There is a 1999 C43 near me for sale, 101K, $9,900. I've always liked hese and they are not too common to run into. Anyone have any input on living with one as a daily driver? I'm still driving my 84 300D every day, its been 10 years and it will never die, but at the same time I've been looking for a newer car. I've also heard parts aren't too bad and somethings can be done on a DIY basis. I'm a 3 out of 5 mechanic, sometimes a 2.5.

__________________

84 300D, 303K
71 MGBGT, ?K
96 GMC C1500, 115K

The car's driving dynamics are fabulous but MB quality control had really sunk by 1999. This car, despite being newer, will not be as reliable as your 84. There will be those here who post that their C43 is the most wonderful car in existence and I'm sure theirs is, but the reality is that most any C43 that you come across won't be like theirs. There will also be those here who won't want to say what I am saying because they do not want to offend their friends who have these cars, but it needs to be said. Again, a BAD era for MB!
Regards, Eric

__________________
89 300E "Benzer1" 15.924 Uncorrected
93 400E "Benzer3" 14.200 U.C.
95 E420 "Benzer4"
92 300E "Benzer5" 16.299 U.C. Future turbo CNG
87 300D "Benzer7"
87 300D "Benzer8"
87 300D "Benzer9"
87 300D/70 AMC Javelin "Sidewinder-Benzer"
87 300TD "Benzer11"
06 E320 CDI "Benzer12"
05 E320 CDI "Benzer12A"
71 AMC Javelin AMX 401 "Sidewinder"
74 AMC Hornet 401 "C.K.10" 13.63 U.C.
74 Bricklin SV1 "Presto" AMC 360 pwrd.

Buy the C43....




And keep your 300D.

__________________
68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

The most critical C43 problem is the transmission. It was just not built to withstand the tuned M113 engine for very long, especially if driven hard. Many people ended up replacing the stock transmission with one from a wrecked W210 E55 as that version was reinforced quite a bit.

If I were thinking about buying this C43, I would give the car a hard test drive to make sure there is no slipping any gear and to check the maintenance records to see if the transmission fluid had ever been changed.

If I were to then buy it and the fluid has never been changed, I might want to do that (fluid and filter) and look into adding a secondary transmission oil cooler to extend the life of the unit.

__________________
2006 BMW M5 "Heidi" @ 109,000 miles
2005 MBZ C55 AMG "Lorelai" @ 165,000 miles
1991 MBZ 300E "Benzachino II" @ 165,000 miles
1990 MBZ 500SL "Shoshanna" @ 118,000 miles

(On the hunt for a good used M103 engine as of 6/10/23, PM me if you have one to sell!)

Do it.

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.