92 300E leaves newbie stuck on shoulder
 

Excellent site, will be back. I'm accelerating onto the interstate, at 4800 RPM the engine shuts down. It will not restart and I am now standing on the side of the road in Detroit advertising my vehicle. After reading all of the frustration people have troubleshooting the EFI system as well as how 'user friendly' the CD's are, I am hesitant about this car. So I started with the basics after being thoroughly confused. A monkey had his hands on the engine and forgot to tighten down the rotor adaptor plate (among various other bolts) . It broke off. The engine would intermittently fire but for the most part no spark. Just thought I'd pass it on...

Just a note from someone that was in your shoes a year ago. I'd been a regular on this site for my 190SL. I was contemplating a purchase of a 300E, and started looking around at this forum. At first, I thought this car must be a disaster! Look at all the problems people have! Then I got to digging. People don't drop a thread on here with "I've got 200,000 miles on my 300E and nothing's wrong, I just thought I'd take up formum space!" The 300E is argueably the most reliable, trouble free, long running gasoline Mercedes ever made. And, once you hit 200,000 miles, you will have a hard time finding ANY other make with similar longevity! I have a '92, as do you, and most of the problems were fixed by then (valve seals, etc.). The 103 engine is pretty much bullet proof (but as you've found, not idiot proof!), and the chassis will run forever.

Last week I was in the local dealership and someone had just traded in a 300E with 192K miles on it. The sales manager mumbled/grumbled that the problem with those cars is that no one ever traded them in on a new one, they just kept driving them - and at 200K it was just getting broken in! Talk about a compliment!

So, don't let messages on this forum discourage you about your car. Also, remember that when you get stranded, no matter how long you own the car, Mercedes Roadside Assistance is available free of charge (I think 800 FOR MERCedes??). My 1957 190SL qualifies for that. Who else does that? Can you imagine if Toyota or Chevrolet did that?

This is a common problem on the cam rotor stands that were made of alluminum and not updated. They are updated to a steel stand. I have yet to see one of those break.

I can only agree with bstreep. My '88 300E turned 204k recently and it still drives like new. Best car I ever bought. If you stay on top of the maintenance and have any work done by a reliable mechanic or do it your self, it will not let you down. I've talked to a mechanic at Hoehn Motors ( MBZ Dealership in Carlsbad, CA) and he told me the service 300E's in 400K range.:cool:
Stay with it and you wont be dissapointed.
F.J.

I will, in a way, take issue with the claims of the 124 with 103 being the most long lived Benz ever made. I would correct that to say it is the longest lived GASOLINE ENGINED Benz ever made. The 123 diesels MUST be the longest lived.

I do understand the sales managers comments. Although I did have to do cylinder head work, my M103 engined 300E is at 196,000 miles now and has never been stronger. They are incredibly well built cars. They do have their achilles heels, the a/c and the valve seals, and a few minor weaknesses. But, keep in mind that these cars are definitely longer lasting cars than most anything else out there. If they last longer, there is more time and more opportunty for such things to be reported.

My $0.02,

Enough has been said already, but as a 124 owner too, I plan on driving it until the wheels fall off! I have yet to get to the head reconditioning ordeal (it's a baby at 108K), I will agree that it is a very reliable and solid car. I am certainly glad I chose it to do daily driver duty, and it looks good doing it as well...it's easier to work on than my Bug, and the parts are surprisingly inexpensive!!:cool:

Hey, Larry look at my post. I did say "The 300E is argueably the most reliable, trouble free, long running GASOLINE Mercedes ever made"! The 123 diesel is EXACTLY the reason I made that distinction.