1997 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Reviews - Page 3 of 5

I feel your pain. I once had an older E-class and it was a nightmare as well. My transmission only lasted around 100k miles also. People refuse to believe it's faulty engineering because IT'S A MERCEDES! Poo on Mercedes. Owners' words speak volumes about these cars.

If you're talking about a cheap Chevy that nickles and dimes you to death, that's one thing. But when you're talking about an expensive Mercedes that sucks your wallet dry when it needs ANYTHING, that's a whole other story.

I just bought a 1997 E. It has 142,000 miles on it. Best car I've ever owned.

I recently had a 1998 Jaguar XJR, and the ride on the E is much nicer and the suspension is awesome, the car feels like a tank.

I love it, especially the E Class body style, runs as strong as ever.

I can understand your frustration, but your complaints don't really speak to reliability of the vehicle. A bulb. A latch. Bulbs burn out. Etc. Anyone can change a bulb. If you think those are problems, you should buy a Toyota Camry or a Honda Accord. German cars have trade-offs. If you want a magic carpet ride with that German engineered feeling, then you have to pay for it. If you don't mind a car so boring it will put you to sleep, but is virtually maintenance free for the first 200k, then buy an Asian car.

Turn signals, bulbs, those seem like normal wear items for a car with 100k miles. I wonder if you had any major issues go wrong. My E320 is not cheap either, but given its age, it has held up a lot better than other cars of the same year.

German cars are not like Japanese cars, they require a lot more maintenance based upon my experience, but there is the trade off of having a car that is truly enjoyable to drive, versus just having an appliance for an automobile.

Well this is very rare. Mercedes standards are ahead of all country vehicle standards so sounds like your Mechanic was spinning you a yarn there. The faults you describe sound like the car was not only poorly serviced, but even damaged in service. Not all garages can service a Mercedes properly, even dealerships. Probably the most crucial part of owning a European prestige car in the States or Canada, is to get a decent mechanic located BEFORE you buy. Euro spec cars are way ahead of US & Canada spec vehicles, with the Mercedes CDI models not imported for three years because the fuel quality in the US and Canada was not up to Euro spec. Quite often, these vehicles suffer at the hands of mechanics used to dealing with more basic engineering. Very unlucky?