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  #1  
Old 07-11-2003, 09:30 PM
ILUVMILS's Avatar
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High mileage MB's............

A good friend of mine bought a 1987 260E brand new. I have personally done ALL the scheduled service since day one ( including dozens of "in between" oil changes ). Sixteen years later the odometer reads 427,000+ miles. The car still drives nicely whether around town or on the open road. The top end ( valve guides, timing chain, etc. ) were done at 275K. I re-built the transmission at 155K. Rear differential at 300K. Major A/C work at 350K. The rest was all wear and tear/maintenance stuff. By my count, that's roughly four cars worth of service for less than the price of two!!! I'm certain that there are countless MB's out there that fall into this category. I felt compelled to post this after reading all the J.D. Power stuff.

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  #2  
Old 07-11-2003, 09:55 PM
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ILUVMILS

Let's see, 427,000 miles is approximately 17 times around the earth's equator .....

Haasman
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  #3  
Old 07-11-2003, 09:58 PM
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Very " refreshing " to read stories like yours.
Have you ever met a true Lexus enthusiast?
I doubt very much that you would ever encounter one, as I am also sure, they belong to the " me too " crowd, that ditches their vehicle every 2-3 years and therefore would hardly be qualified to pass true judgement on a vehicle.
As long as their CD player & cell phones work, the vehicle is perfect.
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  #4  
Old 07-11-2003, 10:08 PM
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Did you rebuild the differential or replace it? If a rebuild, what was involved in terms of new parts? Did the differential get its gear oil changed every 15,000 miles?

Thanks, I'm curious because I just replaced a differential in the 1982 300D at about 325k.

Ken300D
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  #5  
Old 07-12-2003, 11:18 AM
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Cool

I felt compelled to post this after reading all the J.D. Power stuff.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sadly it seems the JD Powers "stuff" is correct. MB just isn't building their cars like they did in 1987. Seems the running gear, engine, trans, etc are still just as bulletproof, but all the new toys are where the problems mostly occur. And you can spend thousands of dollars tracking down and fixing all the problems caused by "toys". Carmakers including MB are pretty much run by the marketing department instead of the engineers. Marketing wants many models including lower priced starter models and they want all the whistles and bells and they want it at a very competitive price. And this leads to most of the problems that we are seeing on the newer models. Wouldn't it be great if MB would build a new model for people who just wanted a great car to drive and KEEP? No automatic door and trunk lid closers, no video screens, none of that stuff that causes all the problems. Just build us a car that looks good (ie: 560 SEL) and will last 20 years or more.
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  #6  
Old 07-12-2003, 12:07 PM
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What profit is there in that?

If the car looks good, like the 560sel and lasts 20+ years where is the incentive to buy a new one? I have one of these cars- it has more than quarter of a million miles and still looks good in the parking lot next to the youngsters! No way will these new generation cars be around in twenty years due to economics- they will be too costly to maintain- thus will disappear.
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  #7  
Old 07-12-2003, 02:00 PM
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My former Mercedes Mechanic told me he services two cars that each have over 400,000 miles. I never saw them myself, but I'll take his word for it.

One was an early ('88 or '89???) 300CE and the other was a 1992 400E.
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  #8  
Old 07-13-2003, 01:19 AM
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if you have never eaten a vine ripened tomato or free ranging chicken then the Safeway version is all most know.
we who work on our own cars (some of us know what a 265 is) can truly appreciate the roughedness of the front suppension on a 115 240D or the overall crafted beauty of a 560 SEL or it's mates in the W126 line.Would much rather spend hours gazing out the window at a newly waxed 350 SL than to stare at a TV so large that you feel like you are falling backwards......
William Rogers.....
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  #9  
Old 07-13-2003, 03:22 AM
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I work on my own cars to the extent of replacing transmissions and cylinder heads. What's a 265? A Ferrari or Volvo?

Sixto
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91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD
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  #10  
Old 07-13-2003, 07:18 AM
Manya
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I've met 2 people that still have there MB'z over 700,000miles. One was a 1969 280S with 1 engine rebuild. The other was a 1975 250S with oil leaks everywhere....but it still powers on.
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  #11  
Old 07-13-2003, 07:28 AM
Jeff C
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I have had exactly the same experience with Volvo's. We drove them for years with no problems until we "updated" to a 2000 V-70. It is the biggest piece of crap I ever owned. I became so frustrated that I purchased a 500 SEL. If it is not broken, why fix it!
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  #12  
Old 07-13-2003, 08:18 AM
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'85 300SD
298,000 miles and counting.
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High mileage MB's............-mb-front.jpg  
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  #13  
Old 07-13-2003, 09:40 AM
LarryBible
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How many Lexus are there out there in the 400,000 mile plus range?

Have a great day,
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  #14  
Old 07-13-2003, 11:17 AM
RIMSPOKE
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JD POWER MEANS NOTHING

JD POWER MEANS NOTHING .
THEY REPORT PROBLEMS THAT OCCUR IN THE FIRST 3 YEARS .
THIS IS USUALLY SMALL STUFF THAT IS EASILLY CORRECTED .
AND THEY THEN AVERAGE IT OUT OVER 1000 CARS SOLD .
WHERE IS THE 10 YEAR , 15 YEAR OR HIGH MILEAGE RELIABILITY ?
THE SHORT TERM PROBLEMS ARE ALL FIXED BY THE DEALER !
THE LONG TERM PROBLEMS BY THE OWNER !
JD IS NOT TELLING US ANYTHING IN OUR BEST INTEREST .
A FRIEND OF MINE WANTED TO GET A TOYOTA BECAUSE OF THEIR IMPRESSION OF GREAT RELIABILITY .
I JUST ASKED HIM HOW MANY 20 YEAR OLD TOYOTAS HE SEES
STILL DRIVING AROUND ? THEY SOLD A LOT OF THEM - WHERE HAVE THEY ALL GONE ? BY CONTRAST , I SEE A LOT OF 123 MERCEDES ON THE ROAD AND MOST OF THEM STILL GOOK
LIKE THEY ARE IN GREAT SHAPE .

TOYOTA MEANS "TAKE OUT YOUR OLD TOOLS AGAIN"
LEXUS IS "SUXEL" SPELLD BACKWARDS
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  #15  
Old 07-13-2003, 01:41 PM
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I would have to agree that the drive train on most cars is pretty much bullet proof now. My expertise is Porches. To the pre 74 crowd's biggest problem besides rust is worn carbs or MFI, both of which can be remedied for about $1,500. The 74 thru 83 owners biggest worry is fuel pumps and parts associated with the CSI system. Pre 83 cars were basically the same from the beginning in 64. The 84 and later cars started getting all the whistles and bells. No driver of these leaves his driveway without a spare DME relay in the boot. Also, a very simple heater control system, using levers and knobs, was replaced by a automatic heating systems with temperature control, that fail on a regular basis. Prosche sells the replacement unit for 5 or 6 hundred dollars but the part that fails is a plastic ball socket. I sell, to the unfortunate individuals that have this problem, the door lock socket, which is the same size and shape but made out of metal. I guess Porsche wanted to make sure they would get 5 or 6 hundred dollars every couple of years out of each car. Otherwise, they would have put the metal one in the heater control unit. The later cars have even more funny little quirks.
(i.e. the Boxster, cruise control, it built into the main computer ) So when the cruise control fails you have to replace the whole computer. FYI--the best 911 to own would be an 83 Cab.
Steve

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