If memory serves, NADA on a '99 E300TD is right at about $15K. A fantastic value, in my opinion.

Mileage on a diesel is not a drastic, or notable dollars consideration, according to NADA.

Therefore, if the asking price is considerably higher, or lower, you would understandably ask yourself, and the seller, to substantiate that deviation in price.

Have fun, E300's are incredible.
Something about the smooth, linear power delivery up to redline with the exhaust note of a racecar still strikes me as very un-diesel-like.
Just keep yourself out of the boost and it'll return impressive MPG's for a car of its size, too.

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99 E300 TD -- sold
01 540i 6 spd

That car has xenon headlights and headlamp washers as well, which is quite rare on the 99's. Most 99's that came with heated seats had leather, so having heated seats on a 99 with mb-tex is pretty rare (and many people perfer mb-tex to leather). The mb-tex on that car looks to be in decent shape (except for the back seats) but the front seats just show a little more wear than mine (which has leather) even though I have less than half the amount of miles that one has. I wish I had mb tex .

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2005 SL65
1999 E300
1995 E300
1994 SL320
1988 560SL
1987 300TD
1982 300D
1955 300SL

You're right, having the M-B Tex is actually better than leather...and I didn't run the VIN but now I see it does indeed have the xenon lights and washers and rain sensing wipers too...it's a nice combo and if it had lower miles it would be worth me even considering trading mine for it but I see what looks like some rust bubbling on the trunk lid near the E300 letters...some of them did rust out worse than others. Mine hasn't shown any brown cancer yet so I wouldn't trade it for one that did but it would be nice to have those factory options and the black on black is a nice look.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

I likened to manually shift the E300TD at 5100 rpm at WOT. Why it was never programmed to shift that late, I have no clue. Power delivery is strong right up until at least that point. Engaging kickdown, the most I saw was 4700 rpm, a bit early, IMHO.

The E300 would net about 30 mpg, even in the coldest weather, with blended diesel fuel. Low to mid 30's in the summer. I couldn't believe it until I drove one for myself for an extended period of time.

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1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

30 mpg? Not in around-town driving. 24 mpg is the year around yield.

I had a chance to drive fellow member Rick Miley's E300D last year to the GTG.
You are absolutely correct - the car does "Rock" !

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It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

The truth for most of us lies somewhere in between. I get around 30 MPG for mixed but mostly "city" driving in the summer, but in the winter it goes down by 10% or a little more to about 26-27. 100% highway I can squeeze another 5-10% out of both ranges. And I am not a feather footed driver either. If I were careful and stayed at the speed limits I could probably do even better.

Generally I go by the odometer which is spot-on and I can go about 550 miles until the warning light goes on (18± Gallons) in the summer but in winter I am lucky to get to 500, usually closer to 480 for my mostly city (stop and go) driving.

If you are only seeing 24 in warmer weather your car is not performing to spec, unless you have a very heavy right foot.

Most of us with the '98 and '99 see better mileage than you are seeing. Perhaps your chronic fuel leak is what is robbing you of that last 3-6 MPG. Also, check tire pressure. A couple of PSI can rob you of MPG. I run mine about 4 PSI over what is listed in the fuel door.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

Haha...I was thinking the same thing.

nhdoc, have you verified this guy? Is he legit? We all have hangovers from your uncanny detective work. The forum has turned it's lonely eye to you. Woo woo woo.

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1981 240d - 135k - Arlene

The actual truth of my last fill-up last week is 24.18 mpg. The fuel leak couldn't make a 3-6 mpg difference, at the rate it was leaking. The cardboard boxes under the engine in the garage don't evidence more than perhaps a cup of fuel leaks per week, I'd estimate. No heavy right foot. 32 psi, all around. 24 is one of the lower mpgs on this car, but right-in-there on what it yields. I check mpg at every fill-up, which is every time I fuel......it's not an isolated mpg check. More HWY/around town, can yield 27, but that's it. This car has had a lot of HWY mileage put on it in it's first years. Never yielding more than 32 mpg. Regardless of whether running 65, or 70 mph. Remember, every tank has been clocked and recorded, since I bought it new. I got one "fluke" mpg check @ 34 mpg....... I dismiss those exaggerated claims of 36 to 38 mpg with this car. They're in LA-LA land. This car will give you a solid 30 mpg, overall, only if you are running a lot a HWY with CITY.......that's it.

With all the repair trips done on this car at MB dealers across most of the Great Plains states, there's no telling what has been done to this car while it was left for service work.

Do these cars have a lot problems or quality issues.
To be able to pick-up a 99 model year for $15K seems reasonable
but if it's going to cost me $2-3k a yr to maintain, that's scary.

Are the models easy enough to work on for DIY'er?

I get 31mpg avg typically and I also check every tank full. 600 miles a week, 80% at 80mph and 20% at 5-20mph. Falls off 10% using B99. No D1 whre I live. I have no doubt if the cruise was on at 65mph for a tank full that it would get 34-36mpg.

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Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

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

Wow you only get 24mpg? I have 18 inch rims, the speed tuning chip, exhaust etc and with a heavy right foot I get around that. If I drive at normal speeds the number jumps up to 26-30mpg. Most of my driving is city driving.

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2005 SL65
1999 E300
1995 E300
1994 SL320
1988 560SL
1987 300TD
1982 300D
1955 300SL

I didn't imply you weren't telling the truth, just that your results are atypical and to post saying "these cars only get 24 MPG around town" is not true...nearly everyone else with these cars gets better than 24 MPG around town. I have posted many times here that when I first got mine in January of 2005 it was getting poor mileage like yours -around 24-25 MPG, but over time, as I fixed leaks and blew all of the crud out of the engine I saw a gradual increase to the point now where I never see less than 27 in the winter or less than about 29 in the summer.

Also, your car leaks while you are driving it no doubt, not just while it is parked in your garage after you shut it down. In fact, if you see a cup a week after shutdown I can guarantee you that you're probably leaving a light trail of fuel everywhere you go. A drip here and there and it can add up. I'm not saying it accounts for all of the difference in MPG but it surely doesn't help you any to have fuel leaking out and not producing energy at the wheels.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

$2 - $3K a year should do it for your annual repair budget.

I would report that mine has now been in the shop close to 50 times since new. Almost all the weeks and months have been for fuel delivery-leaking issues. I was surprised at all the down time I was experiencing when in warranty, but it has continued unabated when out of warranty.