Had a Mercedes towed in yesterday,wouldn't start.<br>The battery was dead so I threw the charger on it and started looking around. Found out that the car has no cord for the block heater. Did some checking and found out the car has a block heater, but if you want the cord, the dealer must install it within the warranty timeframe for it to be a no charge item.<br>Called a friend, does work on mostly Audi,BMW,Mercedes,Porsche,all those high end imports. Same cord has been used for last 20+ years, he gave me a used one, installed it on car, plugged it in, can actually hear it, just like the CTD.<br>Threw the car outside last night, put it on the timer that I use for mine, we'll see. Wife says that the car is beautiful. Might have to trade in the Cherokee. Just for future reference, There will be no more Mercedes diesels sent to the US. This straight from the Mercedes dealer, there is not enough of a market here to make it worth it for them. So you must find a used one. The latest model that you will find I believe is a 2001-2002 if you are lucky. It's a shame though, they are very nice and not nearly as loud as you would think. There are many people in this area that are very loyal to them. The owner of this car has had this 1999 since new, it's the E300. The one before that was a 1981 300SDL, which had 465,000 miles on it when she gave it to a relative and it is still running all over creation. I am currently looking for an S420 or an S500 with a diesel for the Mrs. Although I heard a rumor that Jeep is going to be putting a diesel in the Grand Cherokee or the Liberty soon.

 

Well, it's not rumor any more richard. Jeep is putting a diesel in the Liberty, and Dodge is coming out with the boxy Sprinter this year that's going to use a Mercedes diesel. There's a thread about it in the &quot;Other&quot; section. The diesel Liberty will be released next year will be using a common-rail turbocharged 2.8l

Tom Hybiske

 

I got a 1991 190E sitting in the front yard with a for sale sign on it. You can have it real cheap. It is my second Mercedes and the last one I will ever own. It runs like a sewing machine but everything attatched to the engine is junk including the transmission. Just put new struts on the front and had the brakes worked, got a brand new belt and trans hoses laying on the front floor for it. Put new plugs in it and a few other things too. I wanted one for years so I got one finally. The transmission went in it and it is $4800 to replace. Gave it away to get rid of it. Didn't learn from the first one and got a second one. Guess what, trans is gone at 160000 miles. Never again.
I'll stick with the stuff that at least has an American name on it.

 

Now Vdubs are a different story. One fellow here at work had a Jetta with over 550000 miles on it and never tore into it. He sold it about six years ago or more and the guy is still driving it. Another co-worker has the Jetta (I think) diesel and he says he gets 54-55 MPG consistently and it runs like a rap, er ah, you know what I mean. I would consider purchasing one of those if the need arose.<br>I would like to look into one of those electric cars for popping back and forth to work. Imagine that, never stopping at a gas station again. The one I saw, and I can't remember where, just plugged into the normal 110 outlet at the house. Would go 70 MPH for about 250 miles. I could handle that.

 

A few years ago I had a 560 SEC coupe that was given to me with a blown trans,tired motor due to lack of maintenance. The body was in beautiful shape, so I put a 5.7L tuned port,700R4 trans in it. The hardest part was getting the factory gauges to work. Had a driveshaft made. Sent it out for a custom exhaust. It was a nice car to drive, but someone I saw at a local cruise night just couldn't live without it. So it was sold for an outrageous profit and he still uses it for his daily driver. That is one vehicle that I would actually like to have back. ;D ;D

 

<br> I have a 1970 220D with a for sale sign on it. Will let it go cheap. Mechanically sound. ;D ;D<br> BIG MIKE

 

I bought the wife a Mercedes two years ago. We simply love this car. We often travel in it and I from time to time take it out on the highway and see what its got. Its fun and dependable. Drives great, rides great, handles great and stops so fast it hurts my head when I really slam on the binders. I would buy another one of these things in a minute <br><br>Don~

 

My buddy with the '91 and '01 CTDs and I went to Norman Oklahoma last Sunday to pull back his mothers 300TD wagon.<br><br>It would turn over but sounded like it had uneven compression.<br><br>Anyhow, that car is about as scary under the hood as anything I have ever seen! The throttle linkage makes 3 or 4 turns, I couldn't be sure what drove the injection pump....<br><br>Give me a 7.3 IDI or a CTD ANY day!<br><br>