I'm going on a 2,000 mile trip and have to pick a car. My girlfriend wants me to take my brothers Buick(Reliable/comfortable). My Dad/Brother want me to take the 300D. Mom wants me to buy a dealership Tahoe and take that.

300D:
208K total
600mi on the synthetic 0-40
5 new GP's
5 new heat shields(&cleaned injector faces)
Freshly adjusted valves
4 Snows that still have treads
Pushbutton ignition&glow circuit, pop the hood for shutdown.
Leak in exhaust and vibration at highway speeds
22-28mpg


Buick:
32K total
Fresh dino oil change
new-ish all seasons
CEL blinks(don't know why, &rough idle-will be installing new plugs tomorrow)
Smooth, quiet ride
22-32mpg

What would you do?

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

Be sure the seats in the Buick have enough lumbar support for you. If so, a 3800 equipped GM car is a great way to rack up the miles on the highway.. so long as there aren't too many turns

The Buick will probably cost less in fuel. And seeing as the Benz has some problem like a bent wheel or bad tire or something the Buick, in this case, might be the better choice.

-J

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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

If you have a 1998 Buick LeBaron, don't even think about driving it!!! It has to be the only one of its kind in existance!!!

I'd say the 300 D if it were in roadtrip worthy condition, but its not with a hwy vibration, leaky exhaust, and shutdown via the underhood stop lever.

The vibration at hwy speeds is the deal breaker.

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1982 240 D, 308,000 - 321,127 miles (sold)
1982 300 TD,166,500 - 226,000 miles
1998 E 320, 120,000 - 144,000 miles
2005 C 230 K, 26,000 - 77,000 miles (sold)

I would say the Buick given the problems you listed with the 300D but that CEL could mean anything. Getting stuck with a mechanical problem is inconvenient but getting stuck with an undiagnosed electronic fuel and ignition system problem sucks on a galactic scale. There's a number of auto parts stores now that will scan your codes for free. If it's a forty dollar sensor, replace it and take the Buick. If there is a mysterious problem that you cant' figure out take your chances on the Mercedes. At least you can deal with most problems if you take a few hand tools and a couple gallons of water and oil with you.

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'82 300D - Light Ivory, 2nd Owner (Back in the wind April 2013!)

'95 E300D - White, grey interior. (Suffering from stuck/broken glow plugs)

Deuteronomy 22:4-
"Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again."

Yah, a LeBaron is a Chrysler, I think he must mean LeSabre

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1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown

You mean there's no option to rent a Panther bodied Ford? Jim B., Redassag00, where are you guys?

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

Easy now, it's not my car I'll fix that title

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

I'd put the miles on my friend/brothers car if I had the option!

It does sound like the 300D isn't "long trip" worthy....sounds like some repairs are looming.

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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)

Fix the vibration and take the Benz.I never trust GM electronics.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

Take the Buick.

If I were you I would take the Buick. They were built for long highway trips. My MIL has a 1998 LeSabre and it is great for long distance driving. DUal climate controls, powerful 3800 engine, great mpg, etc.....

You should really get under the 300D and fix the exhaust leak and vibrations before taking it on the highway.

I would also fix the ignition switch/shutdown valve, but I just feel crappy opening the hood to shut down the car -- I had to do that for two weeks on the SDL before I got a chance to replace the valve so I know what you are going through.

Of course if you can get a real good deal on a Tahoe... those trucks are awesome highway eaters and you get 4WD for the bad stuff.

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"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

Blinking CEL = Multiple Misfire on cyl X / Multiple Random Misfire.

IE, dumping raw gas into your cat and overheating it. I'd make *that* my last choice, especially seeing where CAT prices sit (to stay legal )

Also, unburned gas likes to mix with oil, something you'd really want to avoid driving at highway speed for thousand or more miles...

I had this exact issue with a Mazda Protege (96) , I was told by my ex-girlfriend's parents this was normal and 'just a mazda thing'. Come to find out it was a improperly installed head gasket that moved around on the engine block and caused misfires/exhaust in coolant/etc.

My vote was for the 300D, after you at least figure out where your highway vibration is coming from (unbalanced tire, threw a weight, etc)

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Java Developer/Linux SysAdmin

Current:
*1984 300D ~200K,1989 MR2 250K, 2012 Ford Fusion 4.5K (fiance's car to replace the uber-unsafe cavalier)
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Past: 1998 Chevy Cavalier ,2005 Saab 9-3 2.0T, 1996 Mazda Protege, 1974 Porsche 914 2.0, 1997 Land Rover Discovery 4.0L/5Speed, 1995 Jeep Wrangler

Take the buick! the benz is 26yrs old, and the parts are hard to come by sometimes (read sometimes). The 3800 was platform built and parts are very common! Most still being used today in brand new cars... Not to mention most aftermarket stores carry the gm parts on the shelf, not the benz. Please don't flame, its true...

I don't see an option to rent a small fuel efficient car like a Cobalt or a Focus with unlimited mileage and 35 mpg.

The $20 or $30 per day you pay for the rental will be mostly offset by the savings in fuel costs.

The rentals are all relatively low mileage and therefore nearly 100% reliable, and if it does break, it isn't your problem - its the rental car company's...

__________________
1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown