My Last Benz

[Norm in FL]

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

[DslBnz]

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.

[slownrusty1]

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

[Arthur Dalton]

<>

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

[DslBnz]

Originally posted by slownrusty1

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

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.

[Norm in FL]

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

[Wes Bender]

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

[brewtoo]

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.

[engatwork]

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.

[psfred]

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

[stevebfl]

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.

[mike65]

as the day of the competent independent technician is waning. Going the way of the TV repairman.

Sadly this is true, soon the bonnet will be opened only via an access code known only to franchised workshops and men in white coats will "fix" the problem with a 100 grand laser guided probe as you the owner watch whale movies in the courtesy lounge with 3-D googles as ambient music plays...or something like that!

Mike.

[psfred]

Steve:

It's not just cars, either!

One of the serious problems in Iraq appears to be that the equipment isn't "modern" (that is, completely digital) and no one knows (at least the Halliburton people, anyway) how to make it work without just replacing a non-working part. Needless to say, with the grid in terrible shape, equipment gets used improperly and abused, and there isn't enough to just replace everything.

I'm not personally convinced the "disposable" system will be with us forever -- it's VERY expensive, very wastefull, and oil is never gonna be cheap again!

I've also heard horror stories about parts for Japanese cars when the do wear out. When I replaced the center bearing on the driveshaft on the 220D some time back, it cost me $30. The one for a Toyota was $175, and was probably almost identical. The only reason Benz owners complain is that they keep their cars (or at least the folks on this forum, anyway) much longer than "ordinary" drivers, so they actually wear out suspension links, valve trains, etc.

MB is considerably higher maintenance than a typical Japanese car -- a friend of mine quite literally never replaced the brake pads on his Avalon. It was totaled when someone ran a stop light and T-boned him at 125,000 miles! Brake pads still OK. I have no idea how well the brakes work compared to a Benz, but that is one reason people complain (pads at 30,000 miles, what a useless piece of junk!).

After all, I remember when valve jobs at 25,000 miles weren't uncommon, and engines only had a paper oil filter if you special ordered the external filter system....

Who remembers tuneups every 3000 miles?

Peter

[DslBnz]

Originally posted by Norm in FL
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

No,..But we took an 124 E320 on a trip to Williamsburg and had a wiring short causing faulty codes to appear.

The initial diagnosis for this car was a bad air mass sensor. OK, the car nearly got my family KILLED when the engine started to cut in and out in DC traffic. Two days later(one day after we got it back with a $$$ bill and a smile), it did the same damn thing. The tech diagnosis was AGAIN an air mass sensor!

My father was unfamiliar with the M104 engine at the time(it was only 4 years old) disabled the plug connected to the sensor, and we drove it home that way. The experience ruined our vacation, and my mother certainly has never forgotten about it.

Dealer concluded that the battery had leaked acid on the wiring casing underneath the battery tray. The wiring harness and the battery both had to be replaced. WHY THE HECK WOULD MB USE A CLOTH-LIKE SUBSTANCE, BIODEGRADABLE, AND CERTAINLY SUSCEPTABLE TO A SMALL AMOUNT OF ACID LEAKAGE?

Just a poor design. Very poor.

Other than that crap I listed, the I6 is a tough contender.

I've got a '97 E420, though. No broken swaybars after nearly 3 years of ownership.

[wbain5280]

I went to the junkyard on Sunday with a friend. He was looking for a part for his Jeep. We found a Jeep and the drivers door was hanging by its lower hinge. The top hinge weld was detached through either metal fatigue or rust or both. Talk about a crappy design.