I'm planning a trip back east to visit family. It will be approximately 2600 miles each way. All three of my cars are physically capable of making the trip, but none are ideal. I'd like some help deciding which one to take.

The contenders:

'83 300D-Highest mileage, but also the newest, the most comfortable on the highway, and in the best overall shape.

Plus:

1. 3.07 rear end for quiet and efficient highway operation.
2. Cruises easily at 80+ mph while still getting well over 20 mpg.
3. Best seats.

Minus:

1. Transmission front seal leak. About one quart in 400 miles. I picked up some stop leak today but haven't put it in yet.
2. ACC is wonky. Blower works as directed. Heat sometimes works great, sometimes not so much.
3. High performance summer tires could spell trouble if I don't pick routes carefully and monitor road conditions.

'71 250-Lowest (apparent) mileage, but also pushing 40 years old. Transmission freshly rebuilt and working well, but the car was down for about a year and I've only recently started driving it again. I made a big loop from Carson to Reno, down to Fallon, and then back to Carson in it today. No major issues, so I think it'll be okay on reliability.

Plus:

1. At least as fast as the 300D. Cruises easily at 80+ miles per hour.
2. Better seats than the 240, but not quite as good as the 300.
3. Michelin all-season tires have the best chance of doing well in the snow.

Minus:

1. Gets around 15 mpg while cruising easily at 80+.
2. Noisy at highway speeds.
3. Is old enough that parts availability in the event of a breakdown may be considerably worse than with the 123's.
4. Blower no worky.

'77 240D-I've driven this one back and forth to San Diego several times, most recently this New Year's Eve. It always makes it without an issue (except that one tire that broke a belt), but is slow.

Plus:

1. Proven long-drive reliability.
2. Fuel economy nearly as good as the 300.
3. Best heater of all the cars.

Minus:

1. Slow. Slow like a semi. Slow like, well, like a 240D. Maintaining 75 mph is a struggle, and some grades get me down into the 40's in third gear.
2. Deteriorated driver seat gets uncomfortable on long drives.
3. Noisy at highway speeds, but not quite as much as the 250.

Get a Rental-More expensive than driving any of my own cars, but the vehicle would most likely be a new or newish Mercury Grand Marquis. Thanks to modern technology, they offer 450 SEL performance, roominess, and ride while getting 300SD fuel economy. I have not priced this option yet.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Absolutely rent the Grand Marquis.

Pluses:


They ride as smooth as butter, will have under 20,000 to 30,000 miles on them and some of them are very close to brand new, bulletproof HVAC, safe in a wreck, no maintenance issues to worry about, dead reliable in the first place and if something happens on the road, just get another from Hertz, 26+ mpg on highway, huge amount of luggage space, your personal cars will be safe staying at home, seats 5 in great comfort, build quality is great, all issues gone, (car has been in production in this BOF style essentially unchanged since 1998), nice to look at, people on highway may think you are a state trooper and will get out of your way on the highway, servers that see you come into a roadside restaurant
will automatically prepare you to give you the "senior discount".

Minuses:


Will only have a donut spare tire, ( unless the trailer tow package is added, which rental companies never do) mushy handling, road feel is vague and numb, think: balloon floating down a river, this is the last year they will be in production, seats less ergonomically correct than a Mercedes Benz, likewise the instruments and controls. Only available in LX model with leather seats, and fancy wheels, the GS base with cloth seats is gone after the 2008 models.

No longer available with the "de Sade" option.


conclusion:


No brainer, rent the Mercury.


Plus:


They are so good you will probably think about getting a one year old rental return for yourself in a year, as about $15,000 right now will buy you a used '09 rental LX in your favorite color and whatever of the 3 year 36,000 mile warranty is left. Possible service records and history may be available. CARFAX will show where it was placed into rental service when new.

With decent maintenance they could easily last 200,000 - 300,000 miles.
I have owned their cosmetic cousins, Crown Victorias, and dollar per mile, they are the cheapest vehicles to run I have ever owned since 1967 . They can really take hard use, any taxi driver or policeman will assure you, just ask.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

X2 Absolutely. I could not make a case for taking an old Benz that many miles when the other option is a newish Mercury GM or even a Lincoln TC that you don't own. So comfy compared to an old Benz. Treat yourself.

