We are looking at buying a car for a trip back to the UK in January and this Mercedes E320 CDI AvantGarde Estate is listed on eBay.

For various reasons, we need it to be a UK registered taxed and tested car and this fits the bill perfectly as a comfortable load lugger. There aren't many cars round here like this, as you'll appreciate!

The car is only about 15 miles from here, so I'm hoping to go and have a look at it.

There are only 2 days left on the auction, so I need to make the best quick decision about it that I can.

What should I look for and what questions should I ask?

The mileage isn't mentioned in the advert and the seller has obviously been dealing a bit based on his history. I guess it will be inter-galactic, but on autotrader similar age/spec cars are going for £4k+

Any tips...?

Muchas gracias!

Update: I've had a reply to my email:

"The miles on the Mercedes is 214,thousand has full merc history so genuine,immaculate car,no issues all good"

So, 214,000 miles.

Sh4g, marry, avoid?

Is it road taxed now Jim? Cant see a tax disc. So will you need the log book in your name to tax it? I presume you will register it to a UK address?

Looks tidy,but the miles are high.

There is currently no tax on it, but the owner is flying to the UK tomorrow and will tax it if required.

I've been looking into the Valeo radiator problem, but if this has a FMBSH, then it should have been rectified (water contamination of the gearbox lubricant - very expensive!).

Mileage is as high as I expected, but depends what it goes for, I suppose...

I did not know of the rad problem on these.
My 2.7 crd auto 4x4 was staying in a lower gear on the odd time.

I changed the gearbox oil and its filter and all has been well.
Its my first Mercedes and i must say i have enjoyed it and is a solid car (2001). Although i am just about to sell it.

The guy is bringing it round tomorrow morning so I can have a look.

It's all a bit rapid and we may not even bid on it, but I'll feel happier doing so if we have at least seen it...

If you still have time, check through the Honest John list for the relevant weak points of that model. Some will not be relevant, some often appear to be "one offs", others are more significant and you should try and get a better feel for the state of the actual car:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/mercedes-benz/e-class-w211-2002/?section=good

They have just changed the rules Jim so you can't transfer UK tax to a new owner any more so you would have to tax it for when you arrive in the UK.

You can do so on line before you set off if you have it insured with a UK insurance company. MOT is on line anyway.

Thanks Pete, if we buy it, we would have to tax it, so I won't ask the seller to do it. I hadn't spotted that change. Nice little earner for the exchequer...

Thanks neil_r, I had a brief look at Honest John yesterday and PistonHeads and MBowners or whatever it's called...!

My feeling is that it'll go for more than I want to pay, but we'll see.

It looks like it should not reach 3500 UKP, judging from the UK prices but RHD and Spain may be different, espcially as it is already at 2800 Pounds. RHD in Germany rarely fetches LHD prices.

However, if it saves you flying home just to buy a car, ...

Good luck anyway

The seller brought the car round this morning. Cosmetically, it's fine - 2 shopping trolley dings, an inch of chrome off the bumper insert and slightly frosted headlamps the only external blemishes. Inside, the driver's seat bolster has worn through a bit and the colour has been rubbed off the air vent control wheels, other than that, fine.
We went for a 20 minute test drive, on urban (with speed bumps!) and rural roads and motorway and it handled it all quietly and smoothly, including a bit of kick-down and some hard braking. The tip-tronic worked ok too. No COMAND system though...
The car has full Merc service history up to 189,000 and lots of bills to show thorough attention to replacement parts, etc. after that mileage there are other bills from non-Mercedes garages and the latest MOT with no advisories.

So, I've bought it for £3600, including 2 new rear tyres and a front brake sensor.
I looked at the rad to try to work out if it was vulnerable to the ATF contamination issue, but couldn't see any labelling on it. The oil cooler was clearly BEHR, but no idea if the rad was too.

Anyway, I think it will do what we want as long as it doesn't break!

Thanks everyone for your help and advice.

Cool. That is a result!

Let's hope so! The ample service history and bills convinced me, but you never know. At least the price was reasonable so if it goes T-U, we won't have lost too much. As long as we get European recovery and get it back to the UK, we can sell it for parts if necessary!
And if it goes well, maybe we'll keep it...

