I had a 240D which had covered 280,000 miles right before I sold it. We completely redid the body and had it resprayed in original Glasurit Red. I bought the car from a fellow tech who moved to Philadelphia, and he had serviced it since it was almosst new. Being a northern Ohio car, it had plenty of rust which is why we redid the body (new metal from MB). We decided to sell because one diesel seemed to be enough (my beloved W-116 300SD) and two days after I put the ad on the internet, a guy called from Memphis, TN and bought the car signt unseen. He flew to Cleveland and drove it home with no reported problems. It did use some oil but always always started right up even on the coldest of mornings--without being plugged in too! I still continue to use my 300SD as my daily driver and with only 178,500 on the ticker, I expect plenty more miles ahead. It doesn't use oil but did leak plenty until I finally decided to get out the old jackstands last weekend and replace the gasket between the oil filter housing and the block. All dry now! The tranny does slip from 3rd to 4th under normal throttle but under heavy acceleration, so slip is noticed. I'm expecting to have to put a tranny in it sometime soon, but am going to keep going with this one until it lets go all the way. There's a large amount of rust on the car as well, which might prompt me to find another body in the next couple of years, but for now, the engine's still going strong and she's returning very good fuel economy to boot. By the way, the grille badges for the mileage can be had by calling 1-800-FOR-MERCEDES and asking to speak to someone in the high mileage awards department. They will send you an application on which you'll need to provide all the necessary info about the car for which you're applying (i.e. VIN, engine #, year, model, etc..). My 300SD does have the 250,000Km badge on the grille as we speak. I also had ones on my 240D and my 450SEL 6.9. The awards are given for the following mileages: 250,000Km (155,000 miles), 500,000Km (312,500 miles), and 1,000,000Km (625,000 miles). In addition to the badge, you'll also get a lapel pin and a certificate. If you have accumulated any of the above mileages on multiple MBs combined, you are eligible for a pin and a certificate but the badge can only be had if the mileage has been accumulated on one car. Happy dieseling to all!

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Rgds,
Aaron Greenberg
MB technician
Precision Motorcars, Cincinnati, Ohio
'67 250SE Cabriolet
'77 450SL
'80 300SD
'85 380SE
'89 420SEL
'93 300E 2.8
'74 Jensen Interceptor Mk.III
'81 DeLorean DMC12
'85 BMW 745i Turbo

i know your interested in desils but, my 300E has 280K on it and it still runs like new!!!!!!!!!!!!

well, im sorry, exept for a few minor problems due to neglect from previous owners.

Several diesels:-

1978 300CD only 186,000 miles. This is the "first" Benz I purchased and since appear to be breeding around here. (Was to be daughter #1 car but wife said it was to good for her).

1978 300D at least 280,000 miles speedometer was broken for 3 years reviewing the records.(Daughter #2 is the driver)

1980 240D 336,000 miles great car. (Daughter #3 is the driver)

1980 300D 239,000 miles purchased as parts car.

1983 300SD 200,000 miles not broken in yet. (Purchased to replace wife's mini-van, and I'm giving it a thorough inspection before I hand it over to her. I'll never hear the end of it if she has a problem).

1985 300D 140,000 miles daughter brought is one owner vehicle in Texas. She had it repaired in Fort Worth and Dallas. Got screwed so I inherited the car. She spent around $2000 trying to stop the electrical drain on the vehicle at the last shop she took it to 2 miles down the road after $1200 she lost all electrical. I got it here to Washington, took the glow relay from the 300SD and it solved the electrical problems.
I little TLC as this will be a great car.

Gas:-
1979 450SL - Its a parade car, the garage queen 140,000 miles and runs great, but is a hard car to drive fast and I can't work out why.

My daily driver is a company Suburban 1998 and has 90,000 miles, new 2000 at the dealer awaiting my pickup.

I enjoy driving the old diesels.

