1990 Mercedes Benz 300TE

1990 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series Additional Info:

I didn’t even wash or wax the car before I took the pics. Sorry.
1990 Mercedes Benz 300TE. M103 I-6, 4spd auto. 299,260km which is about 185,950 miles. Like all estates this has SLS rear suspension, and it works. I was going to convert to the air suspension from SLSconversion.com, but I left it as most enthusiasts love the SLS. Seven passenger, with rear facing back seat. The third row can hold two adults more comfortably than a most third row SUV’s sold today. My brother and I are old school Benz guys, and it is time to thin the herd so we (more like me) can take on other projects.
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This is a Canadian car, legally imported, so it has daytime running lights, fog lights (pull out on headlight switch), and the gauges and odometer are metric. No conversion to Imperial unit gauges was, or is, required after the car defected to the U.S. Take your km/h and multiple by six and drop the zero to get your mph. So, 90 kmh x 6 = 54 mph. 120 kmh x 6 = 72 mph. You gotta do some math driving on American roads. I drove this car this past winter. It is awesome. Heated seats, heated washer fluid, and rock solid on ice. This is a very spin resistant car on ice. The heat is hot, and the AC is cold.
Drive this car anywhere. Fly into Pasco, WA or Spokane, WA and drive home. I drive it just about every day, and would not hesitate to put my wife and kids in it as their daily vehicle. She doesn’t like ‘small’ cars though. My kids love this car, and will be upset when it is gone. Not my wife though.
Some of the nice things about this car:
-Power seats that work
-Seat heaters that work
-Sunroof that works
-Heated washer fluid (awesome for winter)
-Reliable (drive this car anywhere)
-Keyless remote locking
-New tires with warranty from Les Schwab
-Cruise control works
-Original 1990 1st Aid Kit still there, and the original floor mats too.
-Clean Washington title
-Starts first time, idles perfectly, and has power (I put on new cap, rotor, wires, and plugs)
-Trans fluid red, oil clean, air filter and fuel filter done in the past few months
-Last of the real bulletproof solid Benz cars built, including environmentally unfriendly materials that last longer than the average human being
-I’ll throw in 12 brand new Mobil 1 oil filters
-The interior is like new for a 27 year old car. No cracks in dash or seats.
-Sound system is good, and not a hack job. The speakers are all 4” rounds and the receiver was wired properly. Even the original Becker stereo fader switch in the console works.
Of course, there are bad things. And if you know these cars like I am sure you do, you know you have to tinker with your vintage W124 kraftfahrzeuge. After all, that is the Euro approach.
-Left front fender has ‘repair’ from previous owner, but at least he included the high dollar can of color matched (paint code 702) spray paint if you feel like fixing it the right way. I believe there was a spot of rust bubbles there, and the PO tried to fix it. He was a young man that owned the car briefly.
-Left front bumper damage from me. I parked on ice and slid into an angle iron fence at work. I will include a new black bumper pad from Pelican Parts. The bumper cover is $80 from Pelican. The metal trim is good. The headlight surround is cracked. New headlight bezels are $40 for each side from RockAuto. I don’t feel like fixing it. I have other things to do at the present like painting my house and kitchen cabinets.
-This car is fast, that being said, the throttle linkage could use some adjustment to be perfect. You must push a little hard on the pedal during acceleration, and the Bowden cable could probably use a few turns. Once at speed it is easy, but don’t expect a butter smooth gas pedal like new cars. These old beasts use mechanical linkage with rods and cables.
-Missing a rear speaker cover and the spark plug cover tray on the valve cover. Also, missing the belly pan under the engine, but just about every 300 out there is. I think I saw one once. They were gunk collectors anyway.
-Exhaust was redone by previous owner. All the hangers are in place, but instead of using real MB exhaust the muffler shop did their own thing. So, it has a non-stock resonator and muffler. Cats are not required, and it has none. The car is about as loud as a ‘normal’ car. It isn’t loud, but it isn’t silent like some of our other W124 cars. It is about as loud as my Grand Caravan or Ram truck. RockAuto has the exhaust parts. A factory style muffler would probably return most of the super quietness.
-The fuel gauge…..when it shows 3/4 it is full, and when it shows 1/4 it is empty. Maybe it is the sending unit. After 320km (about 200 miles) I refill the tank. It takes premium by the way. So, if you are planning to drive the Pan-American highway the car will make it, but make sure you get gas every 200 miles. Or not. This car hasn’t left me stranded, but I am not risking an out-of-gas scenario in the desert where I live. All other gauges work.
-Normal wear and tear. It can’t be avoided. If you are a perfectionist I am sure you will find other things wrong with this car. If you like Benz’s, driving, need solid wheels, want to haul around your kids or your drunk friends home from Oktoberfest, and like to tinker every now and then this is your car.
I will answer questions to the best of my ability. If you want to learn to work on cars these old Benz’s are simple and replacement parts relatively cheap from Pelican or RockAuto. Worst case you can go to Mercedes and pay for parts because they can reproduce every part for any of their cars if you have the money. This car could easily get the MB grill badges if you wanted those. I’ll give you some parts I have for it like the oil filters, rear hatch struts (they hold it up but are due for replacement), a fuel filter, new drive belt, and whatever else I find to throw in.
Most likely you already know about W124 cars, and really want to add an estate to your portfolio. This one is in better shape than many out there. I am not trying to hide anything on this car and am representing it the best I can. I am an enthusiast, and this is a hobby. I am not a used car sales shark or car flipper. I have only had this car a since last summer, but sometimes there is more to life than an old Mercedes. Thanks for looking.
--PAYMENT—
I accept the most major form of payment called cash. I may take a cashier's check, but at least send me a message to prove you aren't a scammer. I have been through the old fake cashier’s check scam before. Paypal your spouse the money from your own credit card then transfer it the bank, and withdraw it as cash. I have done this before actually.