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Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedans

6720 messages,  Last post on May 11, 2010 at 12:16 PM

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What is this discussion about? Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Sedan



Messages Page 595 of 673

#5932 of 6720 Re: should i buy mb e320 1997? [abd2] by habitat1

Sep 27, 2004 (4:14 am)

Replying to: abd2 (Sep 24, 2004 12:42 pm)
FWIW, A friend of mine has offered to buy my 1995 Nissan Maxima SE w/153k miles for his daughter that is back in college and needs a car to commute to classes and home (300 mile rountrip) monthly. He thought about giving her his 1997 E420 with 110k miles, but has elected to sell/trade that car instead. His Mercedes has been very good, but did require a transmission replacement at 75k miles under extended warranty. Had it not been under warranty, the cost to him would have been in the $5,000 range. There are several other components he is a bit concerned about since he passed his 100k mile warranty limit. None of which are cheap to fix on a Mercedes.
 
My Maxima, on the other hand, is still on its origianl clutch and a factory replacement clutch through a Nissan dealer is only $400, if and when it's needed. The other components are still solid and much, much less expensive to fix on a Nissan.
 
I would think hard about buying a Mercedes with 105k miles unless you can easily afford the maintenance and potential repairs. If you can, and they aren't required, then you'll feel like a winner. But if you can't....
 

#5933 of 6720 Re: 1997 E320 [mark156] by abd2

Sep 27, 2004 (10:40 am)

Replying to: mark156 (Sep 26, 2004 10:16 pm)
hi mark thanks for reply
the price $8000 with tax and every thing
the car is very clean and have all the record
and one owner only
 
what u think about that
?
thanks bro

#5934 of 6720 Re: should i buy mb e320 1997? [habitat1] by abd2

Sep 27, 2004 (12:20 pm)

Replying to: habitat1 (Sep 27, 2004 4:14 am)
thanks for the advise
i can afford the maintenance
 
cuz its on cheap price only $8000

#5935 of 6720 Re: should i buy mb e320 1997? [abd2] by ctl

Sep 27, 2004 (5:13 pm)

Replying to: abd2 (Sep 27, 2004 12:20 pm)
a low mileage 1997 accord/camry can cost $8000, and there is certain NO comparison between them, if all things (maintainence/repairs) being equal. Go figure.
 
budget, say 2K each year for M&R along? others here may give you a better estimate

#5936 of 6720 Re: should i buy mb e320 1997? [abd2] by habitat1

Sep 28, 2004 (4:01 am)

Replying to: abd2 (Sep 27, 2004 12:20 pm)
Again, I would just point out that there are other alternatives for a "second car" than a cheap to buy, but potentially risky to maintain 1997 E320.
 
For example, back in 2001 I bought a new Honda S2000 for $32,000, drove it for 2 1/2 years and 19,000 miles and traded it in for $22,000. If I had wanted to go through the hassle of selling it privately, I likely would have gotten $24,000+. My maintenance over that period of time was under $300 total (Mobil 1 oil changes every 4,000 miles, etc.).
 
If you think you can't afford to buy something like a new Honda S2000 as a fun car, then you might reconsider the wisdom of buying an $8,000 Mercedes that could have a couple of multi-thousand dollar repairs (engine, transmssion, suspension) if you're unlucky. While I would certainly hope not, it is entirely possible that the "net" cost to you over the next 2.5 years on an 8 year old 100K+ mile Mercedes could approach what the Honda S2000 cost me. I was prepared to spend $10,000 on a third car for 2.5 years, especially since I turned it into my company car and got some tax savings that reduced the actual cost me by over 40%. But, in general, I think unnecessary second or third cars are a questionable purchase if you are on anything resembling a limited budget.
 
Certainly not trying to tell you how to spend your money, just suggesting you evaluate all angles before making your decision. Good luck whatever that is.

#5937 of 6720 RE Gasoline Octane by martye320

Sep 28, 2004 (6:03 am)

Thanks! I rented some cars for the weekend...a Cad. DeVille and put regular gas in that V8, nothing happened. It drove fine. Since my lease is only a couple years left, I'm thinkin about letting the gas tank empty and then going to 87 for my E320

#5938 of 6720 Re: RE Gasoline Octane [martye320] by r1_97

Sep 28, 2004 (9:00 am)

Replying to: martye320 (Sep 28, 2004 6:03 am)
I've driven 2 E-320s, a 98 and my current 01. Both perform better on 91 than 87 octane. You won't hear knocking on 87 due to the on board computer adjusting to it, BUT, why give up performance. If you can afford an E320 get the performance you deserve.
 
OTOH, my wife's Lexus RX330 drive great on 87.

#5939 of 6720 Contemplating 98 E by stvjef

Sep 28, 2004 (11:00 am)

An acquaitance is selling a 98 E320 sedan, 65K miles in near cherry condition for around $18K. Some elements of this forum scare me. Especially talk of tranny problems. Is reliability a problem with these vehicles? I keep my cars a long time, and have always thought MB could go for the long haul. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance

#5940 of 6720 Back to the 97 E320 by "abd2"... by microrepair

Sep 28, 2004 (12:55 pm)

Think long and hard about whether you want to pay big bucks within the next 20K-30K miles for a lot of maintenance items as well as the possibility of a head gasket for that engine. I kept my 96 until 140K and from 115K to 125K it cost me almost $4000 for the head gasket and various maintenance items such as shocks (approx. $700), serpentine belt ($125), rotors and pads (approx. $800), water pump ($400), and the head gasket ($1400). There were a few other smaller repairs also. Once it was all fixed up it probably could go another 60K or more miles without any significant maintenance money except for brake pads.
 
The 97 is the last year of the straight six for the E and it (as well as the 2.8 liter in the C-class) are notorious for requiring head gaskets (oil leaks) in the 120K-150K mile range. The price I paid was the lowest of three quotes, with other dealers being as high as $2000..
 
On the other hand, $8000 cash (not my dealer) is what I got from a dealer for mine at 140K miles and it was a year older than the one you're looking at. But he knew I paid for all those repairs..
 
And yes, it got regular and frequent oil changes, etc..
 
My "new" 2001 will get sold within a month of when the Starmark wararanty runs out at 100K miles. No more big repair bills for me..

#5941 of 6720 Re: RE Gasoline Octane [r1_97] by boiler1

Sep 28, 2004 (2:08 pm)

Replying to: r1_97 (Sep 28, 2004 9:00 am)
I'm going to time some 0-60 mph runs and see if I can detect a difference in performance between 87 and 91 octane. I'll let you know the outcome in a couple of weeks.

Messages Page 595 of 673

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