Just got my second Mercedes-- a 1996 E-320 (traded my BMW for it) and love the car.

The car has around 75 K Miles. Got it in Fla.-- originally the car was imported into the US from Canada but it has a valid Fla title (soon to be Ala).

I got mixed response from the Mercedes shop here in Birmingham when I visited them today (got the car 3 days ago). They led me to believe that there were vast differences between the Canadian models and the American ones. Agreed the dash is metric (Km and Celsius) I dont find that objectionable but wonder a couple of things--

Is there a software switch somewhere to change Odometer and Air Conditioner readings from Metric to US or is it required to change out both the instrument pod and the air conditioner control unit to accomplish this??

Additionally are there any endemic problems to be aware of in this model or anything to be cautious of??

Im a maintenance person and believe that regular maintenance is cheap compared to the cost of repairs ( my 1998 BMW Z-3 service monitor dictated changing oil every 7500 Mi and I would do it about every 3500)

Last Mercedes was a 190 E that I really enjoyed and the 320 is awesome..

Also thanks for the forum and information here.

Carr McCormack

If I am correctly, your 1996 E-class should have the climate control with the wider digital display and YES these can be reprogrammed to read Fahrenheit instead of Celsius! It has to be reprogrammed by the dealer or somebody who has got the hard- & software to plug in your cars' central connector.

The odometer is something else; you will have to replace this with one that reads miles in stead of kilometers. I presume that the scale on the gauge is in kilometer as well??

greetingz,