Which Diesel? pros and cons? what would you buy? - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

72junky · #31 11-30-2016, 03:17 PM

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Sorry for not getting back for an update. I have not purchased either car, work, life, and turkey got in the way... But, still in negotiations on the W124. Hope he comes down a bit more. As mentioned by Herr Diesel, I am concerned about the Harness, head gasket, and tranny. There are no records of servicing these parts. I've decided against the W201 because of the northern exposure to salt. It looks clean in the pics, but, as Neil Young sang "Rust never sleeps." I'll keep Y'all posted. Brian

72junky · #32 12-13-2016, 11:34 AM

Quick update!!! The deal is finalized. Getting the W124. Headed there this weekend to pick it up. Thanks to all for the advise and input.

Brian

Shawnb · #33 12-13-2016, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 72junky

Quick update!!! The deal is finalized. Getting the W124. Headed there this weekend to pick it up. Thanks to all for the advise and input.

Brian

Hopefully it's exactly as described!

Enjoy

dieseldiehard · #34 12-13-2016, 06:47 PM

Maybe too late to throw my 2-cents but I would go for the 124, having owned 3 of them. One went to MB heaven when my wife got T-boned by a speeding Lexus SUV (the big one!) and she walked away from it. Still easy to work on compared to the later diesels and less electronics to fail.
I love my '95 E320 wagon, its the first gasser I've owned for 25+ years and I liked it so much I bought a 2000 E320 sedan for my wife.
124's have a solid feeling on the road and the trans is bulletproof.

I had a wiring harness problem with my '95 wagon and I found a pull with late version tags on it on eBay for not nearly as much as MB would have wanted for one.

packerfan · #35 12-14-2016, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 72junky

The time has come to send my trusted 2003 Jetta TDI on to someone else. a really good car, just tired of it. So, I have been searching CL and asking some questions to others here on the forum. I have come to 2 cars I am contemplating.

1986 W201 190D 2.5 n/a 5 speed 139k, or, 1995 W124 E300 diesel/auto with 133k Both cars are out of state and have talked to the owners. I have not seen in person.

The car will be a daily driver living outside. I have a 20 mile distance to work on secondary roads with several stops. Goal is reliability, decent mileage, and not a lot of time spent working on it.

I have searched here for issues and risks for both cars, and have not really found much that says; "stay away from that!"

Any recommendations or warnings?

I have the 1995 E300. I bought it 10 years ago with 198000 miles and it now has 397000 miles on it and does not leak or burn a drop of oil. It is my daily driver and I get approx. 33 mpg. This has been a very reliable bullet proof car for me so far. I live in the frozen midwest where the roads get salted all winter long (11 months of the year) and the body is staring to rust out really bad.
The only real problem for me since I bought the car is that I can not find a mechanic anywhere other than a dealer that will work on the car. I am also one of the unlucky ones that has three snapped off glow plugs do to a mechanic that put a wrench on them and just started to crank! Had I found this forum sooner I would have changed the glow plugs myself, I didn't realize how easy it was to remove the intake manifold to gain access to them and the proper procedure for removing them. The mechanic attempted to get at the glow plugs from underneath the engine and he was feeling around in the dark. If you decide to go with the E300 I would recommend removing and reinstalling the glow plugs once a year to help prevent the possibility of the plugs seizing into the head.
The only other problems I have had was a heater blower motor that was burned out and an "ice cube" relay gizmo (located behind the battery) because the engine would not idle and I was able to replace both with the help of the guys on this forum.
Hope this helps,
Rick.

jake12tech · #36 12-15-2016, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by packerfan

I have the 1995 E300. I bought it 10 years ago with 198000 miles and it now has 397000 miles on it and does not leak or burn a drop of oil. It is my daily driver and I get approx. 33 mpg. This has been a very reliable bullet proof car for me so far. I live in the frozen midwest where the roads get salted all winter long (11 months of the year) and the body is staring to rust out really bad.
The only real problem for me since I bought the car is that I can not find a mechanic anywhere other than a dealer that will work on the car. I am also one of the unlucky ones that has three snapped off glow plugs do to a mechanic that put a wrench on them and just started to crank! Had I found this forum sooner I would have changed the glow plugs myself, I didn't realize how easy it was to remove the intake manifold to gain access to them and the proper procedure for removing them. The mechanic attempted to get at the glow plugs from underneath the engine and he was feeling around in the dark. If you decide to go with the E300 I would recommend removing and reinstalling the glow plugs once a year to help prevent the possibility of the plugs seizing into the head.
The only other problems I have had was a heater blower motor that was burned out and an "ice cube" relay gizmo (located behind the battery) because the engine would not idle and I was able to replace both with the help of the guys on this forum.
Hope this helps,
Rick.

The OVP relay is behind the battery on the E300 IIRC. I wouldn't put it down because of rust. If the motor is that good, put in a rust-free or less rusty body. I find it hard to believe you can't find any German independents that wouldn't want to work on it. Also, surprised the dealer is even willing to service a car 21 years old. Their rule around here in PA is 10 years or less because it's too "complicated" for their techs because they aren't trained on older systems.

72junky · #37 12-19-2016, 09:29 AM

Deal fell through... After 6 hours on the road to Richmond. My friend and I looked over the car and it was in worse condition than the owner portrayed. It had pretty shabby carpet, and the driver's seat looked like 300k mile not 135k. the body had a lot more dings and dents including an attempted break in on the driver's door. Both front and rear bumper covers were cracked and the hood and grille were dented. The car drove ok, but, the cruise did not work, the vent ducts were not working correctly. etc... Amazing that a picture can be worth a thousand words, but, still not tell the whole story. So, I stated I couldn't pay his price, but, he wouldn't come down, so, it was 7 hours back home including a food and libation stop. The search goes on.

dieseldiehard · #38 12-19-2016, 01:48 PM

Aww heck, well sorry you had to waste time on that one but if your diligent another one in better condition will come along!