an unnecessary bad rap. This is purely anecdotal, but there's tons of W210s still on the roads in Germany. Some are taxis, yes, but a lot were privately owned. I would see *at least* 10 a day, if not more. They do rust, and that was evident on some of the models I saw, but as was said above, buy the best example you can find. Mercedessource on Youtube is a great resource, albeit he is a bit eccentric and makes you pay for his more in-depth videos. Still, his free videos have been invaluable in my quest of fixing up my W126.
That guy is awesome. Very helpful, and he reminds me a lot of myself. I'd definitely pay for premium content, just because he explains it so well.
Tom Suddard wrote:
Yeah, after owning a W126, any other Mercedes will seem like a Honda in comparison.
Check out the W220s. They will blow your mind. I would buy one, but my dad may drive it occasionally, and he doesn't want to drive anything bigger than an e-class. Also, I wouldn't trust him with a W220. He once drove a Colt into a big water-filled sinkhole thinking "how deep could it be?" Somehow, he didn't hydrolock it.
Isn't the 210 the one with the "spot welded on front spring perch breaks off" issue?
From what I've seen of them in the junkyard, and my friend who is really into them (built one of, if not the first 6 speed stick 190E) the last good Mercedes were the 107, 201, 124, and 126(arguably the best engineered car ever). Everything after that is strangely in the yard in similar proportions to the earlier cars and in much worse shape.
W210s are not very good cars, I have one and its not near as well made or easy to work on as the w126, although the climate control works, it doesn't leak oil, and it has enough power to safely merge onto the freeway even without planning farily far ahead, all of which are an improvement. Its pretty plasticy though, more complicated and hard to work on, and the transmission doesn't shift right sometimes. I would say get a w124 or w126, but only if you are comfortable with the cost of parts at the dealer for most stuff, the majority of cheap aftermarket parts are awful. The w126 isn't even big compared to modern cars, I would drive one before crossing them off the list.
Kenny_McCormic wrote:
Isn't the 210 the one with the "spot welded on front spring perch breaks off" issue?
Yup, that's the one! However, it only appears to be common enough to be an issue on early cars. On a late series 1 or series 2 car, I wouldn't be too concerned.
Travis_K wrote:
W210s are not very good cars, I have one and its not near as well made or easy to work on as the w126, although the climate control works, it doesn't leak oil, and it has enough power to safely merge onto the freeway even without planning farily far ahead, all of which are an improvement. Its pretty plasticy though, more complicated and hard to work on, and the transmission doesn't shift right sometimes.
As our current home is a rental and has a concrete driveway, I'm not getting anything with that late straight six. My dad wouldn't let me buy a W126. I'm fine with a plastic-fantastic interior (I've lived with a Toyota Echo, and owned an 80s GM product), and the extra power sure is nice to have for peace of mind. On the transmission note, have you tried taking it to a dealer to get it's fluid changed? Apparently, that really helps the 5-speeds.
I did change the fluid, it needs a new conductor plate (I have one, just need to do it), and the torque converter is probably worn out too. Having the fluid changed t the dealer would be about 20% of what I paid for the whole car lol. They are mostly just in bad shape now because when they were new people were told to never change the fluid. I don't mean just the interior is plasticy, but everything. Its way harder to work on too, it took 15 minutes per side to change the front shocks on the w126, I wanted to change them on this car so I bought a set, and now Im considering trying to sell them because I can't even figure out how to change them. I live in California so I wasn't too concerned about rust, but the w210 is actually pretty dangerous if you get a rusty one, people have been having major suspension failures from rust. I bought it cause i wanted a diesel mercedes that had working AC, but the w126 was a much better made car.
That's an ebay store that fixes those torepedo fuse issues. $12 for a bunch of them. Bought em for my w116, w123, and w126. Fixed lots of issues.
In reply to G_Body_Man:
I really don't know why you are so stuck on the W210. They are arguably the worst E-class Mercedes ever made, parts are extremely expensive, they are quite literally designed to be difficult to DIY, and they feel much cheaper than their price tag would indicate. A BMW E39 would be a better car in literally every single way; cheaper parts, easier to work on, and they don't have the same psychotic rust problems.
FWIW, this was a shock tower once.
pointofdeparture wrote:
In reply to G_Body_Man:
I really don't know why you are so stuck on the W210. They are arguably the worst E-class Mercedes ever made, parts are extremely expensive, they are quite literally designed to be difficult to DIY, and they feel much cheaper than their price tag would indicate. A BMW E39 would be a better car in literally every single way; cheaper parts, easier to work on, and they don't have the same psychotic rust problems.
FWIW, this was a shock tower once.
Because an E39 525i is $2k more than a W210, and has less room inside? Because of limited supply in the Okanagan and the Canadian dollar being the lowest since the Clinton administration, a W210 is $5000, which is about as far as I can stretch to before tax (12%). Since all Lexuses out here are either clapped out or drift pigs, my only other choice is the A6. I'm not buying a C5 A6 because they are even worse reliability wise than the W210.
