best oil for any car is to use mineral base oil and periodic changes of oil and filter is the best. Nothing beats that (even sythetic oil can't give you absolute protection, its all marketing hype).

i use 10W-40 dino oil, rated SJ or SM minimum, and change every 3000 miles on my 97 E420

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Current cars:
2001 MB E55 AMG
2003 Honda S2000
2000 Honda CRV

Gone but not forgotten:
2004 BMW 325i 5sp sport
1999 BMW 540i sport
1997 MB E420
1995 BMW M3 coupe

Would you please expand on this?

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2008 E350 4matic / Black/Anthracite

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Gone but not Forgotten:
2001 E430 4matic, 206,xxx miles, Black/Charcoal
1995 E320, 252,xxx miles, Black/Grey
1989 260E, 223,00 miles, Black/Black

I use Castrol 15W40 in my car and never had any probs. I was told by the dealer to use this oil type for all pre-2000 mercedes.....the brand is ur choice...

__________________
My Cars
Mercedes CLS
Mercedes C-Class W203 - All time favorite

R.I.P.
Mercedes C-Class - W202 Lemon
Mercedes ML - Warrior
VW Jetta – Worst Car I ever owned - Alot of problems

Isn't that a bit thick for a Canadian winter?

He is from Vancouver, British Columbia.
They have NO idea what winter is.

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2007 C 230 Sport.

I don't know where u live, or if ur canadian also...but here in the greater Vancouver area, we have very mild winters which include no snow or freezing...so with none of that messy winter stuff...15W40 is no problem to use at all...


and i think manny put it best:
He is from Vancouver, British Columbia.
They have NO idea what winter is..

LOL

__________________
My Cars
Mercedes CLS
Mercedes C-Class W203 - All time favorite

R.I.P.
Mercedes C-Class - W202 Lemon
Mercedes ML - Warrior
VW Jetta – Worst Car I ever owned - Alot of problems

Went to Winnipeg last week.
Stepped out of the airport terminal & thought it felt a bit cool.
Looked at the temperature display...............- 31 degrees with a windchill of - 42 degrees.

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2007 C 230 Sport.

HOLY CRAP!!!...man in Winnipeg trying to heat up 15W40 must be like trying to melt Candle Wax!

__________________
My Cars
Mercedes CLS
Mercedes C-Class W203 - All time favorite

R.I.P.
Mercedes C-Class - W202 Lemon
Mercedes ML - Warrior
VW Jetta – Worst Car I ever owned - Alot of problems

Somebody is pulling somebody's leg here. I HAVE been in Vancouver in the winter and have watched the snow come down. And I can tell you, installing ice-skates on a C280 just to get to US Customs is a challenge.

Our big snowfalls in Seattle are the result of arctic air coming done from Canada meeting onshore moisture from the Pacific. Just last month........

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Roger E.

Buddy you have the same climate in seattle that i have. I live on Zero avenue, if i feel like spitting the wind blows it over into the US..that's how close I live to the border. Beside last months freak snow storm(which seattle recieved worse of then we did) we only get rain. I go to seattle often, and its only 90 minutes away and I personally do all my shopping in Bellingham, I don't know where you came up with the put Ice Skates on your car, cuz i drive mine all season long, up and down from the US. Just like that "one time" you saw snow coming down in Vancouver, I have seen snow coming down twice in Seattle, we have the same weather Except that it's much cooler in the summers in Seattle thanks to the ocean breeze, and that's only the coast line area...and before you try to grill me with that's a lie, I've lived there....you must have gone to a ski resort like Whistler and seen the snow coming down, yes it snows alot there.

__________________
My Cars
Mercedes CLS
Mercedes C-Class W203 - All time favorite

R.I.P.
Mercedes C-Class - W202 Lemon
Mercedes ML - Warrior
VW Jetta – Worst Car I ever owned - Alot of problems

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Any MB dealer who gives this advice is a bleeding idiot considering the class action suit MB lost over sludging in the M112 V-6 due to the use of dino oil changed at FSS intervals. And those are pre-2000 engines.

Castrol?

Buddy, break that down a bit for me. Sorry i'm not a mechanic....

__________________
My Cars
Mercedes CLS
Mercedes C-Class W203 - All time favorite

R.I.P.
Mercedes C-Class - W202 Lemon
Mercedes ML - Warrior
VW Jetta – Worst Car I ever owned - Alot of problems

<>

<>.
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A few years back I attended a two hour presentation on Mobil 1 given by the ExxonMobil's Senior Engineering Advisor/Synthetic Automotive Engine Lubricants (so says his business card). I asked him about the MB Flexible Service System (FSS) and the M112 V-6 sludging problem.

He told me that when MB started testing the FSS in Germany, they used European dino oil and were able to go 10K miles with it which is the minimum mileage before FSS says "change it." At that time MB was not thinking synthetic.

So when the ML showed up (using the V-6) everybody here was using an American refined dino oil which turned out to be inferior, service life-wise, to the Euro stuff they had tested with. And when the sludged up V-6s started showing up at the dealers' doors, there was great consternation because this was an engineering error on the part of the mighty MB and was going to cost them a great amount of money in warranty claims.

During all this excitement, ExxonMobil stepped forward with a solution which just happened to be their product, Mobil 1. MB was very resistive (the NIH factor, particularly strong in Germany) but when they finally were convinced, they became REALLY convinced and ruled that M1 was the answer and their dealers were to use it from then on. Then along came the class action suit against MB (they lost) and all the sludged up V-6s were repaired under warranty and their engine warranties were extended for quite a long period.

My 2001 C320's first fill was M1 0W40 which I continue to feed it and after 50K miles there is no measurable oil consumption. I'm assuming that my '08 C350 will come with 5W40, a fleece filter and 13K mile change intervals. I will probably change it at the midpoint as I do now. For no good reason, I confess.

BTW, the '08 C350 pix can be seen at www.caranddriver.com

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Roger E.