opinions MB E300TD

My brother-in-law's father has a 98 E300TB. He loves it. He has never had a serious problem. He has also told me how bulletproof his car is. He tells me that he averages over 30 mpg. I have never driven it but I have been a passenger and the performance seemed adequate. It definitely isn't a sports car though. For the most part it drives just like any other Mercedes Benz . For being a diesel it was extremely smooth and quiet. I know it had quite a lot of torque too which is usually the case with a diesel engine. I think I remember him telling me that Mercedes used to only bring over the diesel every few years. That is why there aren't many available. Diesel powered cars were somewhat rare in the 90's. If unleaded gas continues to increase in price I bet more manufacturers will make more diesel engines available. His E300TB didn't have leather but it looked a lot like leather (leatherette I belive) and it still looks great today.

 

linkie no workie.

 

i think the reason why they stoped importing em here is because The US just wasnt ready for a diesel mid size sedan. gas was still cheap enough in the late 90s that people really didnt care about spending more money on a V8 or 6 that had more power than a diesel. Americans also have the misconception that diesels are still really dirty/smelly/ etc.. But with the reintroduction of the new, much cleaner, quieter, CDI e class, and on top of rising gas prices, i think diesels as a whole will get much more popular in the states.

please excuse all grammer mistakes, im to lzy to fix it.

 

if i could afford it, id buy it. I love benz diesels. my first car was a 1980 240D.

http://www.mbusa.com/brand/models/E320CDI.jsp

 

I had a 1982 240D 4 speed. I tried to check the 0-60 on it and after 1/2 mile the road started going up hill slighly so I could never get an answer. I could still be waiting but fortunately I sold the car.

 

I owned one for 5 years. Bought it new in November 1997 for AUD $120k and sold it late 2002 for around AUD $55k. At the time it was a great purchase. Diesel was much cheaper than unleaded petrol. Was supposed to be more fuel efficient (more on this later), and very powerful/smooth/quiet compared with diesel engines of the past.

In restrospect:

It actually turned out to be less fuel efficient, because at the time the diesel fuel imported into Australia was of poor quality. These days this isn't the case.

Now diesel is quite a bit more expensive than unleaded in Australia!

Suffered numerous electronic problems during the 5 years of ownership. Mostly with the front lights, instrument cluster, electric windows and control units. I don't know whether this was just with the early cars, or how widespread these issues were.

Because diesel cars are less attractive, resale was bad when I sold it. Almost impossible to find a dealer that would offer more than AUD $50k. With an E320 of the same age and mileage, you wouldn't have had much difficulty getting an offer over $65k.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend one considering other available options, but your mileage may vary.

I'd look instead at a BMW E38 528i/530i/540i (1996 - 2003), or a facelifted W210 Mercedes E320/E430 (updated styling, improved interior, 8 instead of 4 airbags, ESP as standard, 1999-2003. Overall a much much better car than the 1996-1998 E classes).