I'll have to disagree with the group here and say that the W210 chassis is probably the worst chassis MB ever made as far as quality is concerned. Control arm bushings, spring perches, rust-prone body, and cracking dashboards are some of the very common problems with these cars and these cars aren't even that old yet. The OM606 engine is probably the best part of the car, but it has its own weaknesses too, like head gaskets, stuck glow plugs, and knocking tendencies. Of my current 3 cars, the '96 E300D has given me by far the most trouble.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

What's the issue with the headgasket? I seem to have missed that one.

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2005 Pathfinder LE
2001 E55
1998 M3
1982 320i

Well the head gasket is not a common problem, but I have read a few posts about people replacing head gaskets on OM606. Mine was letting small amounts of pressure into the cooling system, but Bar's Stop Leak fixed it for me. A more common problem with the OM606 that I didn't mention last time is fuel leaks. The fuel system has way too much rubber in it. I much prefer the metal fittings and washers of the earlier fuel systems.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

Diesel addict is correct. The car in question has 335K miles. That's over 30K per year. I know a little Suzuki with the 3 cyl eng that put over 90K in one year. All it did was make long commutes which wears out only the tires. They even got great miles out of the tires which says nothing about the tires and everything about the way they were used.

I'm sure there are those that spend only 1000 dollars a year on maintenance. I haven't met one personally. My wife was stranded AGAIN when the fan belt shredded. The tensioner failed...AGAIN. While it was in the shop, they found a fuel leak...AGAIN. The same shop has repaired the AC on this gem. That was over 3K dollars. They have also replaced the glow plugs twice. Each time was over 3k dollars. The dealer replaced them the first time and was talking about 5K dollars but were finally able to get them out without damaging the head. When I get it out of the shop this time I'll have it detailed and it's my intention to sell it. I get better service from my Ford truck. When Honda finally introduces a turbodiesel here, Mercedes and VW will be sucking wind and I'll be happy.