[Vwdiesel] Mercedes diesel reliability

[Doyt W. Echelberger]

Hello Bill,

I am a long-time collector of annual Consumer Report Auto issues, and I 
went into my collection to look at  owner-generated data addressed by your 
question about early 1990 and 1991 MB diesels.

The problems with MB started earlier than that.....reliability 
deterioration started showing up in the 1985 models and by 1987 CR was 
rating the MB 300D turbo ENGINE reliability "below average to 
poor."  COOLING was another area that deteriorated, being excellent in the 
83-84-85 cars and average in the 87's and by 1990 and 91 cooling was a big 
black circle, representing far more problems than the industry average.

The 87's rated excellent in areas associated with the body and with the 
fuel system, and very good for steering, with average for everything else 
EXCEPT the engine, which showed far more problems than the average....at 
the very bottom of the engine pile.

Summarizing the Consumer Report picture, it looks like anything earlier 
than 1985 was a legend, and past 1985 it becomes increasingly risky in most 
of the evaluated areas, with 1985 being the last example of a car that 
would at least score highly in most evaluations and not have some really 
terrible areas of concern....except maybe the A/C.  There was insufficient 
data on the 86 models, but they were probably better than the 87's. CR just 
doesn't have data on 1986 TD's. And the 85's were OK but moving away from 
the legendary Mercedes reputation. There are many CR annual auto editions 
after that which report the poor reliability of the 1987 MB 300 TD.

I can not find the MB diesels as a separate category after the 1993 edition 
of the CR magazine, but the 1992 issue supports the above opinions.

I am attaching the data from the magazines in a message to your off-list 
address. You can add them to your collection of replies on the question 
about MB diesel engines. I never owned one, but I drive a 2000 MB E-320 and 
can say that the body has not held up well in the Ohio salt belt, and I had 
some expensive problems related to the electricals/stability controls. The 
engine is approaching 200k miles, in good shape, but the suspension is 
going to need new parts...tie rods, ball joints, bushings.

Based on my CR's, if I wanted a greaser, I'd look for a candidate among 
early 80's survivors from non-salt belt areas, that has a few 100k miles on 
it and is presently running well, that I could test drive, and with a 
documented history of maintenance and no serious accidents. Then before I 
handed over any cash I'd have it looked at by a trusted mechanic who will 
have to take care of it when big problems come up.

Doyt


 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
At 06:34 AM 11/15/2010, you wrote:
>Just last Friday, I hit a deer & fear my Ford Focus will be totaled. I 
>have been following diesel & biodiesel cars in the Sacramento & San 
>Francisco Bay area. One interesting car has been advertised for several 
>weeks which is a 1991 Mercedes 350SD for $3500 which is described as 
>"mint" with 140000 miles. However, I have heard early 1990 MB diesel 
>engines have had some problems. Any comments & should I stay away from the 
>newer MB diesels. I have heard 1885 & 1987 Mercedes diesels are the most 
>reliable. Since I have now found a reliable free source of waste vegetable 
>oil. Comments, please.
>Bill Toensing, Nevada City, CA
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