1990 Mercedes-Benz W124 300E 4MATIC review from France

4MATIC transfer box problems: once because of blown up hose at about 65000km (I believe it was my fault since I had driven the car very hard on curvy roads right be fore that happened) and last year after some leaking finally ended up as a general failure of the 4MATIC. Again, in defense of DB I must admit that I drove the car consistently hard on mountain and country roads.

Minor faults such as broken radiator hose end (needed the radiator to be replaced) and thermostat housing; both must have been made of some type of "Bakelite" or heavy plastic which dries and eventually cracks with age (not kilometers). This is clearly an engineering fault.

Various bushings, including engine mounts, had to be replaced, but this I believe was normal wear.

Other maintenance included replacing brake rotors and anti-sway bar, but here again I believe this was warranted by the car's age.

In sum, the most serious problem in the past eight years of my owning this car has been the 4MATIC breakdown. Although, I think that quick driving on mountain and country roads must have contributed to accelerate the system's failure, I did not expect it to be as fragile.

There is nothing really that can be held against the car. It is truly excellent and has kept extremely well.

It has the firm comfort of the traditional MB line. It handles perfectly despite its weight and has power enough to hold up with any one of the 2004 mid size brands on the road. It may have less acceleration than top of the line current models, but it seems to cruise better and steadier at fast speeds than any new Audi or Peugeot.

A 1990 4MATIC is worth about 5000Euros in Europe today, but if it has been reasonably well kept, you've got at least 25000Euros worth of a cruiser.