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

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".

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?

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.

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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".

$3k? What did he have done, that's 50% of the value of the car.

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85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)

I'll see the car tomorrow and get the details (for that matter, I'll probably drop by Enrique's shop in the morning and ask him as well). I believe my friend said the heads were warped and had to be replaned after a bad gasket, I think there were a few other things.

Your point about cost and value is spot on; that's why my friend was thinking about selling it in a C4C deal and getting a new car. He ultimately decided that this surgery should get the car another 100k miles of life, and so was worth the cost despite the value implications. I might just buy it; it's low miles and in beautiful condition.

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81 300SD
08 MDX Tech
93 525i

05 F650GS

Interesting post, thought I'd chime in my opinions

Having previously owning several (6 in all) BMWs, late 80s and early 90s 3 and 5 series, I decided to try a Merc.

My first was a 93 190e 2.6 with close to 200k miles but very well maintained and clean. I did a stereo upgrade and added larger AMG Monoblocks and it drove great.

But I missed the higher HP and 5 speed of my past bimmers. So I sold that and had this great 95 5 speed 525i
After installing a performance chip and putting 20k miles on it I grew bored of having the same car (bad habit) and wanted a different one.
Found a deal on a W202 96 Mercedes C280 Sport

I was surprised on how quick it was and I like the style since the previous owner had put a trunk spoiler, CLK rims, and a Lorinser exhaust. I thought the interior was a great upgrade to my BMW 525i.

I didn't like the big gap and no cup holder option that BMW decided to go with.

I really enjoy the acceleration of the C280 but I wanted more HP and top end

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEXNQCRCPYQ


So I sold the C-Class and got a W124 93 400E
Pictured here with my sisters 2000 E320 4MATIC


I've got say I do enjoy the 275 HP V8 for getting around cars that want to play blocking games or hog up the fast lane on the freeway, but I do think the 4 speed auto is lacking in the response department

To testify in the W210 E320 4MATIC with 722.6 Manumatic transmission behalf, it is an absolute dream to drive in the snow with the proper tires (Michelin MVX I think they're called).
When I had to drive from Nevada to California in the middle of a snow storm it blasted through at 40-50 mph effortlessly while others were crawling around at 10-20 mph speeds

The only problems or week spots I see with the W210 is the faulty LED clock and outside temp displays in the cluster, the "Life Time" no dipstick transmission, and I did have to replace the passenger side front axle seal to the differential because it seeped fluid and it's tricky to install properly.

My 400E, I found they upgraded the front brake rotors from 22.4mm thickness to 25mm in 11/92 (when my car was made) so I have to reorder the larger ones. I missed the coil packs of my 2.8 M104 engine vs the 4.2 M119 cap and rotor design although the 2.8 is just as quick off the line it can't carry you up to 150 mph like the 4.2 M119 can

I just purchased the car and refreshed some fluids, new wiper, new head light doors, repaired the head light wipers, new Alpine stereo, and now tackling the brakes. So I'll give it some time before I provide a better opinion. First off I'm disappointed with the wimpy 15" 195/65 wheels, but smaller is better in the snow (no plow effect like with wider tires). I'll leave it until summer time to go to 16 or 17" rims.

I enjoyed reading your post.

I also had a problem with my LED temp display, but they can be fixed. There is a guy in the San Fernando Valley (Southern California) who fixes them while you wait.

If you want your 4.2 liter M119 engine with coil packs, you can buy a 1997 E420. That is a one year only offering in the W210 engine.

You could also buy a 1998-2002 E430, which also have a coil on plug ignition

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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".

I ran a 1997 E420 for about 5 years, it gave me very little trouble and was silky smooth. Of all my cars, that was the car I would be most willing to do a long distance trip in.

It also gave back 25mpg on the highway.

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With best regards

Al