Mercedes 300CE

what year are u looking at, there is a huge difference between the M103 and M104 engines...
the chassis of those cars are called the W124.. we have a 1995 E320(4 door but same body style), with the newer M104 engine(inline 6, 217 Hp, very fast and fun)

while the M103 engine has 176Hp, and would get you where u want to go it just doesnt have that wow factor...

ill find out more about the engines in the CE series, im pretty sure they put the M104 engine in them, but for the E320 Cab, which was a 94-95 model only....

other wise the car would be a very fun car, however that type of engine can be pushed hard, it always feels as though its at its limit and cant take it, and the engine will overheat and what not very quickly if pushed,however as a highway car it will dominate however, you can still have a lot of fun in that car on the twisties....

 

if you want the 300CE, probably the best series is the 1993 300CE and E320 Coupe 94-95 edition with the 3.2 litre 217 HP engine... 1988-1993 were called 300CE's 88-92 had the previous generation 188hp 3.0 litre in line 6.. They're a bit sluggish... They switched to the 3.2 litre in 1993 and changed the name over in 1994 and updated the headlights... finding a good 3.2 litre edition 300 coupe series in the $10k range without high miles may be very hard... They usually run about $12k and up last I seen.... They all have the typical Benz experience... Lazy feeling engine, 2nd gear launches, and very solid quality and road feel...

 

Try to get the 93 then, it was the first year of the newer 3.2 litre in-line 6 engine... I have heard of premature transmission failure on the 4-speed automatic for the mercedes 6's of this vintage... check out www.roadfly.org in the mercedes benz message forum and look up the specific model you are looking for... you should find plenty of information in the archives

 

These cars are one of the best buys around. They are a real Benz..when they were good..You could drive this car until the day you die..and you would love evry minute of it. They are very reliable..the enignes are bullet proof and the bodies last a long time. Heck I have a 92 190E 2.6..with almost 400k on it..and she still drives very well. I have never had the engine or trans apart..even the rad is original. For me personaly..I'm always on the look out for this area of Benz..they are the good ones..

Tom.

 

I agree, this is back before Mercedes starting chansing Lexus by putting every gadget imaginable in the cars. Back when they would spend 7-10 years designing it so it just plain worked. Handsome piece of machinery too.