"you hit the nail on the head" so either they are pieces of **** and you need to be working on them all the time or you need to buy new... btw, as you also said, new doesn't mean perfect.... go on any given day to a mb dealer and talk to the customers... the cars are full of little bugs.

I used to read the low ratings , such as consumer reports, edmunds, etc... and used to think "ahh they just are too picky..".... I was wrong , they were right...

I just traded in my 95 e320.... I bought a 4Runner....a used one.... funny thing is, I bought at night, test drove it a bit, asked "where do I sign?".... how many times on here do you hear, "DON"T buy a used mb without a ppi" , "don't buy a used mb without maintainance records" , "don't buy a used MB from one of those hole in the wall dealerhships".... "don't buy without having the mb dealer pull all the maintainance for you", "buy only a certified car', "buy extended warranty".. I DID all the opposite of the above ... I didn't have to worry if they already "changed the evaporator, changed the head gasket, changed the wiring harness, changed the ignition modules"... wait, you only need to worry about that on the German luxury brand that costs $50K+ brand new...

My conclusion? MBs are awsome to ride in and drive....but buy new. As I said previously, if you can't afford new, then don't be a wanna be and drive a used mercedes... MB should sell them like they sell the disposable cameras.. One use and return.... you use it for 2-3 years and return it... wait , that's a lease, LOL... then the next su..c.ker who buys it used gets hosed...

I originally bought the car for me to work on it, but circumstances led me not to go down that road....but even if you work on it "ALL the time" it shouldn't have to be that way....

I'll still be around, but mercedes-less....

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1995 E320 smoke silver / parchment

YES MBZ are way to troublesome for the money. Back in the early part of last century, when car had hand cranks and magnetos, they were ALL troublesome. Really great cars seem to come from Japan ,Korea, Sweden, US made Japan designs, but not from MBZ anymore. I bet they still make and sell poorly soldered OVP relays that fail just like the original ones did. When MBZ (or was it Bosch) bid out parts production all over Europe, Asia, Mexico and South America, and ignored quality implications--they fell way way down in resulting reliability of the assembled car.

Intrested in getting a 4matic MB since I have to deal with the snow when the season is here, my current e class rear wheel drive tranny really sucks big time in the snow and in the rain. I hear there are alot of problems with the 4matic transmission, what are the problems with the 4matic tranny, from common to rare?

If thats what I have in my ML320 then I can tell you..flawless performance for 130,000 miles on origional fluid. The 99 ML320 performed perfect in our January Blizzard here in Michigan.

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Steve Danville
what i did myself.
CPS
rear shocks
MAS x 3.
SparkPlugs (twice)
Fuel pump & Filter
Window switch
replaced both failed horns with Honda horns.
Cleaned ERG Tube
Oil changes
Oil consumption Fix
Brake Pads
A/C Recharge
Anti-Freeze change X 2.
Front Shocks. Monroe. $90
Mercedes Warrenty Work:
Harmonic balancer,power steering clamp. Cat converters.Drive Shaft Bearing.s
Replaced Outer Lower Tie Rods and front lower ball joints at 156,000 miles

Flawless? You sound like me a few month ago... Looking at your sig and posts you have had issues with your MB....

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/search.php?searchid=1174765

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1995 E320 smoke silver / parchment

Have a new E550. Everything works perfectly. I think they have dealt with quality issues effectively. The only major problem is the 750 page owners intruction manual. We have important work to do in order for us " dumbies" to inform the company to rewrite this document so we can understand it. PS, As a surgeon, I can revove your kidney refering to a medical publcation that makes this fairly routine. Go figure.

Have a new E550. Everything works perfectly. I think they have dealt with quality issues effectively. The only major problem is the 750 page owners intruction manual. We have important work to do in order for us " dumbies" to inform the company to rewrite this document so we can understand it. PS, As a surgeon, I can revove your kidney refering to a medical publication that makes this fairly routine. Go figure.

Status is something that can't be achieved driving a car, many drug dealers drive around in MB, Lexux etc. would that deter me from buying those cars, never, but I would'nt be buying it to achieve status for sure. I will buy a car for what it stands for, if it fits my principles, I will buy it if its within my reach.

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99 Gurkha with OM616 IDI turbo

2015 Gurkha with OM616 DI turbo

2014 Rexton W with OM612 VGT

most probably the MB cars last longer or stays longer on the road since they change models every 8 to ten years. Plus their service life is longer, indeed there were a lot of factory engineering flaws. Which i can definitely atest to it.

To this statement, with what has been going on with my car recently.... I can easily say, "yes". But it has nearly 270K, so I doubt any other car would be without some issues at this mileage....

Its just not knowing whats wrong that makes it so bad.

I think it would still depend on the model and how you take care of Mercedes. Mine doesn't give much trouble, just the usual ones experienced by any vehicle owner. Also I could easily get Mercedes 300 D parts for replacements and other accesories at a quite reasonable price...

80s toyota still around, just look at all those AE86s kicking around doing it sideways....

80s Mercedes I guess the G wagons are still tough enough. Other models have all crapped out. Mercedes commercial says their cars are faithful to the driver....

yeah like how ex-girlfriends were faithful to you. Once it has done squeezing out every penny off you she'll just dump you on the side of the road. The question is when will she suddenly feel like doing that.

Only the W123 diesels and the old diesel G Wagen come close to the Toyota and Honda reliability that you are getting, the term Jap-crap, rice burners etc. are more to do with prejudice and racism than with any substance, as a dedicated Japanese motorcycle rider, I can well relate to that, never would the guys on Harleys give us thumbs up, one Harley rider tried racing me from stop light to stop light, I was on a brand new not broken in Yamaha FZR, point is I was just going through the gears when this dude on a Harley with his woman in the back thought I was racing him, needless to say, every stoplight he got blown to pieces, unfair to go up against a full blown race bike with turn signals strapped on against a cruiser not meant to rev high, he was furious and we almost came to blows when he got down from his ride and started screaming obscenities, thats a typical Harley rider for you, maybe there are some good ones with nice attitude, I am yet to find one.

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99 Gurkha with OM616 IDI turbo

2015 Gurkha with OM616 DI turbo

2014 Rexton W with OM612 VGT

89 300ce is the most problematic car I have owed...love the look but its an over engineered pos

I have no desire to own a new one, however, there has been great outcome for my daughter in a serious accident. She was going 65 around a bad curve, car pulled out in front of her. Consequently she t-boned them. Meg and her boyfriend were not even scratched, thankfully no one else either. She said "Dad, I barely felt it." No she isn't fat. There are other cars to drive, but I feel safe with her driving down I 75 in the 84 300 cd with the dominating truck drivers all over the highway. I also feel economically good about the older sd's with their repairability and help that you can get today compared to 20 years ago. I bought a car-lift, decided to do as much as I can, started reading, studying and realized that hey ,I can do a lot of this. So after learning how they tick, I am not anxious to get something totally unfamiliar to work on, ie.,90 saturn,95 camry, 90 grand prix, etc. Just my 0.02