87 300E Questions

Great Site! Can't wait to see what you do with it in the future.

I am hoping to shortly become a first time Mercedes ownwer and have some questions I hope someone can help me out with.

I have a few questions regarding the 87 300E. I have been looking for a 300 for a while now and have found one that appears to be in great shape. It is a one owner vehicle, with all records, oil changed every 3k. The body and interior are immaculate. The vehicle has approx 170,000 miles. Are there any things I should look out for? I have seen reference to valve stem seal problems, but mainly for the 86's. Is this a problem for the 87 as well? If so, is this something that would likely have been replaced by now? If not, how much should I expect to spend if I have to have it done?

The seller is asking $7000 for the car. Unfortunately I am on a budget and have been restricted to looking at fairly high mileage cars. Luckily, I don't mind performing maintainence myself. How feasible is this with a Mercedes? Most of the traffic on this group and Richard Sexton's list regarding 300's appears to deal with the 300D. Are the 300E's less popular? Less reliable? Any thoughts on this particular MB in terms of price, mileage, reliablility, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

--Kevin

The 300E was one of the most popular models Mercedes ever produced. I'd have to say over 50% of the service work I do is on this model. In my opinion it is one of the most durable and reliable model/engine combinations of any car manufacturer. I myself have owned one and driven it over 200,000 miles with very few problems.

The valve stem seal problems were truly valve guide problems that Mercedes has attempted to correct with new/improved valve stem seals. This never worked; the only true way to repair the M103 engine with an oil consumption problem due to valve train problems is to replace all the valve guides - a.k.a valve job. This typically runs between $1,500 and $2,300 and is a MUST if this engine has not had this repair.

Definitely have this car inspected by a MERCEDES-BENZ technician. If the car is in good shape and needs minor repair, my thought is to buy it ASAP. If not, keep looking. The good ones are out there.

Benzmac

What is excessive oil consumption for the 300E and does the valve guide problem affect all years or just the early model years? I have a 90 300TE and it does use some oil, it has 125K Kms on it.

Thanks,

Ian Read

All M103 engines had this problem. They usually need a valve job every 120,000 miles or so. This depends greatly on service. My 300e went 200,000 before the first valve job.