I noticed some people here bought their MBs for status and/or driving pleasure though I don't understand how someone can enjoy driving a luxury car that by many people's accounts break down frequently. Personally I didn't buy my MB for status or "driving pleasure" but because it was a diesel and I wanted to experiment with biodiesel. My car is old but has only 143,000. It ran 2 weeks before dying. Found hard starting cause fuel to wash away cylinder oil, pushing the already low compression engine below the minimum compression threshhold. A squirt of oil and three down weeks got it started. Now the injection pump is dead.

I brought this up before but I have a John Deere bulldozer that is the same year as my MB. It requires no glow plugs and starts instantly, everytime, even during Michigan winters. Lots of people rave about the MB engineering but it has still not been explained to me why JD was able to design such an easy starting, superior engine during the same timeframe.

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I read your post covering several subjects and will respond to one of them.

Your comment in re: driving something that breaks down frequently or more correctly has the potential to do so can only refer to the 126 or 140 model and I'm convinced that buyers of these often do so for status with driving pleasure and economy (a relative term) a secondary consideration. I would not describe a 124 as a luxury car by today's standards and certainly not a 123 (I drove mine 120K miles) which was just a very good and solid mid-sized car. Both of these models are now in their dotage and have plenty of problems, just like all old machines. Their advantage is that that some repairs and maintenance can be down by the owner.

As far as breakdowns, the only MB that ever let me down (temporarily) was my '78 300D when the power steering pump erupted like a Texas gusher, in my garage. So I cut the drive belt with a knife and dropped the car off at the dealer on my way to work for the warranty repair. And both my 201s, my 202 and now my 203, despite all their warranty fixes, have never failed to proceed.

My MB sales guy called this afternoon to tell me that the production date (at long last) for my '08 C300 will be September 1-10 with delivery about six weeks later. And, based on MB's printed claim, this will be the most reliable model they have ever built and I believe it.

This one won't be a lease car, BTW, so it's another substantial committment to MB.

I've had similar thoughts and simalar cars. My 300D is converted to run on WVO, so I'm eating a lot of repairs myself. My Nissan Sentra is a great backup

Roger,

The reason older MB engines start harder than your JD tractor is probably because the MB is pre-chamber injection and the JD is direct injection. Direct injection engines are known to start easier.

I have a 40 year Case tractor with direct injectionand it starts easily without using the manifold heaters down to about 45*F.

Why MB chose to use pre-chamber injection instead of direct injection, I do not know. Maybe someone else can answer that question.

The newer MB are now direct injection.

P E H

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The reason older MB engines start harder than your JD tractor is probably because the MB is pre-chamber injection and the JD is direct injection. Direct injection engines are known to start easier.

I have a 40 year Case tractor with direct injectionand it starts easily without using the manifold heaters down to about 45*F.

Why MB chose to use pre-chamber injection instead of direct injection, I do not know. Maybe someone else can answer that question.

The newer MB are now direct injection.

P E H>>

Huh? I don't have a John Deere anything. I was answering Hickey's post on the subject which I thought was pretty clear. And MB used pre-chambers because it's quieter. Comparatively. And BTW, todays MB Bluetec engines have nothing much in common with tractor (or Isuzu truck) direct injection.

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Roger E.

My HINI DI engine on the Nissan Patrol starts at quarter turn even in 2C winters here, whereas my IDI turbo OM616 needs glow plugs and half throttle with few cranks to start in the same weather, DIs rule when it comes to starting, far better than any gassers for that matter.

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99 Gurkha with OM616 IDI turbo

2015 Gurkha with OM616 DI turbo

2014 Rexton W with OM612 VGT

When I got my 140 I did not even start to realize how many things could go wrong. 4 years later and probably around $14K invested in repairs I don't think I will foot another bill.
I am sure that the engine and tranny can go 300-400K miles, but the electronics and everything else is just horrible.
140 has got the the best looks of any MB, even better than the new S-class, but for Pete's sake, it looks like they made it with the idea that the owner will pay about the same price for the parts/repair as for the whole new car...
So, I will wait for a good deal on a 3-4yr old certified pre-owned S-class (definitely will invest in extended warranty) and will trade in my 140 for mere pennies as compared to what $$,$$$ went into it...

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2004 CL 500
1992 400 SE

I rebuilt my first car engine at 13 years old. I am 44 now. With 31 years of gasoline vehicle experience I have seen where people have brand loyalty for strange reasons like, "I buy Fords because my dad always drove them". I can point out to the Ford people examples of how Ford has been producing junk for 30 years, yet you cannot change their minds, even as they return to the repair shop again and again.

