Stay away from the 1993 300E. Electrical POS. Every time my wife drove the car it came home limping with a new code, the locks woyld lock by themselves, the heated seats would heat in the summer, the alarm would come on while on the freeway. The power windows mechanism inside the rear door went bust. Only 100k miles and services ad the MB dealer.
Besides the blown head gasket when his wife was driving, the OVP, the wiring harness, wiring went bad on another piece that cost wholesale 1500.
And I bought it from the original owner.

Lots of power but electrical crap. Loaded with too much BS.
I wish they stayed away from the electrical toys.

__________________
Thanks, Juan

Correct. My bad.

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

Yeah the 300SEL has the stupid 2nd gear start, the SDL lacks this. 300SEL turns about 3,500 at 70, SDL turns 500 rpm lower. On a very good day a 300SEL will return 20mpg vs 30 mpg for the SDL.

So whats the point of getting the I6 gas engine if the diesel will beat it in most regards. 0-60 time can't be that different.

Why not just buy a 420SEL if you want a gas W126? Their is no price difference in todays market.

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

Don't knck the 300SEL if you haven't driven one. The 300SEL is just as powerful and fast as the short wheel version. Not that big of a difference in my oppinion in handling either.
The engine revs higher naturally.... and has decent pick up at the higher RPM;s.
The engine is very easy to work on, labor is not bad and you have tons of room in the engine bay. Keeping a M103 motor clean is also much easier.
I can list negatives of owning a diesel as well... but then it will lead to a heated debate.
The 420 I would not recommend. The engine is more maintenance oriented than the m103. If you want a V8... its 560 or bust. Besides the engine between the 420 and 560... the interior is much more luxurious and appealing to the eye in the 560.

Well, the diesel won't beat the I6 in performance. Fuel economy is of course no contest.

The I6 and the V8 are totaly different animals. One is cheap and easy DIY and one is not.

Ducks and runs.


Jorg

If I had known I'd get all this debate, I would have started an oil change thread. Thanks for all the input. I spotted a '91 300TE 4MATIC, on e-bay. It is in Fl., if I recall correctly, and out of the range for my actually laying hands on it for an inspection, but the looks of it has me really hot.

What can anyone tell me about these models? Any persistent, common problems? Major maintenance issues? Performance and reliability issues? Any comments, good, bad, or ugly will be appreciated.

__________________
1980 300SD 146K miles.

Yeah if you want a 4 matic buy a 2000+. Talk to any of the MB techs on this board they all say run from early 4 matics.

I'll say one last thing about these W126's then end it, I happen to agree with Snibble, 560 or bust. IMHO you either buy a 300/350SD/L or a 560. Considering how cheap the gas ones are these days the 560 makes a darn good case for itself.

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

I agree. I think that the last year of the good Accord was 1993 and 1995 for the Civic - Prelude around 1997. The 94-97 Accords were OK and better than the 98+, but not as good as the 93-older models. My 91' Accord LX sedan was bulletproof.

The 98-00 Accords have transmission issues and probably linger on to the 01-02 models. The 2003 redesign is supposed to be much better car.

[QUOTE=James L]yeah an older Honda that was made in Japan! not the newer pos US made versions.
QUOTE]

Sounds like an electrical short-out and fire waiting to happen. Do you still have this automobile?