What is the most Reliable Benz
 

What is the most reliable benz in your opinion and experience of these great car company. What is your favortie model and why.


Bedros

240D with manual transmission.

I dare anyone to dispute that...:D

300E. Go to any mechanic and they will tell you it is the best benz. I have asked a handful of mechanics and a service advisor also said the 300E are the best. 240D might be the best diesel (I have no idea about diesels) but 300E is the undisputed gas king. It is by far the best Mercedes of the past 15 years.

Yeah, it's tough to see how you can beat the 123s (I assume you weren't referring to the 115 - not that it couldn't make a claim of its own...). You almost need to specify diesel or gas, because otherwise its not a fair fight.

As for the 300E... no. A fine car, but in no way the most reliable Mercedes. If I were going to nominate a gas car, I'd probably go for the 450SEL. Bulletproof engine, mechanically sound chassis. Rust killed them, not much else...

Most Reliable Benz & which is our favourite model and why?
 

I have driven a 280SE in Africa. Tough & reliable.I have driven the 240D & 200 gas model in Europe. Slow but tough as nails. And I have driven several other types of Benz(300SEL 8 etc). While my 1986 300E with about 70,000 miles has needed some 'internal medicine' ie. engine mounts, water pump etc, it is, in my view, one of the finest driver's cars on the road, rated as the best used car bar none by a popular car mag. Some of the work was probably unnecessary or due to poor service facilities overseas. Whenever i drive a rental car, while on business, I am so happy to get behind the wheel of my 300E. And the owner of my service centre has a 90 300E and his chief mechanic a 300E!! So be loyal to your benz, brothers!!Whatever you have is probably better than most marques out there!!

Al

Do any of the gasolene engines have cylinder sleeves?

Anything with a cylinder sleeve (like the diesels) essentially has an unlimited (engine) lifetime. Put in new sleeves and pistons - you've got a new engine all over again.

Body rust seems to be the limiting factor on the diesels.

Ken300D

240D is pretty tough. Sometimes you run into vacuum problem if the vac pump fails. But if reliability is measure only in "dispatch rates", then I guess you can still drive it with no door locks, possibly a poorly working climate control, and having to shut the engine down manually!
In the more modern era, I find the C230 a really good car, a little better in the earlier non-supercharged version, because we do have occasional engine management problems with the supercharged version. But to be fair, these check engine lights most often won't affect "dispatch rates" of the car any more than a vacuum system gone south on a 240D.
The C230 looks like a lot more reliable car when comparing the amount of convenience and safety equipment on the newer car, but I realize it's not really a fair comparison. Although, the 240D and C230 were both entry level cars.

Gilly

Wow. This is honestly the first time someone I'm not paying has agreed with my logic on the C230.

Well Gang, we are discussing which IS the most reliable MB. The w123 240D/stick is BY FAR the most reliable and least expensive MB to maintain.

This is very important when it comes to longevity/durability and reliability.

The diesel MB that will endure for a longtime for the least amount of money is the w123 240D/stick.

Now, the most reliable gas MB, I would say is a w123 280E M110 6cylinder. I believe it is more reliable than a v/8 450SEL and will cost you less to maintain.

A w124/300E will never out do a w123 in reliability, longevity, and least out of pocket expense. It wouldn't be reliable...

Though I am a biased owner, I would go with Gilly on the "modern" reliable Benz being the humble C230 (aspro especially). It's M111 gasoline engine is very tight, and I've seen plenty of "runs-like-new" high mileage examples. One potential sore point is the 722.6 tranny, but I'm now seeing high mileage examples of that too, and they seem to be pretty tough once sorted out properly.

The 2.3L versions have no wiring harness issues like 94-95 cars. The M111 head gasket seems to have no relation to the M104 gasket - they don't leak.

Our 1998 C230 has been bullet-proof. My neighbour's ES300 isn't one bit more reliable.

But, for the loooong haul and the ability to keep the car on the road with a modicum of expertise and expense, I'll stick with my original statement concerning the 240D.

I know what everyone is talking about with the 240D, it's a very simple and robust design.
I think what kind of alters my thinking about a diesel, and probably a few others in the Northern tier of the US and also Canada, is that a diesel as a daily driver up here can be a bit of a hazard, in terms of needing blended fuel in the winter, good compression, block heaters, etc. Every car up hre needs proper care, but when you look at these additional concerns, kinda dampers your enthusiasm a bit.
If a poll were taken right now though, looks like the 240D would be the winner so far.
A few other honorable mentions I could think of would be the 210 chassis E class, either the V6 or E430 V8, I personally like the E420 210 chassis as well, but for other reasons than just reliability, good car though. Also the V6 engine C280 rarely give problems. Problems are also few and far between for the older C class C220. Only really pattern failure I can think of on the 202 and 210 chassis would be a leaky differential.
MB's equipped with the 104 engines of course often suffer from the wiring harness problem, especialy from the beginning of SFI injection up to 94-95 or so, and the head gasket/front cover leaks, but in general are dependable.

Gilly

MINE!!!

Anyone which has been well maintained.

I think the 190e 2.6 is very strong also, I've had mine for more than five years and have done nothing but oil changes to it and it's never left me stranded except once and this was because it ran out of gas. When it finally broke down, I was still able to drive it home but it didn't start once I got home.

