My moms BF bought a 97 caddilac, has 80K miles and he was bragging about it having a northstar V8 (i asked him whats so special about it being northstar and he couldnt answer my question )
He had compared his caddy to a 01 E430 that he test drove and said the interior was to "rough" and the 430 only had 40K, and the 80K on his caddy....oh it shows! leather seats are cracked, leather peeling on the shift knob, leather on steering wheel is peeled away now its an ugly grey suede. what was he thinking??? anyway.

I decided to have a "debate" on why my MB was better then his caddy. Well i must have won because he was pissed off at the end and drove away upset my mom was mad but i dont care. Later he comes back and while im checking the mail i got a letter from the SF mercedes dealer saying that my 87 300D is due for its 250K tune up....how they knew i had around 250K miles is beyond me but that deserved some bragging, immedietly i told him "thats MB at its best!! 250K and they still want to tune up my car!! whats GM got on that?!"

i have to frame this letter, i thought it was pretty cool that MB still supports our older MB's.

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Current:
05 E320 CDI
07 GL320 CDI
08 Sprinter
05 Dodge Cummins
01 Dodge Cummins

Previous
2004 E55 AMG
2002 C32 AMG (#2)
1995 E300
1978 300D
1987 300D
2002 C32 AMG(blown motor :[
1981 300SD
1983 300SD
1987 300SDL
2002 Jetta TDI
1996 S420
1995 S500
1993 190E 2.6
1992 190E 2.3
1985 190E 2.3 5-Speed

My friend was going to get an 83 Cadillac from her mom to replace the 86 Ford Ranger she was driving. I told her it was an upgrade, because anything was better then the ranger at that point. Her mom talked to her about the car while I was there, and said the brakes needed to be done. I had just completed getting my ASE in Brakes, so I offered to her to have me do the brakes. BIG mistake! I had done the brakes on my 84 Mercedes a few weeks prior, and it took me about 3 hours to change all 4 rotors and all pads... new Berings, new everything. So I figured that it would only take about 3 hours for the caddy, possibly less because the front rotors were slip on. Well 7 hours later I was on my back looking out at the street where my Mercedes was parked swearing up and down that Mercedes was the best car on earth!
"The standard of the world" My (Insert colorful metaphor for "rear end" here)

Not to mention that a 126 Benz looks as classy today as it did in 82 when it was introduced. The Caddy on the other hand looked like you needed a feather boa, and hat with a long purple feather, and a Pimp'n stick to make any kind of statement other then Cheap old-fart.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

You get what you pay for, Caddies are more cheaply built, more cheaply engineered, and cheaper to buy.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

However, i must say i am not completly insensitive to the charms of a 1978 Lincoln Continental... Those barge have a certain quaint charm to them also...

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Aquilae non capunt muscas! (Eagles don't hunt flies!)


1979 300SD Black/Black MBtex239000mi
1983 300TD euro-NA. White/Olive Cloth-MBtex 201000mi. Fleet car of the USA embassy in Morocco
1983 240D Labrador Blue/Blue MBtex 161000mi

Someone on here got a letter on an early 8oish 300 about a recall notice for the airintake mount... like last year... whats GM got on that?

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

What kind of 'tune-up' do you think you're going to get on that diesel?

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

There is no comparison of any American car to a mid 70s through mid 90s Mercedes. They are junk next to Mercedes. Look hoiw many W123 and W126 models are still on the road. Keep in mind that they also cost easily $10,000 more than any of the American iron of the same time period.

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Doug

1987 300TD x 3
2005 E320CDI

...and the Lincolns and Cadilltrucks were also expensive, you would think that at least some of the owners would have taken good care of them so they would have survived...

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

He didn't buy the E430? The dealer probably wanted over twice as much for the 430.

The Northstar is a pos, just do a little reading on one and all of a sudden the 3.5L 603 looks like a decent enough engine!

Caddy does make decent cars now, but IMHO anyone built before 2005 is a POS.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I agree that the northstar is trash. I have been behind a pretty new caddilac on several occasions with the stupid "Northstar V8" emblem on them, what happened when they took off from the light? BIG cloud of blue exhaust. They must be just as junky as the V8's in the ford crown victorias and lincoln towncars, I see those blowing blue all the time too, even newer ones! Then I pull up behind a 420SEL or 560SEL etc...no blue when they take off. Amazing. Probably over 150-200k on most of those by now too.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Is it Cadillac, or Cataract? Either way it's an eye sore! The new ones ride like a brick.

You can tell the good cars from the bad. Good ones actually get awarded high mileage badges. Bad ones--well take a look at the crushed ones going to the recycler.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

IIRC, the Northstar has the ability to run even when coolant is lost. I think it will stop firing on one bank for a few seconds and then alternate banks should coolant be lost. That way only one bank fires and the other is cooled by fuel.

Now, OTOH GM, Ford and Chrysler has been obsoleting parts for 10 yr old cars. In 30 yrs, you could get parts for your car whereas his Caddy might have a bunch of stuff he has to scrounge from junkyards.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Handles like driving a sofa on a tennis court

D*mn the Datsuns, full speed ahead!!

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

he-he! I've always kind of liked that ride...on the '79, if you hit a slight dip cruising at freeway speed, you'll float up-down-up-down for about the next 3 miles! BTW, the 7.0L V-8 can move....and drink gas.

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Christopher
'06 Mercedes E350 station wagon (silver/black)
'85 Mercedes 300D (black pearl/palomino)
'85 Mercedes 300SD (smoke silver/burgundy)
'79 Cadillac Sedan DeVille

'05 Toyota Camry (because always running is nice)

'85 Mercedes 300D sold back to orig. owner 8-1-06
'84 Volvo 264GL Diesel, owned 2000-2013