1995 Mercedes E320 Yes or No?
- Thread starter Flyn
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Jimbo1221 said:
Thanks for the quick response. I was going to look at it today but no one was available to show it to me. I'm going in for shoulder surgery Monday so I'll have to look at it Tues. or Wed. Your post makes me feel much more comfortable about buying the car. The mileage doesn't scare you away?
Flyn high again said:
Nope. Your most common issue may be a leaking headgasket, but other than that, you will be a-ok. If you ever need a hand or need to have something done, let me know. My co-worker Jim, has a 1992 E-class with 192,XXX on it, and just replaced the headgasket on thursday (his daughters car). And his wife has a 1994 E-class with 120,XXX on it. His kid, Jimbo, has a 1990 (I'm pretty sure) and it has GOBS of miles, and it still is truckin', regardless of how many objects he has hit.
Amy and I went out to look at it. Luckily someone was still at the office where it is parked and gave us the key. Key worked on the door but wouldn't turn in the ignition. Jim or anybody know why that would occur? 2 keys? Battery? Hidden button? The power seats did work so there is some juice in the battery. Also, the guy who was at the office thought the car was a diesel but it is an E320. I thought diesels were E300s?
Overall the car isn't bad. It has 2 small dents above the back bumper, 2 dime size surface rust spots on the passenger door, rust around the broken power antenna and the radio is missing. Armrest has some leather worn off. Otherwise, the body seems OK. Good interior. Good tires. It has current license plates but was covered with bird crap so it's been sitting for a while, probably while the estate has been settled.
I'm going to ask my friend to get the car started. Amy just talked to him and he says there may be a 2nd key because he started the car already. If/when it starts, I'll take it to my mechanic to get it checked out. I bet it'll look pretty good once it's cleaned up. Love that Mercedes hood ornament.
imp:
Overall the car isn't bad. It has 2 small dents above the back bumper, 2 dime size surface rust spots on the passenger door, rust around the broken power antenna and the radio is missing. Armrest has some leather worn off. Otherwise, the body seems OK. Good interior. Good tires. It has current license plates but was covered with bird crap so it's been sitting for a while, probably while the estate has been settled.
I'm going to ask my friend to get the car started. Amy just talked to him and he says there may be a 2nd key because he started the car already. If/when it starts, I'll take it to my mechanic to get it checked out. I bet it'll look pretty good once it's cleaned up. Love that Mercedes hood ornament.
imp:
If the seats move while the key is in there, then you are receiving power, but no start. Probably at one point or another the ignition cylinder was replaced, or the key itself is just too worn out for the ignition cylinder. If you want to shoot me the VIN, when I get to work on Monday, I can go ahead and run a report and see exactly what the car has had done to it under warranty. That E320 should be a 3.2 litre gas engine, not diesel. I would do your own body repair for the rust, just to contain it, it is a large problem with the benz brand, but I could even get you an idea on how much the door would be. Antenna and radio missing...along with the car won't start, kind of seems weird to me. Radio - go straight to after market, and get an antenna (Sirius satellite), because those antennas ALWAYS break.
Jimbo1221 said:
The key I had was in bad shape. The top was falling apart. There may be a better 2nd key. I'll find out Monday. The guy who was at the office didn't know anything about the car. I don't know if the Benzes had electronic keys in '95 or what's up with it but my friend says he has started the car. He wouldn't BS me. I'll post an update when I find out. Next time I see the car, I'll grab the VIN and PM it to you. Thanks, that's very helpful!
I don't know where the radio went but the antenna looks like somebody walked by and bent it until it broke. Since the car's been sitting in a parking lot next to a main road for a while, that could have happened at any time. I won't buy the car unless it gets a clean bill of health from the mechanic I use.
If I buy the car, I'll touch up the surface rust myself and see how bad the rust around the antenna is. Maybe I'll fix it, maybe I won't. Depends how extensive it is. Wish these manufacturers would seal the antenna holes better. The same area around the antenna on my '92 Mustang was also rusting when I sold it.
My parents have always owned Mercedes and my neighbor has two very old ones with lots of miles.
My neighbor has two E320's and my parents recently had an E320, 190E and still have a C320.
They're basically solid cars, but will develop a few issues.
The 190E had the 2.2 liter engine and had valve seat problems at around 75K miles. It needed a complete valve job.
Both E320's and the C320 have the 3.2 liter engine. All three engines had their tensioner pulley fragment into little bits. If you buy the E320, keep an eye on it.
My neighbor's E320 has about 150K miles on it and it blew both head gaskets. Apparently it's a huge job to change these. Not exactly sure what happened, but the engine needed a complete rebuild after that.
If that car has 160K miles on it, there's a good chance that any issues like this have already been worked through. As for the key problem, all Mercedes of that year seem to develop the problem. On my parents cars, the trick was to not stick the key in all the way, then it will turn after jiggling it a bit. Worked that way for years and never really got any worse.
My neighbor has two E320's and my parents recently had an E320, 190E and still have a C320.
They're basically solid cars, but will develop a few issues.
The 190E had the 2.2 liter engine and had valve seat problems at around 75K miles. It needed a complete valve job.
Both E320's and the C320 have the 3.2 liter engine. All three engines had their tensioner pulley fragment into little bits. If you buy the E320, keep an eye on it.
My neighbor's E320 has about 150K miles on it and it blew both head gaskets. Apparently it's a huge job to change these. Not exactly sure what happened, but the engine needed a complete rebuild after that.
If that car has 160K miles on it, there's a good chance that any issues like this have already been worked through. As for the key problem, all Mercedes of that year seem to develop the problem. On my parents cars, the trick was to not stick the key in all the way, then it will turn after jiggling it a bit. Worked that way for years and never really got any worse.
MGT2002 said:
Do you have any more info on this? Blue book is in the $3,000s on this year so I'm wondering why it's going for $1800. If it's in good shape, I'd like to take a look at it. Can the guy e-mail pics? [email protected]
Thanks!
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