Welcome to my automotive channel, i'm very excited to bring you car reviews and test drives of different car brands.
A channel where car enthusiasts and petrol heads will feel at home.
Whether you want to buy a small city car, SUV, sportscar, luxury midsize sedan, a huge truck or anything in between, you're at the right address for a full guide to help you on the way.
Often we get burried in the sea of options when choosing our next car. This channel will help you choose the options that you definetely need or want within your budget.
I will do car reviews, roadtests and give tips on wether or not to buy a certain car.
KEY NOT RECOGNISED: About the key, I’ve had it not be recognised by the car. I had two keys actually have the same issue, only found out the second when I went to use it when the first wasn’t working. The fix in my two keys was the wire which is part of the induction coils to power the key fob had broken. A very simple fix; using a soldering iron, remove the insulation of the broken wire by tinning it (have solder wick the wire) and resolder it back to the terminal. You can get new coils but this wasn’t necessary in my two keys. A simple but slightly fiddly fix. I dropped a few windings of the coil when doing this repair but no issues, the power still inducts, powering the key up. If you’re not sure if this is the issue or not, you can buy a key receptacle tester which powers leds to test but my advice is to dismantle the key and check for a loose coil. The loose coil allows the wire to work harden through prolonged vibration and causes the wire to break eventually. Remember to secure the coil back to the circuit board to prevent the failure again. I hope this helps and is not isolated to the car, but all this style of key fobs which use induction to power the key to communicate with the car. If it doesn’t use a physical metal key then worth checking on this. Got me out of a jam after my 1 year old dropped my keys at the mall, and wasn’t able to start the car to get home. Got to ride the bus with him which was a fun time for us together all the same!
The mechanic gets bolts on and off mechanic technicians are the ones that don’t let bolts out 😅 real ones write down torque on removal and get them number and clean and ready to put them in the same location at the correct torque . Never work tired or sleep 😴 😅
As someone with experience with both the W212 and the W211, I have to say that the W212 is a good car, but the W211 is a BETTER car. The W211 may get a bad reputation for a few “bugs” early in production, but it has proved to be the last “proper” E Class with the build quality, attention to detail, drivetrains and reliability that older Mercedes were known for. The W212 is a much cheaper feeling car, both in ride, build quality and material quality… but I would say is about equal to the W211 in terms of reliability. I just can’t see the W212 holding up as well as the W211 has over the years. I already see tons of W212’s with torn seats, horribly faded wood and very worn interior buttons… at low mileage. They also had the dangerous subframe issue which had to be recalled. This began when these cars were only a few years old. In addition to that, the interior has far too many hard plastics. Overall nothing about the interior resembles a traditional Mercedes, but rather a far lower class of car. Obviously MB realized this because the W213 has a beautiful interior in comparison. The W211 is becoming a classic, and immaculate examples are valuable in certain drivetrain configurations. I can’t see the W212 EVER becoming sought after. They’re decent “workhorse” cars, but not impressive in any way. They’re very generic in nearly every way, resembling any modern cheap Asian or American car. The W211 drives better, is far better looking, is just as reliable, is just as comfortable, has better build quality, better attention to detail, arguably better drivetrains, has better road feel, has far better interior material quality and has better ride quality. Some of this is subjective, but I’ve personally heard many people make the same judgements. The W211 can be a “lifetime” car if properly maintained. They’re meant to be serviced for a very long time. Some of that was taken away with the W212, and I cannot see them physically holding up as well. The only variable making the W212 more reliable as of right now, is the fact that they’re newer cars. A W212 makes a good disposable “beater” car that you’d park wherever because they’ll be near worthless eventually. A nice W211 belongs in a garage to be preserved and protected while not in use, and to ensure it remains in excellent condition. Its timelessness means that it will still be a relevant car many years from now, when all of the W212’s have rotted away.
Sat in the new BMW i5 recently, was very surprised the material quality inside was poor apart from the Tech. as compared to this W212 E-class. W212 is definitely a solid Mercedes inside and out, as well will last for very long time so therefore is environmentally sustainable in some sense.
I feel the W212 interior quality is definitely inferior to the W211, which is a whole class above the W212 in my opinion. The W212 overall looks/feels like a much cheaper class of car than it should, especially compared to outgoing generations. While the W211 is elegant, beautiful, understated, very well built, luxurious, etc… the W212 doesn’t even feel or look like a luxury car. The material quality is not great either. I see many of them with ripped seats (always in the same place,) horribly faded wood trim, extremely worn steering wheel controls, etc. These cars are nowhere near old enough to have these issues. The W212, unfortunately, reminds me of any cheap Asian or American car on the market. They drive alright and are comfortable, but still far inferior to the W211. I’ve found them to lack road feel, even though the suspension is harsher than in the W211. While the W212 has higher build quality than its successors, the W211 was better... and was the last proper E class with the traditional Mercedes quality, feel and values. They did have some “bugs” in the first 1-2 model years, but they turned out to be incredibly reliable cars. There are still plenty in Europe as taxis with incredibly high mileage, accomplished with just regular maintenance. The W212 isn’t old enough to make proper longevity/durability comparisons.
My Father has the first of the W212 Series (59 plate here in the UK). He has owned it for 11 years (the longest he’s has ever kept a car by a long way), because he simply loves it! Reliability is fantastic if you service them on time, and it’s such an economical car on diesel - we’ve seen it return 57mpg on long runs. Dad is soon to upgrade the car, and I’m going to buy it off him to keep in the family. It has covered almost 200,000 miles and is still like new inside. There’s no fading on any of the interior buttons, the leather seats still look fantastic, and the wood trim is as good as new. Also, there are no rattles or squeaks at all. Impressive! Just recently the drivers heated seat has stopped working which seems to be a common fault, and it’s currently having the turbo reconditioned. They seem like they were built to last. Oh, I forgot to say Mercedes Benz recently paid for a whole new rear subframe as there’s a real problem across many models of the rear subframe rotting. Fantastic cars and I can’t wait to keep it running for many more years to come. It still makes us smile.
Great review buddy. I’m picking up a 2015 this week God willing. Here in Ireland the diesel prices are gone up again but the e220 cdi is quite economical.
How much is diesel in Ireland, i have a E350 facelift amg sport, if i drive carefully around town and a bit dual carriage way i get 90 miles for £20, diesel here in the UK is £1.53 ltr
Mine is getting built at the moment. I really flirted with this colour but wasn't brave enough. Went with a safer Phytonic blue in the end with Oyster interior.
