Will I have owned a 1983 300D, 268,000mi (a tank of a car)Sold , Then a 1987 300D,230,000mi, Totaled in an accident. And the last a 1996 E320,122,000mi, just sold today. I have never been so happy to get rid of a car. I have owned 12 or so cars and trucks. Chevy ,Dodge, International. I have never had the heads off of any of them untill the 1996 E320. My current 1978 Chevy truck has 300,000mi now. Many other E320 problems like the front sway bar that rips its self out of the bottom of the frame( I have photos). The wiring harness, mine was replaced just before I bought it. What has happened to the Mercedes , Or is it just the one that I owned??????????? I think I will be looking at Lexus. Good Luck to All! Norm in FL

I think it was just bad karma.

The 210's, while styling is controversial to some, have pure Benz mechanicals underneath.

If you really are afraid of these cars(for simplicity's sake), then go buy another 124, like your '87 300D. Or, even better; upgrade to an S-Class Benz with a 300SDL.

Just because its old, doesn't mean its ancient.

__________________
1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

Good luck Norm with future automotive purchases!

Having a soft spot for Japanese cars, I think buying a Lexus will prove to be very rewarding.

Also a quick question, if you car is a 1996 E320, then it would have the V6 3.2L (4 round headlights \ W210) - is that the model that you owned that gave the heartache?

Interestingly I read a Consumer Reports last night that reported for 100 Brand New Vehicles, Mercedes scored the second lowest score! Cadillac came last and Acura was first....eye opener!

Uh-oh looks like Chrysler cancer is getting into the veins....just kiddin'

Yasin

<>

210 chassis did not go to v6 until 1998 model year...
96/97 used 104- IL6 engine....

Ughh, please don't say the C word. Mercedes has been heading downhill ever since that moron(see sig) took over the helm of the former Daimler-Benz.

The M104's do have their issues. Quite a lot actually. Wiring harnesses, air-mass sensors, spark plug wires, leaking head gaskets, blah blah blah.

__________________
1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

I hate to say this but let's not point to Chrysler as the problem with the current MB's. I am now driving one of three 1994 Dodge Rams that were bought new and it has 293,000 miles. It uses less than 1 quart of oil between oil changes. The only repairs have been, tune ups, brakes about every 35,000 miles, five or six sets of tires and an Oil pickup screen replacement at 195,000. All three had similar track records. 3 for 3 with great service records and over 200,000 miles.

The Chrysler 300 I believe it is, is the Car of The Year! Based on it's track record and current model. Many years and many Chryslers owned, I think your sentiment is misdirected!

If there are problems at MB, look to MB, I have been a long time Chryler stock holder and I believe they will learn form MB, Not change it. Any billion dollar investment will be pretty carefully managed not to destroy any one of their images by cost cutting by any corporation. (Unless your were AMF and your buying Harley Davidson, they were an exception to that rule!)

MB is still the worlds finest car but they too make mistakes in-house! Maybe the recent MB outsourcing to China for parts could cause some difficulties!

Besides, most of the car problems that spurred this post were on models made prior to the mergers. 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996??

e.g. "The wiring harness is a problem with all M104 eng and all W210 E320, 1996 mod."

I could go on. Maybe the quality failures at MB in the early 1990's is the reason they were a takeover target in 1998! Look for improvements at the plant. The dealerships are a lost cause however!

Daimler bought Chrysler, not the other way 'round. Bought it fairly cheap, from what I read. I've also read that most of the top Chrysler management has been replaced by krauts, too.

FWIW,

__________________
Norm in NJ
Next oil change at 230,000miles

I've had my 1998 c230 for 2 years now an it really is a pleasure to drive. Smooth ride no rattles or squeeks and the engine sounds great. Unfortunately the rest of the car leaves a lot to be desired. My power windows are the most current problem. Why was it necessary to have them computer controled? I too will have to seriously think about buying another one.

