The '96 E300 is nowhere as much fun to work on as the '95 but a lot of that is that there's less to fix. This is both the joy and the sorrow of cars as they become more electronic. The W124 has some electronics but most of it can be ignored, removed, or worked around and it will still operate. The '96 tipped the scales in the other direction and has to have the electronics or it won't run. As the model years pass, it only gets worse.

Whining aside, our '96 E300 has been very reliable and is now over 290,000 miles. The engine has not had any work at all and neither uses nor leaks oil. I had the valve cover off several years ago to replace some seals and to check the timing chain stretch; there was about 1 degree, as best I could measure it.

Fuel economy is fair -- about 27 average, mostly around town. Highway mileage is around 30 or perhaps a bit better. The engine may simply need an Italian Tuneup or perhaps a set of rebuilt injectors -- they're probably untouched originals, like so much of the engine.

The transmission was rebuilt shortly after we got the car (2007, at 249,000 miles). It had a slight front pump seal leak, which I exacerbated by changing to synthetic oil. I could not get the leak under control and finally had the tranny pulled and gone through. The mechanic at that time said the "wear parts" had another 50,000 miles in them, so that gives 300,000 miles as a ballpark life for a 722.4 transmission (YMMV!).

The body and interior have stood up well. The car originated in Portland, OR, and has spent its life on the West Coast, so there is no rust (we are the 4th owners). The driver's [leather] seat is worn and cracked and the heat in that seat no longer works. The "child lock" switch broke; this requires replacing the entire switch assembly for $150 -- you can't replace just one window switch like you can in the older cars -- so we are ignoring it for now.

As with all cars, this one requires occasional long-term maintenance -- suspension, brakes, engine mounts, etc. -- but only occasionally. Because the car is driven only 5,000 miles a year, most of the repairs I have done will last for as long as we have the car.

In 2013 the only significant expenses have been (1) new windshield -- old one was getting pretty rock-chipped; (2) new front brake disks; (3) new damper for the serpentine belt tensioner.

Bottom line -- a boring car, there's never anything to do on it. OTOH, it's a great car for my wife because it always runs and still looks new.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970