Need advice on what's good
 

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum. I have been a long time Volvo owner having a 1985 240 DL (which I bought new) and a 1998 V90. My 240 is nearing the end of it's life after 22 good years and over 350,000 miles.

I am exploring options. Mercedes Benz being in the top two of those "options".
I'm thinking of something along the lines of a 2001 to 2005 E class, but I wonder which are the better models, what to look out for, what kind of costs I'd be looking at etc.

Thanks,

William

Mercedes quality/reliability has slipped badly since 1995. If you search this forum, you'll find posts indicating that around 2001, things really started to sink badly. There's a URL posted further down that you can go thru and I would google whatever it is you are considering.

The truth of the matter is no one stands out anymore. Even Honda & Toyota have had a lot of issues.

Throw in the horrors that 2008/OBD-III could brings us and one has to wonder what ever happened to a basic car that works?

As far as I'm concerned, buying a new car today is pure roulette.

Lookin' fwd. to the 10K Chinese 4 banger that's supposedly more reminiscent of the early to mid-80s Honda's.


http://www.mercedesproblems.com/

Mike,

Thanks for the link, I'll read through it. Although I have to admit that's very sad. Volvo has gone the same way. After around 1998 to 1999 they changed, which was when Ford took them over, not sure if that's the reason but you can tell the difference. Might decide Lexus is more the way to go, as they seem to do very well in most of what I've read.

Well, if it makes any difference to you:

Aside from routine maint and a trany problem I exacerbated in my 300M (meaning I drove it for 2 weeks with a CEL and a tranny trouble code), it proved to be so reliable, fun to drive and cheap to maintain that I got a 2nd one.

No, it's not a Mercedes, but I'd rather drive my 300 than a Honda or Toyota. And the 3.5 is very powerful AND yet still efficient enough for me (24MPG avg, it'd be 28 if I didn't drive so fast and accelerate so quickly).

I have yet to find my '99 W210 with 100K miles to show poor quality, and would gladly get a newer one, but would probably shoot for '02 to give the '00 dash electronics time to have the bugs worked out. Obviously high-mileage cars need some attention, and Mercedes definitely have idiosyncrasies, but that's why you like them.
Get a V8 if you like acceleration.

I second that - shoot for a 2001 or 2002 e320. Great power, great gas mileage, excellent driver, and the best Benz has made in the past 15 years in terms of reliability. Get a good one, not the first one.

I would read what M.B.Doc has to say on page 1 of the following thread:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/147397-shameful-results-least-reliable-used-car-brand-mercedes-benz.html?highlight=2001

Let's be honest, was there ever a Volvo made (at least before the mid-90's) that didn't need lots of attention? I developed my car skills saving my parents from dealer abuse on their temperamental Volvo wagon. It had a fuel injection system that failed high! Why didn't people go after them like they later did against Audi?

That's a good question. Fuel system shutting down @ 70mph with a tandem axle truck on your tail!

I remember the Audi situation. Cars going thru garage walls into a swimming pool 20 ft. the other side of it. 20/20 or TV programs similar to 20/20 had a field day with the Audi problem.

Someone posted here a year or so ago that the Audi thing was a hoax...all made up. Huh???