Why I've never broken down in a Classic Mercedes (in 15 years)

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Screwdriver

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Greetings,

My first Mercedes (and my first purchase) was a W124 E220, made by Telco. Equipped with heavy duty components for tropical rough roads, the car has taught me the importance of preventative maintenance. I still own it, and it runs very reliably.

Since then, I've purchased a W123 300D and more recently, a W115 240D. Both cars have undergone extensive mechanical restorations that have cost more than the purchase price of the the car. Paul, my mechanic at Holford Motors, is one of many who have often asked why I spend that kind of money on these cars. My response has always been that you can't put a price on knowing that you'll never break down on a public road.

That's not to say the cars haven't had major component failures - the E220s' fuel pump burned out once, the 300D lost a drive shaft boot and the 240D's radiator burst open on a London drive. But they always got me home. So I thought I'd share the only video I believe covers the procedure I follow on every one of my cars. Hope it and the comments below help you avoid the unexpected too!

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Breakdowns can be unpredictable, but I find there is a pleasure in having a well prepared car.

My recently acquired CLK320 is going in to have a thorough service including MAF, crank position sensor, plugs and gearbox oil and filter next week, just so I know where I’m starting from with it.

The following week I hope my 126 will be going in to have new calipers, discs, pads and some other bits and bobs so that she too is on top form.

Both cars are decent but I’d like to make them better over time, and like you say, hopefully avoid an embarrassment
 
My 190e never failed to complete a journey in the 21 years that I had it. The nearest it got was when the exhaust system fell in half, 90 miles from home on a Sunday night. It did bring progress to a halt briefly as the pipes were digging into the road surface. Luckily, I had a long steel rod in the boot which I used as a splint to hold the pipes roughly together and that enabled me to continue the journey. That wasn't MB's fault as the car was 25 years old at that point and the exhaust was an after market item.

Oddly enough, in 50 years of driving, the only time I've been completely immobilised, was in a brand new Vauxhall Chevette which sheared it's distributor drive shaft. I couldn't fix that at the side of the road but I did at least diagnose the fault before the tow truck arrived.

When a car is running well, something I never do is service a it immediately prior to a long journey. Two week before perhaps but never the day before.
 
^ Another reason why nothing without an MB logo goes on any of my cars if I can help it.

I have a vivid memory of driving my newly purchased '76 240d from the Cotswolds to London, passing 2 S class and 1 E class Mercedes cars waiting for roadside recovery. They were very new.

They don't make em like they used to.
 
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I can only recall two failed to make it home trips both from the 90's. First was an exploding front wheel baring on a Granada during a bank holiday, AA man delivered car + caravan + family the 200 miles back to Scotland, I replaced wheel baring the following weekend for £9.00. The second was a Renault 25, the main fusible link corroded and broke, dead car! AA man could not locate said link and tried calling everyone he knew to no avail. Recovered car 20 miles to home and I spent the following weekend tracing the loom to eventually find the BU%%^& located in the front wheel arch. However a new link could not be purchased so fabricated link from flattened copper tube had to save the day. I even filed a narrowed waist in the link in an effort to calibrate it's amperage, it lasted the rest of the cars life some 5 years until I recycled it.
 
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..................... Both cars have undergone extensive mechanical restorations that have cost more than the purchase price of the the car. ...............

Wouldn't it be easier, cheaper and more convenient to spend more money and buy a newer car?
 
Pay for the AA/rac/ greenflag.
I think I've only ever used them once.
I do routine services and drive them, give them a once over once in a while.
Never had any issues and never had to spend a fortune.
I suppose it's getting the right car to start with.
 
At least breaking down here is usually only an inconvenience.

Before I left South Africa breaking down was a life threatening event. Hi-jacking, armed robberies, and other horrible stuff was very common. I had a device fitted in my car with a hidden panic button (hi-jacking) and also a 3 button fob. "Stolen, Breakdown, Run-out of petrol". They'd send out armed crews to help you. I had no choice - car was a BMW525i and the insurance companies would not insure without it. For a hi-jacking they sent out a helicopter with armed ex soldiers and also guaranteed to get your car back in 4 hours.

When I emigrated in 1996 my friends and family could not understand why I was leaving .....:rolleyes:
 
At least breaking down here is usually only an inconvenience.

Before I left South Africa breaking down was a life threatening event. Hi-jacking, armed robberies, and other horrible stuff was very common. I had a device fitted in my car with a hidden panic button (hi-jacking) and also a 3 button fob. "Stolen, Breakdown, Run-out of petrol". They'd send out armed crews to help you. I had no choice - car was a BMW525i and the insurance companies would not insure without it. For a hi-jacking they sent out a helicopter with armed ex soldiers and also guaranteed to get your car back in 4 hours.

When I emigrated in 1996 my friends and family could not understand why I was leaving .....:rolleyes:

Wow, you had a Bond car. :cool:
Having those safety buttons on cars sold in SA, is this common because of the violence in the country?
Safety systems were they sold at the dealership or from a specialists security company?
 
