[V8] 300E Beater

[Roger Woodbury]

I'm pretty much in agreement but for a couple of points and some personal
comments.

The W201 cars were developed at considerable expense by Mercedes to replace
the aging W123 (240D) cars that ended production with the 1983 model year.
The W201 diesel was a 2.2 litre engine with either four speed manual or four
speed automatic. This was my first Mercedes, and it was an amazingly sturdy
and dependable car at the time it was introduced because it got terrific
fuel mileage and was uttlerly dependable in all weather. I drove this car
year round in Maine on the standard issue all season tires, not even
bothering with winter tires because the tires were quite narrow and even
traveling out into the wilderness never posed a traction issue.  

I traded that car on a 1987 190D Turbo that was a totally different animal.
The turbodiesel five cylinder engine transformed the staid 2.2 litre car
into a (relatively speaking) rocket ship that still delivered around 30
miles per gallon or more no matter what I did to it. But that car had wider
tires and wheels and needed studs on all four in the winter.

I would dispute Brian's comment about reliability.  My first 190D (a 1984),
had 88,000 miles on it the day I turned the keys over to the dealer.  They
sold it the next day, and the car was turned in and sold at least one more
time, all to high mileage drivers.  I last saw that car when I went in to
the dealer to get a 300D that I owned some sort of service, and they gave me
a loaner, which was my old '84 190D.  I drove that car around Portland,
Maine for the day, and at that time it had 279,000 on the odometer, and the
dealer said that it was all original, although they thought that the
transmission was probably going to need overhaul at around 325,000 miles.
The entire car was a tad "loose" feeling and had a bunch of miscellaneous
rattles and squeaks, but ran fine.

Perhaps the best W201 to buy was the 2.5 litre non-turbo diesels which were
produced in 1986 and 1987 only.  Without the turborcharger these car would
have been a bit slow, but much faster than the four cylinder 2.2.  When
these cars were first brought out, the national speed limit was 55 miles per
hour.  For that limit, the 2.2 litre four cylinder engine was adequate, but
when the speed limit got pushed up to 65 again on the Interstate, the little
four was really overmatched.  I remember noticing that the fuel mileage of
the fourcylinder car dropped from an average of 38 or so to barely thirty
depending on whether or not I had made a been on the Interstate for a long
part of the fuel used.  The pumping pressures of the little four overcame
its efficiency, which didn't happen with the five cylinder.

Today, it's easy to find a nice low mileage 190 2.3 gas engined car of which
there were many more produced than any of the diesels.  This car was also
produced with a 16-valve head, and numerous other changes to chassis and
body work, and I have no real knowledge of the 16 valve cars...the cylinder
heads were Cosworth, I seem to recall.

The 300E was the successor to the 300 D in this country, which ended with
model year 1985.  These cars were the last of the "old school" Mercedes, and
the newer cars were not made as well nor were as rugged as the older models.
However, there were advantages that the more modern engineering brought, and
at the end of it all, I am sure that a properly maintained 300E would be
everything that the older 300 cars were, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy
one...and certainly they are cheap enough and plentiful with low mileage.
Make mine one with less than 80,000 miles and a book full of service
records.

The 300 series (W124 in Mercedes speak), was produced in an el-cheapo
version called the 260, which had a downsized six cylinder engine.  But as
Brian said, the jewel in the crown was the 300D built only in 1987 with a 3
litre six cylinder turbodiesel.  

I made a mistake and fell in love with one of these while I was in Ft Myers
taking care of my elderly uncle.  I "found" the car in the classified ad
section of the newspaper in Naples, and I shudda known better:  as an
unbroken rule, it is seems too good to be true, it sure is, especially in
Florida.  

But there it was, all shiny and gold, its perfect interior in Palomino
MB-tex, and quite low miles.  Engine purred at me sitting there, and I drove
it to find that it drove just as it should.  The six cylinder engine was a
marvel of smoothness, and there was absolutely NO identifiable turbo lag. I
think that car had around fifty thousand on it.  It had been owned by a
retired couple, so I was told, and the they had stopped driving...something
that happens every day, everywhere in florida.  The car cost thirteen grand,
I think, which was really cheap at the time (1994 or 1995).  The only thing
that I noted but didn't think much about was that the driver's door didn't
sound like a Mercedes door when you shut it.  I paid no attention because
the car looked GREAT.  I plunked down the money and after a day or so,
headed back up the coast to Maine.  My intention was that this car would be
my daily driver for the foreseeable future.

I had a great trip back up the coast.  The car cruised without effort at any
speed, and I got great fuel mileage.  The trip took two and one half days,
and I stopped late in the afternoon to see my parents which was 45 miles
from home.  The entire trip was clear and dry.

I stayed in Belfast for a few hours and had dinner with my parents before
heading the rest of the way home.  It was getting very dark, and was growing
cold.   

