Intro to MB ownership

[benzbarmy1]

I have been an MB fan for many years and may soon be joining as an "owner". I have recently retired and am looking for a practical 2nd car (we have a fairly new VW for every day). I am a very practical DIY'er interms of maintenance, having had a heavy goods business for many years and doing all my own vehicle maintenance.

Which MB would be an easy DIY manitenance project.
mike

 

[ben chod]

I'd say anything up to early 2000's. After that they all start getting complicated electrickery and engine bays that are tighter than a ducks ****. Actually thats a bit of a lie, w140's are from the mid 90's and they can be a bit of a pain as well. It all depends what you want.

 

[markjay]

The presence of electronics in modern cars is indeed a pain however it mainly adds a layer of complication but without taking away the need for good old maintenance.

Of course for many things today STAR is a must have, but you can still have your hands full doing traditional mechanic's work.

The key to DYI is choosing a simple engine that's easy to work on, and the M271 come to mind with 4 inline and upright, and lots of room in the engine bay around the block with good access to (almost) all components.