New Benz Owner
 

Hello, new member here. I always wanted a MB and now own a 98 E300 TD. Black with tan MB Tex. I bought it with 38K on the clock in July in pristine condition. I am slowly learning the dos and don'ts and have what I think is a competent service tech. I have been looking, to no avail, for a 'Bible' on this car, such as Chiltons. I have only seen three or four of these cars in my town of 400K. Where are the rest of you guys?

Narwhal:

Most of us here have cars long, long out of warrenty rather than nearly new! Mine are all over 12 years old, for instance.

There is only one "bible" for your MB, and that is the CD here on PartShop. Don't expect to see a Chiltons or Haynes for at least another six or seven years, and they are, to be polite, less than optimal. What you get in the CD is the "real" MB shop manual. Much better.

Welcome to the board, though! I'm sure you love your "new" benz!

Peter

I ran out of warranty yesterday!! I have a '99 E300 and love it, congrats on a great purchase. Email me, and i'll give you the lowdown on maintenance etc.

I drove a 98 E300 Turbo yesterday on an open road, boy is that a quick car for a diesel. Engine sounds really nice at idle and full throttle, but the car does not have that classic Mercedes feel, sorry to say but the W210 body feels a bit cheap compared to the older W123, W126, W140 and W124 chassis'.

Congrats on your purchase, Narwhal. There are a few W210 diesel owners here, but not many. I recently read in The Star that only 2000 diesels were sold in 1999. That may explain it.

As for service information, I'm afaid the news is bad. Mercedes hasn't published the W210 CD yet, and there are no aftermarket manuals available for our chassis either. I believe MB policy is not to publish service info for the public until after the chassis has been out of production for a year or two. Makes sense to me that they would want to include all the revisions and do the job only once.

Take comfort in the fact that you've already found an excellent resource in this forum. You'd be hard pressed to come up with a car question that couldn't be answered by someone here.