I feel a little out of place with all these diesels...but I thought I'd throw in my not-so-high mileage gasoline Mercedes.
Bought my 1989 560SEL with 28,000 miles and just turned 200,000 with no problems whatsoever other than normal maintenance...(i'm knocking on wood right now)...my first mercedes and I said I'd drive it til it dropped...just hoping i don't drop first...great automobiles...this thread would be a great advertisement!

BocaBenzs:
It is great to hear your 89 560sel at 200,000 miles with no problems. May i ask what your oil consumption is?

I have 235,000 on my 1985 300D (otherwise known as Travis the TurboDiesel). I love it and wouldn't trade it for any other car (well, maybe an SDL). I have no problems with taking it on long trips or short ones around town. AND it looks GREAT TOO! The elves in the Schwarzenwald knew just what they were doing with the 123 chassis!

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Travis the Turbodiesel

Got my wife's '93 190E Sportline at 30k miles; it was my first introduction to MB cars, and an astonishingly fun replacement for my Mazda Rx7 convertible. It's up to 85k now, with a total tranny replacement (probably not completely necessary - just a broken band, but the dealer was being generous with the warranty).

I sure missed the ragtop, though, so I picked up a '91 300SL with 175k on the clock. Fixed an oil leak, new front shock tower bushings, and a water pump, and it's virtually indistinguishable from new (cosmetically superb). It's at least as fun as the old Rx7, and a *heckuva* lot nicer. I sort of getting an itch for a 500, though... ;)

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Marco

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>'93 190E 2.6 Sportline
<LI>'91 300SL
</UL>

I have a 1991 300D 2.5 and came across this website, I think you will find all the information you want, including prices of the repairs.
http://www.mindspring.com/~houlihan/mb.htm


Good luck!
ARI

Never had a diesel but I have 194k on my 85 380 SE. Uses no oil and except for a few quirks that drive me crazy (high idle only when below 80 degrees outside, and a tach that works when it wants) she runs like a top! Replaced injectors, timing chain, catalitic converter and ignition wires at 150k. Still a great ride.

emmy:
I burn approximately 1 quart every 1.5-2 months. The first repair that I will be looking at is the transmission...beginning to slip in reverse...forward shifts are fine...but I will have the entire transmission rebuilt...

Bocabenzs:
thx for the response. Do you know how many miles the 1.5 - 2 months is? With my 1991 560SEL, at about 125,000 miles I get around a quart and a half after about 2000 miles. I was just wondering what it is going to be like with about 200,000 on the car...tia...

emmy,

You're oil consumption is not too bad. There is one way to keep it that way for a long time, frequent oil changes. If you will change oil and filter OFTEN, you will almost certainly be able to go to 200,000 without any increase in oil consumption.

Of course, you also have to stay up with what's going on under the hood and under the car. If you do your own oil changes, make sure you look around at every oil change to see if there are any leaks, or see if anything might be falling off. A car, regardless of brand, makes it into the high mileage category by preventive maintenance.

Good luck,
Change oil hot, and change oil often,

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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

I think oil type is more important than frequent changes. My 300SD has 225,000 miles and goes 10,000 miles between oil changes without adding any oil. I use Mobil 1 or Castrol synthetic oils. Original timing chain off 2 degrees. If it ever gets to 3 degrees I will put the offset woodruff key in the cam sprocket. Chain will not jump as long as the tensioner is not at end of travel. However, I did recently replace the chain tensioner because the ratchet device had jamed and chain was loose.

P E H

PE,

I'm sorry I have to disagree on oil type being MORE important than change frequency. I'm sure that you use good oil, but you're not draining the oil because it is wearing out, you're draining it because it's the only method there is for cleaning the crankcase. The grit and acids that eventually get into ANY brand of oil must be cleaned out. I believe that if you were using your favorite brand of oil AND changing really often, you would be seeing ZERO stretch in your timing chain. I've seen this on my own cars.

Mobil One is great oil, but it still must be changed frequently. I believe that your 2 degree timing chain stretch is an indication of this.

Sorry to disagree,


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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles