I have a 2005 E500 4Matic. I inherited it from my mother who had had it since delivery. It is one of the greatest cars Mercedes-Benz has ever made, and I say this as someone who owns other Mercedes and a Volkswagen.
I believe it! The W211 is still one of my favourite Mercs ever made, and one that I'd still like to be able to own. I see plenty of them on the road, and they still look modern today. One of the few cars that has aged well in the luxury category.
Glad to hear it! I really enjoyed driving this E500, it reminded me of what I could have had with the wagon. From what I remember though, the wagon had a few issues and the steering was much heavier. The owner of this E500 lucked out, buying a really well maintained car and being able to do some minor work to it himself.
Just purchased an 2007 E350 (sport package) in the same color 100,000 miles I’m in love. Smooth ride. Great power. Classic look. Still turns heads when it pulls up. Got it for $5000
E500 W211's are so common around here, and there are a ton of them for sale. They're around the $3k-6k range, but at 6k, it better be a like new, low mileage example. You can find clean ones for $4500 all day. Great value for the money.
Thank you! We really do try to produce the best content we can with our limited staff and budget. Hoping to continue to provide much more down the road! We feel we've gotten a hell of a lot better in our format and production even since this video.
So very true for the rear wheel drive. However I have a 2005 E500 W211 with 4Matic and 4Matics were made in Graz Austria at the Magna Steyr plant. It is a subsidiary of Canadian-based Magna International
Even by today's standards this E-Class is very well equipped. Ideally I'd go for a later model W211 with factory nav and about as optioned as it can get.
Very nice color combo on this one. Even the darker wood trim, while not my favorite, fits this interior very well, giving a nice contrast to the blue. The owner who spec'ed this car was very happy with such combination.
Must have been! Don’t see many of this colour on the road. The interior we might pass on for ourselves, but the paint is definitely something we’d drive.
Very nice, congrats! We love the W211, it's aged incredibly well especially if you compare it with the same era Audi A6, has plenty of modern features, and isn't overly expensive to maintain if you know what you're doing. I know we often say it about the cars we feature, but we would love to add one of these to our garage too.
I have a 2004 e500 pearl white and I love it! I see many other w211 chassis Mercedes on the road here, but most of them are 320's and 350's. The E500 is rare in my neck of the woods, as are the e55 and the e63. Every 40k-60k miles the maintenance schedule gets a little intense, but it rides like a dream, and it's pretty darn fast too!
These are still some of our absolute favourite Mercedes models. The W211 might not be a head turner, but it's smooth power and ride is second to none for the price. Enjoy yours!
I would love an E55 and the amazing reliability of that engine along with the 5-speed Auto are well-known but I was wondering how much money I would save if I just went with the e500? the dollars and cents are pretty obvious as far as not having the special AMG bits and brakes but I'd really love to know if this 500 drivetrain is as bulletproof reliable as they say that 55 drivetrain is?
@@chadfoust6942 I have seen e55's going for anywhere from twice to four times what I paid for my e500 and up. The 55 is a little costlier on the maintenance, but I wouldn't say either vehicle is inexpensive in that regard. If you prefer to do your own maintenance both are affordable. As for the 5 speed transmission, I would prefer that over the 7 speed in the 500. If you have problems with the valve body/conductor plate on the 5 speed, it's relatively easy to replace them yourself, and do maintenance as well. The 7 speed is a little trickier since Mercedes to this day considers the conductor plate to be proprietary technology and will not sell them to the public. They will only sell them to dealerships and certain mechanics. The 500 is fitted with an m113 v8, also a tried and true bomb proof engine.
Glad you think so, thanks! We've looked back on this episode recently and realize we can do so much better, especially from a technical perspective. We're hoping we can feature the W211 again, we've got a friend out here with an E 500, so we'll see!
The W211 is the right mix of modern design & affordable luxury. It's still a car I'd buy today, although not with the blue interior. The paint though, I wish I bought the E 500 wagon in the same colour.
