Car Model Guide/ Mercedes-Benz/ E-Class/ W211

Mercedes-Benz E-Class Saloon (W211), W211

The comfortable, quiet way to cover distance, and the generation where Mercedes was still recovering its reputation for building things that last.

Overview

The W211 is the sedan Mercedes-Benz E-Class, built 2002–2009 and facelifted in 2006. 4 standard engines are documented here, each with its own issue list, inspection sequence and price band. Asking prices across the standard range run €1,850–€9,550, and 2 of the 4 carry a risk level of 4 or 5; the facelift cars sit at a premium over otherwise identical pre-facelift ones. The cheapest way in is the E 200 Kompressor M271-KOMP from €2,400, while the E 220 CDI OM646 is the lowest-risk engine at €3,150, so which engine you buy matters more here than which year. Prices are illustrative placeholders rather than a sourced market sample. See the methodology.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan (W211) · photo Mercedes-Benz W211 by Kallerna · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Body style	sedan	Production	2002–2009
Platform siblings	S211 wagon	Facelift (LCI)	2006

What changed at the 2006 facelift

Sensotronic brake-by-wire dropped for a conventional hydraulic system; Revised lights, grille and interior; OM642 V6 diesel replaced the OM648 six in the E 280 and E 320 CDI; Uprated OM646 four in the E 220 CDI. The engine changes are the ones that matter, a car built in the changeover year can carry either engine, so check the engine code on the block rather than the registration date.

Engine matrix: pre-facelift, 2002–2005

The 4 variants sold before the 2006 facelift. Power and years come from the variant records; prices are illustrative, not sourced.

FilterFuelGearboxRisk ceilingGood buy under4 of 4

Badge↕	Engine	Fuel	Years↕	Power↑	Torque↕	Risk↕	Issues	Price band↕	Good buy↕	Verdict
E 220 CDI	OM646	diesel	2002–2005	170 PS	400 Nm	R3	6	€2,400–€6,450	€3,150	Buy w/ conditions	View
E 200 Kompressor	M271-KOMP	petrol	2002–2005	184 PS	250 Nm	R4	3	€1,850–€4,800	€2,400	Caution	View
E 280 CDI	OM642	diesel	2005–2005	190 PS	440 Nm	R3	7	€3,150–€8,750	€4,150	Buy	View
E 280	M272	petrol	2005–2005	231 PS	300 Nm	R4	4	€2,400–€6,450	€3,150	Caution	View

Engine matrix: facelift / LCI, 2006–2009

The 4 variants sold from the facelift on, priced at a 9% premium over the pre-facelift car.

4 variants from the facelift on, carrying a real market premium of roughly 9% over an otherwise identical pre-facelift car. Variants appearing in both tables were sold either side of the changeover, the build month decides which one you're looking at, not the model year.

FilterFuelGearboxRisk ceilingGood buy under4 of 4

Badge↕	Engine	Fuel	Years↕	Power↑	Torque↕	Risk↕	Issues	Price band↕	Good buy↕	Verdict
E 220 CDI	OM646	diesel	2006–2009	170 PS	400 Nm	R3	6	€2,600–€7,000	€3,400	Buy w/ conditions	View
E 200 Kompressor	M271-KOMP	petrol	2006–2009	184 PS	250 Nm	R4	3	€2,000–€5,200	€2,600	Caution	View
E 280 CDI	OM642	diesel	2006–2009	190 PS	440 Nm	R3	7	€3,400–€9,550	€4,500	Buy	View
E 280	M272	petrol	2006–2009	231 PS	300 Nm	R4	4	€2,600–€7,000	€3,400	Caution	View

Market availability varied by country; check the engine code stamped on the block rather than the badge on the boot. · Compare every engine side by side →

Model-year availability

Which engines were on sale in which year, from the year ranges in the variant records. Availability varied by country.

Variant	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09
E 220 CDI OM646	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
E 200 Kompressor M271-KOMP	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
E 280 CDI OM642				◐	●	●	●	●
E 280 M272				◐	●	●	●	●

● full year · ◐ arrives or leaves mid-generation. Years from 2006 in the accent colour are facelift (LCI) cars. Verify the engine code, not the model year.

