Froodmine

Anybody for 124 as best ever? (Whatever best ever means.)

akbro93704

I have to disagree that the vibration is only a problem with the V6 introduced in 1998, my aunt has a '97 E320, and wow, there's tons of vibration everywhere in the cabin from the engine....but on the otherhand, most cars do this as they age.....

stemags

I think any "bets car ever" award would have to go to a vehicle that does'nt cost you any time or money for at least 2 yrs. and free from any defects or unusual wear issues.Ive had bad fogs harness,rust on trunk and doors,rattle in the sun shade all after 30 months.And doors that were misaligned on delivery.
But then you have to factor in driver loyalty and the fact that you dont see too many people chatting about Gms,or Fords,or Chryslers. it Go figure.Im not saying I wouldnt buy another but I would have liked a car in that range have less time at the dealer. What say you forumites?

ed-E300TD

Best ever...?

I'd never own another new Benz. I'll keep the older ones though.

Dema

I have no one problem with E for 2 year (30K miles) and it cost nothing, since oil change included. Actually I changed tires (only rear), because I got a big nail, so tire shop couldn't repair because I drove after about 30 miles at 65mph.

livetodrive

Besides your list:
- Melted fog lights
- A/C Erratic, bad blower and regulator
- Useless rain sensor
- CDs don't eject from COMAND unit
- Sunroof shade rattles

Anyway, we love our E-Class, I'm just glad we have the extended warranty!

MikeyE430

HELL NO!

My 95 E420 was more solid and had better quality.

Just wish the M-B folks could equal the Jap's quality

And yes, thank God for extended warranties!

BenzVince

I never heard of those things you guys listed. The only problem I had to replace was the dash cluster light bulb. But everything else has been good. Crack dash? My car is a 96 with 92k miles and the dash is good just when it was new. Very unusual. I've heard about the rusting but I guess that depends on where you live in the U.S. Especially in the east coast with a lot of salt and winter.

BlownV8

Somebody please call Ripley's........ I had an E430 and I have an E55. Both dashes cracked in the exact same spots.

stemags

You gotta keep spf blockers on the dash,any good meguires stuff works well.And the seats get some often as well.I wouldnt go as far as to say "never buy" cause the car is solid,quick,nimble and safe.
Looks like the majority have complaints.

Whitey

Yep, the cracks might well have been avoided with a bitta tender loving care but I think what everyone is saying is it is more suceptible to cracking than the other cars. One thing everyone must bear in mind that these cars were (unfortunately) built for German conditions, not sunny SoCal. Similarly, the Benz's tend to have problems with overheating in Asia. Somehow they don't realize the rest of the world can be a little different to their homeland As a general rule, Jap cars (and their a/c's in particular) work better in Asia and places with more severe or varied weather conditions. But from the perspectives of engineering and reliability (not necessarily so for technological advancement tho), I would still say the Benz's are far superior.

Steve, you got PM.

Dema

You think that sun is the reason? I also thought, however in this case crack should happen in random place, shoudn't?

JAYCL600

I have almost all the problems you have had brutha...I feel ya, I dont know if I will buy another one

Whitey

Must say, my 98 hasn't had that problem (yet) but then, I'm under covered all the time and I'm mostly driving at night. If its the same place, perhaps its a stress point or something. It would be interesting to see how many who've had that problem have actually had their dashes removed at some stage (for command instals etc), mine's be intact since it rolled off the production line...dunno just a guess.

Helmut430

it sure isn't the best Mercedes ever,, but I,ve own mine for four years and have had NONE of the problems on that list happen ,, so , am I just lucky or what??

stemags

I believe your one of the lucky ones so far

agv

I have a question to the rust issue.
Seeing that the factory rust protection is wax based, and it would appear that it does not work the greatest pending on which part of the country you are in; what would be a good aftermarket rust inhibiter?

Dema

Maybe it's beacause it stays in a garage for four years and never been driven or exposed to sun?

Helmut430

I have to admit , my E403 does stay in a garage at night, but I do drive it !!! However , it only has 18,500 miles and I may be in for a rude awakening as time goes on . Thank goodnees for the 8 year , 100,000 mile extended warantee!!!!

diffuzi0n

I have my e320 99 and it has its dashboard cracked near front passengers windshield defroster, just left of the airbag.
After I read all of the complaints, I went into my car and tried rocking back and forth my seat to see if it makes noise, and it does make a slight noise if I push back on my seat really hard.
As far as any other mechanical problems, thank God it doesn not have any yet. My car has about 72k miles. However, when the car downshifts from 2nd to first gear, it makes an abrupt downshift in lower speeds. I am talking about when the car is rolling at about 10 miles an hour only. When the down shift occurs, it feels as if i hit someone. Not all the time, only sometimes.
As far as light bulbs go, I only lost one so far, left fog light. However, my ownership of this car is 4k miles so far. However, I put about 30k miles a year and hopefully i will not put more posts with problems!!

BrabusBenz300E

W124's are better IMO. Classic timeless, reliability, and quality all at it's peak.

BlownV8

The 124 may be more reliable but it's a two headed cow compared to the beauty of the 210.

RossN

Does anyone have any pictures of the locations on the Dash where the cracks occur?

OceanView

No pics but mine had cracks next to the defroster vents by the windshield.
I think there was about 8 - 10 cracks total.
May have been due to the car sitting in the sun without a sun shade.

benzboy

Not by far. Drive a 211 E500!