RE: Mercedes E-Class reliability - how does it compare?
 

no, that is exactly the point....to look at older MB that are still running and extract those view points....who cares about late models that are just that...the true test of any marque is the past, not the present..1995 is not casting an eye back far enough in my humble opinion...I would consider going back to 1985 and soliciting opinions.....just me though cliff

RE: Mercedes E-Class reliability - how does it compare?
 

You could make the data on the older cars reflect if the owners used OEM parts, stayed with dealer service, or did whatever they could find etc.

To echo Cliff, I have a '92 wagon 4matic with 218,000 miles on it. It's as tight as when it was new. I know this because I was the original owner and loss the car two yrs later in a divorce. Got the car back this spring and have put 7,000 miles on it.

Some things in my favor; I'm a journeyman mechanic (although not with cars), the ex had the car always serviced by a MB dealer and it's always lived (except the first two yrs) in a dry, arid climate.

Leaking head gasket, marginal brakes and a very badly done aftermarket sound system are its present ills. I plan on rebuilding and supercharging the engine (if the transmission holds up), or I may just drop a hotter engine in there. I have a punch list and I'm taking my time crossing stuff off. It's a wagon that thinks it's a sports car and I've not seen any little tuner cars at 130mph with still room for more-so it's definitely got 'willy factor'. Plus, it's the absolute prefect car for a few friends and my winter snowboarding expeditions.

Kevin

RE: Mercedes E-Class reliability - how does it compare?
 

kevin - what did that 92 wagon (4-matic) go for new if I may ask? cliff

RE: Mercedes E-Class reliability - how does it compare?
 

Cliff-hold onto your hat because I still have the original window sticker, $63,910! Back in '92 I just looked at the wife and asked her if she was crazy. Embarrassed, I took the grill ornament off and I plugged the hole with chrome, so our farmer friends wouldn't abandon us.;-) Without the hood ornament, they actually had no idea what we were driving except that it looked new....lol

The car was actually the dealer's 'service car'...in that it had the blue stickers on the side that said 'Mercedes Service'. It was the only wagon they had (we wanted a 4matic wagon) and so I asked if those stickers could come off without hurting the paint. They came off the 'arctic white' fine and we got a marginal deal because the car had 1500 miles on it. They were using it to take customers to work and jump start other dead MB's.

Kevin

RE: Mercedes E-Class reliability - how does it compare?
 

In general. trouble-free cars are more common than many people realize. One goal of this research is to correct misperceptions.

Additional participants neededmost recent model years are just above or just below the minimum.

Help get your year included.

Vehicle reliability research

RE: Mercedes E-Class reliability - how does it compare?
 

In the latest results, the 2008 E-Class had a repair rate of111 successful repair trips per 100 cars per year, which isworse thanaverage, and quite a bit worse than we're seeing for the new C-Class. But the sample size for the 2008 E-Class is small.

With more participants, we could provide more precise results, and for additional model years.

For the full set of results, and to sign up to help:

TrueDelta Vehicle Reliability Survey results

We have updated results for the E-Class. In terms of successful repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2008: 72, about average; not far from "worse than average," but better than in previous results; small sample size

2005: 49, better than average, but based on a very small sample size

A big thanks to everyone who has been helping. We'll have further updates in May, August, and November. With more participants, we could provide more precise information and cover all model years from 1995 on.

We now have a separate results page for each model that includes the results for competitors. The page for the E-Class:

Mercedes-Benz E-Class reliability comparisons

I have a 1990 300TE-24v with over 250,000 miles on the clock. I bought it in 2001 with 130000.

So far three head gaskets but one of those was a bad garage job (they fitted the rotor arm for a 12 valve) and the other was me (I took a freind out for a run after two years of no servicing and thrashed it for nearly an hour up to the rev limit though the gears. On a 24V thats 7500 rpm!)

I have also gone through 2 ignition control units but the second one of those was a second hand unit from a 300SL-24 and on the original OVP that was failing and has now been replaced. The car did sit on my barn for a while until I found another ICU.

However, all other electrics still work, the interior is full leather lovelyness except for a small rip on the drivers seat side through getting in and out.

Otherwise the car is perfect and as I have had the small amount of rust on the arches sorted you could say it still looks, feels and drives like it did when it rolled out of Mercedes nearly 20 years ago.

The W124; surely the last bomb proof Merc?

Sounds solid. Two years without even an oil change? Doesn't seem like a good way to save money.

Getting close to that next update. Some model years could fall just a response or two short of the minimum, so additional participants would certainly be helpful.

Help get your year included:

Car reliability research

Beg to differ
 

Andy... you... the dude a few threads down... commendable that you have stood by your W124 for so long..... I tip my hat to you. But..... I have to beg to differ on your stance that your Merc is the last, best model. My W210 hit 125 MPH today on the way home from work and it was FLAWLESS. I rolled over 180K miles two days ago. My vote is for the W210 Chassis as the most rock solid line built. I'm almost emotional over the damned thing. It purrs, zooms, no smoke, squeals the tires when asked, shifts smoothly and absolutely owns the interstate. W210 VS W124.... I look forward to other folks' comments.
Scuddog:D