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TXBill



Former owner of a few diesel MB cars
1998 Lexus ES 300 In Chicago We Trust

High praise indeed from a guy named "Diesel4me"

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I was kind of embarrassed the other day when i googled myself and found on the front page a long ago thread on Diesel Discussion, congratulating me for having a letter published in Mercedes Enthusiast Magazine. In the letter I said I would never drive anything but a MB diesel as long as they were available. Times have really changed for me. That was back when I was still TXBill on MBShop, and maybe when i was also the DD moderator. I doubt many here still remember those days.

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TXBill



Former owner of a few diesel MB cars
1998 Lexus ES 300 In Chicago We Trust

I've been checking rental costs on some companies.

Hertz: $1328
Budget: $615

Trouble is neither will reserve a Grand Marquis by make and model. I might get "or similar" which is okay as long as it's a Crown Vic or a Town Car. It seems Budget only has Grand Marquis in the particular price class I'm looking at, so it looks good for them.

I'm still not sure if I want to add an extra $600+ to what's already going to be an expensive trip.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

I really think it would be false economy to try to take an old Benz that far vs. The Mercury rental. Imagine if you, for whatever reason, have a catastrophic mechanical failure on your trip. Towing and finding alternative wheels in the middle of a vacation would cost as much, probably more, than $600. And on top of that try to put a value on comfort and peace of mind.

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TXBill



Former owner of a few diesel MB cars
1998 Lexus ES 300 In Chicago We Trust

You have a point, but I've done it before and it worked out. In 2007, I drove the 300D from Carson City to Atlanta to leave at my dad's house for a few months. When I got back (Iraq), Dad and I road tripped to Florida in it for a wedding, and then I drove it back to Carson City.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

I've driven my 300D over 50k miles this year, including several cross-country trips. What's the point on owning them if you're not going to drive them?

Yeah I was a whole-hearted devotee of old MB diesels myself, the oldest a 72 and the newest a 1984 model. Eventually for health reasons I was finding it less practical to keep those old cars going vs. the comfort and reliability of newer non-benz (read Toyota products). I need to change my signature the Avalon saved my life on a dark country rd in Temple TX and now I'm rockin a Lexus ES.

Forgot to add, there is also something to be said for modern airbags for safety. I was glad my Avalon had airbags. Another reason why I replaced the Avalon with a like-car.

Owning old classic diesel Benz cars is great don't get me wrong, I just would save them for tooling around fairly locally if it were me.

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TXBill



Former owner of a few diesel MB cars
1998 Lexus ES 300 In Chicago We Trust

I am definetly not a fan of air bags/ABS/etc., that's one reason I don't drive newer cars. Everyone should do what makes them comfortable. There's no point in taking a car you don't trust if you are going to spend the whole trip worrying about it.

Glad I'm not doing the drive, but since I'm not going I say take the 300D!

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

Five votes each for the 300D and the Grand Marquis. I'm surprised at the level of enthusiasm for the Grand Monkey on this forum. I didn't bother posting this on crownvic.net (where I also am a member) because I figured they would all say to go with the Panther.

If the tranny weren't leaking on the 300, there wouldn't be any question of taking that one. I'm concerned the leak could get much worse during the trip. OTOH, I recall reading a thread where someone had a considerably worse front seal leak, used some stop leak, and got numerous thousands of additional leak-free miles out of his.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Man, why gamble with your own ride like that?

__________________
TXBill



Former owner of a few diesel MB cars
1998 Lexus ES 300 In Chicago We Trust

Bump it up to 6 for the Grand Marquis. I'm a panther fan myself and I'm sad to see this being the last year for that bodystyle.

But if the 300D had a non-leaking transmission, I would've chosen it instead. Please don't use stop leak, that sounds like it has the potential to mess up things given the small passageways and valve bodies in the transmission. Fix it right.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.