BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose

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Sat 17 Oct 2015 17:27
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - Steveieb

Having written off my BMW 530 D Manual I am now trying to decide which of the above to choose.

The 2002Touring 525 D has 150K and is going for £2250 and is one owner with a full independent service record.

The 07 Mercedes is the Estate Avantgarde with 125 K and all the extras including crushed leather seats sunroof etc. and is estimated at £6K by the person selling it. It has full MB service record and new MOT and four new Conti Tyres.

Grateful your views.

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Sun 18 Oct 2015 10:39
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - gordonbennet

If the Merc is a facelift W211, and an 07 should be, but check carefully, then its as good a car as Benz have made for many a year, pre facelift not the best for its SBS brakes alone plus good rustproofing.

Have you got a good MB indy who might be prepared to give it the once over for you prior to purchase, these hide their miles well but if well maintained will easily see over 400k miles.

Make sure its had at least one gearbox oil change, probably done at 60k so maybe due for another? not cheap but needs to be done.

Its on Conti tyres which does inspire confidence that the previous owner might have cared similarly for the unseen parts.

Edited by gordonbennet on 18/10/2015 at 10:40

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Sun 18 Oct 2015 11:21
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - elekie&a/c doctor

The late model 211 e class are generally pretty good.But watch that engine.This will be the v6 variety that suffer with turbo,egr and inlet manifold flap problems.

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Sun 18 Oct 2015 13:29
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - Avant

Time contributes just as much, if not more, to wear and tear as mileage. So if you can afford it, go for the newer car.

If you decide that you prefer a BMW to a Mercedes, there should be plenty of 5-series Tourings of a similar age and price to the Mercedes.

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Sun 18 Oct 2015 17:21
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - Steveieb

Many thanks to you all for the most helpful posts.

I have discounted the BMW after I found it had been fitted with a battery master swich operated from the rear quarter outside panel. Apparently the local indie could not diagnose the battery drain fault so he fitted the battery switch which has to be turned off each time the car is parked.

The Merc sounds a good bet because it has a full MB main dealer service record, recent service and MOT plus four new tyres.

Thanks for pointing out about the need to get a W 211. I'll check . And incidently will this car be fitted with a DPF. The owner says he has not seen any DPF warning lights.

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Mon 19 Oct 2015 15:19
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - Steveieb

Can you let me know how to find out if the car is a W211 model. All I know is that it is 07 Reg

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Mon 19 Oct 2015 16:36
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - RobJP

It will be a W211. No chance of it being anything else.

However, the question is : is it the pre- or post-facelift version. Because they didn't just change the looks a little bit, they re-did a lot of the electronics at the same time. Making the car massively more reliable in the process.

The best way of telling will be to have a look at a few 2005 cars online, and a few 2008 ones. The differences are in the bumper shapes and the headlights especially - note the headlight shape at the top, where the indicator is.

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Mon 19 Oct 2015 18:02
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - elekie&a/c doctor

2007 will be the facelift model.Most of the info is here.You will need to check the Vin # with MB to confirm if it has a dpf .www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/mercedes-benz/e-clas.../

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Mon 19 Oct 2015 20:42
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - Steveieb
Really appreciate all the excellent advice you have shared with me. Your combined knowledge never ceases to amaze me.
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Wed 21 Oct 2015 09:44
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - Steveieb
Would I need to check the vin number with MB customer services ?

Thank goodness it's an updated model registered in April 2007 so you were spot on
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Wed 21 Oct 2015 09:57
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - gordonbennet

Have you had a test drive yet, if you haven't driven one before the acceleration will be an eye opener.

Some of these had to go back in for software updates because the gearchange could be a bit funny, so look out for any hunting for the right gear, i should think its already been done by now.

Nice car, despite my aversion to moderns i could live with one.

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Wed 21 Oct 2015 12:31
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - Steveieb

Thanks for this advice GB.

The car has a full MB service record so the software updates should have been taken care of.

On a seperate subject do you know if Armitage Shanks is still a contributor. I miss his sense of humour he bought to the column.

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Thu 22 Oct 2015 14:46
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - John F

Having written off my BMW 530 D Manual I am now trying to decide which of the above to choose.

Grateful your views.

My view is....neither of these. Look for an old Audi A6 with a six cyclinder engine and a ZF gearbox. It will be much better in forthcoming slippery weather and will probably incur fewer maintenance costs.

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Thu 22 Oct 2015 21:06
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - Steveieb
Thanks John, it's strange how we forget the winter months when a rear wheel drive and especially an auto version can be a total nightmare.

In fact they are sometimes unusable on suburban roads
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Thu 22 Oct 2015 21:13
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - gordonbennet

Not with the right tyres on they're not, my Merc and the bloke who used to live up the road who had a 106, both on winter tyres, were the only 2WD cars able to get up our road several times when it snowed heavily.

For most situations a couple bags of sand in the boot makes a wrold of difference.

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Thu 22 Oct 2015 22:16
BMW E 39 or MercedesE Class 320 CDI 2007 - Which Car to Choose - John F

Not with the right tyres on they're not, my Merc and the bloke who used to live up the road who had a 106, both on winter tyres....

Never had to bother with winter tyres on either my old A6 or my previous 5cyl 2.0E and they weren't quattros. Weighty engines over front wheels scrabbled their way up virtually anything. Only rarely had to turn the ASR off. Main obstacle to progress was always less capable traffic, e.g. RWD Jags, BMWs and MBs!

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