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Beech,
I can't disagree with your sentiments as for the first year after I went through the experience I was still irate about the whole thing, and the useless response from MB. However, I have moderated my responses on the site because I have learned that not all the engines of that designation were losers. And the owners of those cars get tired of hearing those of us who are unhappy about our experiences paint all the cars as losers with our broad brush of personal misery. Even though I find the fact that I was apparently singled out (well, maybe not singled out, but selected anyway since not all of them were bad) for this experience more irritating than if all of them were in fact bad, I have tried to accept that some people were lucky and got what seem like good engines and I did not, and to tone my posts down a little.
So, since you cannot count on a good one any more than winning a lottery, and getting a sympathetic response from a dealer that is worth more than a cup of coffee is even less probable, nearly every question on the site about a potential purchase ends up providing the appropriate message. However, those with the good fortune to have a 350SD, 350SDL or S350 that was not built with whatever the fatal flaw is that bends rods like to point out that probably more than half of these cars will perform normally. They also like to point out anything they have done that may have helped their engines escape the rod bending event. And anyone looking at one of these cars should have the benefit of the good and bad experiences, and any other suggestions that may help them.
By the way, I have not had any problems with any of the single wiper blade assemblies I own, and unfortunately that is not the case for the W115, W123 and W126 double wiper blade installations. So I would not put that design in the same league as the 3.5 liter Diesel engine.
Jim
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Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles
Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)
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