Just as an update, the starter died at 46,700km...the car left me stranded in the rain...luckily, when it died, I was parked at the side of the road in front of a friend's house...had to push the car around the block to the back to the house before we could do any troubleshooting since it was raining like crazy in Vancouver...whacked the starter housing with the back of a wrench while a friend cranked the car and the car finally came to life...got enough steam to get the car back home...called the Mercedes-Benz dealership in Richmond...they wanted $530CAD before 14.5% taxes for parts and labour to replace the starter...called an independent shop...they wanted $430CAD after taxes for parts and labour...a friend of mine who had a dead alternator in his '92 325i suggested me taking the car to a place called Samco which just rebuilds starters and alternators...found a shop called Euro-Tec in Richmond that was willing to uninstall/reinstall the starter and let the car sit on the jack while the starter was rebuit for $90CAD...drove it to Samco and got the starter rebuilt for $65CAD...he said the starter was completely fine...except for this small copper piece that he showed me...which had two circular burn/etch marks in it on both ends...anybody have any idea what this is? He said it was such a small problem, but it definitely prevented the starter from operating properly...he said he did not have that part, so he had to manufacture it in shop...ran it back to Euro-Tec and they re-installed it...I don't know WHEN my next problem with this car will occur...but I am beginning to get really really really fed up...although I was able to escape this problem for only $155CAD...I dunno where my next problem will occur and when...I feel like I am throwing the dice everytime I go to start the car in the morning...so THIS is Mercedes-Benz reliability?

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1995 black pearl/black Mercedes-Benz E420 :

If I had the problems that you have had I would seriously murder some people. For the amount of miles on the vehicle you have had way to many problems. You have bought a lemon, mine has 100,000 more miles and has not had nearly as many problems throughout its history. Your car is a good example of just plain bad luck!

Don't get fed up, mercedes last forever. Occasionally there is a bad one, but overall they are great cars. I don't understand the guy with better luck out of a ford than a mercedes. I own a winstar that breaks regularly, and my father who owns nothing but fords has a failure rate that to me is intolerable. My mercedes on the other hand, has over 200k miles on it, and the only work I've done to it is change out the timing chain(did it myself) and some problems with the blower motor(again, worked it myself). I've done all the oil changes, filter changes(air, check valve, fuel, etc...) since I bought it years ago and the thing just keeps on going. I have yet to take it into a dealership, or any garage for that matter. This summer I will replace the camshaft and valve seals as well as the injectors due to wear(head gasket also, check the gap on the pistons, etc...) but that will only cost me around 250$ american(hopefully). If you ask me, that is a pretty low cost maitenance on a car that is 15 years old now and driven hard.

The good news is they are almost always worth fixing. I budjet about $800 per year for maintenance on my 300SD. Over 5 years that's $4000. A big expense one year may be balanced out by minimal expenses in ensuing years. Think long term! These cars were designed for the long hall.

If you bought a less than well maintained car then it will take a few years to catch up with the issues. However if repairs are effected with Mercedes parts you are looking at another 100,000 plus miles before you have to face these problems again. Not considering normal maintenance items of course.

I probably save enough on insurance on my older cars to pay for most of the maintenance costs.

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Art Bourget

1983 300SD
1st In Class - Starfest Concours 2004
1st In Class - StarTrack Concours 2003
1983 300TDT
1985 300D

MBCA - Niagara Section

As well as tag fees, bank payments, etc.....I figure it saves me at least 300 a month, minimum for a car payment that I haven't paid in years. Three more years and I could have paid for two more cars in the ensuing time period. Instead of buying 3 cars, I bought one, that has lasted as long as 3. How can that be bad economics?

MB's are like any other cars. Good ones and bad ones. My wife's 1998 E300D was terrible. She ditched it before the warranty ran out to make sure it didn't drive us into poverty. She also got tired of trips to the dealer. Her Subie has been deadly reliable so far.

OTOH, our C230 has been reliable to a fault.

Good luck in the future...

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

The problem is...it has been "big expenses" EVERY YEAR! I bought this car brand new from the dealership...I have taken it to the dealership for oil and fluid changes as scheduled...it is parked in a heated garage...weather in Vancouver is mild so there are no extreme winter colds or extreme summer heats to really play havoc on a car's systems...but the car still has problems...I assume the car came with genuine M-B parts from the dealership didn't it? well, I have 46,700km on the odometer...nothing compared to the 100,000miles that you say...and they break...I've got W140 S500 and W126 560SEL in the family, and although the bills/repairs have not been as excessive as the E420, there are still very substantial bills...I've always sorta turned a blind eye because...afterall, it is a Mercedes...but this is really just gettin' to the point of bein' ridiculous...sigh

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1995 black pearl/black Mercedes-Benz E420 :

There is light at the end of the tunnel, I too wonder if my 300CE is just an oil spot in my garage to throw money into . I have found that Lordco and Valley Eurotec in Abbotsford are a good source of parts.Silver Star MB in Surrey can usually beat their prices on just about anything (go figure).A link to Lordco is www.altrom.com .The prices shown are the discounted price they will give you at the counter, Silver Star MB is usually cheaper (and the parts are MB).They also only charge about $80/hr labour, Valley Eurotec is around $70/hr, and they specialize in MB's.
Before I knew that parts were cheaper at the dealer I bought rotors and pads for my 123 at Lordco, the aftermarket rotors were Brembo,pads were Pagid. I just did pads again after 50,000 km, bought at the dealer, they were Pagids with a MB logo, $10 cheaper than Lordco.Like you , I think it's important to use MB parts on our MBs, but I didn't think it would be cheaper (usually).I have the 124 disc so if you have any specific questions feel free to contact me.
I just checked the Hopefung link and they are as cheap and cheaper than the 15% discount I get at Siver Star, Ron at Valley Eurotec will only give me 10% on parts.Keep looking for a good independent shop if the dealers won't make you happy.Good luck.

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Democracy dies in darkness, you have to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight