New to MBs - in at the deep end?

[mojo7676]

Just got my first Mercedes and first impressions are pretty good - smooth ride, lots of room and not a lot of road noise, considering. it's a 1998 e300 td - 7 seater with 135k miles. The car seems to run ok - though starting up this morning took two turns. Am wondering if anyone can give me any general advice in terms of running it? I'll probably get the oil, oil filter, air filter and fuel filter changed in a couple of days - but wonder if there's anything else i should be looking at changing/inspecting. Also, anyone with any info about the average fuel consumption? It returned me about 23 mpg on a motorway run a couple of days ago - average speed 70mph, or thereabouts. seems low - but my other car is a diesel golf that gives me twice that!

anyway, thanks in advance

mojo7676

 

[BarryG]

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=22744&highlight=mpg

Not sure if your model was posted but may be worth a look

 

[mojo7676]

thanks for the link, Barry- don't think it's in there but have done a bit of searching, here and there and 23 - esp for v steady mway driving seems steep consumption but will see if an oil+filters service makes and difference.

mojo7676

 

[robs-mbz]

My E300TD will manage about 35-40mpg at motorway speeds.
Good idea to change oil and filters, the engine holds almost 2 gallons of fully synthetic so you are looking at £70 to £80 for oil and filters alone even if you DIY.

Look for rust in the front spring upper mounts, door frames, wheel arches, look through this forum for examples. Check the auto transmission cooling pipes under the radiator, they rust really badly and can cause terminal damage to the gearbox if they leak.

Consider changing the gearbox oil and filter unless you have service history prooving it has been changed recently, every 60000 is the recommended interval, again, search through this forum for advice.

Lastly, dont be put off by all the horror stories about the W210, if yours is rust free and has been serviced properly it will give you stirling service and I am sure you will be more than satisfied with it!

 

[type49]

These engines are almost bullet-proof. Your MPG does seem low but get the service done & try again. Only common props are glow plugs & fuel pipes letting air in - both giving starting proplems. Glow plugs can be a pain if seized + it's inlet manifold off to change. Common to have oil residue on OS of engine/turbo area, don't worry unless it's excessive.

 

[Bazzjazz]

I have my E300TD since the end of December and absolutely love it! i go out of my way to take the long way round

You should do a lot better on mpg, I am getting about 31-33 mpg which is a 50/50 mix of suburban and motorway driving.

Hopefully a good service will make all the difference.

 

[Steve Halliday]

Hi mojo

Am in the same boat as you but with 98k on board 27mpg for me so far, thinking of chopping it in for a Passat130. Merc does less than my petrol BMW635.

I will watch this thread and see if you come up with something I missed.

 

[type49]

Hi mojo

Am in the same boat as you but with 98k on board 27mpg for me so far, thinking of chopping it in for a Passat130. Merc does less than my petrol BMW635.

I will watch this thread and see if you come up with something I missed.

Do you mean you get more than 27MPG out of a 635CSi??
I ran two 535s ( almost identical floorpan & all running gear + similar weight) & could manage 23MPG at best - usually 18/19

 

[television]

Do you mean you get more than 27MPG out of a 635CSi??
I ran two 535s ( almost identical floorpan & all running gear + similar weight) & could manage 23MPG at best - usually 18/19

There are these odd miracle cars round, I think that we have all met someone with one
The difference in fuel consumption in going from a 320SL to a 500 cost me about £175 per year, I have known people to spend £5k on chopping in the car to save peanuts.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

though starting up this morning took two turns.

Thats probably a fuel leak, very common problem and mostly an easy DIY job. Do a search, plenty of threads about it

The Air filter and Fuel filter are easily changed by yourself, the air filter a child could do it its so simple. Oil changes are very easy as well. Use semi synthetic oil at a minimum - most people recommend Mobil 1 fully synthetic. Don't use cheap mineral oil.