I'm looking at a '92 300TE with 147,000 on Ebay. VIN# wdbea90e9nf222168
At least now it's a southern car, near Atlanta. Anybody have any warnings, admonishments, encouragement? Is this a year where you'd expect to see the dreaded wiring insulation disaster?
Thanks, SEO

I have two 1992 one a TE and the other an E no wiring problems. I'd buy another 92 and will if the right one comes my way. My preference is for the M103 motor which was not used after 92.

Like all older cars there can be alot of maintanence involved. What you do in the way of maintanence to an older car will depend on how you intend to use it. My favorite car for trips it the one with the most miles the 1992 300E. So I've done a lot of preventative stuff.

Is there agreement on whether the fancier rear suspension on a TE is worth the hassle? I've lugged stuff around in my 123 300d for years without feeling in too bad shape.

With 125 K on mine all I have done is replace the accumulators,,,, just because. IMHO the suspension is worth every dime.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

I just had my daughter celebrate her 16th birthday by lugging a bunch of her friends in my mini-van with my wife and me in my 90 300te. Of course they all negotiated for who would sit in the rear facing seats of the TE. When I saw how the rear was sitting so low that the rear wheels looked like they would be rubbing, even though I've had TE's for almost 10 years now, even I expected to hear and smell rubber burning. After about two blocks, I pulled over just to see for myself and sure enough, the levelers had kicked in and the car was perfectly level with a very full load of seven riders! Without the self-leveling system, I just don't see how the loading could be handled without using springs that would be anything but a kidney-rattling ride. Just two weeks ago, I had the original accumulators changed (198,000 miles) for $300 parts and labor. It was worth every penny!

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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

I've owned both a 92 300TE (current driver) and a 92 300TE 4-matic (sold long ago). While I absolutely love these cars, I'd be hard pressed to recommend any MB of this vintage to someone who isn't a solid DIYer.

In fact, I did once recommend a 91 300TE to a close family friend who isn't a DIYer, but had the bankroll to pay for all the repairs (ortho surgeon). He loved the car and had a good ownership experience for 3 years, but decided to sell it and get a new car (non-MB). If he hadn't had the $ to pay someone else to fix it (and not much went wrong, mostly routine maintenance) he would have seriously questioned my sanity in recommending the car to him (a clean, 60k mile example with records in Vancouver, BC).

I'd never consider a 4-matic again, of course, but I would not even worry about the self-leveling suspension. It just has never failed me or given me trouble ever. If it starts to ride hard, I'll just replace the spheres. No big deal.

Thanks for the input. I've owned 123's for ten years now, and have done everything that needs doing myself. The only vehicle I refuse to work on is the air brakes in my larger truck. I won't say they make me nervous, but wouldn't it be an unhappy experience if they stopped working one day?

Ii would recommend a '92 300TE to anyone if it is at least marginally mantained. The 124 wagons are indestructible, they last forever (more than the Energizer rabbit) and the 92s are even better because they come with the M103. The M104 has prove to be marginally more powerful but definitely more of a hassle to mantain.

Be careful of: busted rear self levelling suspension, water filtrations through the rear side and rear door windows and any electrical malfunctions (they tend to be expensive to fix).

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A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

Thanks for the input. I've been wary of the later 3.2 liter six with the variable cam timing. A bit too clever for my taste.
Last week I was tempted by a 300e with a 2.8 twincam. Looked like a nice car, but too far away.