I am thinking of looking at a 1995 E320 with about 180,000 miles on it? How far can one of these go if maintained properly. What are the usual trouble spots? I have owned four older mercedes and miss having one.

The weak spots on '93-'95 M104 cars in general would be bad engine wiring harnesses and oil leaks at the head gasket.

Some of the '95's don't have bad harnesses, so you might get lucky.

The early head gaskets were bad, and at 180,000 miles, I can guarantee that this head gasket has already been replaced.

I have never heard of an M104 engine prematurely wearing out, but in general, the techs say a Mercedes engine can go about 250,000 miles until it needs a valve job.

The bottom ends of these engines are said to never wear out.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

When you say the wiring harness are you talking about the entire set of wires in the car or a portion of it? Is this expensive (I assume it is)? Difficult to do by myself? What are the symptoms of a bad harness?

Is the head gasket leak internal (into the coolant) or external? How tough is a head gasket replacement on one of these vehicles?

Your advice is much appreciated.

Do a search for "wire harness". You could limit to this "Featured Cars" forum, or to the "Technical Help" forum. I believe I even saw good pics attached in one thread regarding this issue, showing the internal wires' insulation as having turned to junk.

I do think they mean the whole engine wiring harness. Lots of wire!

And regarding long term reliability? It's a machine, if a part goes bad you replace it. Any machine (any car) will run for ever if you keep replacing everything that wears out. It's just a matter of what you are willing to spend and how often. That's why I got rid of the old Dodge and got my E-Class. I don't expect to be replacing lots of oil seals, sensors, switches, and so on. It was killing me!

Make sure you get one from an MB dealer and with a Starmark warranty. If you get one with low enough miles, you can buy 2 extra years of warranty. Now that 2003 rolled around, 1995 is the oldest car that can be Starmarked.

Best of luck!

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The wiring harness costs about $500, and it's the thick loom of wires that plug into a lot of things, the injectors being one of them.

The oil leak is external, and the leak will occur on the passeger side of the head at the back of the engine near the firewall.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".