Should I stay away from the older Merc E200 K?

Hi there,

I looking at a 1998 Mercedes-Benz E200 Kompressor (Sports, petrol) with 52k miles on the clock. Local mechanic says this petrol model is troublesome, specifically oil leaks with typical repair bill of at least €3k, and rear axle bearings wear - wait for a diesel model is the advice... too pesimistic or not?

Kevin Martin (Cork)

Oct 2014 Filed under: reliability

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Expert answer

Hi Kevin,

Generally speaking it's the E-Class that followed, the 2002 onwards model, that gave all the trouble, and the generation you're looking at doesn't give quite so much bother. As far as we can gather, the E200 K should be a reasonably rugged engine, but the crucial thing to note is to make sure that it has been serviced on time every time, by someone who knows what they're doing, and that you continue to do so when you own it. If there's no service history, or a patchy one, walk away.

Also watch for rust bubbling up under the front wings and make sure that the front suspension bushes were replaced at 60,000 miles. In that generation of car, I wouldn't necessarily expect the diesel version to be any more or less reliable.

Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Adviser
@neilmbriscoe