Diesel RVs: Re: [diesel_mercedes] Re: W201 190D questions

Get a ML diesel.

From: briankk <briankk@att.net>
To: diesel_mercedes@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2011 3:03 PM
Subject: Re: [diesel_mercedes] Re: W201 190D questions

I'm thinking of selling my 240D. It was about perfect when I lived down in the valley, but up here in the hills, it is dog slow going up mountains, and is just helpless in snow. Last winter I had to be dragged out of a couple of slight inclines with hub deep snow, and that on Nokian Hakka 4s with full studding...

It was my late wife's car, I thought it would be a better "keeper" than the 300SD, cheaper to maintain and much simpler car to work on, and that was all true before I moved up here..

I bought an old Soob Loyale wagon as a snow car, found that it has no problem with hills; push button 4WD, and gets better mileage on cheaper fuel, and junkyards are filled with parts.. Recently attended funeral far away. 3 people, luggage and junk, 400 miles start to finish, mountain roads, country roads, freeways where I held 80 where I could, returned 32 mpg door to door on cheap regular...

You can see where this is going..

--- On Mon, 8/29/11, max_stemple <jasperezra@gmail.com> wrote:

From: max_stemple <jasperezra@gmail.com>
Subject: [diesel_mercedes] Re: W201 190D questions
To: diesel_mercedes@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, August 29, 2011, 10:21 AM

A 240 with a good engine is not "dog slow", it's only slow. People drive too damn fast anyway. Max

--- In diesel_mercedes@yahoogroups.com, audiolaw@... wrote:
>
> Andrew,
>
> The most expensive car that you will ever own is a cheap older
> Mercedes.
>
> You should stay away. These cars are not for mere commuters looking
> for something inexpensive to drive. As you read the posts, you will see
> people talking about what THEY did, parts that THEY found in pick-a-part
> yards, advice on work that THEY and other posters have done and will do.
>
> If you are going to rely on "the garage" that will maintain your car,
> the cost advantage disappears quickly.
>
> Your comment that you "understand" that the 240D is "dog slow" reveals
> your level of ACTUAL knowledge (compared to rumors, things you have heard
> and what you "understand") to be essentially nil. That is NOT a bad thing.
> But it is a guarantee of disappointment in a used MBZ diesel. (No doubt
> you have missed Nate's stories from his repeated junkets from L.A. to Las
> Vegas, in a 240D loaded with 5 people, blowing ice cold A/C while he
> struggles to keep it under 70 mph.)
>
> Avoid now and miss out on subsequent frustration and anger.
>
> Tom '81 300SD, 352,+++ miles.
>
>
>
> In a message dated 8/28/2011 11:43:09 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
> andrewbuc@... writes:
>
> I've heard that routine maintenance on Mercedes is expensive, but
> I've also heard anecdotally that the reputation for expensive
> maintenance is overblown. Doing my own service isn't an option, but
> my German-car mechanic has a very reasonable labor rate and is good
> about finding cost-effective solutions. I once ran the idea of a 190D
> past him, and he said, "They don't need much." If this statement
> applies to both routine service and breakdown repairs, it's a good
> sign. I've also heard that the W201 was the last really
> overengineered Mercedes, which is good. Naturally I'd want to find a
> car that the seller had owned for a long time and kept service
> records on, but how much of a chance would I be taking if these
> conditions weren't met? While we're on this, any thoughts on stick
> vs. automatic?
>
> Thanks for your thoughts.
>