OK ,now that I'm 90 mins to Tahoe, I'm considering adding a 300te 4matic in addition to my 2WD 90 300te to cut down on the whole snow chain experience.

What do I need to know about looking for a 4matic and the whole 4matic ownership experience?

thanx.

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03 CLK430 Cabrio 211K Pweter Silver/ Oyster Leather
90 300SEL 214k Pearl Black/ Alto Grey/Black Leather

Prior: 85 190E, 88 300TE, 89 300TE, 90 300E 2.6, 90 300TE, 92 300E 2.6, 91 and 93 300SL, 87 Ferrari Mondial Cabrio

there is no greater pleasure than driving this vehicle thru snow that others may find a real nuisance.kinda moves like a waterspider across a pond

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michael cole 1980 300SD gone now but not forgotten,87tdt,90 300te 4matic 95 e320 wagon

Check out this thread: 1991 300 TE 4matic-help?.

Previous owners of these cars seem to have had numerous issues.

As the owner of a 1999 E320 4M wagon, I would spend the extra $6-8 K and buy a 210 if you must have a Merc. with AWD.

I think mine is the best car I ever owned, even though I am having some hydraulic and power steering issues with it right now. If you got one in mind, I would recommend two things... Take the VIN number to the dealership in the town it is from and see what they have done to it and secondly get up underneath it and make sure all 4 CV boots are in good shape and not cracked. If you can find one with seat heaters it would be a plus in the winter time. The ladies really like them too.
Paul

the ABS sensors on the front hubs has a habit of rusting and then failing to send message to CPU reulting in 4-Matic light illuminating and the front drive not engaging. Cleaning the rust out to make "teeth" that the hall-effect sensor can detect sometimes works bt eventually in my casenew drive shafts were needed just to correct this (design) problem.

I have been interested in buying a 300 TE, and of course, living in Maine, though AWD would be great. The strongest evidence I've found that these cars don't work very well is that on the used market they seem to sell for the same, or even less, than an equivalent 2wd.
Around here the AWD car of choice is the Subaru, which is a reported to be a simpler (viscuous clutch) system, not electrical. And I hate to say, god strike me, but for this particular use it seems as if Audi makes a better machine.

The best stable is a Mercedes and a Subaru. We love our AWD Scoob wagon and on Blizzaks, it's a snow-eating monster. The AWD system is excellent and very relaible. As far as relaibility is concerned, all our Scoobs (we're on our third) have been excellent. Fuel economy from the 2.5L is decent (city driving the same as my C230, but not as good on the highway) but cargo capacity if great.

Carrying four climbers and all our gear...

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

The W210/211 4-matics are bullet proof. Our 210 wagon is a pleasure to drive in the snow. Has the largest cargo area of any wagon on the market

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2012 ML350 Bluetec 4-matic
1999 E320 4-matic Estate


"A ship in harbour is safe, but thats not what ships are built for". - John A. Shedd

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