Is An 1999 Benz E300td Just As Reliable As An 95-00 Ls400?

[MR. LEX]

I'm looking at an 99' Benz E300TD fully loaded with every opt. I had an 01' S430 an It suck like hell. Always in the Shop with only 40,000 miles on it. I had it for a year and sold it. I always like Benz style. Just not the money I had to spend on it behind auto shop costs. I've read form other Benz owners that this model is the best one you can buy. For as staying away form repairs like most Benzs do. I'm keeping my LS400. I just wanted an travel car that I can keep for a classic. So does anyone think an 99' E300TD with 90,000 miles on it for $13,000 is a good deal. And will it stand up to my 96' LS400. With out the pain of being in the shop all the time. The Dealer has all the service records also. And does anyone know any problems with this Model I would have to look out for. Thanks for reading. B)

[TA in KC]

No, it is not a good deal. A much nicer 2001 Mercedes S-Class with similar mileage can be had for $12-13000.

Attached is Consumer Reports' reliability information for all three cars. It is based on over 1.4 million responses to their annual survey. Myself, and many others I know have been providing information to Consumer's Union about our cars, and other things through these surveys for a long time. They are generally very accurate.

[MR. LEX]

Thanks for the Consumer Report Thomas,But your E-class report shows an E320 Benz with the V-6 3.2L with an gas engine. What I'm talking about is An 99' Benz E300TD 3.0L Iron block Inline 6. Diesel engine. Turbocharge. They only made this Model in 98'and 99' years. And from what I've seen in the price range from 12,000 to 14,000 dollar range. The miles or between 160,000 to 200,000 miles on them. So I think 90,000 miles on a Turbo diesel isn't so Bad. I don't see many reports about this Model. Only a few and most of them are form people who only drive Mercedes. And never had a car from Japan. A lot people say Diesels motors last longer than gas motors. And diesels has less maintenance also. Has anyone Had a Benz Diesel before. And how hard or easy is it to maintain compared to a LS400.

[SRK]

Generally speaking when a diesel engine has problems, the cost of repair far outweighs any savings in fuel mileage. And of course you have to drive a diesel, which is not something I'd do unless it's in a boat or an 18 wheeler.

This is not the forum to ask about MB cars, although I have owned two, much older models. Both were great cars, but one had a simple heater control valve problem which was damn near unrepairable.

I'll drive Lexus till the day I die. No more German cars for me.

[SKperformance]

The e300td is a great car , it is old world German engineering with reliability with some new world toys.

It is not the cars of great such as the 70's and 80's diesels but it will run fine with just a few sensors going every so often.

It is pretty fast for it not being the newer style direct injection and is still not as quiet as them either but worth its weight. It is a hard car to come by cheap.

Now is it better than a 98-00 LS400 , not a chance but a 95-97 LS400 for sure it is hands down as that is slower and thirstier.

[1990LS400]

Back in the 1980s the official line from Mercedes was that there was no difference between the longevity of its gas and diesel engine systems of similar engine sizes -- don't know if that has changed.

I would think the lifespan of a 300TD engine would be much longer than the engine of the 240D diesel sedan I bought new in 1979 and drove until I bought my first LS400 in 1990. My 240D engine was running at about 3900 rpm at 70 mph and had to be flogged to keep up with traffic. The original diesel engine was replaced at around 130K miles and the factory rebuilt replacement engine lasted barely another year before it had to be replaced with another factory rebuilt engine. I'm sure that a 99 300TD would be a much calmer and quieter car to drive.

Other than the engine compartment, there really isn't that much difference between the gas E320 and diesel E300. Regardless, what goes wrong with a Mercedes often has nothing to do with which engine the car has.

The aspect I hated most about driving a diesel was fuel gelling in the winter when it got really cold. We had several very cold winters in the 1980s in the Kansas City area including about a week when daytime temperatures never exceeded 0 degrees F. No matter how careful I was to mix the appropriate amount of kerosene or regular gas with the diesel fuel, it was sometimes difficult or impossible to start the car in very cold whether. I had a special problem since I drove my 240D around Colorado ski areas in the winter. My non-turbocharged 240D would barely run above 7,500 feet even on a warm day but a turbodiesel Mercedes probably would have done much better.

I ride in a friend's E320 quite a bit and I don't find it to be particularly comfortable -- guess I'm use to the more plush Lexus. My friend is about 6'4" and he seems to fit in my 00 LS400 a lot better than in his E320. The complexity of his E320's audio and climate controls is noticeable. Funny ... I still sort of like the feel of a Mercedes. Maybe it brings back childhood memories.

My wife and I spent two weeks touring Virginia in May 2006. I couldn't help noticing how popular Mercedes vehicles were -- they were everywhere and seemed much more common that Lexus cars. What's up with that? Some sort of social status thing?

As sour as my Mercedes experiences were, I might consider buying a low mileage 99 E300TD if it was a wagon simply because I really like station wagons. But I'd pass on an E300/E320 sedan. The way prices are today, you could buy a pretty nice 99-00 LS400 or even an 01 LS430 for $13,000.

[MR. LEX]

Thanks for the replies. So the Benz sound like a great deal. For as room I'm 5'7 so I can fit in anything. I was just looking for a Benz that is almost on the same level as my 96' LS400. For as a Benz without the repair problems like most Benz and Bmw always have. A S-class Benz looks nice but they are always in the shop and my brother's 04' C-Class had the same problems. So I guess I'll go for the 99' E300TD it seems like Benz made this car as a keeper. And for as the rest of the Models I can say they just don't stack up to an Lexus LS. Thank for the info. I'll keep ya'll posted on the two cars.

[Bwilliams]

The answer is NO. And if you want a relilable mercedes, look for 1997 and younger. 1998 and above is chrysler cut-corners style. Lots of engine issues.

[1990LS400]

The answer is NO. And if you want a relilable mercedes, look for 1997 and younger. 1998 and above is chrysler cut-corners style. Lots of engine issues.

Hmmm, I don't think I agree with you. My close friend's 1994 E320 has the famous self destructing wiring harness where the wire insulation crumbles and causes intermittent electrical gremlins. I seem to rescue him on a regular basis -- he sits in my Lexus while we wait on the tow truck to take his Mercedes away.

I've been living around and sometimes owning Mercedes cars since the 1960s and can not identify any sort of "golden age" where Mercedes cars were particularly reliable. I do think that the quality of some of the materials in S-Class and SL Mercedes cars has tended to be a little better than in their mid-size cars and substantially better than in their small cars.

A cousin who lives nearby took delivery of his Mercedes Smart for Two convertible a couple of weeks ago -- almost one year early after most people dropped off the waiting list. It will be interesting to see how it holds up after seeing a display model at an auto show get fairly trashed and parts broken by people "looking" at it.