Well, as you proceed into two years of Honda Accord ownership, be prepared to change...the oil.

See this post to see my new purchase.

Details are in my signature.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/off-topic-discussion/198077-my-e430-totalled-post1605121.html#post1605121

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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".

There are some beautiful new MB's out there, but my wife and I have been driving my '84300CD (123) and her '82 300SD (126) for the past 23 and 25 years because it seems like every time we've gone to look at the next "new" models, we have not seen anything about them that makes them a better choice of what to drive. Yes the newer MB's are quieter, faster and have cup holders, but with every model change since the mid-80's they seem to slip-slid away from the classic - I can recognize it's a Mercedes from a block away - chrome and steel - build it the best you can and then price it accordingly Mercedes.

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Houston, Texas
1984 300CD 235K miles, Elvira, one owner
1987 300TD 180K miles
1974 TR6 78K miles Sarah Jane, one owner
OBK #27

Nice-looking ride, Paul. Schweeeeeet!

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Amen and absolutely correct, James. Knowledgeable mechanics, almost to a person, will tell you that the M119 is a far better engine than the M113 that replaced it.

The M119 and the W124 were the last engine and chassis that MB engineered and then priced, rather than engineering TO a price.

Cheers,
Gerry

I'm back into a W124! I pick it up on Thursday -- a 1995 E300 Diesel. 37.8K mi on the clock.

I got it about $5K less than the current bid price of the enarest comp on eBay.

Feelin' good? yeah!

B

You should be arrested, for that price you stole it.

Good luck, we always knew you were not a heathen at heart.

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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)

Sweet! .....wanna race?

Excellent !!

Way to go, B.

Why, oh why, haven't you posted pics yet of this rare find?

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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".

Paul, if I knew how to post hi res pix I'd do it. My camera takes huge photos and dumbing them down to 65K (isn't that the limit?) makes them horribly grainy.

No, I don't have a website.

Back to the car. The owner has Alzheimers and so her daughter had to have her committed. The car has been driven about 1-2 times per month for about a 60 mile interstate round-trip, for about a year. Before that it was church-on-Sunday type driving. The daughter also has a 240D that she has decided to keep and uses it as her daily commuter. The 240 is freaking immaculate and has under 75K, too. Daughter just likes it more than the 300.

The car is white. It has been serviced only at the dealer. It has some door dings and paint chips. The rear bumper has some compression marks where it looks like mom backed more than she should have. Underneath the car is clean and shows no wear or bends, cracks, flexes or breakage. The engine compartment is road dirty but not filthy. Oil is dark and clear, rubbed between fingers is consistently oily -- no grittiness or traction. Smells alnd looks clean as does the transmission fluid. Radiator coolant is a weird color -- maybe dark bluish? I'm used to greenish so I don't know what that stuff is. Wiring appears supple and flexible. I saw no cracking or stress lines.

The car is sluggish in town compared to my E320 gasser (also 95). But it is more spritely than the diesel W126's I've driven. In any case, the slower acceleration at low RPM isn't off-putting to me. It's just a factual difference. Once above 30, the E300 accelerates smoothly to 100 and tracks perfectly -- no pull, no vibrations and no loud noises. If you stomp that sucker at say, 60 and make it kick down it has good acceleration. That surprised me. Cruise works.

Radio works. Tires are nearly new Perelli's (they sure are quiet tires). Lights & horn works. A/C works.

The interior looks brand new, front & back, and smells of nothing.

Now some issues:
The antenna doesn't work. How do you get the trunk liner out of the way to get the antenna out?

The driver's side door doesn't unlock with the key -- I have to unlock using the passenger's door. The key will not rotate the tumblers to the left (unlock) but will lock (rotate to the right). I'll try some Marvel Mystery Oil in the lock and see what happens. Any other ideas?

Both of the clasps that hold the sunvisors close to the windshield are broken. Can I buy them here?

The paint is not bright. Perhaps it just needs a good bath and a thorough waxing. But it looks to me like it is just a dull white.

Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good. It will be my daily driver. I'm defintely going to do the biodiesel thing -- how can I not? I'm a freaking biologist for cryin' out loud!

B

PS I have been reading all of the fuel threads on the diesel board. That is some fascinating, well-informed stuff over there.

PPS I downloaded an organic chemistry podcast. Hopefully it will give me a refresher so that I can get a handle on this biodiesel thing. Mrs B claims I'm entering the manic-focus state that makes her crazy. I'll probably be on "ignore" at home for a couple of weeks.

Bot, email them to me justinwrock@gmail.com, and I will post them.

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-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.

It's nice to see my thread is still alive and well.

I failed to update this thread when I got into a very minor traffice accident with this car, and the insurance company totalled it. This was in August of 2007

I toyed briefly with buying a 2005-ish Honda Accord EX V6, but found an E430 in the color of my dreams, Bordeaux Red, at Beverly Hills Lexus. It was a 2001 model year car with about 77,000 miles. The original owner bought it new at the Mercedes dealer in Santa Monica, and serviced it at that dealership and traded it in on a brand new Lexus at Beverly Hills Lexus.

Beverly Hills Lexus had it originally priced at just over $20K, had marked it down to $18,995, and dropped it to $16,995 when I negotiated over the phone.

When I got there, I discovered it needed motor mounts (badly) and the front brake rotors were badly warped. I negotiated it down to $14.6 and drove it home. I think I got lucky on this one because it had been sitting on the lot for so long that they just wanted to get rid of it. There just isn't much of a market for a used Mercedes in Beverly Hills, I guess.

A little more than two years later, the car now has 99,700 miles on it, and I'm getting ready to change out the 16 spark plugs.

At any rate, I am still a very big fan of this chassis, particularly the 4.3 liter V8. It is a powerhouse of a motor, is incredibly quiet and refined, and gets fantastically good fuel economy. I'm getting 21-ish in mixed driving, about 19 in purely city driving, and 26-ish in 100% freeway driving.

The only failure I've had on this car is a radiator replacement due to a leak at the right rear corner of the radiator at the plastic seam. This car has only had factory MB coolant, so I assume this was a manufacturing defect. Interestingly enough, I had the same failure on my 2000 E430.

I also installed in IceLink iPod cable that uses the CD changer port at the back of the head unit, and allows a digital connection of your iPod, allowing you to use the buttons on the head unit as well as the steering wheel when listening to your iPod.

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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".

Thanks for the update, Paul. I do like the W210's. My friend with the '97 E420 that I posted on in the C4C thread got it back from Enrique last week, lots of work done, a $3k bill, a bit less then E. had estimated. It's low miles for the year. My friend is ready mentally for a new car now that he's got a car seat to wrestle with - which may mean his car is ready for me. I've been a passenger and occasional driver in it since his mom bought it Starmarked 9 or 10 years ago, and it's my favorite color - white with gray interior.

I'm finishing up my annual 2 month summer stint in the 300SD before I get it serviced, stick some Stabil in the tank, and put it in the garage with the batterytender 'til April. I do love that car, and it still gets 27-28 mpg like clockwork [end of non-W210 threadjack].

Btw, I was going through an old computer a couple of weeks ago and found your detailed service cost spreadsheet for your 124. These beasts do nibble you to death over time; I've never done one for the SD, I'm afraid of the results...

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81 300SD
08 MDX Tech
93 525i

05 F650GS

Save yourself from the trouble....nothing good can come of it.

__________________
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".