And how reliable are they? I bought one recently, and I haven't even put 1000 miles on it yet and its already sitting in my driveway and won't start, and I am starting to feel like it may have been a bad idea...

My Brother has my '99 E300TD that I bought new. He has it as a garage-queen. They need to be exercised a lot. The more, the better condition they seem to stay in mechanically. Get a good indy mechanic/garage to do the analysis of what it needs - unless you've got the time to DIY it.

With what shops around here charge (from looking at the reciepts the owner gave me), there is no way I could afford to take it to a shop ($900 alternator replacement. indluding $350 for the alternator which im sure came from worldpac and is $125 everywhere else, $2600 for glow plugs, etc). I think I can fix the stuff that obviously needs attention, but I don't like it enough to spend 2-3 weekends every month fixing stuff if it turns out to be that unreliable.
I am pretty sure it just needs a couple of the plastic fuel lines and the voltage regulator in the alternator replaced and it will be ok for now, but if a bunch more stuff starts breaking I probably won't keep it.

You'll get a range of opinions on this forum. I think it's fair to say that the general consensus is that they're VERY reliable, although some have had very bad lemon-like experiences with them.

How many miles on yours? How well was it maintained prior to your ownership?

You need to find a good indie shop that really knows the cars well.

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

I daily drive one. Regarding your no start. These cars do not like a battery that is even slightly low. Always check that first when you have a no start condition with them.

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Jim

Mine is a DD and has been so far so good. Only major item so far was sway bar link and bushing. OTOH there are quite a few things that I need/want to do and yes I can spend alot of spare time on it. Thats OK bc this has become a hobby for me.

With a relatively small investment in tools, a lot of time reading howto's, asking questions here and a case of PB Blaster...Im confident I can tackle pretty much anything these cars need within reason. Including what you mentioned.

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Treetops
06 E320 CDI 127K Miles
87 300TD 231K Miles

99 E300 269K Miles-Sold

Mine was my daily driver until I got a company truck. Now it sees maybe 10 miles a week. If I didn't tinker with the engine so much, looking for more performance, it would be extremely reliable!

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

We've had a couple. One was used daily, the other not.

I'll agree with Shertex's perspective. I think these cars are going to be looked kindly upon assuming they receive the correct maintenance.

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1998 W210 diesel (wiped out by a texter)
Baum spring compressor "for rent"

^^^^This is why I stepped away from the "old Mercedes" scene. The wife was getting really pissed about me working on the car every weekend I guess I grew tired of it too.

You've got to assess how much time/money it's going to cost to get the car up to spec. You should make that decision soon and cut the car loose if you don't want to keep digging that hole deeper and deeper. Also consider the rust on the car.

Its not at all rusty, and has 225k. I paid $4750 for it, which after looking since October was maybe not the best deal for one, but for sure in the top 3. Most of them here have a salvage title and a $7k asking price. I think it won't start right now because of a fuel leak, I think I see where its leaking, and it was after leaving it parked in the sloped driveway overnight that it wouldn't start. At least I hope that's why, I'm going to try to fix it today and see what happens. I am trying to avoid anything too expensive (just maintenance that needs to be done to keep the car in good shape, like fluid changes, etc) until I'm sure it doesn't need more work than I want to do. It seems to have been maintained well by the previous owner, and 99% of the electronic stuff works still (the cruise control switch and the lights in the climate control buttons are the only things that don't).
If I was going to pay someone to work on it it would be cheaper to go buy a brand new car from the dealer, so that I probably won't do if I can help it.

This is a common issue with these, esp. if the tank is low(er) on fuel. Can you turn it around and point it downhill. This is assuming the front is pointed up hill. Otherwise, there are a handful of recent threads on "om606 no start"

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Treetops
06 E320 CDI 127K Miles
87 300TD 231K Miles

99 E300 269K Miles-Sold

These cars need an electric fuel pump at the tank.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

2 of the lines are obviously leaking so I am going to swap those then try it, it has about 1/4 tank of fuel right now.

These mid- to late-90s MBs are reliable provided the maintenance has been kept up. As cars get older, many owners start to ignore problems if they don't completely disable the car. Often these are things not obvious to someone new to MB. Common problems can be found with engine mounts, suspension pieces, fuel lines, wiring harnesses, and more. The new owner of an apparently good used car can find himself faced with one that is worn-out and in need of a lot of work. Even if you can do the work yourself it can be expensive; if you cannot, it can quickly become more than it is worth.

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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 do some wrenching, when its not too hard on my back, retired a few years ago and miss the W123 and to some degree W124 ease of working under the hood but the W210 is a entirely different in many respects, including the electronics. But its the last of the mechanical IP diesels (outside maybe a few trucks)!
I have a good friend who is an experienced mechanic who I can send the car to have it worked on if it needs a lift or anything serious, we are fortunate in the SF Bay Area to have lots of Indys.
There's one thing no one mentioned yet, thats the transmission.
That 5-speed electronic tranny in the '99 is something to check out before buying one. I had my trans rebuilt at about 235K as it was flaring 1-2 and a OBC history showed some abnormal pressures so in order to prevent finding myself or my wife stranded somewhere in the dreaded Limp Home mode, I had the transmission rebuilt.
I like the '99 and will never regret buying it despite the transmission issue. Its an incredibly roadworthy car.
I just wish they had put that 606 engine in a wagon for the US market

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!