Tomorrow we go look at a 1996 E300D with 245000 miles on the clock. The current (third) owner says that he has a thick stack of service records from the first two owners who had most of their work (even oil changes!) done at the dealer. I do not yet have any details on what repairs have been performed over the years. Asking price is $11000.

Although not afraid of a few miles, I'm concerned that 245K may be getting close to end-of-life for the transmission and possibly other things. An excellent maintenance history says nothing about how hard a car has been driven, after all.

Carfax check is clean -- mileage checks, lots of service records (that's an advantage to me of POs going to the dealer, I suppose). Will see about having a mechanic look it over, preferably mine, but we'll see what the owner will allow -- he may not want the car taken out of town. I suppose I could find a mechanic in his area.

My personal experience with newer M-B diesels is limited to "None." Any suggestions as to what to look for in this specific model?

Jeremy

__________________

"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

11K sounds pretty high for 245K, although I don't really know what is a fair price.

The transmission in the '96 is mechanical as in older models. It's probably good for more miles. The 606 engine also seems to be solid. Mine has just over 200K and is going good.

I'll second Matt L's concern about the price for that mileage. But these cars are uncommon, so the law of supply and demand suggests you may have to pay a premium for the diesel instead of a dime-a-dozen E320. I'd check ebay (current and recently closed auctions), cars.com, and your local Craigslist to get a better sense of the current market. Ask your mechanic, too.

Assuming whatever mechanical inspection you can manage doesn't reveal any obvious problems, for that price I'd want a car in pretty fine cosmetic condition. If the paint isn't near perfect (i.e., garage kept) with absolutely no rust (look carefully around the doors and trunk; lift the rubber weatherstrip), I'd think twice.

If you search the forum, you'll see a principal complaint of rusting front spring perches on the W210, which is a safety issue. Verify that they're either rust free or have been replaced. Also familiarize yourself with the breaking glow plug issue (search for OM606 and glow plugs), which is a concern but not necessarily a reason not to buy the car.

While I respect Matt L's opinions, I'm going to have to call him on his statement that the 245K transmission is "probably good for more miles." I'm not saying he's wrong, but I'd like to know what evidence he based his conclusion on. I'm no expert, but how many Mercedes have you seen with more than 250K-300K on the original transmission? I'd reserve judgment until I actually drove it and looked at the service records (which, we hope, show regular fluid and filter changes). Even then, I'd throw $10 in a jar every week to hedge my bet.

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about this model being "driven hard." It's a non-turbo diesel, for crissakes, not a BMW. You'll see what I mean when you test drive it. As my brother says, "It can get out of it's own way," but it's not the kind of car an aggressive driver is likely to buy (or keep for very long if he did). Dealer servicing for two owners says something, too. And if was driven hard on the highway, so what? It's a Mercedes diesel. Mine isn't happy until it hits 80.

Good luck.

I recently bought a 96 E300D with 139K miles, and got it for just over $10K. I had a few opportunities for a few around the 160k mile range for even less. I think $11k is a bit much for that many miles, IMHO.

__________________
1996 E300 D
1992 300D
1990 Ford E-350 7.3 Diesel AKA "the Deep Fryer"

I think the price is a little high too. I bought my 98 in July for 10.5K with 148K on the clock. 98 has a turbo and electronic tranny. The car was in LA. I found it on AutoTrader and had it shipped.

__________________

Muleears
'07 E320 Bluetec 133K my DD
'04 Jaguar XJ8 VDP, 34K
'10 Hyundai Accent 60K Grocery Getter
'02 VW Golf soon to be on the road again
'97 E300 Diesel Son's DD
'61 VERY tolerant wife

Hampton Roads, VA USA

Gone but not forgotten:
'67 250S 95K
'86 300SDL
'87 300D Turbo, 364K! R.I.P.
'98 E300 Turbodiesel, 213K
'02 S420, 164K
'01 Prius 138K

I just bought (2 weeks ago in Mass) 110,000 96 300d, in mint condition , no rust engine and underside looks brand new, for 10,300 needed tires and various light bulbs other thank that car is great , i looked for 4 months and looked at a lot of cars there are still alot out ther for 11,000 k with alot less than 200,000k good luck.

After checking Cars.com and Craigslist and eBay, we bought the 1996 E300D mentioned in my first post. The car was sold new by Rasmussen of Portland, Oregon, and again by them to the second owner as a "Starmark" certified used car. There was nothing for sale in the 1996-1999 E300D category closer than Los Angeles. Lots of cars in the snow belt, some with quite low miles. This car, like all used things, comes with its own set of risks. By accepting the risks, we can stop shopping and get on with our lives.

