1997 S500

Love: I'm 6'5" and I can still lock my knees AND someone of average size can cross their legs behind me. WOW. The power and refinement of the M119. The fact that I have 107,000 miles and the front seat show virtually no wear. The Bose Beta sound system is worth the price of admission alone- especially since I have an integrated iPod now. I love going 85mph and having virtually no road noise. Old school ergos and style- it can't be beat. Assuming no disasters, I'll own this one for a long time.

Hate: As Roseanne Rosanna Danna says "It's always something!" Front suspension bushings, Lower valence is exactly 1/2" lower than your standard parking stop. Can't replace lower valence when it becomes damaged on said parking stops- you have to replace the whole front bumper skin!, $165 replacement keys, parts keep getting more expensive, and most of all- a lack of apparent respect for the W140- as a whole, the car was under appreciated from the get go and thats a crying shame since this body was the pinnacle of the old school MB design philosophy.

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Paul Hansen

1997 S500 (100,000mi)

I've hit five deer and one buffalo all at speeds greater than 70 mph with as many cars. All 190's. I wiped out 15 ft of guard rail and crossed the median into oncoming lane of traffic on the interstate avoided oncoming cars and rolled down a 30 foot embankment. Not a scratch. All because of the design of the car. To me it makes little difference what these cars cost to keep running. The people who designed these cars thought very carefully how to protect us and I'm greatful for their efforts.

I've driven the 190 series about 1.5 million miles in every kind of road condition and I've spent about $1200.00 in mechanical repairs on all the cars combined. I do my own mechanical work so there isn't any shop labor in the repair bills.

While driving one of our 87 300TDs, and coming to a stop, my 18 year old son was rear-ended by an inattentive driver on an F-150. The Ford pickup was doing about 45 mph, my son in the TD just about at a full stop. Following the impact he was able to steer (!) to avoid the car in front and slam into the median guardrail. He walked away bruised.

That's it for me. The F-150 chassis mirrors the SUV epidemic on our roads. The w124 chassis did the job of protecting my son. I'll put up with whatever these cars throw at me, because what else is important than loved ones?

I replaced the wrecked 87 300TD with a 95 E320 wagon. My son is OK and I have another of those 87 300TDs in my barn. Life is good.

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In my driveway
1987 300TD Smoke Silver 300K
2000 E320 Wagon 4Matic 190K

Past MBs
1995 E320 Wagon 170K - Sold
1982 300D 200K - Sold
1986 300SDL - Junked
1987 300TD - Totalled @230K

Like: It's simple with enough funky little doo-dads to keep me busy/distracted.

Don't like: Cracking dash, delaminating wood.

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

I like my 85 500sel because:
-110,000 on the clock
-paid $900 for it
-bought it because i've wanted a project car made the same year as me
-and because the previous owner proved it worked by driving it to my house
-had/has small easily fixable problems that I love fixing
-now that I've fixed the tie rods, idle controller, front window regulators, and replaced the a/c belt, it rides smoth as glass and sounds just as good
-but most of all... It has potential!
everything in the car is simple and well-designed and perfect for me, an electrical engineering student, to change into something most of the people in here would probably not appriciate... but I would!

Cons:
-3 rust holes (big whop)
-placement of the gas tank makes adding excessive subwoofers difficult
-I must plan my parking strategy everytime i find a parking spot

Overall, for what I paid, I got a great car that will continue impressing me for a long time to come.

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iThink Different
Building an all new electrical system in my
1985 500SEL

107 - solid, nimble and fun but the windshield (inside) is a PITA to clean

126(s) - real solid all day cruiser but where the hell did they put my glovebox ? ('90 SEL - the '84 is pre air bag and has one)

116(s) - safe & solid cruisers but that HVAC servo!??!!

and they're all fun to work on..

Kevin

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"Dangerous with a wrench...and not smart enough to know it"

Stable (in order of acqusition):
'84 500SL, 280SEL (Euros)
'77 280SE. '90 560SEL
'79 450SEL 6.9,
'95 C280 (totalled by daughter 8/07)
'81 280SL (rescued) '88 300CE
'86 560SEC '95 C36
'01 CL55

DD's: '04 S500 4Matic (SWMBO)
'04 F150 Crew

I have yet to see a 123/126 w/ tight (play free) steering.

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82 300D....went to MB heaven
90 350 SDL....excercising con rods

1989 300ce

Like:
Putting all the windows down, sunroof open, driving to work on a sunny morning, I feel like I'm flying on a magic carpet. No vibration, motor noise, not even a breeze on my face, only A3 pounding the Sopranoes theme out of the stereo.

The way the coupe looks, the way the hood opens, rock steady at 140, etc. etc.

Dislikes:
Dealer is on the other side of town, I get socked for mail order at the border, belt tensioner/damper is overengineered.

I have four cars and this one is my favorite. Not bad for a 17 year old car.

Jorg

1983 300TD Turbo wagon.

Like...the classic body style, still looks great to me, the way the doors can be gentley shut with a click, no slam. Looking at the MB star floating over the road. It's paid for, rides good, drives nice, and is simple enough that I enjoy working on it. For a skeet shooting week-end room for gun cases, ammo cans, cleaning box, ice chest, lawn chair, and still room to lay down and take a nap....priceless, like driving a mini-RV.

