Sad Day
 

The time has come: I have reached the end of my tolerance rope with my 1992 300TE 4Matic Wagon, (149,150 miles) and have decided to put it up for sale. I have grown weary of the continual stream of repairs it has required over my five years of ownership, (I'm the third owner), and I no longer have the time or inclination to diagnose and repair it myself, even with the expert help of all of you in this fabulous forum, and I am especially tired of the high cost of the professional repairs beyond my ability. It is a fabulous car when it works, especially in winter, and I will part with it sadly, but I am tired of being disappointed in my hope that each successive repair will be the last for a while. I have maintained the car with an eye and intent for longevity, but because age is age and things go, especially in this hot and cold and wet New England climate, the continual stream of repairs has overwhelmed my enjoyment of ownership. Plus, with a wife and two small children, I need a car that I can count on and having been stranded by it twice it the past six months, it is no longer such a car.
My repair history may sound familiar, but in just five short years and 45,000 miles of ownership, I have spent over $11,000! replacing or repairing the following:
New serpentine belt tensioner and belt
New MB radiator, hoses & clamps
New 4Matic transfer case
New motor mounts
A/C conversion to R124
New Oxygen Sensor
New Head Gasket
Complete valve job with new timing chain, etc.
New catalytic converter and rear muffler
New front and rear rotors and pads, (twice)
New ABS Sensor
Rebuilt Becker Radio and new amplifier
New windshield due to stress crack
Four Bridgestone tires on Borbet S, 5 spoke rims & a set of Nokian WR snow tires on four original MB rims
Bosch Euro headlights with driving beam

If I had a spare garage I would store it until I had time and money to work on it, or would continue to fiddle with it as an extra car, but right now I cannot afford to do that especially since I already have a MB garage queen; my '62 finny. So please accept this farewell as thanks to all of you for your endelss, patient, and instructive help with my continual questions over the years. Like I said, it's a sad day.

The Fintail Fan

1962 MB 220SEb "Fintail" Sedan
1992 MB 300TE 4Matic Wagon
1995 Subaru Legacy AWD Wagon

Are you sure you want to sell it now? Sounds like you have fixed most of the things that are likely to fail. In fairness, some of the items you list are normal wear and tear items and some of the others are simply age related as you suggest.

We have owned our '90 300TE for seven years now and whilst it has travelled less distance than yours (190,000km), I consider it very reliable and I have no hessitation loading the family on board and embarking on long journeys through remote parts of the vast Aussie countryside. Admittedly ours is not a 4-matic like yours which do have a bit of a "reputation", but I have had to replace some of the items you list.

It appears that everyone loves the 124s for the great cars they are when they are working, but for some it is a love-hate relationship when things go wrong. Possibly for those like me who perform all their own maintenance and repairs, we catch things before they fail and leave us stranded.

To date, I have mostly praise for our 300TE and hope that it gives us many more years of relatively trouble free service (I hope I haven't cursed it saying what I have here). Sorry to hear of the decision you have come to with yours.

Fintail Fan, maybe you need to make repairs on your own car. That can save you money right off the bat.

Of the repairs listed, you could have done some yourself:

New serpentine belt tensioner and belt
New MB radiator, hoses & clamps
New motor mounts
New Oxygen Sensor
New catalytic converter and rear muffler
New front and rear rotors and pads, (twice)
New ABS Sensor
Rebuilt Becker Radio and new amplifier

Four Bridgestone tires on Borbet S, 5 spoke rims & a set of Nokian WR snow
tires on four original MB rims

(Now, did you really need those new rims?)

Bosch Euro headlights with driving beam

(from what I've heard, the early transfer cases were problematic) (rhymes with 4matic) :cool:

An aftermarket radio would have worked too, for about 200 bux.

I realize everyone's skill level is different, but there is a lot of good info here on repairing your car.

Just my opinion.