Main expenses were the brakes, emissions snafu, and just miscellaneous stuff here and there. A little "deferred maintenance" from previous owner when I got it with about 140K miles, then did OK for about 30000 miles before this disastrous run.

Picked it up today, good news was it started, bad news is I rolled the window down and the motor is broken and it won't go back up. I'm sure that's many hundreds of dollars, but I am thinking about pushing the car off a cliff in the middle of nowhere to put it out of its misery.

Anyway, it's only money. It's a big setback, and I resent Mercedes for not making a quality product, but at least I know never to touch them again.

Highlight of the day was another guy who had a 1999 E320 (a year newer than mine) that was incredibly in even worse shape. We bonded over what a bad product we own!

That cost $6500 ?

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

iuecon99, MB changed their philosophy with the 210 vehicles. Instead of allowing the engineers to design the vehicle to MB's high standard and setting a price to give them a profit, MB allowed the accountants to set the price and the engineers had to design a vehicle that could be built for that price. Consequently the design quality suffered and owners have flawed vehicles with the associated high repair costs. MB did that to be price-competitive with US automobile manufacturers, and the trend has continued since then.

If you have ever owned a 124 vehicle, say a 1995 E320, you will note the higher quality leather, more durable paint, thicker metal panels, recirculating ball steering vs. rack & pinion steering, higher quality brake calipers with a wear sensor on each brake pad, generally higher quality materials and a more solid feel. DIY'ers buy the older cars because they are built to last when maintained properly, and generally accommodate DIY work.

As for your broken window, it will likely cost you several hundred dollars to repair if you are not a DIY'er who will take the time to buy parts at a salvage yard or online. If MB vehicles were as inexpensive to purchase and maintain as a Honda or Toyota everyone would own one.

MB vehicles generally have superior safety systems to other car manufacturers. If you are ever in a serious auto accident a MB automobile is worth every penny if you walk away unscathed. I was rear-ended in my first 1998 E320 by a car going 50 mph with no attempt to brake. Got pushed into the pick-up truck stopped in front of me so my car was damaged heavily front and rear. The only sensation I had was falling back into a pillow ... seat belt cinched tight via the explosive device ... passenger compartment intact and driver's door opened as if nothing happened. I bought that 1998 E320 after seeing Princess Diana's bodyguard survive the high speed crash in Paris, where the S500 was wrapped around a concrete column, because he was the only person wearing a seat belt. I would think twice before abandoning the MB brand.

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Fred Hoelzle

It's a shame you have had a bad experience, however every manufacturer gets this now and then. Volkswagen was heavily criticized with the Golf VR6, and some of their part prices are eye-watering.

Ismalley your mileage is truly something.

I agree with you 100%, in 100k miles I have spent around £2000 in parts and probably saved over £6000 in labour from doing things myself. You do form a bond with your car during that time.

If the op was doing it himself he would have saved a bomb, however that doesn't excuse MB of doing a shoddy job in the late '90's.

Agreed...unless he's unaware of other work that looks like a rip off.

Half the MB expenses are easily DIY and it saves you ending up getting utterly ripped off. If I had a dealer do the work I've done on my 300TE I probably would have spent $25k in the last 10 years. I still justify that what car can I buy new that will cost less than $1300/yr? Can't buy a Camry for that...monthly payments would be $3k/yr alone.

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2016 Monsoon Gray Audi Allroad - 21k
2008 Black Mercedes E350 4Matic Sport - 131k
2014 Jeep Wranger Unlimited Sahara - 62k
2003 Gray Mercedes ML350 - 122k

There is nothing more expensive than an old Mbz if you can't do you own repair or diagnosis. OTOH, there is nothing cheaper than owning a Mbz if you are handy. I love all my old diesel. Cheap to insure, easy to work on, load of helping hands/info from this forum, cheap spares, availability of cars in jy. It has been good experience for me since I changed my car brand to Mbz.

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

Indeed, I don't have the time or mechanical aptitude for repairs. The guy at the store told me I was "lucky" to only have spent that much. Also that includes oil changes, I live in an apartment complex that prohibits changing the oil there (which they strictly enforce). Anyway, life will go on- I'll get what use I can out of the car, hopefully another 6 months/6000 miles, and then buy the cheapest Toyota with 100K miles I can find. Pleasant day to you all!

Get a 2011/2012 Honda Accord.

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Jim

I would paint with such a wide brush for the W124 - yes they are built a bit different but are way more expensive to diagnose if you need to dig deeper into a problem and specially for a non DIY type person like the poster.

The W124 has very primitive diagnostics and require many man hours, unlike the W210 which has the nice 38 pin port and can spit out a datalog for you.


You certainly are spot on for the safety cell features - these cars are very nicely built in that aspect (I consider it most important)

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

coming to topic

Now I dont quite get the issue here, is the original poster assuming that buying a more than 10 yr old used car and tacking some amount of money (regardless of how) makes for an excellent car? We dont know if the mechanics who touched it are familiar with it so they could have pointed out smaller jobs while repairing something else.

now speaking of japanese reliability - all I can reply is LOL - my family owns 5 cars, three japanese and two german. - the japanese ones are a mazda 6, a toyota camry and a nissan altima - the two germans are in my signature.

try pricing genuine parts for a toyota (as in real genuine toyota packaging) and then sort it out, its a right pain and the mazda is built like an onion - you have to peel away a lot of the car to work on it. Or try sorting electrical issues in a modern Nissan... (its an exercise in patience)

I'll take my 2 older benzes anyday - I keep them in tip top shape and set aside some time, parts and resources every year at tune up time to keep them in good condition. That doesnt include airing the tires or replacing blown bulbs etc, they are replaced at failure - i also include window regulators in that too as they are wear items like wipers, I had the fortune of replacing toyo camry solara regulators recently - at 200 a pop for a remade one I was not happy with the toyota brand.

If I were to take the car to a shop to change wipers or replace bulbs - it would be far better to buy some real steep warranty and insurance for the vehicle or lease a new vehicle and replace every 3 years (lots of new peeps are doing that).

old car ownership (even classic american) and using a shop for every little hiccup is a shortcut way to a hole in your pocket, no matter if the badge says benz, ford, chevy or honda

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

add the fact that the camry seats would be like a torture chamber post compared to the nice items in the W124.

I love the W124 seats - they are incredibly comfy - even for a tall guy like me.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

dont fall for the toyota runs forever jingle.

due to that jingle nearly all toyotas are driven into the dirt, because owners assume toyotas only take oil changes with the cheap slippery stuff @ 14.99.

corollas are almost always junkyard material if more than 50K miles because they are driven by students or "toyotas run forever type folks"

camrys face the same fate.

get a 10 or 11 honda or a subaru, lots of cheapo parts available and not usually beaten to death (subaru maybe because they are sometimes used for snow duty)

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

iuecon99, buying the cheapest Toyota with 100k miles that you can find sounds like a repeat of your experience with the 1998 E320. The cheapest Toyota likely will not have been properly maintained, and will require extensive repairs due to the PO's negligence. There are no free lunches in this life.

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Fred Hoelzle