Well, good ridance.......................Good by

Chrysler merged with MB in 1998, and yes my car had the M104 L6 engine I know it well! The V6 came in 1998. Bad karma ? Have you owned a W210 E320?? As for a 123 0r 124 Benz, you tell my wife we are going backwords in years, it is her car!!! Norm in FL

Norm - Good luck with your Lexus purchase. They're good cars.

I think the problem with your MB experience is that you were going in the wrong direction. As you got newer cars, you also got into technology that isn't inexpensively repaired (and wasn't that reliable either). The older cars didn't carry this baggage.

There's a whole raft of people on this forum that firmly believe that MB quit making really good cars quite a few years ago. I'm one of them. I'm a happy MB owner (and Toyota owner too).

just my $.02,
Wes

Well, in my experience, MB customer service sucks, both at the dealer level and at the corporate level.

However, I find that even as much as I like the new Infiniti FX35, I find that I cannot bring myself to give up my 124.

Thank God I am able to work on it myself. It has been years and years since a "real" mechanic touched my 300E or my wife's.

__________________
2012 E350
2006 Callaway SC560

Sorry to see you go Norm and I'm sure the Lexus will be a fine car. I can't say personally because I have never ridden in one but I do have a friend that rode in one one time and he said they are real nice cars.

I'm with Wes - nothing newer than about 1991 for this diy'er type in the MB line. We have had a Honda in the family since '87 and have never had any problems with them. In addition, I am finding that maintaining the wifes 1997 Honda CRV has never been complicated.

__________________
Jim

Benz, BMW, and Volvo have all produced expensive junk for the last ten years, shades of American "disposable" cars.

There are rumors that Benz in particular is backing off from the stupid notion they need to be "first" with all the techno crap -- they installed numerous fancy computer systems on the 210 and later models without doing their normal reliability work (after all, electronics are somewhat less reilable in 1972 than they are today, by and large, and the D-Jet computers usually run forever....). The result was exessive failure rate, and util design changes have been made in the parts (unlikely), the replacements will fail just as fast.

The top management at Benz (and all the other European makes for that matter) seem to be of the school that drools and throws money every time someone says "computer". there is no need for digital computer controlled lighting, climate control, or probably even engine control on an automobile -- "dumb" servos work just fine, for example the W124 chassis climate control. Not too expensive, simple in operation, and very reilable. the W140/C class ACC blows the computer regularly, cost $2500 to replace (no repairs) and does absolutely nothing more than the earlier ones.

It's all about that magical new world where you only have to dream to make it happen, unlike the real world where the blasted stuff has to actually function so you can get to work!

It will pass. Gas is gonna be a LOT more expensive in the coming years, so the super performance disposable car will vanish in favor of low fuel consumption, long lived ones.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

I must be totally bored to get into one of these trolling posts.

Since I'm about at retirement I have to just laugh at all you poor suckers. If you happened into the 21st century in a Benz then a Benz is what you blame. If you happen across the 21st century in a Lexus, it will get your rath. I just work on them and I go where the money is. We work on MBs 10 to 1 over Lexus (we worked on MBs for 15 years before there were Lexus) but the whiners really accumulate in a 80k+ LS400s. Try DIYing a starter in that pig. I'll wager not a DIYer in the group could accomplish it in a week. Only partly due to the difficulty. The rest will be because of the tons of plastic that will have to be removed (and broken and ordered) to get that intake manifold out of the way. Ya think a nippondenso compressor costs in an MB wait till Lexus gets their hands on you. Big talk, look up the facts for yourself, the grass is always greener, especially if the world changed while you weren't paying attention.

Lexus PS systems have to be the most defect prone of any vehicle short of Ford. Liquid crystal displays over a grand. Happy Lexus owners never are out of warrantee and that is probably the way MB owners will wind up. There are no more 124/126 cars beeing built by ANYONE! Digital control ain't going away. So ya better keep good care of those stone age cars.

Since repair of late model cars is not economical even when done by an efficient independent and because its not possible at all DIY (except for a few masters) the era of the disposable car is upon us. Thankfully my property is worth more in rent than I pay myself, as the day of the competent independent technician is waning. Going the way of the TV repairman.

__________________
Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician