That is what I was thinking as well. lol. I thought it looked familiar.

Well I had to sell my '93 400SEL. It was a super nice car, 1-former owner, super well maintained/garaged. I absolutely loved that car, but had some electrical gremlins I could never figure out. The check engine light was on, never could figure out why and the radio would stop playing if you turned on the turn signal. I even had a MB expert mechanic check it and he could not figure it out. The A/C suddenly went out, even after the PO had literally spent $4,000 on getting it repaired before with a new compressor, evaporator, blower, etc - all that had to be replaced when the dash was removed. The PO also had new valve cover gaskets put on about 2 years before I bought it and they were already leaking again.

It was where it was costing me a fortune to operate, but I loved the car. It was so smooth and quiet. It could have got me in trouble though, I mean I could be going 95 mph on the freeway and not even know it. 95 mph felt like 65 mph.

I could not even give the car away when I advertised to sell it. I finally sold it to a gentlemen from Atlanta who loved it. He rode the bus up from Atlanta and drove it back home. I paid $3500 for it, sold it for $2000, so it was big loss on it. He called me 2 hours from his home and said it had overheated on the freeway and was smoking from underneath. Not sure what happened, as I never had any issues like that with it unless he was running at a high speed and the valve covers had started leaking worse.

I never heard from him again, but I hope he got the bugs worked out and it made a good car for him... but there is a chance it ended up in a salvage yard somewhere.

With that said, I have had much better service out of my '88 W126 (300SEL), which I still own. Have not driven her much over the last couple of years, but slowly trying to get her back on the road, though she does not handle or ride near as well as my old W140 did - nor as fast, actually it is a slug in comparison.

Yes, this thread is still alive and relevant now! I have a 95 S320 with 287K miles and overall it has been a great car! We have owned it since 1997 - 2nd owner, and have always performed the maintenance at the dealer, except for the last six years - when I started doing most things myself. Yes, the main wiring harness (top one) was replaced, as well as the evap coil about 15 years ago; no problems with either one since.
However, just recently I had the a remanufactured transmission installed after reverse went out. Found one at Sun Valley Merc Transmissions in LA area. During this work, discovered that the lower engine wiring harness was missing most of the insulation - causing the oil pressure sensor to quit working. When the transmission is removed they had to move the lower harness and probably caused more damage to the already failing insulation on the wiring. I have found a new OEM harness for about $330 and am waiting on it now. Car is still operable, and my wife will NOT part with it! So, we are keeping it till - who knows when!

I am searching for information about replacing the lower wiring harness myself. If anyone have any tips, I would sure appreciate it!

son bought me a power buffer,tried some today,but really need lessons to buff whole car

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

Every time this thread comes up I get a sick feeling in my stomach! I sold my S350 in 2009 for nearly nothing. It was perfect except the diesel engine had started using oil. About 1 qt every 250 miles! I should have put an engine in it. Purchased it brand new and maintained it meticulously. Smoothest riding car I have ever had. No road noise. If only I could go back.

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1995 S-350
370K + SOLD
1952 220B Cabriolet
39K kilometers + SOLD
1998 E300D
310K +
2012 E350 BlueTec
120K

Oh man. I have to say I believe if I had to boil it down to 1 all time favorite MB it would be a 140 diesel.

they have v8 used diesels at ebay.de in germany,they have some grunt

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

oldsouth - that is one very nice looking ride! Looks just like mine today!

96 S500, 285,000 miles. Owned it for 85.000 miles. Maybe I'm lucky. but the build quality and design are so good that its been pretty much trouble free. Previous owner replaced engine wiring harness. Besides regular stuff, front shocks and rear spheres, throttle body (wire insulation). and radiator (fan coupling failure. I know the newer stuff is great, but this is still impressive. Has factory refrigerant (!). MB says transmission fluid for life. wonder if they knew they'd run this long. System was open when the radiator blew so I drained both transmission and torque converter. Was black as coal, feel better. Yes, the radio pots and tuner finally failed. but the Crutchfield CD/bluetooth/AUX works fine. Sure. if the motor, trans, or wiring goes, it will probably be the end of the line, but so far so good, low maintenance.

It would probably be a good idea to go ahead and change the transmission filter too.

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Jim

I got tired of my '94 S500 coupe just sitting in the garage. Last year, I believe I put on apx 300miles!!

It's Nov, 2019 and this thread keeps going! .. Like the C140!

I've driven my ’94 S500 coupe for 20 years . . . and it’s now 25 yrs old. It’s been the most reliable Mercedes that I’ve ever owned and the maintenance costs have been low.

The last few years, the car mostly sat in the garage . . . until I got a 'spark' to get her back into top shape.

My last post in this thread was with 119K on the car . . it's now 126K. These are the repairs/improvements made since the last post . . .

1) Fixed the wiper blades for both windshield and headlights; $30
2) Radiator flush using just distilled water; $30
3) Oil change + filter; $75
4) Replaced poly-belt; $40
5) Replaced spark plugs (apx 10+ years old!!); $18
6) Replaced both side – distributor caps and rotors (apx 10 years old!): $150
7) Replaced both accumulators and hyd fluid flush; $600 incl labor - the diagnosis and repair thread is here; shows that you can 'repair' struts!
8) Found and repaired ohmic connection to Aux Fans . . . no low speed; $0 - Repair thread here
9) Replaced windshield washer fill tube and grommet; $30
10) Replaced 12yr old tires . . . w/ Michelin Primacy; $800 - Tire details here

Read all stored codes (DTCs) and there were just two (2) codes . . .

. . . . and it's still in the garage.

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Regards . . . . JimF
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'94 S500 Cpe

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