Rating map, price against risk

Good-buy price plotted against risk level for every standard engine, so the value corner is visible at a glance.

Every standard engine in the chassis, plotted at its good-buy price against its risk level. Cheap and low-risk is the top-left; expensive and fragile is the bottom-right. M cars are excluded, they would stretch the price axis and tell you nothing about the rest.

Buy / strong buy Buy with conditions Caution / avoidLeft is cheaper, up is safer. The top-left corner is where the value is.

Prices across the range

Where the money sits across the whole chassis. Every figure here is an illustrative placeholder, not a sourced market sample.

Every standard engine on one euro axis: the bar spans the 10th to 90th percentile of asking prices, the tick is the median and the green marker is the good-buy figure. AMG cars are excluded; they sit an order of magnitude above the rest.

Cheapest good buy€2,400E 200 Kompressor M271-KOMP

Median good buy€3,150across 4 engines

Dearest good buy€4,150E 280 CDI OM642

Full range€1,850–€9,550P10 to P90

Every standard engine · cheapest first · E 280 CDI OM642 highlighted as best value

€2k€4k€6k€8kGood buy

E 200 Kompressor M271-KOMP€2,400 E 220 CDI OM646€3,150 E 280 M272€3,150 E 280 CDI OM642€4,150

at or under the good buy · good buy · median · bar spans the 10th–90th percentile

Chassis-wide issues, every engine inherits these

Faults recorded against the bodyshell and running gear rather than one engine, so every variant on this page inherits them.

Sensotronic brake unit failure (pre-facelift)E-Class platform€1,200–€2,500

A red brake warning, a message telling you to stop, a much harder pedal, and in some cases the car limiting itself. The electro-hydraulic Sensotronic unit has a pump and accumulator with a counted service life, and once the counter expires the system demands replacement. Mercedes dropped the system at the 2006 facelift, so later cars aren't affected.

Check: Establish the build date first, since facelift cars don't have it. On an earlier car, have the SBC counter read on a diagnostic and treat a high count as a bill you're about to inherit.

Later parts: Conventional hydraulic brakes from the 2006 facelift

BrakescommonPartly detectablewalk away without proofevidence: manufacturer100–200k km

Corrosion at the arches, boot and tailgateE-Class platform€300–€2,500

Bubbling paint at the rear arches and around the boot lid or tailgate, and rust in the spare wheel well. This generation was built during Mercedes' worst period for corrosion protection, and cars in salted climates suffer. Later cars are better than early ones, but the body is worth more attention here than on a W212.

Check: Look along the rear arches and the boot or tailgate seams in good light, lift the boot floor, and check underneath for previous repair.

Body & corrosioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Written once against the chassis and shown on every variant page below, so nothing here is repeated 4 times: AMG cars included, since the bodyshell and electronics are shared.

Buying summary

Our read on the chassis, built on the records above rather than added to them.

Buy a facelift car if you possibly can. The 2006 update dropped the Sensotronic brake system, which is the single most expensive thing that can go wrong on an early one. Best value: E 280 CDI (OM642), a smooth V6 diesel with real durability. Best four-cylinder: E 220 CDI, and the later 170 PS version is the one to find. On petrol, check the engine number, because the M272 V6 built before mid-2008 can suffer the balance-shaft gear wear that means the engine comes out. Rust matters here in a way it doesn't on a W212, so look at the arches and the boot floor.

Cheapest and dearest in this chassis

The ends of the range by good-buy price. Useful for sanity-checking anything you're quoted.

Lowest entry price

E 200 Kompressor M271-KOMP : from €1,850, risk 4

E 220 CDI OM646 : from €2,400, risk 3

E 280 M272 : from €2,400, risk 4

Lowest risk

E 220 CDI OM646 : risk 3, good buy at €3,150

E 280 CDI OM642 : risk 3, good buy at €4,150

E 200 Kompressor M271-KOMP : risk 4, good buy at €2,400