Are there any common problems with this generation? I really love the styling of the car but Scotty Kilmer had portrayed Mercedes-Benz as endless money pits. So really want this but afraid of repairing. Thank you
吴一博 My mother owned a W220 Aquamarine Metallic S500, very uniquely specced and you almost never saw them in this color, ever. which she bought new in 2000 and was inherited to me after she passed away. I have had it for nearly three years now, and while it has been way more expensive to repair than a comparable Accord or Camry, the sheer level of luxury and smoothness certainly pay for that. Most of the stuff I have replaced are normal-wear things like hoses and the like. However, the more expensive repairs have been reaaally expensive, namely the ABC and the front Airmatic suspension, which I did at the dealer. If you are good at DIY repairs, they will be less expensive and the whole cost of the car is going to be quite low compared to if you maintain it at the dealership (I don’t have any mechanical experience whatsoever) and you should look at how the one you are buying has been taken care of. If you are looking for a W211, the most reliable ones are this E500 and the E320, so definitely go for one of those, you are not going to be disappointed.
W211 E class is a very nice car! Its the first Mercedes I sit, I’m very impressed by the ride quality of it although I’m not a Mercedes fan( My dad borrowed from his friend for a few days while waiting for his e60 to be delivered to my home years ago ).
The W211 is also a pretty solid car from a reliability perspective. We've heard from a lot of owners who hadn't experienced any major problems with theirs. We'd love to line up an episode of TestDrive Showdown comparing a W211 E 500 and E60 540i.
The lower signal stalk seems to be the style of those year models. Had a 07 W203 6sp, and it had the same thing. It was fairly gutless and had to have the balance shaft changed which was notorious for those cars.
One more thing addressing the indicator switch, its exactly the same in every Mercedes Benz car or van to this say, same location same functionality, heck even Teslas have the same one! This is done so when you buy I new Mercedes you don't have to adapt to it, for example my W639 VITO 115 cdi has the same switch and wheal commands as my w211 e220cdi, this helps me a lot since I don't have to think how to operate one or another, just sit and drive
I really appreciate that, thanks! I'm hoping to get more classic cars like this featured, I'd love to revisit the W211 and do a more modern episode on it. This one suffers from really bad audio.
PRN_TestDrive Your most welcome! I have a MERCEDES-BENZ collection in the US and SRI Lanka, and few other European cars, its so cool you inspire me to get other models that I dont have the room for at home lol, but Im about to open a Eropean used car sales business in a few months ,its a pasion you know. looking forward to every episode, cheers!😊
Congrats on 1K subs!!! And great review as always. I've only been in W210 E class, it's was a friend's E430 w/AMG package. Very quality car. He got rid of it for $2k. By the way, any luck locating your E38 750 yet?
Thank you! We're really happy to have hit this milestone and are looking forward to the future! I was very close to buying a W210 wagon before the E38, but the two that had been for sale didn't show as well as they did in the photos. I'd still like to get my hands on one for this channel though. We're hoping to film a very special E38 V12 later this season, the owner is up north so we're coordinating a time when we can make that video happen. There are also a few people in this area with 750iLs in storage, so we're hoping to feature at least one of them come spring!
LS400 also lights up the section of the door that is opened up. You should review 98+ LS400 and 2004+ LS430. Exceptional cars. I generally prefer European cars but the LS is an exception. It's the top of the storied Toyota system.
We'd love to get some Lexus models on here, it's a little harder than finding the Mercs or BMWs though since most 20 year old LS models are still driven by their first owners!
Confirmation!.. I got an 04 Audi A4 turbo great car its quick and handles well and I have 0 issues but I'm looking to upgrade and it's between an 04 Mercedes E500 and an 06 BMW 5 series but after this review I'm def going with my guy instincts the Benz fir the win!
That it was! I remember first seeing it there. Mercedes was always smart with Hollywood marketing, the first M-Class SUV made it's debut in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, I still remember the cool factor of those when that came out.
People dont understand how regular mercedes sedans' have dynamic stearing assistance, depends on your speed and drive mode you selected, very nice feature, when you go slow you wheal is light meanwhile when you go fast it gets stiff and more direct!
It's funny... Testers almost always quip about the placement of the turn signal/cruise control stalks, but as the owner of a W211, I think Mercedes got the placement right, and everyone else's are too high. With your hands placed at 9 & 3 as they should be, the turn signal stalk falls right to hand while the cruise is a slight--but not inconvenient--reach.
One of the reasons why we'd like to revisit the W211, I forget how the stocks were, and after driving a considerable amount of cars since filming this I wonder if I'll feel differently about it.
