Faults:

Replaced rear shocks at 186,000km.

Gearbox bearing failed at 195,000km, had the whole gearbox reconditioned.

Replaced the clutch at the same time.

Replaced the bearings and regulator on the alternator at 210,000km.

Replaced over voltage protection relay at 230,000km.

Replaced all 4 disk rotors and pads at 250,000km.

General Comments:

This is another great example of a great car from the world’s best car maker.

Excellent drive train, enough power to go up hills without needing to shift down.

Great all round disc brake system with ABS.

Very comfortable ride, and it is very smooth on the pothole infested roads of South Africa.

All interior electronics still in excellent working order.

This car was fitted with dual zone climate control, and it works perfectly.

This is a very reliable car that has never let me down; even my previous W123 series made it to 300000km without letting me down even once, and I still use it.

The only sad part is getting good service on Mercedes Benz Cars in South Africa; even the so called specialists do not really know what they are doing, they are the best new part fitters in the world, replacing parts until a problem goes away.

Faults:

This was an old car, so it understandably did have a few problems:

Wear in the leather upholstery.

The air conditioner high pressure switch was broken when I bought the car (but was bypassed easily)

Excessive free play in the steering due to bearing wear.

The rear power windows did not work (a common fault, apparently)

General Comments:

I loved this car.

The seats were like laz-e-boys. On three occasions I had to do a 1600 Km drive in a single day, and each time I got out of the car still feeling quite comfortable.

As an old car, the rear end was a bit squashy, so the handling was a bit off, but it was still very comfortable.

It is an excellent long distance, high speed cruiser, easily bowling along at 160 - 190 Km/h all day, and still returning around 11 Km/Litre (it is very aerodynamic) at those speeds.

It is much heavier on fuel in town, obviously (around 5 Km/litre), as it weighs almost 2 tons.

Despite its '80s origins, the beige leather/cream carpet cabin in my car was beautiful and a very nice place to spend time in.

Again, although old, I think the car still looks great, with just the right balance between classic Mercedes and modernity.

I reluctantly sold the car at almost 300,000 Km (180,000 miles), and it was still going strong.

Faults:

The magneto blew in the fan clutch, it had to be replaced at a cost of approximately $60 in order to keep the engine temperature at an optimum level.

General Comments:

I've had the car for almost 3 months now and its been a great ride.

It's 17 years old, but it was an inexpensive purchase for such a luxurious car.

It drives like a dream, has no rust on it and seems like the car that will just keep going and going and going...

The only problem is the cost of the parts, very pricey. Someone dinged me and had to pay plenty for a new bumper and brake-light component.

All in all, it's an amazing car and I have no regrets on the purchase.