Advantages: Performance, Economy and good motorway car Disadvantages: Severe corrosion problems, mechanically unreliable after 100,000 miles
I bought my 1997 E300TD in 2005, with about 100k mikes seduced by the image of quality, reliability and longevity. All went reasonably well for the 1st 12 months as I enjoyed the comfort, performance and relative economy from the big car on long motorway journeys.
However it was all about to change...the alloy wheels were restored at 115k as they had corroded. Then the front spring hangers rotted and had to be welded at 128k, by 135k the front crossmember had rotted away and needed welding; both of these serious issues M-B repaired under warranty. By now the wheel arches started to bubble with tell tale rust, and I used a Smart repair operation to repair (£475), as the local M-B dealer quoted £3,500 !!!. Good tip here from the Smart repair company; (when the car is bone dry wire brush behind the wheel arch rim and fill ...
CountZobrowski 22.11.2007
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Mercedes E 300 TD
Advantages: Very high build quality, silent running, prestige, badge, lush, solid, fast, sumptuous. Disadvantages: Difficult to park, dealer will empty your bank balence, large car - small....... !
Mercedes300SEL , S320 Limo 1993.
How I acquired the vehicle?
In my course of work (Mobile vehicle mechanic) I meet a lot of people in the trade.
Because of this, I get the nod when any quality vehicles turn up in the scrapper (for what ever reason they were scrapped).... many times this is down to un-economic repair costs.
Which are for this beast, astronomical? ...well if you are prey to main dealer prices and practices, cars like this will never be owned by the 'less well offs' and I include myself in that statement. It's better to be lucky than rich sometimes.
For me, it's a case of; sod the usual car buying outlets and get your self down the scrapper. Lucky for me then!
On first inspection of this car in the breakers yard, I was shocked by its size; it was huge, damaged, covered in dust + thick mud caked the wheel ...
Advantages: Fully loaded luxury motor leaving passengers and drivers wanting for nothing. Disadvantages: Can be expensive if it goes wrong if you can't find the best repairshop. Initial outlay cost.
even rear vanity mirrors to make sure you get out of the car looking your best. For business travelers there are two rear cigarette lighters to power your phone or laptop if you have the necessary cables. Some S classes also have a rear sunblind to add further privacy. It really is a nice place to be.
Running Costs
With a car this expensive you may think the running costs are high. Now when things co wrong it can be expensive to replace some of the items but that is few and far between. Servicing at a Mercedes main dealer can be expensive at between £2-500 per service. However like most savvy Mercedes owners you can take the car to an independent Mercedes specialist who will service the vehicle for between £1-300 dependent on service, which really isn?t that bad.
Fuel consumption is pretty standard with a combined figure of around 29MPG ...
atlantis140 17.05.2009
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Mercedes S 280