About half way home it started to snow.  Soon the snow was getting heavy
enough to actually require the wiper and I turned the switch and
got....nothing.  No wipers.  The last twenty miles of the trip was pure
hell....I could melt the snow on the windshield but the light from on coming
cars was murder.  I managed to get home and decided to do my investigations
in the morning.

It was a few days later that I took the car to the Worlds Best Body Shop for
High End Cars, also known as Ayer European Auto Restoration in Gardiner.  I
took the car there to investigate the door sound, and to get the wipers
fixed.  The owner was pretty disgusted with me:  turns out that the car had
been his HARD on the driver's side right at the center pillar:  a classic
T-boning.  The door pillar, both doors on that side had been replaced!  MUCH
other restoration work had been done as well, and although the work done had
been very good, the car had been really smacked.  The reason the door
sounded so tinny, was that the door insulation had been omitted when the
door had been assembled or installed.

It took six months to sell the car, and in the end, I took about a three
grand loss.  What seemed a good deal wasn't, although based on my drive up
the coast, it might have been a terrific car to just keep and drive forever.

One other comment about the six cylinder diesel engine.  Mercedes did a huge
recall on the engine.  The cars had a thermal reactor for emissions, and in
the early period there were major issues with the engine requiring head
replacement. My understanding some while ago was that if anyone bought a
300D with the six cylinder engine that had NOT had the head replaced and the
thermal reactor replaced or modified, Mercedes would perform the work as a
warranty item regardless of the age of the vehicle.  Most of the engines
that developed problems did so fairly early in life, but I was told that
Mercedes would honor the recall for the life of the vehicle. 

The six cylinder diesel was replaced in later years by a 2.5 litre diesel
like the one that I had in the 190D, and the 300D was known by the
nomenclature on the rear deck that said 300D on one lower edge and on the
right side the wording was 2.5 turbodiesel. The three litre six cylinder
cars merely said 300D on one side and Turbo on the other.

The 190E was also produced with a 2.6 litre six cylinder gasoline engine and
that car would really go, although not the power or performance as the 16
valve four cylinder.  We saw no other variants in this country, although in
Europe there were numerous differences.  The 2.6 litre 190E came only with
an automatic transmission, although the diesels came with either four speed
manual OR automatics.  The 300E/D (I think) only came with automatic.

I have very little knowledge of the later cars developed from the W124
chassis.  I kind of lost interest in Mercedes once the diesels ceased
becoming the mainstream for them, and beside.  After the last one of those
that I had, I discovered Audi Quattro and once I turned that corner, there
was no going back.

Still and all, the cars are rugged and Mercedes has pioneered built in roll
cages and crushing zones beginning way back in the 1930's.  I suspect that
given the choice of which car would be better for one of my children, given
how cheap they are to buy now, a 300E would be high up on my list since they
really are built like tanks, and with a moderate amount of routine service
will run forever.  

Just don't buy one that has been t-boned.  By the way, I think the reason
the old folks who owned the 300D that I bought gave up driving was because
their residence was in some bone orchard.

Roger

-----Original Message-----
From: Brian K. Ullrich [mailto:bullrich at ullrichsys.com] 
Sent: Monday, December 07, 2009 2:46 PM
To: 'Roger Woodbury'; 'Kent McLean'
Cc: V8 at audifans.com
Subject: RE: 300E Beater

As usual, Roger has the goods. I do differ on a few points though:

The W124 chassis ran from 1984 to 1995. Badged primarily in the US as the
300E, it later changed to MB's new badging as the E320, etc. So, it covers a
lot of cars, and differing model numbers, including the diesels, which can
be easily visually distinguished by a fender vent on the right front.

In my estimation, the best of the W124 cars are the 1993 and newer. They are
the post-facelift cars, and include many newer features. I personally owned
a 1990 and a 1995 W124 (300E and E320, respectively), and had little
problems with either, but my 1995 W124 E320 was a smoker. That i6 was a
torque-making fool. And it got great gas mileage.

I do differ with Roger on one point about the 190 vs. 300/320: I feel that
the 190 is a much inferior car to its larger cousin. The 190 is known as the
W201 chassis, and in most US trim, it was equipped with a 2.2l 4 cylinder
motor mated to a 3-speed auto (although the 2.6l 6-cylinders are available,
and they are equipped with a 4-speed auto). Roger is correct in his
assessment that a teenager could hardly get into too much trouble in this
car, because it just ain't fast. However, I feel that this car is not a good
choice because those motors revved so high at highway speeds (around 3K RPM)
that it just put the engine at risk for failure, especially for high-mileage
cars. Not to mention the fit and finish, which were just not really up to
the standards of MB at the time.

For my money, if I were to put my teen in a Benz, I'd find a later model
W124, either diesel or gas, and call it a day. The best inline 6-cylinder
engine MB ever built was the 3l/3.2l, and coupled with the W124 chassis, I
think that makes the best sense. Compared to the 190/W201, parts are more
plentiful, and it's easy to work on.

Of course, this is just my opinion. My esteemed colleague, Mr. Woodbury, may
have something else to say on the matter.