300E or 300TD

[evo58]

In the current climate of escalating or as we have seen a small drop in fuel prices which is the more sensible engine to plump for if diesel stays on average 15p a litre more.
I realise mileage per year and cost of servicing for both cars will differ but given the relative economy of both cars which would probably be the cheaper car to run regarding fuel etc

 

[Dieselman]

You mst be talking of different ranges of cars or do you mean 300TE and 300TD as in estates.?

I'm obviously biased, but for good reason.

I'll leave you to figure out which way I swing, bearing in mind fuel prices are only going one way.

 

[evo58]

You mst be talking of different ranges of cars or do you mean 300TE and 300TD as in estates.?

I'm obviously biased, but for good reason.

I'll leave you to figure out which way I swing, bearing in mind fuel prices are only going one way.

Yes sorry i mean estates do they come in both petrol and diesel 3 litre guise.
JUst getting my head around the MB family

 

[Dieselman]

You will pick a 300TE up for loose change but a 300TD will cost proper money. The market forces are at work due to the better desirability of the 300 diesel unit. They just run and run and run and give reasonable economy to boot. 35+mpg should be average opposed to 20+ for a 300E.

Both engines came as either 12 valve or 24 valve units but not at the same time as each other. The 300E was superceded by the E320 which is a nicer powerplant and gives better economy.

300E 12v and 24v were circa 1990 diesel 24v and E320 arrived in 1994 and replaced the 12v diesel and 300petrol units.

 

[evo58]

What then would be the the service interval on a multivalve 300td,hoping it is not 6000 like our Isuzu 3.0TD

 

[Dieselman]

Both petrol and diesel are 6,000 miles at this age. In reality thats an oil change.

 

[SilverSaloon]

What then would be the the service interval on a multivalve 300td,hoping it is not 6000 like our Isuzu 3.0TD

i am assuming you are looking at the type of E300TD as the green one in my sig? if so its a 1993-1996 multivalve E300TD (does NOT have a turbo) you need which is a W124 model. www.w124.co.uk shows what these cars can go for if in mint condition. expect to pay between £2k to £4k for a run of the mill one.

12,000 is the service interval.

you can also run these cars on veg oil - i do - 83p per litre at the moment is the cheapest i can get it (recent rise from 55p) unless you want to go the waste-veg route which means your fuel will probably be 0p a litre

 

[Dieselman]

12,000 is the service interval.

I had based the interval on it being the 12v engine to give the same age as a 300E.
6k on those.

My preference would be to go for a 24v diesel unit though.

 

[evo58]

i am assuming you are looking at the type of E300TD as the green one in my sig? if so its a 1993-1996 multivalve E300TD (does NOT have a turbo) you need which is a W124 model. www.w124.co.uk shows what these cars can go for if in mint condition. expect to pay between £2k to £4k for a run of the mill one.

12,000 is the service interval.

you can also run these cars on veg oil - i do - 83p per litre at the moment is the cheapest i can get it (recent rise from 55p) unless you want to go the waste-veg route which means your fuel will probably be 0p a litre

Sorry are you saying the E300TD does not have a turbo??

 

[SilverSaloon]

Sorry are you saying the E300TD does not have a turbo??

if its the W124 then there is NOT a turbo. (if it looks like the one in my sig then no turbo!) The T stands for Touring (Estate) and the D is Diesel.

if its the W210 (later e class E300TD from '96 to '98) then yes it will have a turbo and indeed does stand for TurboDiesel

 

[imadoofus]

if its the W124 then there is NOT a turbo.

Unless it's a European (LHD), in which case is could have a turbo, but it might not.

 

[Dieselman]

if its the W210 (later e class E300TD from '96 to '98) then yes it will have a turbo and indeed does stand for TurboDiesel

Not quite correct. The Turbo was introduced after model release ,300TurboD is '97-'99.
It's possible to have a W210 Diesel Estate, though they weren't badged TD, just Diesel.
The T stands for Transporter or estate on a W124 car.

 

[Dieselman]

Unless it's a European (LHD), in which case is could have a turbo, but it might not.

That would make it a TDT, not a TD.

Confused......you should be..

 

[imadoofus]

For the W124s (and talking only 300 here, not 250 or 200), there was:

300 TD (became the E300 T Diesel with the facelift). 30,972 built, 8,973 sold outside Germany
300 TD Turbo (became E300 T Turbodiesel). 14,844 built, 5,760 sold outside Germany
300 TD Turbo 4-matic. 2,317 built, 885 sold outside Germany

But AFAIK, the Turbos didn't come to the UK

 

[Dieselman]

Those figures are amazingly low, no wonder they cost a fortune, it's more figures from a cottage industry than a production line.

 

[imadoofus]

Yep. In total, they built 876,000 diesels (200, 250 & 300), only 115,000 of which were estates.

 

[Dieselman]

And no coupe's. Fools.

One of those would be a real coup now.

 

[Roger Jones]

"35+mpg should be average opposed to 20+ for a 300E."

The 300E should be good for 25+ mpg unless constantly fully laden.

 

[k langdon]

Regarding service intervals, the Mercedes service book for a multi-valve E300 diesel estate states the gap is 9000 miles. On the older 300TD it's every 6000 miles. Hope that helps.

 

[Joe_SP]

In the current climate of escalating or as we have seen a small drop in fuel prices which is the more sensible engine to plump for if diesel stays on average 15p a litre more.
I realise mileage per year and cost of servicing for both cars will differ but given the relative economy of both cars which would probably be the cheaper car to run regarding fuel etc

Does it have to be a large 6 cylinder engine? Have you considered a smaller 4 cylinder engine as a compromise? It should be more economical than a 6 and give better performance than a diesel. It will also will cost less to buy.