I may give up my 1995 E320
 

I am just getting very frustrated about the potential expense of fixing the common issues that occur at about 100K miles. My front timing cover just acquired a leak and it sounds like it might be best to just go ahead and do the head gasket at the same time. I have also been encouraged to do the wiring harness, if I move it all around during the head gasket job. I just did the water pump and the throttle actuator on the transmission, so I will have spent quite a bit of money when I get done with all the repairs.

Although I always thought and wrote that I would just fix whatever was broken, so I could keep the car, now I am thinking about just getting rid of it. I am really starting to think that these cars are junk and it is making me feel kind of sick. The car should not self-destruct at 100K. If a car is so well made with such fine materials and superb engineering, then why does it fall apart at 100K. My car has been pampered in every way. Fully dealer serviced, garage kept, sun visor at all times, and meticulously cleaned and waxed since I purchased it 8 years ago with only 18K miles.

I am thinking about letting my wife get a new Honda minivan with my car as trade. I will just drive her 5-year-old Honda Accord. I will miss the joy of driving the W124 and the pride of ownership, but I am just losing my love because of the costly repairs. I am afraid it just will not stop costing me more and more money to keep it nice. There is the rather crumby AC system, which could really cost me in the future and there is that crazy vacuum system that could fall apart and cost tons of money. I am also very disappointed with things like the steering wheel, which feels like it is just crumbling in my hands. Oh yes, and that fine leather seating that is really much more cracked than it should be, considering how carefully my car has been maintained. I am starting to think “F” this car, although it never left me stranded. That would absolutely end it for me. If this W124 is one of the finest that Mercedes every made, then I definitely don’t ever want to own another Mercedes.

Disappointed!

It looks good, BUT…
http://forums.mbnz.org/gallery/pics/W124_57782.jpg

I know how you feel and have pondered that same issue many times. But the fact remains that if you have to have a car, you are going to pay one way or the other. God knows I have put a fair amount of money into the 3 that I own,,, but the key is that I do own them. No payments,,, and my wife really likes that senario. So I plan to keep the pride of ownership and exclusitivity,,, around here anyway,,, and continue to maintain the Benzes. Like you I do a lot of my own maintence,, even did the evaporator on the 400 last year,, and feel that it is still cheaper than owning a new car that would fit my tastes. JMHO:)

The 124 is not really meant to be a low-maintenance economy car, but if you put the money into keeping it properly maintained it will still be running when that Honda minivan heads off to the scrap heap.

There are quite a few 124's with 200-300K miles still running around.

If the wiring harness is original it will certainly fail in a head gasket job. If it is not original it shouldn't be a problem. If you are not sure which it is check the part number.

Mercedes of that vintage are for do-it-yourselfers - period. You need to shop for parts yourself, do the vast majority of the work yourself, and hopefully enjoy it. There is no chance of it being economically viable transportation otherwise.

Don't forget you are talking about an 11 year old car. Time takes it's toil.
Does not make the cost less frustrating, however.

My 91 Mercury Marquis is holding up better than my 95 E320. Both are my seasonal daily drivers.

Well like every other high end car they cost a lot to maintain. Thats just the way it is be it MB, BMW, Lexus, Jag, or Rolls.

Nothing you listed sounds out of the ordinary. You can probably ignore the oil leak for a long time. Is it dripping and making a mess?

Well... I will be the jerk.... How much do you want for it? My wife wants a car.. no more Jeep.

That's only the beginning
 

there will be much more:
- all rubber-containing suspension parts inlcuding flexdiscs, subframe mounts etc.
- many bearing-containing parts (viscous fan clutch, air pump, A/C
compressor, driveshaft ...)
- rust (at least in northeast)
- ...
I actually like fixing all the stuff that needs attention. And the core components like engine, transmission, body and interior hold up very well, so it is worth fixing the rest. Also it is still cheaper than driving a new car. Besides, everybody can ride a new car that looks nice but not everyone is able to keep an old car in excellent shape at moderate cost.
Bruno

I do not think that you "may as well" replace the headgasket while fixing a timing cover leak.

That's a significant mushrooming of the job unless the headgasket is actually leaking.

It makes it less costly overall if you do them both at the same time and if it needs both.
I had mine replaced(the actual cover due to an updated design) with the headgasket and then thats when the wiring harness gave me fits. But I went on to accumulate more than 100k mile with NO problems!! Im still missing my car as i sold it with 241k miles on it and it ran just a good as when i bought it. I think if you pony up the money you wont be disappointed in the long haul. My w124 with the miles felt more solid than the 41k mile jaguar XJR I just purchased. They are truely an IRON vault.
Im pretty sure my next car will be a low mileage E500(94-95) variety.
Chris

Can you do any of this work yourself? You can repair the wiring harness by rewiring it with new wire and splicing the connections. Wire suppliers are also given, probably no need to split the connectors. Heat shinkable tubing would work well.

http://v12uberalles.com/MAF_rewire.htm

as an example.

The front cover is fairly easy, use the MB sealant.

Save some money.

I spoke to a former neighbor about his Passat. His door stopped opening and he found out that VW uses a cheap pin in the mechanism which fails regularly so the dealers can get some repeat business. The message boards suggest replacing it with a finishing nail.

All cars have their quirks, Honda's engine compartments are tightly packed and are hard to work on.

Take your pick, MB or something else.

Do you see a connection here?

I had a similar sinking feeling while my car was under an extended warranty, and thus had all its service done at the dealership. Seems they would always find $500-1000 worth of repairs I didn't know I needed.

Since then, I do some of the simple stuff myself, and then trust a very good independent tech to do the rest. Makes a HUGE difference in maintenance/repair costs.

it has been some months. don't give it up. these are nifty vehicles.

i know. i own a cabriolet. so sweet. a delight to drive.

yeah, it requires some maintenance. so what. want to own the new stuff?

do the honda. make sure that your garage can house it.

i have done my japs. good and bad reviews.

the good was the 1985, original civic crx. almost as much fun as my lotus.

the bad was the lexus lx450. what a pile of crap. so overrated.

my fave days are those when the temp is in the range ofl 70-85. and i take out the e320cab.

i have been driving the 1987 560sec the last few weeks. after allowing it to sit for almost a year. what a great car. imho, the best vehicle that benz produced.

hats off to you bruno.

I think that any car with 100k+ miles and/or 7-10 years on the clock is going to be expensive to maintain, unless you can do a good portion of the work yourself, or you choose not to do any work at all and drive the car into the ground.

It's also not realistic to expect these cars to be perfect well into their teens and twenties. There are exceptions (I just saw a beautiful 300D with near 200k on the clock), but I'm willing to bet that a fair amount of time and dollars was invested in keeping those cars in pristine condition. My car is, frankly, in pretty ugly cosmetic condition, but I still enjoy the sheer act of driving in it.

With respect to your particular car, I don't see why you need to do a head gasket along with the timing chain cover. I did my timing chain cover a couple of years ago myself for around $50. Even if you took it to a mechanic, it would probably be ~$200-300. I can't fathom why you would want to spend $1,000+ to do a head gasket unless the head gasket was actually leaking.

Part of owning a high-mileage car is being judicious with your repair dollars. Instead of spending $2000 on a head job, I paid an indie $200 to do the valve seals. Yeah, my car burns oil, but 1 qt in 1,500 miles is not worth $2000 to me.