My concern over the high miles was in part offset by the complete set of service records going back to day 1. The current owner even had both the engine and transmission oils analyzed by "OilGuard" (whoever they are) and no problems were reported. I need to find out what the various numbers mean. For example, after 2723 miles on Pennzoil 10W-40 "Long Life" Diesel-rated (CI-4+) oil, soot was 0.9, whatever that means. According to the records, the car has been on this brand of oil since new. The transmission has had regular fluid and filter changes but is otherwise original. How long it will last is anyone's guess. It does not hesitate, flare, jerk, or otherwise do anything abnormal.

Recent service records indicate that the engine mounts have collapsed and the power steering pump is failing. Although I noticed no problems driving the car home, apparently the pump doesn't provide full pressure at low engine speeds. The seller dropped the price $1000 for these problems. The tires (Bridgestone) are down to their last 10,000 miles or so and one or both of the front ones (at least) must be out of balance because there is a little shake in the steering wheel that maximizes at about 50 MPH.

The exterior has a couple of dings, the interior is nearly perfect. Everything including the optional trunk-mounted 6-CD changer and the fancy optional pneumatic seats work, with the possible exception of the driver's heated seat. It was reported failed by a shop in January 2005 and apparently never repaired, at least I can't find paperwork on it. Here in Wine Country that isn't a big deal.

The plastic headlight covers are fogged; I need to learn about polishing them out (will Meguiar's Mirror-Glaze work?). One parking light has a cracked lens and one driving light low beam has a burned-out filament. The windshield has a couple of tiny chips.

The first owner had everything including oil changes done at the dealer. The subsequent owners were technical enough to do oil changes but had everything else done at independent shops. Rasmussen provided the last Portland-area owner with a complete (24 pages) printout of the service work that they performed. The guy who sold the car to us put it all into a spreadsheet which I have.

As an NA car, it doesn't have the power of a turbo but it has plenty of pep if you let the engine rev. As a DOHC engine, redline is up around 5000 RPM. It should be fun to drive.

Time will tell whether we have a lemon or a pig.

Jeremy

__________________

"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

I think it sounds fine and that the $1k deduct makes it more reasonably priced.

I'd run a syn engine and trans oil if it was mine, although you dont have to do either on the 96. Yours is the 722.4 trans; the MB 3353 fluid for the 722.9 (G-Tronic) trans is backwards compatible with yours. I put it in my 722.6 and notice a subtle difference improvement in shifts.

So, now you get to throw your mittyvac away and get a OBDII scanner. Welcome to the future....

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

Yeah, except the 123 car needs the Mityvac. I have to keep the tools I already have and get more!!! (They call it progress, ya know, progress in emptying my bank account. )

I agree on the synthetic oil. The 123 has Mobil-1 all around except for the PS fluid which I haven't yet found in that brand.

Just discovered that the radio has a cassette player as well as the CD changer. For us old farts, that's nice.

I believe that Mercedes started putting block heaters in all diesel engines starting about 1987? If I can get a cord and find where it plugs in, we can take the new car to Salt Lake for Xmas with the in-laws without fear of the cold. We'll have to stop running biodiesel for that trip, too cold. Looking forward to 30+ MPG, though.

Jeremy

__________________

"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

don't buy it. Pass. do not buy MB made in the nineties.

The heater is on the right side of the engine. It's below the rear exhaust manifold and somewhat hard to spot from above.

I got a cord from the dealer for $78. I have seen pictures of aftermarket cords for half the price, and I would recommend getting the MB part. For one thing, it is completely wrapped in heat-reflecting material. For another, it has the brass nut to hold the plug into the heater.

I hope you like the car. They are pretty nice, but when I drove one I couldn't move the seat back far enough so it felt like my knees were in my chest the whole trip.

Maybe the one I drove had a problem, don't know, but it sure stopped me from looking at them.

If you think you got a good deal, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, cause they aren't gonna pay your bills for ya!

__________________
1998 W202 C230 - The money pit of late.
1984 W126 300SD (356,800 miles) Gone to the wrenchapart
1984 W123 300D Gone to the wrenchapart
1972 W108 280SE 3.5 (sold but not forgotten)
1986 Buick Grand National 3.8l Turbo (86k miles)
1966 Glassic Model 'A' Replica http://www.glassicannex.org

http://banners.wunderground.com/weat...Round_Rock.gif

You must be 7'-6" tall? The W210 seat goes WAY back, WAY down, and the steering wheel goes WAY forward.
*************
I doubt Salt lake in the winter would be to much problem for the GP's.

You also know the car has auto start feature too? Turn key to pos 3, let go and computer turns starter off when up and running.

You should get at least 30 mpg on B99 on trips. I get more during my commute on D2 with my turbo and the NA's usually do better.

M1 Truck and Turbo would be a fine choice with changes between 7.5k and 10K pending how you use it.

The PS pump uses MB fluid or simple Dex 3 trans fluid.

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

No auto-start on the '96. You're supposed to hold the key at position 3 until the engine is firing smoothly.

Also, I don't recommend using anything but MB fluid (as per the owner's manual). The transmission, however, uses good old Dexron 3.

Dex 3 in PS per SI per MBDOC.

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)