Considering 1993 300E 2.8 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

sasquatchgeoff · #1 07-20-2011, 11:20 PM

I have a close friend and workmate who for the past three years has told me when he gets ready to sell his wife's Arctic White/Saddle 1993 300E 2.8, I will be his first choice for taking ownership. Last month he bought a 2008 350 and has given me the green light to purchase the 300E for $2K. The 300E has 114K miles.

Last week he sent me the service record which was pretty moderate, but did show the following:

Replaced head, intake gaskets at 88K
Replaced wiring harness, coil at 90K
Replaced coolant pump, hoses, temp sensor, & radiator 100K
Motor mounts 65K
Belt tensioner, damper
Replaced cruise amp 70K

I was relieved to see the head gasket and wiring harness - known issues for this model configuration.

Body, paint, and interior is immaculate. Always garaged and serviced regularly. Radio powers up but does not work.

Should I go for this? I will try to get him to take some pictures. He has not and does not intend to advertise this car because he has promised it to me.

I am a diesel freak from the other discussion here on Peach Parts and have gone through my '86 201.126 extensively (all work myself, w/a friend). If I buy the 300 it will be the wife's car, and a car to pick up big-wigs at the airport when they come to town to see how I'm doing with my sales job here in Oregon.

photos here

Any comments appreciated.
Thanks,
Geoff

JohnM. · #2 07-20-2011, 11:23 PM

Sounds like a no brainer to me.

sasquatchgeoff · #3 07-20-2011, 11:27 PM

Thanks - I was kinda thinkin' along those lines. Too good to pass up.

timmyr · #4 07-21-2011, 06:15 PM

hello, the price sounds pretty reasonable, especially since the exterior and interior are immaculate, and the wiring harness and head gasket have already been replaced.

i have the same exact model with 120,000miles on it and am very pleased with the car.

Other things that you might want to research or even replace as preventative maintenance for this particular vehicle:

1. OVP relay (a bad one can leave you stranded, specifically, it can cause a no start issue ) its located behind the battery, if the one in the vehicle is not the new and updated OVP(000 540 6745) replace it.

2. the front suspension: in my opinion , it would probably be best to replace all of the parts minus the shocks, which at your mileage i believe should still be good, mine still are. new ball joints, tie rods, center drag link, and steering damper, along with good shocks will yield an impressively comfortable ride.

At around 112,000miles the driver's side balljoint snapped on my 300e. here's an example: Ball Joint Broke in Half (Pictures)
if you hear a creaking/squeaking from the front end , then its most likely the ball joints are bad, save yourself the headache of having to tow the car home or to a garage and just replace them for piece of mind.

3. as far as the wiring harness problem goes, the same defective wiring is also used in the throttle actuator, so that can also be a potential problem somewhere down the road as well.

otherwise a wonderfull car to both drive and own, i'm sure that you and the misses will enjoy it.

if i think of anything else i'll let you know.
good luck, hope you get it

sasquatchgeoff · #5 07-21-2011, 08:49 PM

Thank you very much for the descriptive reply. I think I saw something in the svc record about the OVP relay. I will definitely check. Good to know about the suspension. This reminds me that the 124 is a heavier chassis than my 201 - a lot heavier. Wear factors are more acute than with my little diesel.

Geoff

Guest987 · #6 07-22-2011, 11:28 AM

The car sounds fantastic, great price for that '93. Have you written the check yet?

sasquatchgeoff · #7 07-22-2011, 11:34 AM

Put money down - about to send 1/4th more. It's pretty much my car now - just a matter of when I can take delivery. It is about 250 miles from my house.

sasquatchgeoff · #8 12-29-2011, 10:48 PM

Picked her up just before Christmas (last week) logged about 750 miles so far. Transmission is slightly hard at start, but smooth as silk after warm-up. Becker 1432 gets power but not working - I suspect it is the power amp behind the back seat. Regardless, will replace with a substantially more powerful audio system - trying to figure out how to keep the Becker controller in the dash so as to retain the stock look. Here are some pics:

lee polowczuk · #9 12-31-2011, 08:25 AM

nice car ...you will love it