I am looking at E500 2004 Sport Package with Nav. 169k miles. moderate maintance done. It is going to 7800. Beautiful Silver on Black. This one has the subdued emblem. I wonder what the difference is. I see the owner put on after market exhaust. The current owner replaced axles, and motor mounts which makes me wonder how hard the car was driven and what I need to look for. Love some feed back on that
Definitely have it looked at by a trusted mechanic first. It's possible the engine mounts needed to be done due to regular wear and tear, same with the axle if the roads aren't ideal in the market you're in. Having it looked at first is key though.
Air ride is known to fail with high mileage. Best to convert to a spring set up like from StrutMasters for around $1500. Also the transformers in the instrument cluster can fail too and you lose the back lighting. Can be sent out for repair for around $200. Not sure with the V8s though some V6s can have head gasket issues. The E55 AMG and some E63 AMG models are pretty affordable, though the E63 are known for more issues vs the E55.
Good to know, thanks! This was the last video we published before doing mini buyer's guides during the third segment of the episode. We briefly touched on it with this one, and we got a lot of positive feedback to continue with that.
Nice! The air suspension can be a problem, a leak in the system should be diagnosable using some smoke/steam to pinpoint where the leak is coming from. Hopefully it's a relatively minor issue and not a complete AirMatic overhaul.
I'd love to find one! Most of the W210s are rusted out, and I haven't seen any W211s around, but with Spring coming I'm hoping to meet some new enthusiasts and work out some great new content!
Thank you for this walk trough. Thinking of getting an 4matic S211, S212 or even a C-Class W204. Of Course i Need the extra bootspace of a Station wagon. What do you think?
We really like the station wagons from Mercedes. You'll get mixed opinions about either models, but we've heard great things from owners about the W211s in terms of reliability. The W204 is a bit hit or miss, most of them we see for sale around here are in rough shape, especially the wagons. If you're in a market like Europe with more of them, you might be able to find more in good shape than we do over here.
For some reason I like the interior design of this one to the 2011 model... but with Chrysler being part of Daimler AG for this run, I heard these have electrical issues. Is this a reliable year?
2011? By 2007 Chrysler was sold off, but the cost cutting issues were felt throughout the Mercedes lineup. If you're looking at a 2011 E-Class it would be the next generation, the W212. We haven't had a chance to feature one of those yet unfortunately, so we don't have much info on it to go on.
Do you know what this paint code or name is? I’m looking at a 2004 E55 with 100k miles with this same color. Still trying to think about what cosmetic mods go good with baby blue because I prefer a blacked out look on my cars
Very nice! These are still some of our absolute favourite cars to buy, they're inexpensive, and the repairs don't have to get crazy if you know what you're doing.
One question if somebody can answer please I have a sport body it seems like of the E500 Sedan but when I turn the button on to turn my radio it reads amg? I’m not that big of a car dude I just am only 16 I just got the car and my dad passed it onto me if somebody can just let me know please thanks!
If it's got a navigation screen it's possible someone coded the welcome logo for the AMG one instead of the standard Mercedes-Benz one. Those navigation computers have a bunch of different logos built-in but need special software/hardware to change them so I imagine that's what someone did.
Suspect the Benz is a tad quicker than the 740i so I'd probably go for the e500...but then I've had an '06 e55 for some years now so I'm probably a tad biased. Only 27k miles so I intend to keep it for a while yet...
@PRN_TestDrive I am a 21-year-old college student looking to buy my first car right now. I found this 2005 e500 with 96k miles on it for 5.5k. It looks like a great deal. But, as an inexperienced car buyer, can you tell me what to look out for when inspecting it?
Those are definitely the two main areas of concern for these cars. When I was shopping for one I found that the ESP/traction controller also affects whether cruise control works or not, so make sure all those systems are working properly. I always recommend having the car checked by a trusted mechanic as well, and as much service history on the vehicle as possible. These E-Classes are still really good buys, with decent overall reliability and a modern look to them. Sounds like the one you found has a good low mileage motor and a decent price!
@@PRNTestDrive Yes, indeed it does have a great price. The car fax shows a couple of routine maintenance, so we're green there. The only thing I am missing is a mechanic to inspect it for me. I hope I can buy it this week and if I do, I'll send you a message. Thanks Sir! Your video has motivated me to buy this as my first car (pending the dealership transaction lol).
