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[anV6]

In my search for an Omega I came across a 300 E yesterday. The Omega they had was not what I'm looking for and they had a nice Mercedes so I drove it home on a trial loan at the insistence of the dealer. Boy, does it drive nice! It's in great nick and the interior is really nice too. Very, very nice car. Very tempting. Will have to drop it back this afternoon.

I was wondering if any Omega owners here have had one or maybe still have and could talk about their experiences in comparison to the Omega?

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

In my search for an Omega I came across a 300 E yesterday. The Omega they had was not what I'm looking for and they had a nice Mercedes so I drove it home on a trial loan at the insistence of the dealer. Boy, does it drive nice! It's in great nick and the interior is really nice too. Very, very nice car. Very tempting. Will have to drop it back this afternoon.

I was wondering if any Omega owners here have had one or maybe still have and could talk about their experiences in comparison to the Omega?

Mr Tilbo owns an E430 if memory serves.

I once owned a CLS500 which is an E class wearing a party frock.

[aaronjb]

Al also had an E class which (from the passenger seat, anyway) was rather nice.

[anV6]

The CLS is a much newer car. This is 300 E from 1992. A semi classic now I would say.  This was from before they changed the names to have the letter before the number. So it's 300 E instead of E300 or E430.

I must say I really like it and if you go by what Mercedes fans say this generation of cars is the last one built to last by Mercedes.

What I fear is parts prices and maintenance costs. But many will tell you if it's a well sorted one almost nothing will go wrong with it apart from expendables.

[Doctor Gollum]

I wish you would research things properly. Mercedes parts prices are no worse than GM.

Older Mercedes are mechanically bombproof and more corrosion resistant than GM cars of a similar vintage. Buy a meticulously maintained one with minimal electrical toys and look after it... Be the last car you ever buy

[henryd]

I had an E220 estate w124,it was a lovely car which I still miss

[amazonian]

I had a 280TE estate petrol automatic in the early 90s, it was I believe built in the mid/late 80s and was/is the best car I have ever driven by a country mile.

As you say, it was when Mercedes really excelled and I dont remember parts or servicing costs being particularly onerous.

Used to get 31mpg on a long cruising run, and thats at 70/80mph, but obviously low-mid 20s around town.

Quick, extremely comfortable very spacious and seemingly untroubled by the amount of weight it was sometimes required to carry.

Brilliant car!!!

  

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Mercs from that era are great cars indeed. Regular basic servicing and keep an eye out for tinworm, and it will outlast you.
My 190D is almost 27 years old, has done 227000 miles and still drives great, although I did have to chop some serious rust out of it yesterday.
And yes, Merc prices aren't as exhorbitant as urban myth often suggests. 

[STEMO]

Just had a little nose on the trader for 300E's, I love it when 'private sellers' put 'Part ex welcome'. Tosser.

[anV6]

I wish you would research things properly. Mercedes parts prices are no worse than GM.

Older Mercedes are mechanically bombproof and more corrosion resistant than GM cars of a similar vintage. Buy a meticulously maintained one with minimal electrical toys and look after it... Be the last car you ever buy

I never said Mercedes prices were worse than GM. I just said I was worried about it.

You know the Jaguar saying, if you can't afford a new one you can't afford an old one, right? I have heard it a few times about Mercedes too. But like Migv6 said, probably just urban myth. I was never really interested enough in Mercedes to research though. Not till yesterday anyway.

Minimal electrical toys you say? So this one is a fail! It's loaded to the roof with everything. I mean everything. Full leather and all the toys! The works! Should I not buy it because of all the gadgets?

I got an extension till tomorrow by the way, so I still have it with me now.

[anV6]

Mercs from that era are great cars indeed. Regular basic servicing and keep an eye out for tinworm, and it will outlast you.
My 190D is almost 27 years old, has done 227000 miles and still drives great, although I did have to chop some serious rust out of it yesterday.
And yes, Merc prices aren't as exhorbitant as urban myth often suggests. 

I thought they were very good against rust? Certainly way better than the Mercedes after them and also the Omega?

I think the whole shell is fully galvanized, no?

[anV6]

Something else that just came to mind. Being newer, are the Omega MFL or FL better when it comes to safety, both active and passive than the 300 E? The 300 E I have here has driver's and passenger's airbags. But I don't think side airbags for example. Although I know it did very well in crash tests.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Mercs from that era are great cars indeed. Regular basic servicing and keep an eye out for tinworm, and it will outlast you.
My 190D is almost 27 years old, has done 227000 miles and still drives great, although I did have to chop some serious rust out of it yesterday.
And yes, Merc prices aren't as exhorbitant as urban myth often suggests. 

I thought they were very good against rust? Certainly way better than the Mercedes after them and also the Omega?

I think the whole shell is fully galvanized, no?

They aren't particularily bad for rust, but a car of that age will rust over time. 190,s have known rust spots (jacking points mainly) just like most other cars, but most other cars don't make it to 26 years old.
Havent heard of galvanised Merc shells. My 1990 Merc certainly doesn't seem to have one.
Later Mercs approx. 98 - 03 were appalling for rust. Five year old examples could easily have chassis legs barely attached to the car.
In my experience, older Mercs don't suffer badly with electrical troubles, but its best to check carefully with any old car.
Personally, I wouldn't be worried about buying one with plenty of toys. If things go wrong there are always plenty of cheap second hand spares available.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Something else that just came to mind. Being newer, are the Omega MFL or FL better when it comes to safety, both active and passive than the 300 E? The 300 E I have here has driver's and passenger's airbags. But I don't think side airbags for example. Although I know it did very well in crash tests.

I would imagine the fact that its built like a tank would help in an accident. 

[Doctor Gollum]

All the toys is nice, it's simply that there's then more to fix...

That said, the toys make the interior a very comfortable place to be, especially the electric seats