I got the 96 e300
 

They drove it over 50000 miles the last two years so it won't have those not been driven issues.

I'll be excited to get it home, get tires on it, get it cleaned off and some photos to share.

Anyone want a 92 parts/project 300D or a 95 e320 project car I'm closing the w124 shop at my house. I also have a lot of new parts I was going to put in both of them that I will be selling as well.

Good luck with that 210 diesel.
I had a 96 diesel also. It had 200 K miles on it when it got hit and totaled. Got 7 K from insurance for it too.
I loved that non turbo, just mash down the accelerator and drive it like you stole it.
How many miles on it ?

175K of which 57K was put on in the last 2 years.

Congratulations! Welcome to the 210 club!

Thanks, Going to take her for a drive to my indy at lunch today to get the parts for her first oil change and a set of filters. Going to but Mobil 1 TDT in.

My '96 E300 is now at 294,000 and counting. The three POs used dino oil but it's been on synthetic since 249,000 (in late 2007). The engine neither leaks nor burns any oil, surprising but I'm not complaining. I checked the timing chain at about 275,000 and there might have been one degree of stretch. The transmission developed a front pump seal leak so I had it rebuilt soon after we got the car, the only major expense. All in all, a superbly reliable car, which is why it's the one my wife drives, while I use the '95 E300.

Jeremy

Good to know. After my first drive impressions.

One or more cylinders has a glow plug issue. That will be something to resolve this spring and summer.

Starts a bit slow but once it hits close to torque peak it really goes.

A little shaky at freeway speeds. I'm guessing tires will fix that(this was planned).

Needs an alignment. Seems like a service-able car.

Congrats on the purchase. Our 97 NA doesn't feel nearly as slow as I expected and I appreciate some of the ergonomic improvements MB made on the 210 over the 124. Rust seems to be the biggest enemy of these cars. I wouldn't even consider one that hasn't spent its entire life in California or the the southwest.

Welcome to the 210 Club I must add also. I drive a 99 Black/Black with 160K miles. I bought it with 100K in 2003 for $19.5K. It was driven heavy on the highways. I don't think there is anything that is difficult to diagnose or fix on the 606s or W210s. You can get all the AC values and body codes from the climate control. A cheap OBD2 also gets almost all my codes. The only issue I thought I would have had to deal with is the head gasket. Long story short, it was an oil cooler. Oil cooler was taken apart, resealed and it has been good ever since. I will drive mine another 400K easy I believe before I have to rebuild it.

The more I drive my W210, the more difficult I find it to believe that I'll ever be interested in upgrading to anything (of course I said that same thing about my W124 when I got it). With just over 78k miles and only putting 12k miles a year on it, I should be all set. But, I will drive in New England winters, so rust may be the downfall....but I intend to stay on top of it.

Diesel Jim

Congrats!. I drive a similar car with almost 276k miles. Original Eng. Timing chain, Transmission, but 2 Vacuum pumps and one timing gear. Good car.

How do you know you need to change the vacuum pump or timing gear? Based on other threads I've read that sounds like an important maintenance issue

So I have a question. Does it mean with the second pump you switched to the later model pump and why you had to change the timing gear? I have yet to see a detailed procedure on how to do that

Fun fact: The 96-97 E300D has smaller W202 front brakes. That means you can fit 15" wheels on it if you so desize. I put a 15x6" 15 hole spare wheel on the front just for ****s and giggles.

'96 E300
 

At your mileage the timing chain should not be an issue. Some folks change the vacuum pump as a precaution; I did but at 290,000 miles, not 160,000. If you want, pull the valve cover and check the chain stretch but it's unlikely to need replacement this soon unless the car has been severely abused by never changing the oil, etc.

All you really need to do is to defeat the EGR valve, clean the intake of all of the EGR soot, and check on the crankcase ventilation hoses and the fuel hoses, which get old, hard, and subsequently crack.

Jeremy