Testdriving a Used Mercedes-Benz Diesel

Ah...Interesting. Still I submit...Whoever wrote that article is an idiot. The S350, when in good working order...With all it's sound insulation in place...And the engine well in tune....Is so quiet, you have to put your ear down to the hood to hear it purr. And power, if memory serves, is about 60 mph in 12 seconds....So about 4 seconds slower than the 2.1 liter Bluetec E-CLASS diesel, with the 4-cylinder...

...Sounds like he was driving a worn out 3.5 with a bent rod and terrible compression.

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1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

well... his DREAM vehicle is A GMC Sierra... so... take his views on the car with a grain of salt.
hard to believe the car he test drives was 5K... sounds like a junker to me.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Somehow I don't think a new E class is fwd.

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1959 Gravely LI, 1963 Gravely L8, 1973 Gravely C12
1982 380SL
1978 450 SEL 6.9 euro restoration at 63% and climbing
1987 300 D
2005 CDI European Delivery
2006 CDI Handed down to daughter
2007 GL CDI. Wifes

Why would anyone write a review of a car in desperate need of repair?

$71,000 for that car back in 1994 seems ridiculous.

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'81 300SD

Test drove a used one at an off - lease MB aftermarket indy dealer (Smith Imports) in Memphis, TN, back in about '97 or so. It had 90K miles on it, asking was $29K. Beautiful car, but a dog in acceleration. No thanks.

I test drove one at about the same time. The drive train was good but something horrible was going on in the front suspension. I was looking for an diesel S-Class at that time and so the next one that popped up was a W126. It was noticeably less responsive but the suspension was good. I just didn't have the patience to wait around for it to go.

So I bought a 2nd W124 (E300D). Though not turbo, it still got off faster than the w126. Eventually my kid totaled it. But it saved her life, IMHO. The reason I gave it to her was just that -- protection. A noble sacrifice for a good old car.

This guy CLEARLY knew what he was talking about:

"Valvetrain: OHV with 12 valves per cylinder"
"Fueling: Mechanical port injection"

'nuff said.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

The "writer" inferred that the base price of the new E class was way more than his annual salary......

I submit that this guy is way overpaid for his screed.

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

That's what I was waiting for, Jim! The guy was totally unfair, unknowledgeable, and basically, irritating.

I figured Diesel Forum would hose him.