It certainly sounds like it is not a collection of half-working bits! The owner maybe relied on it and kept it well maintained and repaired. Hopefully it turns out to be a solid piece of kit. It is definitely the best looking of the E-Class models.

Do you need LHD headlights Jim?

I don't, Joe. The seller brought the vehicle over himself and it has adjustable "European" ones, suitable for use in either location. The car won't be staying in Spain after we drive it back, so UK ones will be more sensible...

Frustrating! We now have a two week wait while the seller is away before we can take delivery of our new wheels!
One thing it has is some weird kind of phone interface device that I *think* is a Viseeo MB-2 bluetooth adapter, but I'm not sure. If it is, I'll have to work out if it will connect to our phones.

I was wondering if you had already got the car!

I see my next potential XK in two weeks, if it is still for sale. This purchase is going to be a long winded process I fear and, naturally, I have zero patience!

Now that I would get much more excited about!

A new car is always exciting!

But the XK project has its down sides when the list of available cars is 80% black with black interior and all at unrealistic prices, 200km or more from where I live, it is hard to get really excited. Just because the original list price was eye-watering does not mean that the second hand price has to be over-inflated, especially in a stagnant market. Eventually, the dealer decides to get shot of the car and lists it at the real market level. One has to then be quick to get it. I missed one a couple of weeks ago that was probably perfect. Who knows if another such specimen will appear in the near future. There is a black XKR with "caramel" interior that I have my eye on. Too expensive at the moment but might drop a bit before the winter sets in. Black has grown on me or I have become resigned to the fact that if I rule out black, I may never get one!

On the other hand, I've been told by MrsC that anything other than black (like, for instance, this E320) is a compromise!
Silver is apparently the work of Beelzebub (tricky when looking at big German barges.)
I'd have a problem with caramel or tan interior, but for some reason, car makers seem to think it's "sophisticated". Unlike the eyesore that is BMW red.
Having said that, I'd put up with most things for an XKR - good luck with your quest!

Ha Ha! It is good that we are generally all different.

I have a silver 20V with tan leather - had it for 17 years now. Most people questioned my choice after I told them what I had ordered. That year, the Pinifarina stand at the Frankfurt motor show had Ferarris, Fiat Coupe, Peugeot 406 Coupe and other cars that they had designed/were building, and all were in silver with tan. Sometimes the not obvious is actually rather nice

My S-Type is blue with cream interior, also works.

The next XKR to see is this one:
http://avalon-muenchen.de/go.to/modix/3,1,p57639v/gebrauchtwagen.html?max=10&manufacturer=25&model=517&search_vehicles=1&action=notepad&notepad1=s17tl46&notepad2=kfz_gruppe&request_uid=yes&request_uid=yes

Ha! Don't think that combo would work in our family - although my 16VT was silver. I don't mind cream so much at all.

That XK is lovely, maybe caramel can work...!

Maybe black can work too

Does anyone know anything about the Viseeo Bluetooth adapter in these cars? It mimics the old Nokia phones that Merc. fitted a cradle for.

I have no experience of it but the following may be of interest (you have probably already found it):

Model Description:
http://www.viseeostore.com/products/mercedes-benz/viseeo-mbu-3000.html

Tech Support:
http://www.viseeostore.com/viseeo-mbu-1000-technical-faq.html

Thanks Neil, I've been all over tinterweb looking at the things. Unfortunately, I don't know which model is fitted, though I suspect the 1000. It seems I'll just have to be patient. Not a strong point!

I suspect the 1000 too as it was about at the right time. Sorry for the 3000 link. I meant the 1000. If it is it looks quite simple. There are not too many complaint threads either, so it appears to be relatively reliable.

I hope so. I think I might need to get a firmware upgrade kit (essentially a proprietary lead), but I won't know for another week...!

Having not owned a vehicle of any sort for 6 months and nothing remotely interesting since selling the 530d in 2011, I am disproportionately keen to get my hands on what is - if I'm honest - a risky 10-year-old barge!
I have even looked at DTUK diesel tuning boxes, despite knowing full well the folly of remapping a car that has been to the edge of the galaxy and back.

I am a caraholic.

Enjoy it Jim, looks in good nick and these Mercs are in demand because they can do big miles.
I went in one in Greece that had huge miles on it, lovely and comfortable and still looked nice.