I’ve got the opportunity to buy one of these for 3k with collapsed left air suspension. Everything else works. Is it worth it? Could I replace the suspension with coil overs to make it cheaper or nah?
You could, you'll lose out on the ride quality though. If it's just one corner you might be able to get it fixed for about $1,200, but I've also heard that it's better to replace all 4 corners at the same time. Once you do it though it should last a while. Maybe beat the price up a little more, unless it's a really low mileage vehicle or an E 500 you should be able to spend less.
I was looking through the comments and ran across yours they question you had about coilovers for the E500 I'm getting ready to do a conversion kit on mine yes it would make the car ten times more dependable the air suspension is pretty much the only thing you have to worry about on the car besides basic maintenance
I have a Mercedes E 270 Cdi (oil burner) same colour tealite blue. Those V8's are nice,but at $6.5 Dollars a gallon in the U.K. You can't really drive them much. Good motor though.
That's crazy expensive! I thought fuel costs were high out here, they're up at least 30% since the start of 2017. We're hoping to be able to feature more diesels here, we've got one new one booked but they aren't as common in Canada as Europe.
Hey what kind of gas mileage do you get on this? Thinking of switching from my e70 4.8l v8, but looking for something a little more fuel efficient. I’m currently getting about 18-20L/100km.
I've heard the same thing actually, and while it certainly can be true that the first few years of the W211 were problematic, it still comes down to the individual car. The owner of this 2004 E500 has been very happy with it's reliability. It always comes down to looking at the specific car you're interested in and seeing it's overall condition.
Thanks for the response! I'm torn between the E500 wagon or the 750iL...both are hard to find and harder to find in decent shape. Love the videos keep up the work!!!!
Sounds like you're in the same position I was almost 2 years ago. Both are fantastic machines, and both equally rare in my opinion. Finding either one is definitely going to be the difficult task. Good luck, I envy you! Wish we could add either/both to our garage!
It's funny because in spring 2016 I was in the same situation as Nile. I could not decide, so I made a coin toss and it turned out to be a W211 E240 instead of an E38 735i. Although I love my Merc, I still don't know, which would have been the best choice. :D Btw, cool channel ;)
An E240 would be pretty neat to review! Too bad they never sold them over here. The W211 is a great car, we still think about it ofter. Just watched Men in Black II again and remembered that Mercedes used that movie to show off a pre-production version of it. Looks fantastic in black!
If you find a well maintained, you'll love it. But in Europe (where I live) the most dangerous enemy of the premium cars is the owner. So it is tricky to own one... Btw I have a black one ;)
It should, blow air from the front dashboard vents, I believe they're connected through the doors to the dashboard that way. On the BMW side they have a diagram in the owners manual for the airflow of all the vents, I'd have to check to see if Mercedes-Benz published the same type of information.
Price sounds high for the mileage, depending on your market though. People seem to want more for these cars now than they did about 5 years ago, but the market for them hasn't really changed much. If that were an E 500 then the price might be a little more reasonable, but for the smaller engine I'd say it's not worth the price.
Cant quit watching yo'r BenzVids - cant get enough!good job!enjoy your german version named fünfkommasechs?in my opinion the very best expert all around and with daimler stuff we got!guess you'll know them/him and if not = enjoy!some vids were in english,but not for sure....
We'll check it out! We've had the chance to feature quite a few older Mercedes models over the years, the MB community in the Toronto area was superb with us, and we had a lot of great opportunities to film some fantastic cars.
One thing I like about the 7 series vs the S class is that they stayed away from the self leveling suspension and stayed with a common struts and shocks set up. More reliable and affordable to replace. Not all E classes had the self leveling.
The owner of this paid around $2,500 with issues he was able to fix relatively easily. Around here they go for anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000 depending on maintenance, condition, and mileage.
Love this car and am a diehard Mercedes fan, but the blue is horrendous and hasn't aged well either. Also whoever owns that car needs to do it justice by cleaning the interior every once and a while.