Wouldn't it be easier, cheaper and more convenient to spend more money and buy a newer car?

Only while the car is under warranty. After that you are at the mercy of unnecessarily complex electronic systems with stupid things like electronic steering locks that are deliberately designed to immobilize the car when the cheap Chinese motor fails. Once you know about these potential problems the car never feels as trustworthy or as easy to fix as the old ones did.

I do accept that modern cars are generally reliable but I thinks that's in spite of some aspects of the design philosophy employed to build them.
 
Wouldn't it be easier, cheaper and more convenient to spend more money and buy a newer car?

As others have shared, new cars are over saturated with electronics. Combine this with the planned obsolescence that has become endemic in the manufacturing of every vehicle, where longevity & durability is no longer the source of pride, and you’re guaranteed to lose more money owning a new car that will break down far more often.

And we have not touched on Classic car appreciation yet ;)
 
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Wow, you had a Bond car. :cool:
Having those safety buttons on cars sold in SA, is this common because of the violence in the country?
Safety systems were they sold at the dealership or from a specialists security company?

There were loads of different systems. Insurance insisted on them (satellite tracking which is why they could be quickly recovered) and they were installed by specialist security companies. Mainly on the more expensive cars. Just one hidden button that worked with the foot brake (foot on brake and press hidden button). The other 3 were on a fob.

Problem was that thieves got wise to them and started shooting the driver of the car at traffic lights etc.
 
As others have shared, new cars are over saturated with electronics. Combine this with the planned obsolescence that has become endemic in the manufacturing of every vehicle, where longevity & durability is no longer the source of pride, and you’re guaranteed to lose more money owning a new car that will break down far more often.

And we have not touched on Classic car appreciation yet ;)

"Classic car" :rolleyes: aka "old clunker":)

@190 @Pontoneer

Not sure where this information of newer cars breaking down more often than old cars comes from. I've owned new or newish (dealer demo) cars all my life (except for when I was very young and drove really old cr@p) and I've never (~50 years of driving) had a car breakdown on me or my wife.
 
Not sure where this information of newer cars breaking down more often than old cars comes from.

Oh a few reliable sources I suppose.


Guess I’ll just have to keep waving to those waiting for recovery on the side of the road by my lonesome.
 
My wife and I have broken down three times in thirty odd years of us both driving Mercedes.
Twice my wife broke down in a brand new C200 coupe' in 2004, she never trusted it again. I broke down in a ML 320 around the same year when the crankshaft pulley sheared quite a common issue I think.
I have never broken down in a 107,129,124, 123, 211 or 219 and I've owned quite a few. I think the new cars are fantastic machines but not the most reliable with all the electronics.
 
Good old Land Rover. Bottom of the list yet again! When will they ever produce a car that's not at the bottom of all these types of lists. Terrible.
I see Tesla not included on the list. Too few of them yet?
 
"Classic car" :rolleyes: aka "old clunker":)

@190 @Pontoneer

Not sure where this information of newer cars breaking down more often than old cars comes from. I've owned new or newish (dealer demo) cars all my life (except for when I was very young and drove really old cr@p) and I've never (~50 years of driving) had a car breakdown on me or my wife.
One just has to look at the broken down cars one sees by the roadside , or on the backs of recovery trucks : they are invariably newer cars .
 
The beloved OM642 3.0 V6 CDI (used throughout the MB range) in our W639 has been the most unreliable and costly engine I've ever owned (from new, FMBSH), and given the choice I wouldn't touch another modern diesel. Having said that although it's gone into limp mode numerous times (requiring weeks off the road for main dealer diagnosis and repair) it has never broken down completely while driving. This was pure luck in one case - my wife got home and stopped in front of the house to let the dogs into the garden. Shen then tried to move it a few yards and it wouldn't fire. The crankshaft position sensor had failed completely (with no previous warning) - this turned to be a known fault that was fixed as a safety recall by MB UK on all models with the OM642 built within a particular date range ... apart from W639s. Other sensors etc. that have failed included the MAF sensor, DPF temp. sensor, DPF pressure sensor, and EGR valve. Then it needed new manifolds and a new turbo - this was all at under 95,000 miles. Repair costs (with some token goodwill discounts from MB) of over £6,500, although that did include a new instrument cluster (which died and couldn't be repaired).
 
My w201 190d has only had one breakdown in the time i have owned it and that was after i fitted a new aux belt tensioner which was faulty. Still managed to drive the 5 miles or so home stopping a few times to let the water temp down. The w210 failed to fire up once but then magically started again. The mysteries of electronics.

I feel confident i can diagnose and fix most things on my w201 but not on the w210. Mechanical systems are so much easier to fathom imho.

Any Mercedes that needs plugging into Star to fault diagnose is not for me.
 

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