Looking at buying a 1993 300e 2.8
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 29
Likes: 1
2013 ML 550
Looking at buying a 1993 300e 2.8
Hello, I am in need of guidance. Tomorrow I am going to look at the following that is for sale:
1993 300e 2.8 rwd
approx 80k miles
2nd owner (the current owner said the original owner was her boss and she went with her when they bought it new at the local dealership)
The only thing wrong is reportedly the radio which doesn’t work and intermittent door locks
all service was apparently done at the local dealership
also the paint is starting to slightly fade as it now lives outside
I am looking at this as a project car to rehab and possibly sell.
They are asking $2150
Any thoughts, or things I should be aware of if I take this on?
Thanks in advance for any responses.
1993 300e 2.8 rwd
approx 80k miles
2nd owner (the current owner said the original owner was her boss and she went with her when they bought it new at the local dealership)
The only thing wrong is reportedly the radio which doesn’t work and intermittent door locks
all service was apparently done at the local dealership
also the paint is starting to slightly fade as it now lives outside
I am looking at this as a project car to rehab and possibly sell.
They are asking $2150
Any thoughts, or things I should be aware of if I take this on?
Thanks in advance for any responses.
Super Member
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 724
Likes: 31
Car free at the moment
I owned one of these for about 10 years. The radio is a two piece affair with the dash unit being mostly a control head and another box in the trunk which contains the tuner and amp for the bass speakers. Replacing it with a conventional in dash head unit is possible, but probably beyond the ability of a typical DIY home mechanic. It involved quite a bit of staring at the factory wiring diagram and took a full day. But the result was quite good sound at a modest price.
This car has the first drive by wire throttle sold in the U.S. It is subject to failed throttle actuators and degraded engine wiring harnesses. Both parts were quite expensive in the past, I’m not up to date on current pricing. If you cannot verify the wiring harness has been replaced, I would not purchase the car.
Note this car does not have a check engine light (unless it is the California emissions model). It can have engine faults and be running in limp mode, and you will not have any indication on the dashboard. The engine should idle so smoothly you can barely tell it is running. Acceleration is so-so, with power coming on strongly at high rpms. It’s definitely not a hot rod. Expect no better than 25mpg highway, on premium fuel.
This car has the first drive by wire throttle sold in the U.S. It is subject to failed throttle actuators and degraded engine wiring harnesses. Both parts were quite expensive in the past, I’m not up to date on current pricing. If you cannot verify the wiring harness has been replaced, I would not purchase the car.
Note this car does not have a check engine light (unless it is the California emissions model). It can have engine faults and be running in limp mode, and you will not have any indication on the dashboard. The engine should idle so smoothly you can barely tell it is running. Acceleration is so-so, with power coming on strongly at high rpms. It’s definitely not a hot rod. Expect no better than 25mpg highway, on premium fuel.
