W124 E220 vs E300d Multivalve

[JFB]

I have been looking for the 300d with low mileage and full spec but needless to say, rare as hens' teeth! The alternative is the E220 around 1994/5. This seems to be cheaper than the diesel for economy reasons I suppose so the question is should I wait for the diesel to come along or should I snap up the E220 with leather full MBSH low mileage for £4k? Is the diesel much noisier than the petrol and what about power? I guess the MPG to be 40 vs 30 approx. Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks

Jerome

 

[mjtray]

Jerome,

I think it all depends on how much mileage you are going to be doing and how long you intend to keep the car for.

If you're doing a relatively low mileage, you may find it cheaper to run the 220 as the purchase price will tend to be lower than a 300d if they are comparable on spec, age, mileage etc.

Then again a 300d will run for 500,000 miles without much need in the way of engine work, whereas a 220 will be feeling tired by 200,000, so if you intend to keep the car for a long time, maybe the 300d would be the better bet.

Regarding fuel economy, 36-37 (on a long run) is likely to be more realistic than 40 in a 300d.

In terms of noise and power, the diesels are smooth and once warmed up you do not notice them on the move and they will comfortably cruise at 80-90 all day long if you so wish.

By the way, if you're looking for a 300D, whats the maximum you are looking for in terms of "miles on the clock"?

 

[JFB]

Well if I was going for the E300D, max mileage would be 80k if it was high spec. In the event, I have bought a 1995 midnight blue E220 Auto with leather, A/C, keyless entry, rear headrests and electric rear blinds and seats with FMBSH and 50k for £4000 and am picking her up on Saturday. I missed another E300D last weekend that had everything except it was black and 79k miles so I have bitten the bullet. I will still be looking out for a 300d but no need to rush now.

Thanks for your advice.

JB

 

[Keith]

E300D feedback

I went the other way and stuck out for a 300D M606 7 seater. I must say I cant fault it except I dont have leather and also the aircon tests my patience but thats nothing to do with the engine of course. On fuel I dont drive economically at all - I dont think i get more than 35mpg possibly less. I think this is still 10 more than I would get with petrol. I think its actually smoother to drive than the 4 pot petrol engine by the way. By the way it also runs very happily on veggie oil like most conventional diesels.

I agree that the really big plus is longevity and low maintenance. All you do is replace glow plugs about every 2-3 years when they die and thats it, other than the routine stuff of course. I once rode in a 300D taxi in Belgium and got talking to the driver. It was driven 24hrs per day in shifts and had clocked over 1,000,000 km on the original engine - now thats what I call longevity.

As you say you can wait for one to come up now the pressures off.

Keith

 

[Bolide]

E300D vs E220

There's nothing I disagree with in the previous posts at all...

80k is a very low mileage for an E300D and I very much doubt if you'll find one quickly. It may be easier with saloons than estates, but I think there may now be just a handful of E300Ds in the UK with <100k. AFAIK the estates were produced till 96 (till the W210 estate came online) but the saloons stopped in 1994 so there can't be many W124 E300D saloons at all

For my money the E300D has a much smoother engine than the E220 and it drives better on A roads and when cruising

Price-wise the multivalve diesels hold their value very well and there's around a £1500-£2000 difference between the two models at the moment. That works in favour of the petrol when buying but the reverse is true when selling. It's a difficult calculation to make but whenever I think back over 10 years in a 250TD I know I'd have one again like a shot. The same is true for an E300D


Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[Keith]

E280 on Ebay

If I couldnt get an E300 my next stop would be an E280 to get six pot smoothness. there's a very nice looking one on Ebay 1996 7 seater in leather if anyone's interested.

Keith