I've had this Merc for 4 years now, and overall it has been reliable; however, I never seem to get on top of the repairs that would make it more of a joy to drive. As a consequence, I don't enjoy driving it.

Recently, the ignition cylinder seized and left me without a car, were it not for a good friend who loaned me his spare 325xi with an auto stick. It has been a joy to drive, and reminded me of why I liked German cars to begin with... Ironically, despite the number of things wrong with the TD, I still believe it is worth more than the bimmer, but smiles per mile is certainly lower. Bear with me while I try to list the pros and cons of both...

'83 300TD
--Cons
218K on the clock
Seats need rebuilding desperately, I hurt myself on long drives.
AC controls need rebuilding, they don't work right
No working AC
Turbo is bad (have rebuilt unit to install)
Handling is poor in comparison to anything else I have owned, mostly dubs
Needs new front shocks and tires
Slow to heat in the winter
--Pros
Hard to kill, damn durable
Collectible
Trans rebuilt at some point


'03 325xi wagon
--Cons
Arguably, Not as durable as the TD (just learned about the headbolt problem)
Small rust spots on bottoms of the doors
Broken windshield
Dent in front bumper
200K

--Pros
An absolute joy to drive
Has sport seats and auto manual
Everything works!
AWD, which would be smart here in CO.


I am hoping for opinions here, so feel free to dicker with my reasoning. I Used to enjoy driving the Benz, and I Might enjoy driving it more in the future, just seems like I would have more fun With something More fun... Even considered getting a 124 as I think that Would help, but... This car is available, I think....

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1998 VW Cabrio
2001 Audi SomeRoad A/T (no air suspension)
2003 Audi DeadRoad M/T (no vroom, for later)
2002 Audi NoRoad A/T (nothing under the hood, being rebuilt)

The only way to enjoy a 35 year old car is to maintain it. If the seats, turbo , AC, and suspension need work, fix them. Don't complain that neglect of these problems and probably others make this car less than a joy to drive. When you have an older MB, the only way to make it a joy to drive is to keep it in good repair and to fix its major problems. If you can't do that, buy a newer car.

I have justified major expenses in fixing my AC (compressor and evaporator) with the rationale that an MB without air conditioning is not really an MB. Either I pay for it or get rid of the car.

My view is that it is generally cheaper to fix the problems on a car you already own than to buy a newer car. The problem comes when you let several major problems build up, and it looks like you are better off by buying a newer car. The problem you have with the newer car is that you don't know where it has been neglected and what repairs it will need.

Really not a lot for one of these cars if accurate.
Shouldn't be too hard to rebuild or replace a driver's seat.
You need AC in Colorado? I don't need it in Nevada. I also got along without it in Georgia and Mississippi.
If you already have it, you may as well install it.
The right tires at the right pressures along with the right shocks will fix a lot of that, and aren't hard to do, if a bit pricey.
Several potential causes, all fixable, but you knew that already from reading this forum.
From what I hear about newer BMW cars, it's more like a lot less durable.
Fairly beaten 200k mile Bimmwad. Could be a fun beater for the right price. As in second car while you take some time fixing issues with the TD.

I've thought about that too. So I got something newer and more fun for not too much money, and kept the Benz. So far it's working for me.

Lewis Hamilton's doesn't have AC.

I would generally tend to agree there.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

that old diesel will run after ww3,on anything. I'd give up my 99 s320 with 83000 miles for a old 617 s class

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

All the roads will be blocked by folks with no food, fat lot of good that will do you. :-)

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1998 VW Cabrio
2001 Audi SomeRoad A/T (no air suspension)
2003 Audi DeadRoad M/T (no vroom, for later)
2002 Audi NoRoad A/T (nothing under the hood, being rebuilt)

not really,most survivors will be in small towns,if they take caution with fallout.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

The E46 is a pretty rock solid choice for a car, provided you do a bit of preventative maintenance. Their achilles heel is their cooling systems - but addressing it early will save you major headaches down the road. I haven't heard about headbolt issues though - that's new to me. (have a link?) Not to mention you're dealing with "old car issues" like stuck/rusty bolts, worn interior bits, and sometimes not being able to get certain parts anymore.

I wouldn't kick one out of my garage - they're an absolute joy to drive. Modern ergo and creature comforts are big factors in cars for me now - for example, I'll never daily a car that doesn't have AC, nor will I attempt to daily any of my projects. I love wrenching and a good project, but I'm past the days of having to stay up till 1 or 2AM putting together a cooling system just to drive to work the next day.

To be honest, I'd pick up the E46 wagon if it checked out, and keep the W123 as a project. There's something to be said for having a daily you don't mess with and a project that you can really focus your time and effort on. I preached this to SirNik back in the day - I switched from trying to daily my W124 and bought a low mile W202 and never had to worry about wrenching to get to work. He woke up and did the same, and now focuses his car time on fixing/building something the way he wants instead of trying to "band-aid" it to get to work the next day.

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

I stopped daily driving my SD about 7 years ago. First I bought a used dodge dakota. Honestly a good used truck is a great daily driver if you want fix up an older car. I used this truck to haul home the engine I put in the SD. When the truck gave me crap I sold it and was back in the SD for about a year when my step sister blew up her civic. That car was clean and I bought it for $500 and replaced the engine and drove that for 4 years. I sold that was iwrock selling his W203. I've been driving that for the last year. Nice to be driving a MB daily again. Also nice for that MB to have AC and cruse control. 2 things that died on the SD over a decade ago.

Side note. I miss my Civic. That car was an excellent transportation appliance. I sold it to a friend and if he ever goes to sell it I may buy it back. It really was like my honda powered pressure washer, but with doors.

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Get out while you can!

I wish I had some sage advice, but that pretty much sums it up for me.

Plus I could use a parts car for the parts car I currently drive.

Fix the 300TD, everything that is wrong with it sounds like very basic items!

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[GONE] - 1995 Mercedes E300 Diesel - 130k miles - Smoke Silver (702) over Mushroom leather (265) - Bladder blasting, coast-to-coast work machine.

Everything on the engine of the E46 is plastic. Manifold, valve cover, thermostat housing (electronically controlled thermostat), DISA valve (look it up, loads of fun), coolant hose connections etc. Plastic as far as the eye can see. They all age, warp, crack and need to be replaced every few years. If you like to DIY, you're going to hate the E46. Every nut and bolt on the engine, transmission and suspension is 2 sizes too small. Don't even think of doing any work on it without torque specs and torque wrench. Even then you'll still break bolts just trying to remove an item. Keep the broken bolt extractor kit handy. I don't like these cars because they are fragile. Even MBs from the crap era (96-05?) like M112 and M113 powered W203s and W211s are far more rebust and user friendly. This is coming from experience on 2 E46s and 1 E39.

Oh and one more thing. You said its awd? Price out the front end suspension and brake components and compare to the RWD variant.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words