PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post - Is a W124 300E a money pit or a worthwhile vehicle to own?

pawoSD · #65 12-18-2013, 10:53 PM

I was the founder of this thread.

My W124 is long gone (early May) traded in for a Jetta Sportwagen TDI 6-speed. The 300E had many issues, high fuel consumption (barely 17mpg usually), A/C broken, exhaust failing, engine stalled when turning, noisy fuel pumps, transmission had weakening reverse....interior worn...paint was baked/destroyed, it wasn't worth putting effort into. I can say the VW has not really met my expectations, its quite small inside, child seat in back + normal height adult in front of them isn't really doable. Visibility is terrible vs. the W124, seats are no where near as comfortable, the door panels are emitting a white residue, the power inverter outlet was broken on delivery, the rear window defroster is failing already, the defrost is a joke, the wipers turn into frozen clubs and have no heater to thaw them, the climate control is slow and has to be adjusted often... the clutch goes from barely touching to full engagement within about 1-2cm of travel....also, in the winter around the city it barely gets over 30-32mpg, which makes it more expensive to drive than a car getting in the 20's on premium. Also the turbo lag/drive by wire feel leaves a lot to be desired. Needless to say, come spring I am jumping back into a used MB, preferably a W210 or W211 wagon. Open to W210/11 sedans also and *maybe* the R-class but probably not.

Not going back to W124 as wife doesn't like the look and its her car most of the time. My bro has a W210 E320 and its a fantastic car. He's put over 10k on it and it has had virtually no issues at all....I think I repaired my 300E about 6 times to cover that many miles.