300SE1993

Hi all,

I have had my 1993 300SE for a little over 2 years now and have taken the mileage from 186,343 to 231,500 as of this writing, and I have to say all in all it has been a great car, much better than I expected actually and never left me stranded. You do have to put a little more $$ in maintenance and upkeep in one of these than most other cars though, but they are basically mechanically sound if you do your homework. Of course, the prior owner did replace a lot of stuff on it before i got it, but generally it has been a great car. In the 45,000 miles or so I've put on it, I needed the following:

Water pump (just barely started leaking, never actually quit)
Upper control arms
Tune up
Steering shock
2 shock absorbers
Engine strip seal
Wiring harness (shorted out making the car misfire on a 7 hour trip just a couple weeks ago, but was still able to drive 2 hours to a dealer)
Combo switch (no longer worked for bright lights)
Oil pressure sending unit (always showed 3 bar on the gauge)

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head...

The original transmission was replaced at about 181K by a Mercedes dealer then again at about 200K after 5th gear got noisy, but I don't count this since this was covered under the transferable 24K mile "parts warranty". ($5000 job for free!)

Engine uses about a quart of oil every 2000+ miles even with 231K on it. Prior owner replaced the head gasket around 50-60K and it so far has been holding up.

I have gotten as high as 27 MPG on the highway, and have never gotten lower than 20 combined, even with lots of city driving and in the winter. Overall I think I average about 22, and I drive it hard, redline it all the time and it loves it.

Pretty much all the electrical stuff still works including all the windows and seats, climate control and A/C works pretty much the way it is supposed to, never any problems with the cruise. Radio still sounds great except for an occasional rattle from the rear passenger door speaker under high volume with the bass cranked up. This stock stereo is actually pretty good.

Paint and interior holding up pretty well and the car still looks good. Suspension is still tight and doesn't vibrate or chew up tires too bad. I did have it aligned a couple times though for good measure.

Oil changes have been by the book, about every 7500 miles. I have used 2 quarts synthetic and the rest is just advanced auto parts cheap oil. Prior owner used dino.

Just thought I'd share this with prospective buyers and others with the cars and would like to hear other long term owners comments, especially on the V12 models, since I may be looking at a S600 coupe eventually to add to my fleet lol. If any prospective or current/new owners have any questions, post them here and I'll respond asap.

Bernanke

yup, my 1993 300SE has been teh most reliable W140 i've personally had experience with and surprisingly you can really get alot of power out of them. Mine only has 80k on it but i have done alot of performance oriented stuff with it and it truely is a whole new car. I would stay away from teh V12's though, i heard they are a maintenance nightmare. stick with the 300SE and if you really need more power you can always do a few mods here and there. My car honestly feels like a V8 with the amount of torque it has now compared to before right at 2000rpm which is perfect for daily driving. its all the power i'd ever need (much more than stock).


by the way, Check out my S32 thread in my signature below. lots of great information. hope that helps.

BenzKid24

I agree the w140 is a AWESOME car and I love driving mine,I just got back from my Ex-Girl Friends baby's funeral in Tucson AZ and I live in Dallas TX and had a great time driving,I wouldnt get a s600 either,As a Car dealer and been around these cars and have other buddys in this line of work,we have found that in HIgh temp. States the V12 can overheat fairly easily if you dont watch it.other then that i love the w140 and i will prob buy a 99 in the next few years..unless i like the new w221..not a fan of the w220 looks to cheap..anywayz enjoy your 300se and keep it clean homie!

Wintermute

Yes, you're correct. It's especially bad when you're idling in traffic on a hot day. The driver must nervously watch as the oil pressure falls and the temperature reading rises.

Bernanke

won't lower thermostat and fan switch and better oil solve this problem? thats a common trick us E36 M3 guys use. lower fan and fan switch allows the motor to start cooling itself much quicker and earlier. just FYI

Wintermute

It's funny you should mention that. We've actually considered modifying the auxiliary fan control to engage at a lower engine temperature. Our dealership is responsible for our oil changes, but they use only Mobil 1 synthetic.

It's only noticeable during the summer, especially on hot (> 100° F) days in Houston. At speed, of course, there is never a problem.

Bernanke

there is one website out there that does it, some fellow W140 owner made his own temperature control switch but usually its easiest to just find a lower temp one that fits in the same location, same with thermostat. infact, The E36 M3 guys do a fan delete mod where they completely take off the engine fan, run lower thermostat, and lower temp auxilary fan switch (the electric fan in front of radiator) and even without engine fan car still runs smoother and it also frees up a few HP here and there and makes the car rev much quicker (as well as remove 15lbs from teh car). just a thought

93300Se

I've had a W140 1993 300SE for about a year. I bought it with 89K miles and now it has 122K miles.
While in my hands Here all what I have done (what I still remember):
New rear star badge (someone sole it )
New A/C Control unit
A/C Pressure Switch
Couple Refils of Freon
Cab Air Filter
New Fuel Pressure Regulator
Transmission selector switch (4<>D)
New Transmission
2 Thermostats
Front Shocks
Front steering links Including Ball Joints
Fan Relays (Turn on When Engine is REALLY HOT)
New Parking Release handle
New Passenger seatbelt
New O.E. Spec Tires

I installed a cheap Sony CD player because I think that the "stock" head unit was not stock; code would not work. Now I need some Amplifier for the 4 Rear Speaker to work.
The Dash Lights (Fuel Level, Engine Temp in particular) work whenever they want to.
I still need to have a couple things done such as
Front Seat upholstry, B-Pillars, Passenger seat Headrest motor thing, Front Bumper trim piece, Fuel Door Piston lock thingy, Some thing for the Driverside door handle.
After a long drive all the oil off the exhaust cooks and smells.

This car however has yet to leave me completely stranded, the W140 is a very nice car, and when well maintained (Mine was not judging by the oil change stickers) the car will last for a long time.

12 play

We've had some 90+ weather here and I have'nt had any overheating problems. Is this a common problem on the early V's or all? Everyone advised me to stay away from the V also but I'm glad I bought one anyway, I love it!!