[Vwdiesel] Should I buy a used Mercedes diesel?

[David Schwarze]

I don't think that 3.5 engine came out until around 1990.  They
called it the "rod bender".  Mercedes became aware of the problem and
replaced many of the destroyed engines under warranty with new ones
(presumably with the flaw fixed).  I wouldn't touch an original 3.5
but if you found one that had been replaced under warranty with a
brand new engine, I wouldn't necessarily rule it out.  I have always
liked the looks of the '92 and up S-class sedans but they are not
cheap, even now, even with original rod-bender motors (probably
because many people aren't aware of the problem).


-David


-----Original message-----
From: Gary Bangs gbangs at cfl.rr.com
Date: Thu, 22 May 2008 05:41:39 -0500
To: William J Toensing toensing at wildblue.net
Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] Should I buy a used Mercedes diesel?

> If there is *any* MB I would stay clear of would be the mid 80's
through 
> 90's vintage E350 with the 3.5L sixcylinder diesel. These had a 
> notorious lubrication issue with either the fore-most or rear-most 
> cylinders(I don't recall). But the 3.0L's are solid.
> 
> -Gary
> Former 1986 MB E190 2.5
> 
> William J Toensing wrote:
> > Looks like the offer to trade my Packard for a 1997 Mercedes E300
diesel fell thru as the dealer hasn't called back. However, I have a
possible offer to buy the Packard outright. I have seen several offers
on Craig's List for '80 to '85 M Benz diesels, some converted to WVO,
for $3,000 or less. Even saw a 1987 300D 6 cylinder TD for $1,750. I
plan on running on WVO, if I can find it with diesel now over $4.75 a
gallon. My question is are there some year Mercedes diesels that are
far better or worse than other years? I would like to avoid 1998 &
newer because they are coming into the Calif. smog check program in
2010. Or am I better off fixing up my Dasher & Rabbit diesels
&forgetting any MB diesels? I do know MB parts are more expensive than
VW parts. I wonder if the M Benz diesels are selling more cheaply
because of the high price of diesel, or because they are money pits
that owners are dumping? I see very few older VW diesels on Craig's
list, mostly astronomically pri
> 
> ced high mileage newer TDI VWs.
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