Thinking of getting an M103 engined 300E. Seen several in the 2500-3900 range, low side of 100K, no rust, etc..

What are the issues? Is this roughly a fair price for the car? My friend bought a 900 dollar one with 210K and its had its share of issues, but this seems related to shoddy maintenance by the PO less than his neglect. It is a fairly quick car!

It seems DIY friendly, just want some input. I have a 76 300D that I lovve and has been stone cold reliable, but it has a body cancer problem I need to address...and it'd be better to have a daily driver while I continually tinker with the body on this other car.

Daily driver candidate?

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http://www.betten.mercedescenter.com...n_banner_1.jpg
1976 300D
190,000 Miles
Colorado Beige

1975 300D
Parts Car
78,000 Miles
Rustbucket
Also Colorado Beige

1984 190D 2.2 (Dad's)
156,000 miles
Champagne Metallic Clearcoat

Read up on CIS-E fuel injection.

Go for a '90- or newer. Better interior and MAS relay rather than seperate FP and Klima relays.

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'90 300SE 298k
-300K and it gets put into retirement.
'80 300D 255k Purchased new by family in 1980.

Had a:
1973 220 (gas)
1980 300SD
1992 400E

I have a 1986 300E and love it, but the p.o. took good care of it. Make sure the head gasket is not blown, look in the antifrieze overflow bottle. If it looks like chocolate milk, it is blown.

http://davebarnhart.com/mb300e/Buying.htm

Head gasket is a common issue, my '88 300E leaks some oil there (but not yet mixed with the coolant). I just continue to drive it.

AC/heater/blower issues seem to be a fairly common issue, as are power windows.

Overall though, they're reliable cars that can go forever with proper care/maintenance.

Mercedes love regular oil changes--it's ideal if you can find a previous owner who's done that.

Pricing-wise, it seems late 80s/early 90s E's go in the $2k-$4k range. Mine was $2000 with the known head gasket issue, and two windows that wouldn't roll up. Tan leather interior with a few cracks, but probably better than average condition. No cracks on dashboard, rear seat area looks new/like haven't even been sat on. Teal paint is nearly like new--ZERO rust! Broken odometer shows 105k; previous owner estimated about another 10-15k after it broke, so I figure they probably actually put 25k on it.

Good luck! Nothing like a good 'ol 300E.

I just bought a 300 E in Los Angeles. New dark red metallic paint very close to the original it came with 17" AMG rims 225s in the front and 245's in the back ac works great love the car but at the same time it scares me because of the problems it has, leaks a quart of engine oil every 2-3 days and also leaks a large puddle of tranny fluid but it doesn't always leak the tranny fluid and the engine oil must be when im driving because i never see any on the ground. any ideas?

I have the 1989 300TE. It now has over 220K miles on the clock. The car is bullet-proof.


If the car passes inspection from a PPI, get it. You will love it.

Gas mileage, however, is crappy for an I6 engine.

Good luck.

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Current Benzes

1989 300TE "Alice"
1990 300CE "Sam Spade"
1991 300CE "Beowulf" RIP (06.1991 - 10.10.2007)
1998 E320 "Orson"
2002 C320 Wagon "Molly Fox"

Res non semper sunt quae esse videntur

My Gallery

Not in this weather!

My CE (#M103.093) has 102 on the clock. Like BLGB's, it's been bulletproof. I had to replace the exhaust system in 2007. Imagine that, it only lasted 19 years and almost 100k miles. Go figure. It now needs a new front crankshaft seal.

My head gasket was replaced during a PPI 6 yrs ago when I bought it. Check the AC system. Has the system been converted to R134. Also, evaporator replacement is a majorleague expense. Has the radiator ever been replaced. The plastic necks are known weak points. Sooner or later they all go. ('cept mine of course)

My CE is no gas miser either. Premium here is $4.23.9
So a fillup here is 70-75 bucks.

Hey, if it fits your needs, why not think coupe instead of sedan.

I hate you the cheapest I can find here is $4.89/gallon.

(BTW, how the hell are you doing? )

Coupes are getting oh so very hard to finf. I agree, grab one now before they are all gone!

__________________
Current Benzes

1989 300TE "Alice"
1990 300CE "Sam Spade"
1991 300CE "Beowulf" RIP (06.1991 - 10.10.2007)
1998 E320 "Orson"
2002 C320 Wagon "Molly Fox"

Res non semper sunt quae esse videntur

My Gallery

Not in this weather!

That's life in SoCal! Our state excise tax on gas is one of the lowers in the country, but I think the guv is goind to raise it July 1.

Pm'd ya with a hello.

