W210
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A little worse for wear, but it's nice to see a Mercedes that isn't black or silver. -
The Germans must have been feeling a little British in the 2000s when they bought all the British manufacturers.
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Pre-facelift car with sport package and xenons, not common.
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@fintail In retrospect with these, it seems so weird to have xenon projectors in combination with the "scatter" lenses.
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@dieseldub said in W210:
@fintail In retrospect with these, it seems so weird to have xenon projectors in combination with the "scatter" lenses.
These actually weren't projector style, IIRC bi-xenon were never available on W210. They are a conventional style xenon bulb with a traditional lens. I had a final run (build date October 01) E55 AMG, which had xenons like this. The easy way to tell a xenon W210 is the headlight cleaner "door" between the lights, at bottom. Non-projector xenons could also be had on W202 C-class and W140 S-class, distinguished by headlight wipers.
Zooming in, I see this car also has parktronic - really rare on a 210, too. This was a loaded car when new, and someone paid up for it. Nearly 25 years later, time has taken some toll, but it appears to still be moving along.
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@fintail Right on. Could never see through the flutes to tell if there was a projector or not--making assumptions again. How does that saying go? ASSUME makes an ASS out of U and ME? Something like that, anyway
I did like the W210's looks when it first came out. Probably helped they had the CLK-GTR Le Mans racer as well with the same basic grille and headlights.
When they modernized it a bit more with the W211, I liked that look even better. That and every time I've sat in a W211, it's one of those rare cars where the reach of the controls, the head room and seat comfort just makes me go "This is right."
Someday I should get my hands on a W211 E320 CDI.
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@dieseldub There is something that may throw people off - aftermarket projector housings for 210s. They've been around for at least 10 years. However, I am virtually certain projectors were never on a 210 from the factory. Same for 202s and 140s, aftermarket exists. And then to be tricky, R129s of the same era could be had with factory projectors, and these don't appear to be an extremely rare option.
I had my 210 for several years, it was a good car. The 4 light design is classic, and they are good ergonomically, as you mention. They do have some quirks - rust in harsh climates, maybe not all interior materials were the best, but they aren't as bad as many seem to think. I took liked it at launch, it had the look, very "new" for the 90s.
A good friend of mine has a 211 Bluetec - he loves it. Unusual fairly loaded car (pano, lighting, etc).
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@fintail I forget if this was an E320 or E420 - I want to say it was an E420. Regardless, I don't see many W210s around. Cosmetically, I don't think it would take a lot (besides paint) for it to clean-up. I also can't say that I've seen a lot of Mercedes with failing clear coat.
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@boxer_4 If it was E420, I think it would be 1997 only. For this car, E430 would be 98-99 (IIRC no USDM V8 E-class for MY 1996). If it is E320, it's a 96-99. Given the option load, I bet it was a V8 car.
Are you in a southern area where paint can fail? I never see that on local MBs in the PNW, for obvious reasons.
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<--- 97 E300 owner here. That's the diesel nerds W210. Was $40k new. I paid $2k for it with 175k miles. I heard it was worse on the diesels-and on the left side- But the spring perchs rot off. ( Hans didn;t use enough seam sealer over the 4 spot welds!) I'm on the shoreline in Ct. There are tons of them around here . Getting pretty rust though. I've had to do the rockers + fender bottoms on mine.
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@fintail I'm pretty sure it was an E420. I'm in southern PA, usually the cars with failing paint are the ones that are predisposed to it - '00s Hondas and Mitsubishis come to mind.
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@sdwarf36 I suspect that's the case for many of them in your area, rough. But if you love the car, you deal with it. I heard about spring perch rust in 202s and 210s 15+ years ago - didn't seem to take them long.
This is my old E55, I bought it as a low mileage car, rare color (tectite grey) and uncommon options (COMAND, ventilated seats), still gives me a feeling of seller's remorse now and then:
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@boxer_4 Yeah even here it seems many black Hondas from maybe 1998 into the 00s will have clearcoat fail. Maybe transplants.
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@fintail Honda had bad paint for years with their blues and blacks (and maybe others) to the point of issuing service bulletins.
