Hello all,
Just bought a 1989 300E(210,000mi.)automatic,white,red leather and hope to have good luck with it.

My best friend's family have had Mercedes(at least five or six that I can remember) since the early 70's and have had at least one(most of the time two)all this time.

I just loved the silver 300SD they had and the 1988 Black 300TE they have currently(they also have a large bodied diesel).

I came about my 300E due to having TWO vehicles going down within one month! A 1995 Ford Contour(154Kmi.)(hated it anyways!) that blew up and our 1994 Plymouth Grand Voyager(176Kmi.)(transaxle blew like a grenade!) which we had for about eight years.

I wanted another luxury(with a spirited powertrain) car ever since my 1994 Chrysler New Yorker gave up the ghost about 3 years ago(202Kmi. rod/rod bearing/knock that got progressively louder.).

I didn't give much thought to a Benz or any rear wheel drive car for that matter as I leave out in the mornings even before the snow plows some days in the Winter. So I have just stuck with front wheel drive vehicles even though I hate how they drive(save the New Yorker) and steer.

As luck would have it the advertisement for this 300E just caught my eye and I said what the heck,called on it and BAM I now own a Iconic Mercedes 300E!

 

Iconic is the word. Welcome to the forum.

I have heard the craziest stories about the 300Es. We do not yet know how long a well maintained 300E from the eighties will last because people are still driving them around. I always say to keep the oil clean, and keep it indoors in bad weather, yet I have a friend that has defied all human reason and his is still running... Surely you will be fine.

Blue

 

Thanks for the welcome BlueSilver!

Yeah,when I told my buddy about it he was like geez 210,000 miles,you'll be lucky to get another 100-150 THOUSAND miles out of it before a rebuild!

I just bought new tires for it today(Kuhmo XP4 215/60/15) and it feels much better with new shoes on it's feet. Thing will do for now on the stock rims. Next Summer I will be putting a higher performance Summer tire and some TASTEFUL 17" rims along with a few mild exterior upgrades such as body colored lower portion/bumper covers etc.

The car exhibits a very nice,firm,but not a overly harsh ride,not by any means. I'm really impressed by the lack of body roll especially for a car of it's uh...heft.

I can not believe how solid and tight this car is(almost as solid as my buddy's old SD) especially given the age and miles.

Oh and of course the car reminded me it was a REAL Benz already as I found out the passenger side rear window will not go down/up!

Only thing I can fault right now is a bit of play at center steering(which may correct itself after an front end alignment(?) or so I hope. If not I'll have to see what it needs in order to get a better on-center feel.

The car starts great and idles OK(better than some I've seen),but fluctuates some so a tune up may be in order in the near future.
I also smell the Sulfur smell from the cat if I get too far into the go pedal,so it may be running lean(?).
I talked to a mechanic in town that works on foreign auto's I he mentioned that the injection may in closed loop or something else may be up with it.

He did say that the inline gas engines with that type of primitive Injection system all seem to shake some at idle/off-idle,but smooth out as the RPMs climb. He said even my buddy's Mom's 1988 300TE does it to a varying degree and it has had excellent mechanical care throughout it's life.

Oh and one last thing I need to investigate concerning the driver's side HIGH BEAM,it does no come on even after I replaced the bulb with a new one. The left side works as it should so I feel it is not a problem with whole high beam system,fuse,switch,maybe a loose/broken wire in the harness or H.L. socket perhaps?


Thanks again for the warm greeting here,

Coolatula

Sorry about all the " it types out on my screen like an apostrophe should,but shows up as a parenthesis for some unknown reason. Really it's not me,it's my computer I swear![:@]

 

Great, all those problems sound like small weekend projects. On a car with high mileage, you will have to do occasional repairs. I have an old 1990 190E myself, and love it so much I could hug it. People here are a huge help because members range from hobbyist, racers, mechanics, lawyers, computer programmers, tobusiness owners, for example.

Blue

 

On many of the cars the lights/hi-beams have their own fuses independent of which side they are on. Check the fuse.

 

Yeah,I thought of that AFTER I already bought the new bulb and it didnt fix it. Ive been so busy the last couple of days getting tires,setting the idle up a tad(P.I.T.A. B.T.W. due to how the linkages all interact),junking my old cars etc.

I havent slowed down yet a check the fuses as its minor compared to what needed to be done(low idle and thread bare tires).
I have some time today to check and see if theres individual fuses for the H.L./low/high beams on each and for the right rear window.