1996 Mercedes E300 Diesel

I have a book on all the different Benz models and it seems that there was a Turbo avaialble in '96 - though I think I've read something on this site that said that only '97 and up were turbo-diesel engines.

Is there a way to tell from the VIN if it is Turbo or not?! VIN visible in the ad itself.

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1987 Mercedes 300SDL; SOLD
1985 Mercedes 300D; SOLD
2006 Honda Pilot - wife's ride; 122K;
1995 Toyota Land Cruiser - 3X locked; 182K

96-97 no turbo.

98-99 turbo

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1991 300D

Standard Catalog of MB by Jim Luikens lists Based Turbo-diesel Siz (E300 D)... is why I was asking.

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1987 Mercedes 300SDL; SOLD
1985 Mercedes 300D; SOLD
2006 Honda Pilot - wife's ride; 122K;
1995 Toyota Land Cruiser - 3X locked; 182K

98/99 = Go go turbo!

96/97 = Nut-uh

The non turbos are pretty peppy (IIRC same hp as the 603 turbo) and arguably last longer having all or most of the same internal components as the turboed 606 without all that added extra pressure.

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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

Jeremy met up with GSXR recently and confirmed that Jeremy's '95 E300 is notably less peppy than GSXR's '87 300D. Mind you that's GSXR's car so it might not represent the typical 300D. I had a turn in Jeremy's E300 and while it's leaps and bounds more refined than an '87, I doubt it's a 12 second car (not that I tried with Jeremy beside me ). The pedal doesn't reward you as quickly as in an '87. HP ratings are something like 130 hp for the NA 606 and 145 for the turbo 603. For 95% of my driving, I'll take a '95. The rest of the time, keeping up isn't enough Seriously, I'd take my '87 to Reno or Tahoe.

Sixto
87 300D

That car:
No HID headlights
No headlight washers
No heated seats
No rear sun shade

and... No turbo

But for some reason it has it's phone antenna extended.

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Greg
2012 S350 BlueTEC 4Matic
2007 ML 320 CDI
2007 Leisure Travel Serenity
2006 Sprinter 432k
2005 E320 CDI
1998 SLK230 (teal)
1998 SLK230 (silver)
1996 E300D 99k, 30k on WVO
Previous:
1983 240D, on WVO
1982 300D, on WVO
1983 300CD, on WVO
1986 300SDL 237k, 25k on WVO (Deerslayer)
1991 350SDL 249k, 56k on WVO - Retired to a car spa in Phoenix
1983 380 SEC w/603 diesel, 8k on WVO
1996 E300D 351k, 177k on WVO

I know where to find a better example for less. delivered even

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1991 300D

Sorry hog - I've seen your photos, but the interior looks too rough for me.

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1987 Mercedes 300SDL; SOLD
1985 Mercedes 300D; SOLD
2006 Honda Pilot - wife's ride; 122K;
1995 Toyota Land Cruiser - 3X locked; 182K

fwiw, one doesn't tend to notice the worn seats when driving

good luck with search, your next car is out there somewhere

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1991 300D

I have one of those!
HID headlights were optional -- mine didn't get them.
Headlight washers, yes.
Heated seats, yes.
Rear sun shade, no -- maybe an option.

The antenna should stay down unless the car has a phone and it's turned on. Maybe a wire is broken or shorted. The stereo uses an antenna built into the rear glass.

Jeremy

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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

Jeremy - what are your impressions of this sedan: reliability, longevity, fuel efficiency and solid engineering being most important factors for me.

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1987 Mercedes 300SDL; SOLD
1985 Mercedes 300D; SOLD
2006 Honda Pilot - wife's ride; 122K;
1995 Toyota Land Cruiser - 3X locked; 182K

HID headlights optional? In 1995? I don't think so. I've never heard of this.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D, 405K

EDIT: D'Oh! Sorrry, somehow I was thinking 95 rather than 96.

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Objects in closer are mirror than they appear.

The '96 E300 is nowhere as much fun to work on as the '95 but a lot of that is that there's less to fix. This is both the joy and the sorrow of cars as they become more electronic. The W124 has some electronics but most of it can be ignored, removed, or worked around and it will still operate. The '96 tipped the scales in the other direction and has to have the electronics or it won't run. As the model years pass, it only gets worse.

Whining aside, our '96 E300 has been very reliable and is now over 290,000 miles. The engine has not had any work at all and neither uses nor leaks oil. I had the valve cover off several years ago to replace some seals and to check the timing chain stretch; there was about 1 degree, as best I could measure it.

Fuel economy is fair -- about 27 average, mostly around town. Highway mileage is around 30 or perhaps a bit better. The engine may simply need an Italian Tuneup or perhaps a set of rebuilt injectors -- they're probably untouched originals, like so much of the engine.

The transmission was rebuilt shortly after we got the car (2007, at 249,000 miles). It had a slight front pump seal leak, which I exacerbated by changing to synthetic oil. I could not get the leak under control and finally had the tranny pulled and gone through. The mechanic at that time said the "wear parts" had another 50,000 miles in them, so that gives 300,000 miles as a ballpark life for a 722.4 transmission (YMMV!).

The body and interior have stood up well. The car originated in Portland, OR, and has spent its life on the West Coast, so there is no rust (we are the 4th owners). The driver's [leather] seat is worn and cracked and the heat in that seat no longer works. The "child lock" switch broke; this requires replacing the entire switch assembly for $150 -- you can't replace just one window switch like you can in the older cars -- so we are ignoring it for now.

As with all cars, this one requires occasional long-term maintenance -- suspension, brakes, engine mounts, etc. -- but only occasionally. Because the car is driven only 5,000 miles a year, most of the repairs I have done will last for as long as we have the car.

In 2013 the only significant expenses have been (1) new windshield -- old one was getting pretty rock-chipped; (2) new front brake disks; (3) new damper for the serpentine belt tensioner.

Bottom line -- a boring car, there's never anything to do on it. OTOH, it's a great car for my wife because it always runs and still looks new.

Jeremy

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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

I find the 95 diesel e300 to accelerate similarly to a non turbo 617 but it keeps on pulling to a much higher speed. Its not snappy IMHO. Fine with me though.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.