I wonder how much of that goes on with the Mercedes people: My guess is it would be the same. How many people promote them because they are good and how many promote them for other reasons?

I have been thinking about this a bit too. I read lots of praise for the W124. Mine is a 1995 E320. I do love the car, even though it has plenty of expensive problems, but I think the reality is that newer cars are probably faster, quieter, handle better, and are more reliable. That may even be true for Fords, although I would be more tempted to get 3-series BMW, or maybe a Lexus, or an Acura.

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I just couldn't give up on my 1995 E320.

I think it might be like always going back to that same bad relationship with an ex girlfriend.
You feel you love them too much, or you are just too stupid to know any better.



Flickr slideshow of my 1995 E320
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24145497@N06/sets/72157616572140057/

Well yeah a new car of any make would need less attention then a 13 year old car.

For totaly trouble free driving its hard to beat a leased BMW 3 series. The only problem is that route will cost you about $6k a year, much more then your 13 year old E class. For a new E350 your looking at about $9k a year.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

A point that seems to be lost in this debate:

New Mercedes are expensive as compared to your average Ford, Chevrolet, or Honda - that is indisputable.

New Mercedes are incredibly INEXPENSIVE as compared to old Mercedes. A new E350 is roughly $52K in 2007 dolllars.

My '92 400E was roughly $53K in 1992 dollars. This translates to a tab of roughly $76K in today's dollars. Yikes!

My 1983 300CD was a whopping $35K (roughly) when it left the showroom. This translates to tippng the scales at roughly $72K in today's money.

So relatively speaking, new Mercedes have not continued the pricing that one would expect based on historical trends. It should not come as a surprise that since the cars cost approx $25K less, the "feel" of the car may not be what we would hope. But the trade-off is this - who in their right mind would pay in the mid $70s for a standard-issue E Klasse today?

That said, this does not answer the reliability factor. If I purchase any new vehicle - bank-vault-quality "feel" or not, I expect the car to WORK. Were I the proud owner of a new E Klasse who was relegated to driving a C240 loaner on a regular basis whilst my E returned to the dealer for warranty work, I would indeed be very angry.

I am starting to wonder what the posts are like on the 3-Series or 5-Series BMW forums. It seems they have been winning over the experts for years and years. I think as many as 3 generations of the 3-Series have been rated best, at least in terms of driving them. I wonder if they are problematic. My recollection is that they were problematic back in the day, but then improved dramatically, right around the time that Mercedes built the last W124.

I wonder...

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I just couldn't give up on my 1995 E320.

I think it might be like always going back to that same bad relationship with an ex girlfriend.
You feel you love them too much, or you are just too stupid to know any better.



Flickr slideshow of my 1995 E320
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24145497@N06/sets/72157616572140057/

Off and on I have been reading the 3-series forums, as I plan to get one in about two years/40,000 miles (the dub has to go to 200K). They have their problem areas but seem to be generally reliable. Some have said they're a genuine 300K car. I expect 300K from my Benz, even though it's an M-class. However the BMWs are more sporting, and available with a stick shift!

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Lenny

There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games. --Ernest Hemingway

'10 GL550/'04 BMW 545/'99 BMW 323/'98 ML320/'87 VW GTI (race)

I am getting started over there on the BMW forums too. I think a slightly used 3-Series BMW may be in my future. It will be a little difficult to walk away from my car, but I think it might be the more sensible thing to do.

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I just couldn't give up on my 1995 E320.

I think it might be like always going back to that same bad relationship with an ex girlfriend.
You feel you love them too much, or you are just too stupid to know any better.



Flickr slideshow of my 1995 E320
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24145497@N06/sets/72157616572140057/

I know this is an old thread, but here is something I noticed...

A lot of the guys that say, "my mercedes never left me stranded before", "they are super reliable", "i never had any problems before", etc. If you click on there profile and "view other posts", they post, IN DETAIL, how to fix various problems and solutions that other members have. Hmm...

So what I want to know is how do THEY know this information if there Mercedes has "never let them down before", "never have problems", etc.? Hmmm....

A: they have had to perform the procedure themselves on there own car, but dont want to admit it.

B: they read other peoples posts on the forum and relay the information sounding like they are an "expert" but have never actually done it themselves before.

Just curious...