These Are the Cars You Think Are Steals Right Now

Photo: Mercedes-Benz

Well. I have a W210 2000 Mercedes E430. I recently came into another car and didn’t need 3 but like driving the E430 so much decided to keep it, It is great to drive, gets good mileage (have gotten 27 on the highway, usually ~20 in town), and has plenty of power.

Before all of this silliness started I thought it was worth maybe $4,000 – for a 1 owner (in family) car with (then) 120,000 miles. My ins company says it is worth more now but I will still keep it.

The thing is, like a lot of old Mercedes they depreciate such that many later owners don’t take basic care of them. Many are in dreadful condition.

Look for a 1-2 owner with maintenance records. And make sure that transmission has had fluid/filter changes every 50K miles or so. And with its FSS (Flexible service System) it should have had synthetic oil.

They are out there. If you can’t find an E430, its cousin the E320 (same engine but a V6) is plentiful. The E430 was about $8,000 more and in addition to the great M113 V8, had a better sound system, different wheels, etc.

Finally they had a major face lift with over 1800 changes in model year 2000. The 2000-2002 (2003 for the wagon) is the sweet spot for me.

If the W210 E-Class was good enough for Tony and Carmella Soprano, it’s good enough for the likes of you and me. You also have to get the wagon, and whatever you do, do not have an affair with the salesperson.

Submitted by: wlb50