Conference terri::cars_uk

John,

It sounds like you are about to make a very good choice of car....

The latest derivative is called W124 series and was introduced in about '85ish,  don't 
quote me on that though!

Any Merc saloon/estate before W124 looks very dated,  but is cheap.

It was given a 'facelift' in '90 and got new plastic side protection etc..

The 2XX and 3XX bodies are the same,  the only difference is engine size.

Anything less than a 260TE has got a 4 cylinder engine and lacks 'sparkle'

I have no idea about the diesels,  although when I was in Norway the local taxi 
drivers were most impressed with the reliability and longevity.

Hope this helps...?

_Richard (About to purchase 260E when dealer finally gives me enough discount!)

    .0�    Also, what do the xxs mean ?
    
    In principle 2xx and 300 reflects the engine capacity (300 means 3ltr).
    May not always be true. Engines are growing in capacity and hp. Some
    have 4 valves per cylinder.

    
    The T stands for Estate 
    The E for Petrol or D for Diesel  
     
    They come in....
    
    200 = 4 cyl 2L
    230 = 4 cyl 2.3L
    260 = Straight 6 2.6L
    300 = Straight 6 3.0L
    300-24 = Straight 6 3.0L 24 valve
    

    Thanks for all that folks. One last question: What are the diesel
    engine (variants?)?
    
    JK

    
    There are 200, 250 and 300 diesels depending on which years you
    are looking at... 
    
    Mercedes also make turbo diesels, but none are available in the UK.

Does anyone out there have any experience of the 250D or 300D since I am 
interested in a Merc. Diesel ?

Thanks,

Karen

    I have heard good things about the long term reliablility of these cars.
    I have the opportunity of picking up an A reg 240 D with 96000 miles
    with known history from a friend for a very reasonable price.
    
    As I'm looking for a 'mile eater' to possibly replace my company car 
    I was wondering if this would be a good bet.
    
    As I've never owned a high mileage car before what sort of things
    should I budget for. I would hope if well maintained that there would
    be plenty of life left in the diesel engine but what about gearbox,
    diff, etc.
    
    They had a guy on Top Gear with one of these with over 300,000 miles on
    it and it looked like new. Quentin Wilson speaks very highly of Mercedes.
    Are older high mileage Mercs a viable alternative ?
    
    Thanks for any opinions especially from Merc owners.
    
    Royston                                            

96000 miles on a 240D is a walk in the park to one of these cars -IF 
it has been regulary maintained by a Mercedes dealer (unfortunately 
this normally means 'with no expense spared' :-).

Drive train wear should be of little consequence, except perhaps the 
clutch which could well be the original and getting a bit long in the 
tooth (check this out in the service record). Check out the front of 
the bodywork, the wheel arches and the boot for rust. That big 
Mercedes steering wheel may seem a bit sloppy, they tend to be due to 
the type of steering box the 240 uses, the only way to find out if it 
is too sloppy is to compare it with a known good one if you don't 
know Mercs very well. Bounce all corners of the car with real vigour 
- any clonks/knocks/groans should be viewed with extreme suspicion! 
Check out the exhaust system - they ain't cheap. Apart from that you 
check for the normal oil/coolant leaks, power steering operation from 
lock to lock, all the twiddly bits work (power windows - if present, 
wipers, lights - especially the headlights - these are expensive, 
plus look for chips in the windscreen {MOT} etc.).

Also worth considering is the running costs in terms of dealer 
servicing - if you intend to sell this car on in a couple of years 
you will need to keep the service record up to date otherwise the car 
will plummet in value, if you intend to run it into the ground 
(difficult) you could save by doing the basic servicing yourself.

A million taxi drivers can't be wrong!

- John.

    Thanks John for a very informative reply.
    
    Royston

    I second .8 If regular service is done a Merc is no more expensive than
    anything else and it lasts.
    
    I've just sold my 1984 Mercedes 190 with 230000km. The new owner
    expects to double this. Mine was an automatic and it only required
    brake pads and a set of shocks.
    
    I've spoken with Paris taxi drivers who run their 200-300 series up to
    400000km before they buy a new one.