1996 E320
#1
07-11-2006, 03:53 PM
1996 E320
I purchased a 1996 E320 previously owned in Fall 2002. It has worked out reasonably well for me. Odometer reading is about 145,000 miles.
I'm now faced with a small oil leak from the head gasket. There are some minor problems here and there I'm ignoring as they won't get worse. The blue book value of the car is now down around $5000.
I've received head gasket repair quotes around $1300 to $1500.
I really enjoy the car, but don't know if I should continue to keep it. Am I likely to discover more significant problems with the engine if I have the head gasket replaced? In the near future, should I expect other expensive repairs?
I'm now faced with a small oil leak from the head gasket. There are some minor problems here and there I'm ignoring as they won't get worse. The blue book value of the car is now down around $5000.
I've received head gasket repair quotes around $1300 to $1500.
I really enjoy the car, but don't know if I should continue to keep it. Am I likely to discover more significant problems with the engine if I have the head gasket replaced? In the near future, should I expect other expensive repairs?
#2
07-11-2006, 09:57 PM
RE: 1996 E320
well it all depends.
Getting the head gasket replaced doesn't really cause new problems, it may help problems already there surface and this is not a bad thing. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if thta's how the head gasket went bad in the first place. Sometimes things get over looked and sometimes people worry too much about discovering problems that eventually it turns into a $1500 job out of the blue at the most inconvient time.
Another factor is how the heat gasket blow. Did it go due to overheating at some point (especially due to faulty thermostat and or low or no coolant)? In this case, there might be other things wrong and other seals and parts that are toast. Maybe it's just nothing but the head gasket. Never know until you have it looked at. You might be in luck and nothing significant is wrong and it was just time for that head gasket to go.
That what you should do. Have it looked at throughly for anything and everything and get an estimate of how much it will cost to repair everything and take it from there.
As far as expecting expensive repairs (by Mercedes standards.) in the near future depends on what you catch early and what not. You want to catch everything early as possible. My philosophy when it come to things like this and components that connected to other components is treat the malfunction like a cancer. The earlier you catch it, the less damage it more than likey will cause and less ecpensive it is to fix.
For an example, a worn cv boot (Non expensive part) can be easily replaced when it starts to get worn but many people overlook this or don't preplace them. then they end up with a torn one and dirt grime grit and stuff inside the CV joint itself and causing that to fail. Now there is more money at stake that could've been avoided with a simple cv boot replacement. (Sad part is that they still have to replace the CV boot anyways.)
But with the small oil leak it's a great chance that you'll get that gasket fixed and be done with pretty much expensive repairs for a while as far as that portion. But check everything out and see what you working with especially when pondering whether to invest more money into the car or not. It would be sad you get rid of it and some joker picks it up for the dollar fix the head gasket and got a perfect running car.
Getting the head gasket replaced doesn't really cause new problems, it may help problems already there surface and this is not a bad thing. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if thta's how the head gasket went bad in the first place. Sometimes things get over looked and sometimes people worry too much about discovering problems that eventually it turns into a $1500 job out of the blue at the most inconvient time.
Another factor is how the heat gasket blow. Did it go due to overheating at some point (especially due to faulty thermostat and or low or no coolant)? In this case, there might be other things wrong and other seals and parts that are toast. Maybe it's just nothing but the head gasket. Never know until you have it looked at. You might be in luck and nothing significant is wrong and it was just time for that head gasket to go.
That what you should do. Have it looked at throughly for anything and everything and get an estimate of how much it will cost to repair everything and take it from there.
As far as expecting expensive repairs (by Mercedes standards.) in the near future depends on what you catch early and what not. You want to catch everything early as possible. My philosophy when it come to things like this and components that connected to other components is treat the malfunction like a cancer. The earlier you catch it, the less damage it more than likey will cause and less ecpensive it is to fix.
For an example, a worn cv boot (Non expensive part) can be easily replaced when it starts to get worn but many people overlook this or don't preplace them. then they end up with a torn one and dirt grime grit and stuff inside the CV joint itself and causing that to fail. Now there is more money at stake that could've been avoided with a simple cv boot replacement. (Sad part is that they still have to replace the CV boot anyways.)
But with the small oil leak it's a great chance that you'll get that gasket fixed and be done with pretty much expensive repairs for a while as far as that portion. But check everything out and see what you working with especially when pondering whether to invest more money into the car or not. It would be sad you get rid of it and some joker picks it up for the dollar fix the head gasket and got a perfect running car.
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