Salutations to all.I have been a Mercedes admirer all my life .I own a 1986 e 300 which I love as far as ride and comfort ,but I hate the rattles,squeaks, andthe cheap plastic that keeps breaking every time I handle anything in the interior.I have had to glue many interior parts.It is reallyannoying.I have been considering to buya e320 98 on ,but if it has the same problems I do not think I will.Was this corrected or is it the same crappy material?I appreciate any info on this and also the best year for the E320.Thank you.

 

Wow, you're a tough customer. Your car is over twenty years old, and I'm quite sure most other makes of the same year are in the salvage yard right now.
I can only say that Mercedes probably has the toughest interior of all cars, and since environmental concerns about cars collecting in salvage yards has risen, efforts have actually been taken to reduce the life of materials lately. I have an '89, and have had to perform some restoration, but never expected otherwise.
One key, if you would like the inside story on engineering materials, is to protect your interior from exposure to certain conditions. Do you have leather or MB text? Vinyl and plactic parts are broken down by seven factors. The include Amonia and amonia based cleaners, heat, direct sun/UV, extreme cold, age, petroleum solvents, and extreme acids and bases such as sodium hydroxide, or muratic acid. So the cleaner you use plays a huge role in the life-time of youtr interior.
Now I have experienced that the factory MB cleaners are so mild that they barely clean anything. But sometimes you must get nasty with a stain, and use something stronger; just remember it takes a toll. Sun is also a major factor; keep in the shade at all costs.
Unfortunately, clean-up shops and car-washes are not overly concerned about the life of your interior but possibly more with getting it clean fast, and may use some of the harshest cleaners. Any parts that are dry rotten at this point are probably lost. you'll have to replace them, but once again your car is twenty years old; you have to expect it to a certain extent.

Blue

 

I have a two 300E's and I do not find rattles to be any problem at all they are an 1989 and a 1990 and the only thing that makes any noise at all and is the same in both is the sun visor rubbing against the roof any other rattle I have experienced has been mechanical the interior holds up amazingly by comparison as BlueSilver states, one is Leather and the other MB Tex (which is indestructable) mine even both smell the same as they have for the17 years they have been with me. You would be very hard pressed to find any other brand that will last half as long os the pre 95' Mercedes Benz which in my opinion are the best manufactured cars in history. Also BlueSilver google Griot's Garagefor cleaning products that not only work but also do not damage the car in any way.

 

The plastic covers on the sides of the front seats occasionally squeak and can be annoying on my 1989 300E, Otherwise the interior is pretty quiet. Never had any plastic parts break yet! I need to reglue the door panel covers where they are folded down into the map pockets. The edges of the covering have begun to unravel a bit on both panels around the pockets. Just have to decide what type of adheasive to use.

 

I have a '98 E320 and the front end squeaks and groans when it goes over a bump. Other than that, I have had no problems with mine. I also had a '89 260E and it had no rattles what so ever. I did take the '89 to the dealer for regular services but don't on the '98. I try to do as much of the maintenance as possible on the '98 myself. Good luck!

 

thanks guys
I realize my car is 20 years old and yes you are right thinking over about it.I live in a tropical country so that maybe has to do with it,plus I really do not know what the previous owner cleaned the interior with.The seats are mb tex and are perfect as the dash and other parts,it is so nice I guess Iexpect it to be perfect.Would a 320 hold up so well?Thank you forrealizing that it really is not that bad for its age.