Hi Nile I’ve been trying to buy a E500 for 3- years but folks here in California will Haggle it up as if it was the end of the world 🌎 Still haven’t figured them out here yet But I’ll be buying hopefully a E500 in a Month Now it’s 150,000 on it and it’s Gray the interior is in bad shape and No Catalytic C I plan on it being a 1 year long or 2 project for me and my Grandson Now like you I am Extremely Meticulous Clean when it comes to Any Vehicle I drive But Benz I’ve Love for 53 Years My Question is is it worth it to Restore it to almost if not BRAND NEW USED CONDITION ??? I really want to start from the Headlights front All The way to the Back lights and Everything underneath inside on Top😉 And I HAVE TO GET IT PAINTED THE BEAUTIFUL BLUE YOU TEST DROVE Theirs No Color like that Now it’s Gray☹️ and the interior is really bad as far as the seats But I’m Expecting it to Cost but if the job gets to out of control for me and my Grandson Then I’ll have no choice but to pay a Top Restoration guy or woman to Do their Magic What DO YOU THINK ?? Hopefully you’ll let me know
Only you can be the one to truly decide if the project is worth restoring to that level. Personally I think this E-Class is one of the best deals you can buy on an older Mercedes that still feels modern enough. Hopefully you can find a good one to work with and go from there. I'd say any would be worth going all out with and making sure it's in pristine shape. Well worth it since these will only continue to grow in value and desirability.
Thanks Brother Nile Very Much Appreciate your Advice👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾 AND WILL BE FOLLOWING YOUR CHANNEL FOR A LONG TIME AND WILL URGE MY SONS TO AS WELL BECAUSE THEY DRIVE 2018 E SERIES AS WELL interesting I Support them All through Life even at times when they were in their 20s But Now in their 30s and 40s You’d Expect them to by ya a Benz of your Choice 🤔Hmm 🤣😂 But Thanks For Responding 🤝
It definitely is a good price! As long as the maintenance records are there, and you can have it inspected by a professional who knows what to look for. We always recommend that as the bare minimum when looking at a used luxury car like the W211.
Thanks! The W211 has definitely aged well, despite being able to blend in with the traffic where as the E38 still stands out in the crowd. Every time I see a W211 I think about what the past 16 months could have been like if I had picked that over the E38.
It's mostly engine related, either the V6 with the E 350 and the V8 for the E 500. During this era of Mercedes, you could normally get all the same features in the smaller engine without having to go up to the bigger one, so theoretically you should be able to find all the options you want on either model.
It'll definitely have more power, but the V8s can be more costly down the road, in terms of repairs and fuel costs. The V8 engines at least require two spark plugs per cylinder, so you're paying for it when it comes time to replace those over the V6.
Agreed, the E38 has a uniqueness to it, one of the reasons I wanted it. The W211 is a great car, but can easily blend in with the rest of the traffic. That's why I was only looking at wagons before, both for practicality but also they're a rare sight here in Ontario.
Would I ever go to an E38 from a W210 or W211? NEIN! Granted, I'm biased. Having owned an E39 540i for several years before I went to a W210 E55 AMG, and then a W211 E55 AMG, I'm a little biased. But the maintenance issues I've had with the Mercs have been peanuts compared to the headaches my two previous BMWs gave me (E36 M3, E39 540i). I was able to put many more miles per maintenance dollar into the Mercs than the BMWs. And the Mercs make better Autobahn cruisers - which is the primary role I press the car into. The W211 E55 AMG is the ultimate Los Angeles commute car. The E500 is slightly less "ultimate" but a lot more efficient, and would probably have saved me thousands in gas costs... either way, you can't go wrong. An E38 is destined to be a real classic, and the interior quality is comparable to the W211, and better than the W210. At the end of the day, the real question is - what would, to use PRN's phrase, "bring more joy to your face"? Whatever tickles you more will be the more fulfilling car for you at the end of the day.
Also well said! It all comes down to the maintenance of the car itself. I know people who've had no end of problems with certain cars, and other's have been reliable. Our E38 is surprisingly reliable whereas everyone told us not to buy it. Either way, we'd be happy with any of these cars, and even happier with all of them!
W211 has excellent value for money if you look for an everyday vehicle. I would go for the facelifted version though, they fixed all the prior problems of electronics and suspension. As engine choice I would stick with the 4cylinder gasoline versions or the E320/350 6 cylinder. The E500 is guzzling too much for what it delviers.