About to buy 1989 E300 good or bad move?

[jimbo23]

Hi, I'm just about to buy a 1989 E300 Auto, it looks in good condition & drive well, it only has 80000 miles on the clock & one owner from new. I'm buying it for £1200 as I wanted some for around that money that was big enough as a family vehicle & to be honest I'm sick of the sight of Vectra's & Mondeo's so this little (or big) Merc jumped out at me.

Is there anything I should know about this vehicle before I fully commit my self to purchasing it?

Thanks

James

 

[flagstaff]

same things to watch out for as with any car: leaks, rattles, thuds etc. take it for a long test drive, if you can, and preferably with someone who knows either the marque ... or cars in general.

and don't expect micra fuel economy - that's a big 3-litre lump there. sub 20mpg, especially in town.

good luck!!

 

[mjtray]

That sounds like a good buy...if you don't want it...let me know.

Great cars and they go on for ever. Service History is critical.

If you do purchase it, try and find out when the auto box oil was last changed....they really need to be done every 36,000 miles. So if you cant ascertain when it was last done, get it changed...same goes for the coolant and brake fluid.

 

[jimbo23]

Thanks both ever so much, my main drive is a 50 mile round trip on the motorway so the 3 litre lump should pur along nicely, I kind of thought around town it may be a bit ...erm thirsty

I had planned to give it an oil change, new air filter, plugs & coolant straight way (all the bits I'm happy to do myself).

Is the auto box easy to drain & fill, is it a standard kind of setup, ie two plugs (1) drain (2) inspection/refill ?

Cheers

J

 

[MerChris]

I've had my '92 300E for just over 6 months now and I have enjoyed every minute of owning and driving it. It's a car you can happily live with and I hope you enjoy your ownership as much as I do. It's big for family needs and goes, handles and looks beautifully.

Problems come with age, as with all things but I bought mine at around 144K with every confidence that it would double that without any major worries and a little luck . I have only put another 2.5k on to that mileage since and it's not disappointed me at all. The FSH means a lot as others have said I wouldn't buy one without it. Mine had a full service history from new, mostly by MB dealer in Derby before it moved up north of the border.

There have been some costs - no car is without them. Since I got it I've put a good £600 into it, all on recent MOT, major service and essential rear pads, discs and tyres replacement. There's more to do but as I am selling it I would expect the new owner would take them under advisement and make their own minds up. There is some evidence of rust appearing on the front wheel arches, which seems par for the course on these and many other high mileage cars approaching 15 years of age! At this stage I would not expect there to be major expense in fixing this.

I was interested to see Flagstaff's figure of sub-20 MPG return, that's certainly not my experience at all - more like 25 combined between town and motorway. Each car is different depending on the set up I guess.

Things I have been keeping an eye out for - coolant (oil can backwash into coolant system, so replace if you're suspicious) and white creamy gunk on oil/coolant/radiator caps. Nothing much to note so far and I must be lucky as I have no other apparent problems or concerns at all. This car just keeps going and doesn't complain! Much like myself.

My motor is still for sale and I am keen as mustard to do a deal with someone who will look after it in the right way. I'm offering a reduced price of £1,500 ono. I'm certainly willing to entertain offers close to that. More info at http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=16696. Please pm me or email me on chrisknighting@hotmail.com.

 

[Stevie A]

Check diff oil level when you get it and top it up if necessary. It's the kind of thing that people rarely check. I would change fuel filter too.

 

[steptoe]

Check the rear suspension hasn't gone hard and bouncy.

It's a sign the rear suspension spheres need replacing

 

[cassauk]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi I have just bought a Mercedes 190e 2.0 auto H reg as my first car. It cost £1000 but my driving instructor (no I don't have a license yet) said it is only worth £200. Have I been ripped off?

 

[Bolide]

300e

A 300E will cost you £1200 in fuel in 1-2 years so the cost of the car is pretty inconsequential...

