Faults:

Bulbs failed (including on instrument panel).

Wear on hydraulic tappets.

General Comments:

Superb build quality - feels very solid. All components feel strong, e.g. doors shut with a pleasing 'thud'. I bought the car when it was over 18 years old, but in my first year of ownership I have only had to replace some bulbs, and latterly two tyres. I have had several Mercs (W123, 190); this variant (W124) is the best.

However the coupe is a heavy car, and it is not that brisk when accelerating. This suits me (in my mid-fifties) as I drive fairly steadily. But it is certainly not nippy. It comes into its own on a long run though - this is a car built for long distance cruising. On a motorway it feels very sure footed, cruises quietly, and is a comfortable car.

Fuel economy is pretty good - mid-late twenties for general motoring, mid-thirties on a long run per Imperial gallon.

Faults:

Nothing so far.

I need to change the electric aerial; it works, but it's noisy.

General Comments:

Really nice on the motorway. I have been to Cornwall and Manchester from London; no issues at all. I even have put SVO in the tank; no problem except that the oil is as expensive as diesel.

Stereo needs updating.

Seamless gear change.

Underneath is spotless for a 17 year old car, and I love it, because it's so well built and solid.

A great car.

Faults:

There have been no serious faults with this car during my ownership.

A core plug in the cylinder head started leaking due to lack of anti-freeze. This cost pennies to fix.

A rear wheel bearing needed replacement, not cheap, but at 183,000 miles you can't complain.

Other than that, it's only ever been general servicing and consumables.

General Comments:

I bought this car as a "builder's van' when I was working on my house, and I couldn't fit any building materials inside or on top of my Honda Coupe. I was so taken with the comfort and versatility of the car, that I decided to keep it and sell the Honda.

It's now of an age where depreciation is no longer a problem or a consideration, and as it still looks good and drives like new, I shall not be parting with it unless or until something very serious goes wrong; which I can't see happening for some time yet.

General Comments:

Having always had newer model Mercedes Benz vehicles for a number of years now, I decided to purchase a Mercedes 300e which I saw on Ebay in September, and having covered three thousand miles in it, I can honestly say that it is absolutely superb in every way.

This particular model is a sport line car, and as such has only two seats in the back, which is no problem for me and looks really great.

Given that I paid very little money for this car, and that it feels more "special" than all the newer Mercs that I have had, I cannot recommend them enough.

Faults:

Gearbox clutch began to slip at 75,000 miles. The Signature warranty paid up no questions asked, and the dealership couldn't have been more helpful.

The over voltage protection relay (?) failed inside the warranty too, again fixed no problem, but did cause some anguish as the car failed to start several times because of this.

General Comments:

The car is still on the original exhaust original head gasket (which have been known to go on the 2.2L engines) original pretty much everything.

It seems pretty much bombproof. I had a van use the car as a brake, didn't do the van much good (tow job) but the Mercedes was fine. A slightly bent (2mm) rear panel, not that anyone would notice, didn't even scratch the paint!

It's very comfortable quiet etc.