I owned a 99 e320 from new. They were crappy cars out of the box. The problem rate over time doesnt seem to have changed much, but the used car crowd has a much higher tolerance.

This ^^^

My opinion of the model coincides, mxfrank.

The fact that the car is aged, doesn't help with it's dependability factor. It kind of should be expected that these cars will have breakdowns occur routinely. Should expect up to thousands a year in repair expense. Not to mention the inconvenience factor.

Not sure if you expect us to feel bad for you or something. It's given 18 years of great service and things wear and break just like any car. Don't buy a used car if you can't afford to fix it, or don't have the mechanical aptitude to work on it yourself. Just buy a warrantied camry and trade it in every couple years. These cars to me are way nicer and cooler than a honda or toyota, so I'd rather use my own time to fix it.

My advice to you is replace the alternator or regulator and sell it. If I lived closer I'd give you $400 for it and drive it for another 150K miles.

__________________
Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k

In his original post he already acknowledged that the car wasn't meant for people who can't fix them on their own. No need to beat a dead horse. I'm sure he will make a more informed decision on his next vehicle whether it be a warrantied MB or a different make.

__________________

1990 190E 3.0L

It's been a disaster. Literally everything is going wrong with this car since it hit 170000 miles. I'm replacing the alternator and then drive it into the ground, hopefully get 6 more months. It isn't worth even $1000 to a buyer and I wouldn't feel right selling anyone this piece of junk after everything that's going wrong with it.

Next time, a Honda or Toyota. Had great experiences with both. This is my first bad experience with a car but it's been bad enough to make up for all the good experiences there could ever be.