Am I totally nuts for wanting one? I have had my eye on one, a 91 with 194K, very clean with supposedly a new improved MB crate engine which was installed at a 100K. Drove it, had a good bit of spunk, lots of torque, didn't leave me feeling like I was losing much when compared to my current 420SEL. The car does have the usual vacuum element problems, air going defrost at most all settings. The seller is wanting 14K for it which although it is a clean car he is probably more nutty than me for even asking that much. Any ideas on how much these cars usually go for? How can I tell what engine it has and did they actually come out with an improved engine.

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Chas

Had a 380SL, 450SL, 380SEL, 420SEL, 500SEL

Got a Euro 500SEC right now.

Chas,

I drove that same car. Nice driving SDL. Noticed the brake warning light fading in and out.

With 194K on it (94K) on the engine, how much longer will it go before the big repair bills come in?

I think it's priced 10 grand too much.

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Anders

1995 E300
2015 VW TDI Sportwagen 15K
1977 240D (197K)
2002 Subaru Legacy L Wagon (115k) (Wife's)
Gone but not forgotten:
2005 Buick LeSabre
1998 C230
1984 300D
1983 240D
1981 300SD
1974 240D
1974 Fiat 124 Spider
1968 Triumph TR250

You know better. Those cars are a disaster.

I'm sure they are great when everything is right, and sure, the engine may never blow. But can you drive the car and not think about the engine bending rods everytime you look at it? How can you enjoy a car knowing catastrophic failure may be around the next corner?

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'90 300SE 298k
-300K and it gets put into retirement.
'80 300D 255k Purchased new by family in 1980.

Had a:
1973 220 (gas)
1980 300SD
1992 400E

I looked at a beautiful '93 300SD (same engine - as you know) 3 years ago and was SERIOUSLY considering it - someone bought it as I was driving onto the lot to buy it. I am glad they did. 4 months later I was at the dealer to buy parts and guess what was in the service bay? You guessed it! Threw a rod through the block - felt really sorry for the schmuck that bought it but heaved a huge sigh of relief I didn't. FWIW, it had had the engine replaced at 63,000 with an "improved" crate engine from MB. It was sold with 72,000 miles on it and the odometer showed 73,500 after the "incident". They wanted $19,500 when I looked at it.

I've been wanting to get a MB diesel for a while now. What exactly makes this car a nightmare? The fact that it needed a new engine at 100k is suspect but is this a normal problem for this model?
What are the most trouble free ones?

Any 350SD, 350SDL, 300SD produced in '92 or '93, and S350 MBs are trouble waiting to happen. Correct me if I am wrong but MB tried to increase displacement by honing out the cylinders which, in turn, weakened the cylinder walls. The pistons, doing what they do ie: moving up and down, eventually would cause an "eliptical" cylinder which caused the piston to wear more and more of the wall away leading to increased oil consumption (as much as 1qt. per 100 miles as some people have reported). Also, beefier pistons and weaker connecting rods led to many punched holes in the side of blocks. MB does not say this is a design flaw for obvious reasons - however, they have been known to fix some engines per "good will". Do a search on the 350 diesels on the diesel forum and you will get TONS of info about this. I hope no one is rude enough to tell you, "this subject has been discussed to death" as I was once told.

The 603.XXX or the 3.5 liter 603 had weak connecting rods, I would love one but wouldn't buy one unless I could afford $7k to get a new short block when it blows. Now the 3.5 was used in two different cars 90-91 in the W126 the 350SD/L and in 92-95 in the 300SD's. But the later ones are W140's a W140 and a rod bender is made for someone with deep pockets.


$14k is a little high but not as high as you might think. These cars hold a lot of value. Probably around $10k give or take is about right.

Frankly considering you can get sub 100k, mint 1991 560SEL's for less than $10k, your better off with a newer gas W126.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200