I had a 1995 Mercedes E320 that had every bell and whistle that Mercedes offered. I bought it used when it was a year old, and took very good care of it, and when it had about 50K on the odometer in 2000, I put it in the garage for the winter but never got around to taking it out of storage for the next 15 years. When I finally took it out, the interior was full of mouse droppings, so I had my neighbor detail the car. Zero smell of mice when he was done with it, and a new battery and it was running like a new car. The only thing that didn't work was the transmission shifter wouldn't release. The mice had chewed the wire, but I couldn't find the break. I had kept comprehensive insurance on the car for all those years since it was part of the homeowner's policy. The insurance company called it a total loss and paid me for the car. That was the era when Mercedes had problems with the wiring, and my car had every wire hand wrapped by the dealership when I purchased it. After the car was taken away I learned that the wire was above the transmission and that the only way to see or get to the wire was to remove the transmission. If I had known that, I would have bought the car back for the salvage value.
Wiring, a treat to rodents
- Thread starter D2Cat
- Start date
you don't say? I've only had two in my life both were well-used. Long time ago. Both of them were wiring nightmares. Worked at a salvage yard for a while and I got cars cheap. While working there, I'd get a few benz customers come in and a lot of them would be looking for wiring harnesses. Must have been something about them. Maybe mice. dunno. But the yard made good money on parts, not just benz parts either. Quite a few BMW's came through as well. One Ferrari that was useless for parts, weren't any good parts. Just nuts and bolts. Unrecognizable, drunk driver at mach 2.6. Driver didn't make it. That thing was a mess. Some place out of California bought it for like $900 and the owner of the yard I worked at was glad to see it go at that price.
both of mine were 300 d's. And I wish I had never owned them but there's two ways to learn. Experience, or listen to other's experiences. As a punk kid, the latter was not an option.
All but the E320 were diesel, and I loved every one of them. Bought the first one in 1967 and kept upgrading through the years. The last diesel was a 350 SDL, and it was a great car. It was rear-ended, and after $20K+ it was fixed. 4 or 5 months later it was rear-ended again and declared a total loss. That was when I bought the E320, which was a great car. Today I wouldn't ever consider another Mercedes unless I hit the megabucks for the top prize.
There were other cars made in that part of the world that had wiring problems. Ever own a Triumph?
fried1765
Well-known member
Equipment
Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
My 1996 E-320 ( bought in 1999 ) was a nice driving car, but had several somewhat expensive to fix (private shop) issues over it's 120K miles.
I would have kept it forever, but got T-boned 3 years ago.
After E-320 wreck, bought a 2014 E-350 (off lease) with 60K, for $15K.
Replaced driver seat leather cover, both batteries, spark plugs, all filters & fluids.
Has 76K miles now, and I really do like it,...... but maintenance could be a killer.
Shortly after purchase ( private) I inquired about dealer price to change 6 spark plugs.
Estimate was $1034.89 (it is over $1200 now)
I will NEVER forget that estimate number!
Did it myself for $76 in parts/matls., + 3-1/2 hours of my time.... at 79 years old.
Recent quote for brake job (incl. rotors) by MB dealer was $2055.
Had it done by private guy with OEM parts, for $807 ( could have done it myself for $507, but 82 is just too old for that sorta chit! ).
Have $1,000 worth of new tires now, and barring another T-bone, the machine should be good to go until I croak!
Used Mercedes can be a good buy, as potential buyers are often driven off by the very real fear of high maintenance costs.
YMMV !
Last edited:
