Making mileage a statement .Wonder if the mb engineers knew what these cars were capable of in reliability.

.... ok back in the day before the merger

Benz was known for reliability

Mercedes was known for beauty and style


(or it might be the other way around...)

the merger brought them together and have been the backbone of the engineering.. combining reliability with beauty and the latest technology

the merger?

ya know.. waaaaay back then

sometime pre or post WWI

OK, 1926, I get it. For a minute, I was afraid you were talking about the Chrysler fiasco.

The longevity of these cars is not accidental, they were designed and built to last a long time. Of course, some of us are entering uncharted waters after 25+ years.

The engines and tranny's are fairly reliable, but I'm not so sure I would call the rest of the car reliable. Climate control, cooling system, AC system, window switches, speedo gears, seat springs, window regs., tachs, cruise control, arse sag for W126, LEAKING, etc.......
Just a thought......

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

back to "My grandfather's Axe" eh

I don't know, at 400K mine doesn't have a rattle or a squeak. I don't to many car brands that can claim that. I really can't complain about nits like CCUs and cruise control that only cost a few $100 to replace after 20+ years. You can keep one of these close to perfect for a couple/few $1000 per year, and the replacement parts are actually available. Try walking into a toyota dealer and asking for a part for a 1980 car.

They do leak oil, but that's also easy to fix; I brought mine to my indy a few weeks ago and told him to make all the leaks disappear, a couple of days later they were gone.

The biggest weakness is probably the auto tranny, but those are fixable for a few $1000 every few 100K miles. I can't think of too many cars that will run indefinitely with so little PM. You can drive one of these forever for about $0.30 per mile.

I need to do that...

I finally got sick of leaving little spots, it's always a bunch of little PITA seals that take a lot of work to replace. It seems like you have to go through this leak chasing every couple of years.

I should take a pic of my driveway and how I ruined it

I think Mercedes talks of a "million mile duty cycle". Far cry from the 100,000 and out mantra of US auto engineers. THats a fact btw.

227k here and hoping for over 500.

At least a 30 year car.....

Sacco, the famed Mercedes Benz designer, explained it thus:

The Mercedes Benz is indeed a long lived car, with quite a timeline:

Product life cycle of about 30 years, which includes product development time, (development cycle of 3-5 years) followed by a production life of about 8 years, and life expectancy of the car itself, off the assembly line (20 years)

http://automotivehalloffame.org/honors/index.php?cmd=view&id=728&type=inductees

__________________
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)

Good thing my 240D does not have most of those items.

__________________
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

^x2

__________________
1978 240D Auomatic
Custom Charcoal Gray, Navy MB tex, kenwood/Elemental/Boston/Aura sound,
Shaved antenna and emblems.

1990 Lincoln Town Car, Sleeper/Strip car in progress, 17.75@77mph.