No doubt.

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1987 300D Turbo
2000 VW Golf TDI
2008 E320 Bluetec

Have you test driven a Porsche 911 Carrera yet? MB makes good cars, but its like saying you will only screw blondes. Your missing a lot of fun with a policy like that.

You'll be singing a different tune once you get on it and hear that sweet, flat 6 scream.

The 606 is a fantastic engine, its my favorite MB diesel.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

x2 on that! Amazing handling, great acceleration, plus the 911 flat 6 makes a sound like no other. Deep and rumbly at low rpms, but floor it and it will shriek with the most amazing metallic howl you've ever heard once you get into 4k 5k 6k rpm. Leaves you with nice grin on your face!

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'98 E300 turbodiesel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa7grxe936M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YySrCrAHVq0&feature=related

A diesel can't do that...

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

But can the Porsche get over 30 mpg? I don't think so.

The OM606 and W210 have some flaws, but I agree overall they're great and mine is the best MB diesel I've owned so far. Ideally though, I'd like a CDI or Bluetec. Those are another huge step forward from the OM606.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

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

I love the sound of the OM60x engines. The 3.5 liter has a deeper growl to it compared to the rest, though.

It's been awhile since I owned one, but the OM603/606 remind me of the sound of the old M110 when you flogged it. 2 cars ago, I had a Euro 1985 280SEL in my stable. Didn't really start to "accelerate" until 5K + revs at WOT. What a peaky engine that was!

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1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

No one cares.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Forget the 911. The Cayman is way more fun.

210 and 211 are nice, but the steering is strange. Not nearly as natural as the previous cars with RB.

I still want a 210, but the spring perch issue will forever keep me out of one...How can I ever take the car anywhere with any confidence when there is a chance a spring pops out? That's a real show-stopper if one is on vacation.

Maybe a 4Matic.

But only a post 2000:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp2N0gce0-k

That doesn't cut it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqMEGA76HsE

More like it.

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'90 300SE 298k
-300K and it gets put into retirement.
'80 300D 255k Purchased new by family in 1980.

Had a:
1973 220 (gas)
1980 300SD
1992 400E

There really is little to fear on these...it should not stop you from buying one. If you find one you like have the perches checked or check them yourself periodically. They rarely fail without showing signs of rust. Every car can fail while on vacation...what about a transmission failure or water pump going out?

Now that the spring perch issue is more or less routine more and more shops know how to handle them and fix them, so if you have one which rusts you can just have it repaired. I had the driver's side start to fail and had it fixed earlier this year. The passenger side is still OK but I do check it periodically. If it starts to show signs of separation I'll have it fixed too. Nobody has ever lost control of a car as a result. According to people I have spoken to a failed perch while you are driving is less traumatic than a blowout. Hardly a reason not to buy an otherwise great car.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

How much does it cost to reattach the perch? From what I've read, one can only truly inpect the perch by removing the sealant?

You have a point...but there is something unsettling about that type of failure.

I have a soft spot for the model. I lived in Germany/Austria when they were the de facto taxi.

Trying to convince myself that it is a better car than the 126.

(see crash video..)

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'90 300SE 298k
-300K and it gets put into retirement.
'80 300D 255k Purchased new by family in 1980.

Had a:
1973 220 (gas)
1980 300SD
1992 400E

It's def better than ANY model before it. You've ridden in one so you know.....its even better if you're driving.

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Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

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

My OM606 would be a lot easier to care for without all of the engine electronics and the W210 suspension is too stiff (even with new Bilstein shocks). If I wanted a sports car, I'd buy the Porsche. My W124's suspension is much more comfortable, IMHO.

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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

The Cayman is a great car, if you can't afford a 911... zip flame suit on.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

The official procedure calls for removal of the sealant but nobody does that. If you examine the sealant closely for signs of cracking and bubbling beneath it you can tell if it is sound or not. On the side that failed there was a crack in the sealant right at the joint. That crack existed for a number of years before the joint began to fail and even when it began to fail it didn't fail completely when I had noticed it. My passenger side is still sound.

In my case the dealer had M-B goodwill the repair, but I was lucky in that I had just placed an order for a new C300 which was being built when the separation occurred so they used my loyalty as an excuse to convince M-B to cover it. I have since developed a decent relationship with the dealer's service and parts departments because it meant a lot to me that they covered a repair like that on a 10 year old car (that I didn't buy from them). My understanding is the repairs would cost on the order of $800-$1100 per side if they are paid for by the customer. They are not done by the dealers but by body shops in most cases, as was the case with my dealer.

As I said, the failure of these sounds more traumatic than it actually is. That is probably why the NTSB hasn't ordered M-B to recall them. If you look at the suspension you will see that you really can't lose control of the car if the perch fails. The UCA and LCA remain intact and the side would just drop a few inches until the range of motion stops were encountered.

After hearing about what it is like to lose one while driving I think the danger is greater to other cars in the road where the springs eject into traffic than it is to the occupants of the W210 which loses the spring. Especially on an undivided 2-way highway. Imagine having one of those front end springs shoot out at you at 65 MPH!

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

My current daily driver is an 84 300SD. I sold my previous 85 300TDT to my little brother. This weekend I picked up a 97 e300d and drove it home 16 hours (thanks to Zackb911 for hosting me).

The 210 is worlds above the 126/123. I love the simplicity of the 126/123 and the ease of working on them. However, for many other things, the 210 just outdoes them. Mileage, handling, performance, conveniences -- those are all aspects that gained from the additional decade of technological advances that show up on the 210. That was the exact reason I bought the car -- to try to convert my wife to a Mercedes diesel that wasn't slow or old school or "quirky".

Now I'll still drive my daily driver 300SD but when we go out together on date night and take her e300, I can't say I won't be tempted to jump ship. Also, I do have to qualify all this by saying that I am still in the honeymoon period with the 97 e300 and I haven't had to do any maintenance or work on it. I'm sure I'll curse it later -- like I have my other Mercedes diesels and American gassers.

But for right now, I hope my wife takes the bait.

.....Dan

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99 e300
98 e300
90 Suburban 1500 4x4
92 ZR-1
04 Tahoe 4x4
05 Scag 52" zero turn
97 e300 - totaled on black ice
84 300SD - gave to a friend
85 300TDT Euro - SOLD to my little bro