A good early W124 is a great piece of kit but I would recommend examining & driving a few before you commit to one. There are thousands of £1000 W124s knocking about and they range from sheds to low-mileage pristine examples. A bit of luck & care will see you in the latter and not the former

Most early cars I see need a couple of tyres, a service, have a rusty wing or two and the aircon doesn't work. Fixing that lot could easily cost more than £1000 so either buy a really good one or buy an OK one and scrap it when it dies

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[flagstaff]

Things I have been keeping an eye out for - coolant (oil can backwash into coolant system, so replace if you're suspicious) and white creamy gunk on oil/coolant/radiator caps. [/email].

not sure how the oil could 'backwash' into the cooling system ... unless there is a breach in the head gasket. if the car has *any* sign of oil in the coolant or vice-versa, walk away!

 

[Blobcat]

if the car has *any* sign of oil in the coolant or vice-versa, walk away!

Agree as you wouldn't be driving far

 

[johnnycapone]

any sign of oil in the water or water in the oil is bad news.
walk away.

 

[jimbo23]

Well I've got it home & good & bad ....

The good - love it already, so comfy, what an engine & so refined for a car of it's age.

The bad -
1, Odometer not working, well it shows speed but not clocking up mileage (so that 80000k on the clock may not be the true mileage)
2, When headlights are on the dashboard isn't lighting up (checked fuse & it's fine)
3, Outside temp gauge not working...just blank
4, this is the potential ...oh SH!T... the ASD light is on & not going out .., niave of me I know the guy said it was the brake pad warning light playing up & that it had new pads so must be the sensor, saw new pads so thought ok!.

Was supposed to be heading from Leeds to Birmingham in it tomorrow but I guess it's not a good idea with that light on!

I'll put a post on the technical forum

 

[MerChris]

not sure how the oil could 'backwash' into the cooling system ... unless there is a breach in the head gasket. if the car has *any* sign of oil in the coolant or vice-versa, walk away!

Precisely my point and one thing I keep a constant eye out for with my W124. An early warning sign, which at least gives you the chance to do something about it before the whole thing goes t*ts up.

Head gasket breach - is it such a big deal? Financially yes, mechanically though?

 

[cubicincubi]

yes, a very big deal. if it over heats it can warp the head, crack bore walls, throw pistons, crack block etc.

if you have mayo on your oil cap and mayo on the coolant cap and oil in the coolant - no matter how small - your gasket is going or you have a fracture in head or block. this sounds more than mere condensation.

I would get it seen too ASAP with a new gasket before it causes more damage or a failure.

 

[eyelight]

2, When headlights are on the dashboard isn't lighting up (checked fuse & it's fine)

There's a dimmer for the dashboard lights. One of the two knobs by the speedometer. Think it's the one to reset the odometer. Turn it clockwise.

 

[jimbo23]

Thanks Eyeline, it was just the dimmer which is good

There's no signs of oil in the coolant so another good sign.

Does anyone know where I can get hold of a replacement instument cluster should the old one be knacked?

Oh BTW, I bit the bullet & drove it down to Brum (gently) & it was absolutly fine, think the wheels need balencing & the tracking seems slightly off but thats no worries, I'm going to book it in for a full service next week at Scotts Auto Tec in Leeds, quoted me £289+VAT for 36k service ...I would have took it to Andy in Brum but I'm not going to be in Brum again for a while so maybe next time

 

[mjtray]

The broken mileometer is a common problem and most of the time its down to the peg that drives the numbers having come loose. If you're lucky you can just get it re-attached, if not then its a new cluster.

Its easy to remove the instrument cluster binnacle and its worth replacing any instrument bulbs at that point.

Both of these items will be an easy fix for your Indi to sort.

 

[Badshot1uk]

When headlights are on the dashboard isn't lighting up (checked fuse & it's fine)

Turn the odometer reset switch to the right(turns up the dash lighting) Its a dimmer for the dashboard.