I don't know what kind of transmission it has but I've never changed the transmission fluid or filter and never had to change the water pump. The car still drives fast and starts well in cold weather, I've worn out the driver's seat but everything else still looks good.

do you like alder smoked salmon or Maine
Lobster dipped in Wisconsin butter better???????????????
William Rogers.........

You Betcha!
Well, at least I FEEL better knowing the butter is from Wisconsin;)

Gilly

Bump!

I own a 307d motorhome in the UK. My vote is that the 207d, and 307d models of the same vintage as the 123's are the equal of the 240d's or perhaps a little better. They have the same 616 motor with mostly manual transmissions but without the AC and oil cooler. The access to the motor is not quite as good as the 240d but the lack of AC and oil cooler makes them a little simpler and perhaps a little more reliable as a result. Top that with the fact that at least some of them can be inhabited and you have a winner. The serious Mercedes enthusiast can actually live in his or her vehicle!

Strickly in RELIABILITY terms:

No dout: The W123 240D (without power windows, power locks,
A/C and fitted with the regular 4-speed manual)

Market specifications and climate regions might change the final view on this subject, but no doubt that the 240D is virtually indestructible.

I have to disagree about the comment about "any well maintained M-B is realiable". Some models, even if you mortage your house to keep them in top shape, just plainly cannot be trusted (1992-1994 W140s come to mind).

For all 240D lovers, here is a pick from the original 1977 German brochure:



A. Rosich
S320, 1998
E320T, 1995

The negative I see in an oil cooler is the possibility that a cooler line can fail resulting in loss of oil pressure. I am under the impression that the flow of oil to the cooler is thermostatically controlled so that it should not make much of a difference summer/winter.

I will have to say the E-Series (124). E420 to be specific.

TANK

I had two 123's, one auto and one manual. Both of course had external oil coolers. Even in very cold weather, once warmed up and driven, their oil coolers would get warm. I don't see the external oil cooler as a negative at all.

Some time ago I had a discussion with a Porsche factory mechanic regarding oil and engine oil capacities. He cited the 240D as an example of an engine of long-life for many reasons including the external oil cooler and the extra oil its system added. Porsche has used large oil capacities for years, just like Mercedes. His opinion: one of the keys to long engine life.

My 2 cents.

Haasman

A. Rosich: have you got any more pics from the 240D brochure? I find that stuff really interesting.

I say w124 300D. I've seen them with 500k miles on, like new inside, and original engine and transmission (local taxi firm bought them new).

rjnonnie has it right
 

Any Mercedes that iswell taken care of will outlast any other. Although there some exceptions to this. 1990 350SD Turbodiesel- The Most UNReliable Mercedes. I would vouch for the 240D to be the most reliable, although I would argue that if one were to drive a 16V the way they drove their 240D (like mary poppins) rather than punching it around every corner the 16V may be one of the most reliable cars Mercedes ever built. Also making the 16V the most reliable gas car with proper care of course.

211,249 and as fast as the first 2.

Tank: here there are some more pictures from the 1997 W123 Diesels brochure.

Note the front headlight cleaning wiperarm and washer system. It really looked modern at the time. The system was an extra cost option.

A. Rosich
S320, 1998
E320T, 1995

The instrument panel:

A W123 Diesel at the petrol pump. Mercedes states on the brochure that due to its extreme economical engines, this was the least common site to catch this car.

Whos says?
 

Who says we all drive our 240D's like Mary Poppins? You have to floor them to get any power out of them! When driving, my only goal is to get into 4th gear (If possible) as quickly and without strain on the transmission. You really cannot hurt the diesel engine by giving it a wokout and shifting at 4000 rpm instead 3000 rpm. Its called an Italian tuneup, and I perform one every day when I drive to school!

Ha
 

Kyle- My sister drives an 81' 240D that is only a few miles short of 300,000 so I would stand behind that car in any case of reliability. But on a racetrack a 16V would outast a 240, timewise (obviously not laps), If you ran them both at 5000 rpm simply because that is what the 16V was built and designed to handle. The reliability of the 16V is just amazing for being such high performance car.

Re: Ha
 

True! The only weak spot I found with my 16V was the brakes. When equipped with Max Performance tires (not around in 1987) the brakes were not up to the task of racetrack use. I would burn through rotors and pads like a hot knife through butter.

I had a 944S owner that was mighty embarassed after not being able to keep pace with a Mercedes four door...:D

I vote for the 1992-1998 600SEL / S600 V-12!!!!

YEAHHHH!!! :rolleyes:

Sure would love to own one though :)... if only I could find one starmarked.. I wonder why I don't see many starmark'd 140s...

KylePavao

I've had two 240Ds (one 4 spd and one auto) and one 300D turbo. They all could be driven very hard. I make it a rule to always take it easy when cold (true of all my cars).

Around town the auto 240D was a lot of fun- easy to drive and to flogged. The 300D was terrific long distance car, especially in the mountains. Just sailed by other larger engined cars struggling to go up passes. I have logged many hours in 123 sedans and they are very reliable and confidence building cars.

I recently had a ride in a '79 240D with 79k miles on it. It was like looking at a living brochure. Everything was tight, right and nice. The car was quiet and very smooth. It is easy to see why so many people bought these cars and drove them many miles.

What do you mean keep it easy in the cold?
 

I don't really understand...not reving it high or flooring it?

Until the engine warms up ....

A 220D or a 240D, manual transmission. You can find them in very good condition for less than $5000 & I doubt if you could find a better car for the money.

Any Benz that is well maintained is indeed very reliable.