What does everybody think of Merc 300e's??

[ping65810]

I have the opportunity to buy my old boss's 1986 Mercedes 300e. Around 160k, but great mechanicals. No rust, but needs a little trim work, new emblems, power seat motor, etc. A little beat up, could definately use paint, but for $500, I think ts a goo buy.

I like how they drive, seem reliable and well laid out, anybody here have experiance with them? I am now commuting about 60 miles a day, so it would be nice to use something besides my Jeep that gets all of 15 mpg, and drives like, well, a real Jeep.

I'd appreicate any input, personal experiance with them.

Thanks, Steve Pingel
1987 BMW 325iS, current resto project
2000 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

[AdamF 88iS]

Ugly and boring to drive, but you can't kill em. They leak a lot of oil, but they are a very reliable car. The heads are easy to get off; water pumps are a pain in the ass though.

They are on my potential daily driver list.

[brodee]

I was just wondering about these also. My wife's friend is trying to sell one that is in great shape and I thought about picking it up just to turn it. It's a black '91.

[ETA fro]

unless there is something very wrong with the way it drives or how it runs, you can't beat the price

[ping65810]

I decided to buy it..... I figure for $500 its hard to go wrong. I know the car well, and mechanically its like new, handles nice, etc. In the past 2 years alone he has spent over $2500 in repairs, and I know all of the front suspension is new, most of the hvac system is new, etc. It looks like a $500 mercedes, but underneth is a different story. I'll probably clean it up, respray it and replace emblems, etc, and have a nice little car. For a daily driver, I think its pretty comfortbale, yet solid like our e30's

[ETA fro]

I decided to buy it..... I figure for $500 its hard to go wrong. I know the car well, and mechanically its like new, handles nice, etc. In the past 2 years alone he has spent over $2500 in repairs, and I know all of the front suspension is new, most of the hvac system is new, etc. It looks like a $500 mercedes, but underneth is a different story. I'll probably clean it up, respray it and replace emblems, etc, and have a nice little car. For a daily driver, I think its pretty comfortbale, yet solid like our e30's

thats the story of my 280e, i just prepped it got a quickie paint job (300 bucks after coupon), then we sold it a year later for twice what we invested

[ping65810]

I picked it up last night..... I like it quite a bit. Its a lot bigger than my 325iS, but handling is very sharp for a large car. As far as performance, it performs quite well, although they do start in second gear, so it takes a second to really get it to take off. Overall, its a nice highway car, especially if you want something a little bigger/more comfortable. It is a tank, though! It definately ranks up there with my e30, though. Very good engineering.

[A_325i]

its german engineering what do you expect lol ive always liked the 190E they KIND OF resemble our e30s with a square body style and all and dont they also have an inline 6?

[ping65810]

Yep, my 300e has the smoothest engine I have ever felt in a car- 3.0 inline 6. Very similar to our m20, with a 12 valve design, and bulletproof performance. I love the Merc- the e30 is a lot more fun, but the Merc is a wicked nice highway cruiser that still handles like my 325iS. They are two very different cars, whereas the Mercedes is a substantial car, heavy, and comfort orientated.

Overall, I would reccomend one to anybody. the 190E is a smaller version, which was designed to compete with the e30 class.

[Avus E30]

forgive my ignorance but could someone post a pic IM surious as to which old merc you are talking about

[ping65810]

Here you go:

[Jon325i]

In case you didn't know, that car is technically called the "W124" chassis.....my old man used to have an '87 300D (turbodiesel). Slow as a pig and it did have a few electrical glitches. However, these older MBZs are pretty much bulletproof if you maintain it properly.

Here's a link to a helpful MBZ forum if you want to learn more about your recent purchase.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/forums/forum-view.asp?fid=11

Jon