Dislike....crappy headlights, way too complicated vaccum system for climate control....I can adjust the temp myself, crappy cruise control system, and my biggest pet peeve are the almost totally useless mirrors, hard to see anything behind or beside you...that is just a safety hazzard. Cup holders? We don need no stinkin' cup holders! Well, I dooooo!!

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Mark
1983 300TD Wagon
Even a broken watch is right twice a day

'91 300SE just clocked 60K

Dislikes...Mostly personal so far. Dislike not having cupholders, no tilt-steering wheel, and no real glovebox for storage. I'm used to bucket seats, and the springs in the drivers seat are either shot, or it was designed way too mushy for my taste. Still getting used to navigating - parking - etc. BIG car! I also needed the manual to figure out the controls, and the radio is situated way too low IMHO.

Likes...Strangely I really like the view of the hood while driving. Such nice contours looking over it and out at the road. In general, it is a classy shape and it just looks and feels "like a tank". Slam the doors and you can literally hear the quality. I feel safe in it. I think I read it was the first car to pass the gubment offset crash test way back when. The car reminds me of 60's cars in that is seems like there is just an engine in the bay, and not like today's cars where the engine is crammed into a tiny spot and buried beneath a bunch of other unidentifyable parts. Simple, or so it seems! I'm looking forward to many good years with this car.

It's the former. I had the same problem and recently swapped the seats in my `88 560SEL for a gently used pair from a `91 420SEL. It's like night and day. The PO of my car was about 6' 3" and was probably 325 pounds. His wife must have been fairly heavy, too, as the passenger seat was worse than the driver's seat. The new seats look and feel great.

Bill

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1988 MB 560 SEL 138k - Desert Taupe w/ Cream Beige Interior.

Mods:
Euro Headlights w/Smoked Corners
New seats from a `91
ASA 15-Hole Replicas
Sony HU, JL Audio 400/4 Amp, JL Audio 2-way Components on rear deck, JL Audio 3-way Components in door & dash.


2000 BMW Z3 2.3 Roadster 33k
2002 Toyota Rav4L 50k

The good: I love my 201! IMHO, it's the best looking vehicle MB has ever produced. I adore the lack of gadgetry -- even the climate control fan is manual (so are the seats). It is the best engineered vehicle I've ever seen.

The bad: My only problem with this car is the transmission. No lock-up torque converter. Inexcusable for a 1992 car of this caliber. I'd also like it to be geared higher, or have an overdrive gear. My automatic has a final ration of 1:1. The 5 speed manual equipped cars were 1:1 in 4th gear, with 5th being an overdrive gear. That sure would make this a more pleasant highway cruiser.
Aside from the gearing and the TC, the transmission is wonderful. Smooth as silk, and pleasant to drive.

Jeff Pierce

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Jeff Pierce

Current Vehicles:
'92 Mercedes 190E/2.3 (247K miles/my daily driver)
'93 Volvo 940 Turbo Wagon (263K miles/a family truckster with spunk)
'99 Kawasaki Concours
Gravely 8120
Previous Vehicles:
'85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow (226K miles)'93 Volvo 940 Turbo Wagon
'53 Willys-Overland Pickup
'85 Honda 750F Interceptor
'93 Nissan Quest
'89 Toyota Camry Wagon
'89 Dodge Raider
'81 Honda CB 750F Super Sport
'88 Toyota Celica
'95 Toyota Tacoma
'74 Honda CB 550F

My 99 ML320 has been AOK up to 68K ... cannot complain about anything!
My 68 230S is such a basic car that I can't think of anything to really be concerned with; just got it and performing some (mostly cosmetic interior )refurbishments on it.
My 89 420SEL is in mint condition, but I am going to check the chain and guides shortly and probably replace the guides. I don't like all the vac lines on the 420, but they are not as big a tangle as they are on the 450SEL, which I just sold (really difficult to find and trace them all on the 450).

Overall, I am basically happy with the three Mercedes I have; no heavy complaints!

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Ben Harrison Carter
1999 Mercedes ML320 87K
1992 Mercedes 300CE 89K
1995 Corvette 29K -- Sold Dec 09
1989 Mercedes 420SEL 99K -- (Sold 4/08)
1968 Mercedes 230S (106K) (Sold 9/06))
1976 Mercedes 450SEL 130K (Just sold - 06)
1961 Mercedes 220Sb (sold years ago)

I like the fact that my 99 E430 drives like a brand new car when it isn't broken, despite the fact it is 7 years old has 84K on it.

I hate the fact that something breaks three to four times a year, and that I have spent US$15K maintaining and fixing the piece of junk over it's life so far.

I like that it gets great fuel economy for a "sport sedan"

I hate the fact that 275HP is not what is was in 1999, and that many mommies with minivans have the same power.

I like the fact that I did not spring for an E55 that year. Daddie's with sportutes can have more power than even those AMGs.

I really like the fact that I can buy a 300C SRT 6.1 with 425HP next. It's the closest I will ever get to a German made car for awhile.

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GParker
'99 E430 - Smoke 'n Parch

Fav: Its a mercedes
downside: Its a mercedes to repair...