Tomorrow morning I am going to go look at 300TE 4MATIC that's for sale. Not sure what year the car is or specs - I'll get all the info tomorrow.
I'm thinking about buying it as a winter car. I have some questions:

1. What are the trouble spots?
2. What years are the good years?
3. What should I be looking for outside of the usual?
4. Are there any 4MATIC specific issues to beware of?

Thank You

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

Turned out to be a 1994 e320 wagon. Not a 4MATIC. It's alright. I'll continue looking. So are there any happy or frustrated members with 4MATICs?

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

The 4-matic system used in W124's was a disaster. Very problematic and very expensive to maintain.

There is a lot in the archives if you are good using the search function.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Do you have any recommendations or suggestions for an AWD/4WD that I could use as for the winter?

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

Mb re-introduced the 4Matic in '98 with the new v6 and the 5 speed transmission. Not a lot of negative comments about it. Lots of fans of the v6 too.

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dtf
1994 E320 Wagon (Died @ 308,669 miles)
1995 E300 Diesel (228,000)
1999 E300 Turbodiesel ( died @ 255,000)
2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 AC 4X4 (115,000 miles) rusted frame - sold to chop shop
2011 Audi A4 Avant (165,000 miles) Seized engine - donated to Salvation Army
BMW 330 xi 6 speed manual (175,034 miles)
2014 E350 4Matic Wagon 128,000 miles
2018 Dodge Ram 21,000 miles

I'm a big fan of Subaru's. All of their cars are AWD. They have a system that is proven over time, is simple and durable.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

What about a Subaru SVX?

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

4Matic + high milage = oil all over the drive . . . . Don't touch !

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1993 190E 2.0L (Euro.) sold
1991. 500 SEL (Euro.)
1991. 300 CE (Euro.) sold
1993. 500 E (U.S. spec.)

Thanks for the response. I was thinking since I already own a W124 that a 4MATIC might be easy to deal with since I'm learning so much from this forum. I just don't want the heavy repairs $$$. So many people are recommending that I buy an Audi A4, but no way. No Audis for me. I've seen 6 Audi mechanics at the dealer one day standing around a car with 3 computers pluged in scratching their heads and still couldn't figure out what the problem was. Reminded me of the Audi 5000 that came fully equiped with 5000 problems. I want reliability.

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

I guess it is like comparing apples with oranges. My good friend here in Dubai just bought an Audi S8 quattro, 1998, 120,000 kms. A real beauty of a car but he this week took it to the shop with what he thought was an injector blocked and ended up with a bill for $5000 for a fuel computer. In the same street, a guy buys a 124, 4Matic and dumps as much oil as the Amoco Cadiz on his drive after several transmission failures. I am not really qualified to comment, just a few personal observations, but for me, my money is with a pre '95 Benz, any model !

Andy Day

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1993 190E 2.0L (Euro.) sold
1991. 500 SEL (Euro.)
1991. 300 CE (Euro.) sold
1993. 500 E (U.S. spec.)

Toyota Land Cruiser is a dependable go any where vehicle. A well taken care of unit will easily go beyond 500,000 miles.

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Zafar
94 E320 58000 Miles

What model years are you referring to? In Canada we don't have Land Cruisers unless they were imported from the US. For the Canadian market, Toyota chose to offer the Land Cruiser in Lexus trim only.

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

Subaru Outback is a great car..very reliable and with a good ride.
Also great resale value.
I think a 2year old plus Subaru would be great buy.