Lost and Confused with a 93 300D 2.5
 

I currently thoroughly enjoy my 1993 300D 2.5, however, after visiting the lovely mechs and hot "service consultants" at the local dealer (and by local, I mean the hour and a half ride to get there) I've reached a crisis regarding my love and affection for my car vs a money issue. At almost 6k in repairs, is it worth it? or time for a new ride? I could just as easily attempt the multitude of repairs myself, which would include new coolant lines, a new Trans pan/gasket due to leaking, front struts, and issues with my steering wheel OR, I could retire the paid off beauty that is my car in favor of a 98-99 E300 Turbodiesel. Which is where I turn to the ever present forum here to ask this simple question, Should I keep what I got due to the rarity and all around dependability of the engine/trans (after proper repair and continued maintenance) or do I look into a "newer" turbodiesel or possibly gasoline option? I honestly LOVE diesels, even with fuel prices being where they are, I'm still laughing endlessly at all my gas buddies while I cruise along albeit not as quickly as they can, but hey the turtle won the race didn't he? what do you all think?

Er, Milage (Brain in gear ,Now) More Information
 

O.K. let's look at this as a potential purchase:
Compare how much you've got to spend to make the W124 viable for another
100k miles VS What it'll cost you to get into the E300 (+ upkeep) for 100K miles.
Then the variable is:
How tired of the W124 are you?
VS
How badly do you lust after the E300?

How many miles on the W124?

What are your Known issues?
Before visiting the "Surgical,Wallet Depletion Specialists"?

What the Expletive did the Franchisee "Offer" to do for/to your MB for $6K USD?
(A handy little list [with cost per item breakout] will assist in determining viability)

Do you enjoy Wrenching on the MB?

[Personal opinion: Less Electronic Tomfoolery,to be abused by,is always a
Winner]

The w210 E300's will deplete your wallet faster than your current car...These cars cost money to maintain, the 98-99's will cost even more to maintain.

Find a closer mechanic that won't try to screw you over for $6000. $6k will buy an entire 91-93 300D in better condition.

You need to make sure to never use that mechanic again. I don't know if it is greed or just pure desperation, but that price is too out of whack to even consider. Half of that price would be a ripoff!!!!!

In what way? My friends 99 E55 AMG hasnt needed much. Overall repair cost and maintenance is low as the car is newer.


For the OP, after spending well over $10K in repairs on my 87 300D i threw in the towel. A 22 year old car is not worth the headache, dont get me wrong i love the car to death but i bought the car as well as my other past old MB diesels because they were cheap to buy.

But even after all that money, the car is still far from perfect or reliable enough where i can trust it to go anywhere. In my opinion, the later model W210 offers up a more reliable car with less money needed to be invested as it isnt as old as your W124 and it has more updated components that make it more reliable, easier to maintain, and repair (OBDII, FSS system, etc)

I replaced my 300D with a C32 AMG because i needed to get my speed fix :cool: but i also did it to get out of my money pit and have not looked back since. I still drive the 300D every once in awhile but again i cant trust the car for my long distance journey's nor do i want to drain my wallet anymore then i already have. Id rather be putting that money towards mods for my C32 or in my savings account rather then in the 300D.

In all honesty, I'm not tired of the W124, and in all likelihood, once I locate the blasted list with the "recommended" issues with my car, I'll post them for general amusement/perusal. I have the manuals for my chassis all on cd-rom, and I'll more than likely hop on the ole fast lane here a la my rear shock replacement... which I did for approx 260$ total including shop time on base and not the 600+ my mechanic at the time was asking for it. The only limiting factor concerning repairs, is finding a lift to put my car on and actually settling in and doing the fixes myself, by the book, and purchasing my own parts. I enjoy learning about my car and pride myself in the little bit I've done myself, while marveling how little cost it actually was out of my pocket. compression, I do believe I completely "lust" after the E300, especially after this past weekend where some volvo enthusiasts pretty much warned me I have a pretty decent shape car on my hands and i should keep it till it goes completely. I'm currently sitting at about 231,500 (less, but its within 2-300 miles of 500). As soon as I can I'll get up with the "Surgical Wallet Depletion Specialists" (I like that one) and give a breakdown of the issue I described, and their best "guess"/how they can wring the most cash from me. The main issue I've been having I posted about a year and a half ago right here http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/211387-white-smoke-my-exhaust.html . Besides that, slight squeal coming from the driver's side tire. Possible Strut replacement, I've known about that one, just waiting on tax return money to get the parts/maintenance. Coolant reservoir leaking/seeping/generally loosing fluid (last time I checked it which was saturday, it was sitting just above halfway above the middle line in the reservoir itself, its in German, so I can't make heads/tails of the actual level) Transmission (automatic) slipping into gear when shifting from 3rd to 4th, although after driving the mech said it was shifting fine. Those were the big ones that I mentioned before getting it looked at. I know I may be over explaining things, and you all are very knowledgeable about diesel mercedes, but I want to make sure everyone understands where I'm coming from. Thanks guys for your timely and helpful response, more to come from me as far as this goes.

At your mileage your rear end suspension is going to need work. Neglect the fact that it does and youll end in up in the same boat i was in. Snapped both diff mount causing the axles to snap. Worn subframe mounts and the multi-link arms will also be worn out, overall not cheap nor easy to fix unless your a very skilled diy-er.

Front end squeaks are most likely the the worn out bushings, so front end rebuild may be due as well. Again not cheap unless your a good diy-er. Worn struts wont squeak nor make any noises other then the thump from bottoming out on hard bumps and dips.

If you can find another shop that has more MB experience specifically with MB suspensions youll be in better hands.

Sooo hard to say. A lot depends on the general condition of the car (its value) and how much you like it.
I still suspect that the turbo oil seal is the source of your "puff", and nowhere near a terminal point. If you cure your coolant "seep" and are still losing coolant I'll change my opinion here.

If the car is nice, fix it. In some cases used parts will be fine, in others the cost of labor justifies new parts. Suspension parts can be in good condition (based on your being in a cooler climate) and only need a joint or bushing here and there, strut replacement is a DIY except for the wheel alignment after.

Big thing with a car of your advancing mileage is that the resale/value isn't that strong. If it were wrecked, you'll be lucky to get $4k for the car. That becomes important when you are looking at a transmission etc., replacement is less than repairing the car.

I've found that maintenance on an older ride needs to be kept up, the result of letting it go is that all of a sudden you find yourself in a position where there is so much maintenance due that it isn't worth it. The junkyards are full of cars that were just so far behind in maintenance that one more straw broke the camel's back, and it isn't worth repairing.

Look at what really needs to be done, whether a good independent can make it right with new & used parts, and what the car is worth completed. It isn't that rare a car unless it has heated leather and LSD and is in excellent condition.

So Here's a line by line breakdown of what I told the dealer and mechanic, and his suggestions... My issues will be bolded, his responses, italicized.
Blower Fan is hitting against something

Tech inspected and verified slight blower noise. Recommends New Blower

Price : $725

While accelerating (speeds of 65 mph) after letting off of accelerator, car will sputter, when reaccelerating white smoke comes from exauhst]

Tech Road Tested vehicle and verified white smoke one time on 10 mile road test. Tested EDS system and found several fault codes. Hear Compression type noise coming from back injectors. Needs to Reshim, Needs Vacuum Trans Dulers Inop. Recommend Testing injectors. checked for strectching timing chain. Recommend Switch over valve and Compression test. Tech replaced Leaking Fuel Return lines

Price... heh I'll break this one down.. this is outrageous what they were asking...

Test Injectors - $154

Compression Leaking around fuel injectors - $415 to Reseal

Valve Cover Gasket - $285

Compression test for cylinder leaking, test injector seals - $451

Vacuum Transducers inop - $519

Switch over valvees for transducers $186

Lower ball joints (Steering wheel issue) - $638


Frt. Strut and Upper Strut mounts (possible cause of squealing noise outside of car) - $1284

Transmission feels like it slips into gear rather than shifting into gear

Tech road tested vehicle and found shifting to be oay. checked transmission fluis level and found okay. Transmission pan and gasket leaking transmission fluis possible transmission clutches slipping.

Transmission leaking at pan. Gasket and Filter - $443



Grand Total of all listed repairs to my current Benz - $$5763


Only thing I let him do, was replace the fuel return lines between my injectors. And honestly, that was in his opinion the most pressing issue for my car. I firmly believe that with a lift, and the proper tools, I can fix all these issues with my car for a fraction of the cost... What do you all think? I'm leaning towards seeing what I can do for myself, and getting parts on order and digging in, hardest part prolly would be getting the right sections of the manual printed out so I have some guidelines to follow while attempting the repairs.

Sounds to me like you found the biggest rip off dealer around WOW what prices! If you have access to a lift on base it sure makes things easier but its not essential.Set yourself up a" to do" list and hit things one at a time as money and time permit.If you enjoy working on cars you will find these cars a Joy to work on, most things are pretty straightforward and when you get stuck you have this excellent source of knowledge/help and information.If the body and interior are nice its worth, it its a really great car and anything else you buy used is going to need work too sooner or later.
Don

Holy crap Batman!

Did he offer to sell you a bridge also?

Should be around $1000 in parts if you really need them all.

Maybe I should have offered to take it off your hands when I had the chance. Damn.

$285 for a valve cover gasket? $15 for the gasket and 30 minutes of work should add up to less than $100.

$415 to replace the injector heat shields, $450 for a compression test, and $150 for testing the injectors ($1015)? $10 in parts and the heat shields should be replaced during the "test injectors" job AND the compression test should be done at the same time as well! Under $350 for all three jobs combined!

"Frt. Strut and Upper Strut mounts (possible cause of squealing noise outside of car) - $1284"
What do the struts have anything to do with a squealing noise? They might cause creaking going over bumps or around corners.

Transmission leaking at pan. Gasket and Filter - $443
Filter kit $35 plus 1 hour for an oil change should be under $200.

The fuel return lines between your injectors would cost about $15 for a meter of hose and 10 minutes of work.

This guy is not just a crook, he is a thief. Run away as fast as you can.

I need to start charging more to test injectors. :rolleyes: :D

WOW... I wonder how he checked the transducers and crossover valves...

I like the 2 charges for the injector test, reseal, and compression test...
cause you've got to remove the injectors to do the compression test.. Oh... and you have to replace the crush washers.. and that will reseal the injectors..

There is nothing really glaring that can't be fixed by a DIYer with a little time and patience.

The dripping return lines I fixed in 15 minutes while the wife was talking to her mother. (at mother-in-laws house) no big mess.

ForcedInduction said it best.... to paraphrase..... RUNAWAY!!!