Hello Veeky Forums, since I know that the newer Mercedes models suffer from planned obsolescence and are full of electronics which are difficult to fix, I'd like to know when all of that started?
Which are the last Mercedes cars with minimal electronics that are easy to fix?
I'm basically searching for the same sweet spot that are the e36s and e34s for BMW.
No Mercedes Anons here?
Veeky Forums is a slow board and it's early in the morning. Believe it or not but people who actually own cars and could help you with your questions go to work
So just give it a while
Look at the cars in the sticky famalamdingdong
W201 was the first and last bulletproof C-Class, W124 was the last bulletproof E-Class (check for rust though, also the 80s diesel models have vibration issues with the engine mounts), W126 was the last bulletproof S-Class, W140 is alright but less than perfect (silly biodegradable wiring harness and a few other susceptible electronics, V12 is everlasting though).
Most models built before 1995 are pretty unkillable. They had a gradual drop in quality from 1996 that hit it's lowest point in the early 2000s. Since 2009 or so then they've rebounded and are ranked as highly reliable once more.
No Mercedes have truly "easy" electronics. They're all complicated. The newest models though more complicated are actually more reliable since Daimler has switched some suppliers and uses better quality parts. Electronics are also more standardized now and cheaper to replace.
Most people on the board are young Americans, not exactly the type to be buying pricier European cars.
Thanks kind anons, I'll look into it.
Anything else to watch out for with the pre 1995 models?
Any series that is cancer?
Minimum displacement?
Underpowered models?
This whole post is a joke. Most older Benz electronics are super simple. This doesn't mean the car is super simple, it's just that all the heavy lifting was done by vacuum pump. Stop posting any time you fucking idiot.
>Anything else to watch out for with the pre 1995 models?
Rust issues on anything pre-1992, wiring tends to fall apart in arid environments in 92-99 models
>Any series that is cancer?
Nope
>Minimum displacement?
Mercedes are very heavy and any models with less than 6 cylinders feel underpowered, except for the C250 and GLK250 Bluetec maybe.
>Underpowered models?
Non-turbo I4 models, pre-90s diesels were bulletproof but had very slow acceleration.
Said none have "easy" electronics. Old Mercedes are fraught with hard to determine electrical issues due to the materials the wiring was made from and terminal corrosion. Mercedes, even on older models, has a habit of running multiple systems down shared circuits and fuses which makes working on them complicated. It requires a lot of diagnostic work to pin down shorts on an old Mercedes compared to a Honda, Ford or even BMW of the same era.
Sweet spot is 1992 to 1995?
For me the sweet spot would be a 1998 I6 or V12 S-Class. The wiring issue was resolved by then on the S-Class by this time and the design hadn't yet been changed from the pre-Daimler-Chrylser. Are you in Europe or North America? If you're in North America and can find a rare Mexican made unit, none of them had the wiring issues as the MX built units didn't have to meet German environmental standards and didn't use biodegradable wiring. The parts content on them was still about 75% German too. Think besides the electronics, lighting and body panels, everything was shipped in kits from Germany.
The W140 S-Class was designed before Mercedes quality started dropping but it was their flagship model so they never really cut corners on it like they did with the ML-Class, W210 E-Class or post 95 W202 C-Class after the Daimler Chrysler merger. The next generation S-Class, the W220 was designed to save money and quality suffered.
I have a related question.
If I'm looking for a similar thing, but I want a sweet wagon, does anything change?
>buying north american assembled cars, ever
Sadly, I'm German so I am probably affected.
Biodregadable wiring sounds like a pretty horrible thing. Does that cause troubles?
I don't think there are many W140s left where the harness hasn't already been replaced. Also you sound like you don't have unlimited funds to work with and want to wrench at home as much as possible, so I'd suggest you to stay away from the S-Class entirely and stick to the W124.
>Which are the last Mercedes cars with minimal electronics that are easy to fix?
w202, w210, w208. honestly most benzes are easy to fix if you apply yourself and are not totally retarded.
Europe is perfectly capable of building unreliable vehicles of questionable quality too. Fiat and Land Rover come to mind. In this case the North American units were better built specifically because they didn't suffer from weird German environmental legislation.
>Biodregadable wiring sounds like a pretty horrible thing. Does that cause troubles?
The rubber casing tends to fall apart around 10 years of age exposing the inner wiring to moisture and corrosion or allowing it to contact other metallic pieces leading to shorts. I had a C-Class for while with these issues and it was a nightmare. Many S-Class units in Germany had their wiring replaced after a recall in the early 2000s, so you might be able to find one that's already had the fix.
Yeah, I am pretty low on money and I prefer being able to fix my stuff myself, and I'm not really into stationwagons anyways.
Noted 124, 202, 208, 210, will have a closer look later.
I'll watch out for it. Thanks kind user.
The other anons mentioned that after 1995 Mercedes went downwards, and that's where these models started, can you explain to me kind user?
"The W140 S-Class was designed before Mercedes quality started dropping but it was their flagship model so they never really cut corners on it like they did with the ML-Class, W210 E-Class or post 95 W202 C-Class after the Daimler Chrysler merger. The next generation S-Class, the W220 was designed to save money and quality suffered"
W210 E-Class, W202 C-Class post 95 and W220 S-Class are the first awful ones?
Since another user mentioned that Benzes are generally pretty heavy, I assume most aren't that fast and swiftly.
Is there an equivalent to the M series in BMW?
Which ones are rather slow and reliable, which ones are fast?
I've seen a 220 that looks pretty neat, yet user mentioned Mercedes cut corners on them, can some user specify a bit more what's problematic with them?
>Is there an equivalent to the M series in BMW?
AMG models, but they're different in character with more of a muscle car-ish feel than the sharper and sportier BMWs
>can some user specify a bit more what's problematic with them?
Among other things, they switched to water-based paint which resulted in ludicrous rust issues
no. bmw filled the sporty niche that mercedes left open. that's basically the entire reason bmw even exists from 70's-90's
other than the sl / slk, mercedes has sports sedans but they are low volume and expensive.
Anything after the w124 and w140 but before ~2009 is shit.
Recent ones are rated pretty well in consumer reports.
JUST BUY A LEXUS
Lexus are rarer than Porsches in Germany.
I used to own a 190e a few years ago. Only problem I had was one of the brake calipers got jammed but it was an easy fix. Other than that it was bomb proof. Had 260,000 miles on it too.