1997 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Reviews

Nothing so far.

I have only owned this car for 1 month, so I can't comment on reliability or repair costs, as I haven't had any yet. I can just say that for a 15 year old car, it still feels very solid, and it is fun to drive.

It has a lot more power than I would have expected - when you step hard on the gas, it really moves. It's a rather mild mannered car, but in aggressive driving, it sort of takes on a different persona. It cruises down the highway smoothly, and it's a pleasure to drive around town as well.

I find the seats to be quite comfortable - they are adjustable in many different ways, and are rather firm, which I appreciate.

The interior is roomy, as is the trunk. I know it's an old car, but the interior trim doesn't seem as high quality as the older Mercedes vehicles I have owned (1983 300D, 1987 300D Turbo, and 1984 190E). After 1994, Mercedes started cutting some corners, and it shows in the slightly less durable leather of the seats, as well as the cracks in the dash. But every feature is functional, and all the trim pieces are intact, and still looks very pleasant.

Considering I didn't pay too much for the car, if I get a year or two out of it, I will be happy.

Nothing went wrong except the radio; that was fitted posthumously.

A good station wagon, my daily driver.

Although a little bit slow for its weight, it has wonderful brakes, good road holding, perfect comfort, acceptable consumption (8 liters for 100 Km. running with gasoline, 10 liters running with LPG).

It was hit by a truck, and I came out of it with no harm at all.

No signs of rust at all. I bought it used for very little money, and it was an absolute bargain.

I don't understand why other people despise it so much, saying it isn't a "true Mercedes". It has more plastic than my 1988 500SE, but it is definitely more comfortable and with less internal noise from the interior.

Transmission computer decided to keep it in second gear after 2 weeks of showing symptoms of failure.

Most likely some internal bits will need replacing. I was planning to do them at the end of the week, but the car decided I was pushing things by a day, and decided to break down one day before my appointment with the garage.

This is a normal situation with these 722.6 gearboxes after 100000 miles. They need to serviced immediately after this milestone, or else they will break down on you.

Other than this, nothing else has gone wrong with the car, just a bulb here and there.

One side front headlamp lens seems to be fading out a little. This may be due to the extreme weather mixed with sandy winds and highway speeds.

Car is 14 years old. Sold initially in Japan and then brought to the middle east. Most likely it was babied in Japan, so the body is rust-free, interior is immaculate. Everything is still tight as a drum, the typical Mercedes Benz smell still lingers on after all these years.

Again for its age, the car drives superbly. Handles well enough, brakes are strong and seats are adjustable in every way, as is the steering. Engine is the M104, the last year it was used in this car. I had the same engine in the '87 W126 300SE back in the day. But that had the bullet proof 4 speed auto tranny, unlike here, with the computer controlled 5 speed and its bag of issues. Mercedes sold these cars saying that the transmission would never need any servicing, but that was outright lie, and now very recently Mercedes have indirectly admitted so.

One has to be fully aware of this car's flaws before buying it. And the only way to do so is to go onto many of the online forums and read the FAQS against this model (W210 chassis).

This way you will be ready to check the car and make a decision before buying it.