Now that you have some miles driving it, do you get the same number of glances from the ladies with Sam Spade as you did with Beowolf? Or is it something about the color red that catches the eye?

devils advocate, i have one it sucks and it was free!

sucks

145K miles (odometers broken)
too low gear, at 80 your over 3500
no first gear start, feels like ur pushing it (has some stupid 1st gear kickdown engage, just dumb, shld start in 1st)
wasteful engine, fuel economy sucks andddddddd your not going very fast to justify it
engine oil consupmption, valve stem seals will prob need replaced
rear window leaks
cruise control doesnt work

you cant do burn outs due to the 2nd gear start
car feels to heavy in corners and sits too high results in scary feeling at high 80+ speeds
steering doesnt feel very tight
ancient becker radio is Piece of junk
small speakers up front suck (4.)
trunk lift springs rust and break
have to remove underbody aerodynamic pan to change oil

inconvenient oil filter location
leaking/non working headlight wipers (stupid) and washer bottle/pump fitting leaks
brake lines rust
exhaust rusts (the cheapestttttt walker muffler/silencer was 700$ and its not S/s)

drivers side door lock doesnt lock but will unlock
rear headrests stuck in UP position

glove box light doesnt come on unless keys in ignition

a/c needs updated to r134a and it still wont be super cold (500$)
prob needs fuel injectors
headlights suck
few competent mechanics to do engine work

PROS
big back seat, if your my age dates still end up in back seat, this is + (if its not raining, see leaky window above)
decent top speed, had it up to 127 so far (ur engine rpm will be in red tho)

good dash! nice to have OIL pressure/temp unlike new cars that give u tach+ speedo and thats it
no LSD , can squeal serious tire going around corners
can shift manually using gate shifter
girls cant figure out gate shifter + 1000 points
good availability of parts and aftermarket upgrades like lights
EZ to change brake pads, simple as pie
EZ to change spark plugs + leads


so basically i inherited my car, alot of stuffs broken and it costs a $$$ to fix anything, everything thats broken can be fixed, but NOTHINg is cheap, rear window seals from MB $300+ NOT including actually installing them!

you may find a less destitute car, and even w.broken stuff u can pull girls w benz

so pretty much my opinion is mixed

I prefer to buy cars with obvious problems and get them at a bargain price. I purchased a 1995 E320 wagon for $1600 with known bad transmission, non working ac, 2 windows that didn't work, and bouncy ride. Had 170,000 miles but was near perfect body and interior (MB Tex) and had lived its entire life in the Nashville, TN area. I have repaired everything myself (replacing the evaporator was more of a project than rebuilding the transmission) and now feel that I have a car that should be very reliable for many years. The only common issues that haven't been addressed are the head gasket and wiring harness. The oil leaks are minimal and not bad enough to even cause any drips in the garage. Unless I start having wiring problems, I don't plan to replace the harness until the head gasket needs to be replaced.
I enjoy working on my own cars as a hobby and have found that with the proper information I can repair almost anything. This site has be a wonderful resource. I recently took the car on a 3000+ mile trip up North and it is a wonderful highway cruiser.
Why I like the 1995:
Last year of the E-class without Chrysler influence.
A/C system uses r134a
Auto transmission has first gear start
I6 engine (M104) is very smooth and has good power and reasonable economy (20-25 mpg).
I would be very leery of buying one of these cars if I didn't do my own work. I like to "own my cars" not have them "own me".

Fred, nice post but 1995 couldn't possibly have been the last E-class model year without Chrysler influence. First of all it's unlikely that Chrysler management ever influenced anything in the combined company, let alone product, let alone German based product. Influence of the merger, which didn't take place until 1998, couldn't have started to effect product until at least a couple years after the merger. Decisions to cheapen the 210 chassis had to take place well before it came out in late 1995.

Got your PM, will answer there. Here I will just say this: Your g/f is smoking hot. What a bod on her . Whoever said that CPAs are stuffed old shirts?

As to your question, the answer is a resounding NO. The new 300CE is nice enough, but it ain't no red sled. Driving it feels like driving the ultimate stealth mobile. Now I am just a grey haired middle-aged guy driving a nice, grey Benz. On the other hand, my wife (who is now studying to take the CPA exam after coming out of mommy-retirement) is very pleased.


Just to illustrate the difference. Soon after I got the new 300CE, I was going through the drive-through teller window (I occassionally like to go drive by and look at my money before my kids get a hold of it). The teller, very pretty young woman, said to me: "Is this your other Benz?" Puzzled, I asked her what she meant by that and she replied: "A couple of weeks ago (before the red coupe was totaled) I saw you stopped at a light, you were drving your other Benz (the red coupe) you had all the windows down, the sun roof was open and you were rocking to the Stones...you looked so cool!"

Sigh....

__________________
Current Benzes

1989 300TE "Alice"
1990 300CE "Sam Spade"
1991 300CE "Beowulf" RIP (06.1991 - 10.10.2007)
1998 E320 "Orson"
2002 C320 Wagon "Molly Fox"

Res non semper sunt quae esse videntur

My Gallery

Not in this weather!

This is the funniest (intentionally or otherwise) and most honest post I have seen in a long time.

Good work!

__________________
Current Benzes

1989 300TE "Alice"
1990 300CE "Sam Spade"
1991 300CE "Beowulf" RIP (06.1991 - 10.10.2007)
1998 E320 "Orson"
2002 C320 Wagon "Molly Fox"

Res non semper sunt quae esse videntur

My Gallery

Not in this weather!

Here's the 300E to get . . .

Can't Touch This

Hammer Time!