1996 - 1997 E320 questions

[BENZ-LGB]

Howdy...About a year ago I sold my 1991 420SEL. Since then I have been driving my 1999 Cadillac Seville. Nice car, powerful engine, decent interiors. It is not,however, a Benz.

Last week I drove my daughter's (well, it is technically mine, since I pay for insurance and repairs) 1989 300TE for a few days and driving it reminded me why I love Benzes so much.

So now I got the itch to get another Benz. I love the new Benzes, but with two kids in private colleges and two on their way to (also) private colleges there is no way I can afford a new Benz. So I have to "settle"
for an older Benz.

I really like the 1996 - 1997 E series cars, with the inline 6 cylinder engine. I think they are great cars and I think the inline 6 are great engines. I also like the style, including the "bug eye" look.

I would like to hear from E series owners of 1996 - 1997 vintage. How do you like your cars? Would you buy another one? what are the problem areas? Cost of maintenace and repair?


Thank you in advance for your help.

[enochbell]

I empathize, we've got two in private college also (twins) but 20 years ago we learned what caused the problem and we stopped at two. That you decided to continue is your own damn fault.

I would strongly suggest you take a look at the V-6. Our '98 E320 has been bullet proof, with regular oil changes we have had no problems (well, one: the blower fan regulator went out at 50k, and required replacement of both the fan and the regulator, and I understand this is common). Otherwise at 126k miles, put on 2 miles at a time (it seemed...this is the errand and kid car) the car is darn near perfect. I understand the straight 6 had a tendancy to blow head gaskets, at least that is what a mechanic friend says.

My typical ownership is to buy a car withe 10k miles, saving some $10-15k in upfront depreciation. Sell after 5-7 years and the cost of ownership, at least with the E-Class, becomes very reasonable.

Just my 2 cents,

Best of luck,

g

[HomeRunPark]

The W210 E300 TurboDiesel looks like the car for you my friend. Don't buy a gas Benz, who do you think you are?!

[BENZ-LGB]

Originally Posted by enochbell

I empathize, we've got two in private college also (twins) but 20 years ago we learned what caused the problem and we stopped at two. That you decided to continue is your own damn fault.

I would strongly suggest you take a look at the V-6. Our '98 E320 has been bullet proof, with regular oil changes we have had no problems (well, one: the blower fan regulator went out at 50k, and required replacement of both the fan and the regulator, and I understand this is common). Otherwise at 126k miles, put on 2 miles at a time (it seemed...this is the errand and kid car) the car is darn near perfect. I understand the straight 6 had a tendancy to blow head gaskets, at least that is what a mechanic friend says.

My typical ownership is to buy a car withe 10k miles, saving some $10-15k in upfront depreciation. Sell after 5-7 years and the cost of ownership, at least with the E-Class, becomes very reasonable.

Just my 2 cents,

Best of luck,

g

We would have stopped at two...but it was so much fun "making" the first two that we did not want to stop.

The engine in my daughter's 1989 300TE has been pretty much bullet-proof. Except for one issue with the wiring harness (which was fixed w/o having to replace the entire wiring harness--thank you Enrique @ Mr. M.B. Motors) the engine has been trouble-free. At 190K it still runs strong!

I'll look at the 1998 and newer models as well.

BTW, does your Benz have the pneumatic seats? How do those things work? Do they make the seats that much comfy or is it just a useless gadget (the Benz seats are already pretty comfy to start with.

Thanks for the input.

And, if I did not live in California, I would get another diesel. Getting a diesel here in the Left Coast is an iffy proposition. One never knows when the government will ban all diesels!

[BENZ-LGB]

Bump!

[enochbell]

are well worth it...allows you to shape the contour of the seat just right. A definate plus for smaller driver, and to vary the contour on a long trip. So far they are also working fine, just as new. The only thing I would have preferred is if they had memory just like the seat position. But I guess I can get over the "inconvecience". BTW, I thought the MB-tex would be inferior to leather...not so. They stay clean, look like new, and are just as comfortable as leather in the Atlanta heat.

Best of luck.

g

[suginami]

You might know the following, but I thought I'd like to point out:

1. 1996 E320's have the same 4 speed automatic transmission as 1993-1995 E320's.

2. the 1997 E320 is the first year to get the new 5 speed automatic transmission.

There were a lot of updates to this automatic transmission in the following several years.

The 4 speed auto is relatively inexpensive to rebuild, i.e. Enrique charges $1,500 to install a rebuilt unit.

The newer 5 speed auto is about $3,500 to rebuild.