I've been bringing 15 year old low mileage (30 - 80 Kkm) BMWs and Mercedes from Japan to Canada for nearly two years now and have lots of chances to run them side by side. To make an extensive story short, on a long run Benz wins hands down. Here is why:
1.
With the exception of M30 and M50 engines and bodies, BMWs are fragile and do not tolerate neglect or abuse.
2.
MB interioirs do last. the only thing that causes problems - cracked wood as cars come from tropical climate and some of them lived outside.
BMWs, on the contrary, look like shit regardless. As original poster noted - peeling fabrics and sagging headliner being most notorious.
3.
W124 is relatively simple, its main strength - overengineered mechanicals and body. On lower specced cars electronics are virtually non-present. A definite boon on a used motor.
4.
BMWs are focused 'driver's cars', twitchy, sensitive and nervous, always urging you to play. When you don't feel like it - it annoys. MB can be both a player and an effortless A-to-B express. OK, steering is not as sharp, but again, on a long run - it wins.
5.
Had a 300E-24 with 722.3 'box for a year. Was substantially more economical than 535 (a renowned guzzler). 2nd gear start can be overridden, push the accel pedal hard but be careful, as usually somewhat reluctant MB really leaps forward (faster than 535)
As for 525 - IMHO it just does not have enough torque, especialy here, at 1000 m above sea level altitude.
All above said, my last personal purchase and sort of halo car - 1992 400E with 45Kkm (28 Kmiles in American and UK money) - is a true wunderwagen. It does not give you a kick in the butt like say my SAABs 9000 did, but its strength is a sea of torque and effortless cruising power. Oh, and pretty insane speeds arrive quickly and just unnoticed. And no BMW of the same vintage (and I mean any - I drove them all from 318 to 750iL and 850 Alpina) looks as well and expensively constructed and appointed as this 400E.
2nd gear start can be overridden, push the accel pedal hard but be careful, as usually somewhat reluctant MB really leaps forward (faster than 535)
I drive my w123 300D daily and when I switch to the w124 300TE and accelerate, I find myself either impatiently waiting for that second gear to get some RPM or when I'm in a hurry I find myself stabbing the pedal and receiving a nice jolt when it shifts from first to second. You described it perfectly, it "leaps forward"
I read about the switchable auto trans but I don't have one. Why Merc makes 2nd gear starts? Does 1st gear ever being used?
One thing I noticed is that it's possible to find a low mileage w124 but not e34. I bought my w124 with 68k miles last month and I saw a couple others with 100k miles. But it is almost impossible to find a e34 with less than 100k miles. e34 owners seem to drive their cars a lot.
After I fix the heavy oil leak on my w124, may be I will like it more.
bigwiki,
I think the second gear starts are indicative of Mercedes approach. Yes they can make sporty cars but the Mercedes sedan is smooth and progressively powerful and doesn`t need to thrash off the line.
Mercedes` engines are also famously under-stressed in terms of the power they put out which invariably could be increased significantly. The pay-back is that if maintained they can run for hundreds of thousands of miles quietly and smoothly.
The switchable automatic four speed transmission on the European cars allows two separate gear settings. In "S" the car still starts in second gear but if you press down hard on the accelerator pedal it overrides the default setting and the car will redline in first gear if necessary.
"E" is an economy setting which if selected means the car will set off in second gear and also change gear at lower revs to improve fuel economy. If kickdown is engaged then the " E" program is overridden.
So the switchable transmission does allow first gear starts.
I take it your 2.8ltr is the twin-cam M104 engine? This engine is well known for leaking oil from the cylinder head gasket but from the sound of it, your oil leak is coming from somewhere else.
I take it your 2.8ltr is the twin-cam M104 engine? This engine is well known for leaking oil from the cylinder head gasket but from the sound of it, your oil leak is coming from somewhere else.
Thanks for the explanation.
The engine leaking 1/2 qt of oil a week! I believe it's an external leak due to the common head gasket problem. Just bought a bottle of leak detector dye. I am going to locate the leak this weekend.
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79 450 SLC
93 300E 2.8
93 Toyota MR2 T-top 5sp
06 BMW 325i (hers)
92 BMW 525i (sold)
durability.
benz. not even a competition. that BMW transmission you like will go boom at some point.
Yes, BMW auto trans (ZF) shifts like a dream but many of them need a rebuild between 150k-200k miles. How long will the w124 trans last with regular ATF change?
Yes, BMW auto trans (ZF) shifts like a dream but many of them need a rebuild between 150k-200k miles. How long will the w124 trans last with regular ATF change?
After 150-200k miles?!Ive never heard that one works fine after 100K miles...
I had Bmw and all i can say it same like mercedes in first five years...after five-six years Merc stays the same while BMW starts to brakes and there is allways something wrong with it...im not BMW heater but my expirience is telling me that Mercedes is better!!!!
...after five-six years Merc stays the same while BMW starts to brakes and there is allways something wrong with it...
Two very obvious reasons for this:
1.
BMWs are thrashed and driven hard much more
2.
After 5 or so years it falls into hands of young Speedy-racer types who rarely bother to service it and literally rape the car.
On the contrary mercs are much more often bought and kept for longer periods of time, mercedes buyer is different and usually far more mature in both age and attitude hence a car that is better upkept and lasts longer.
And yes, mercs are more robust. Although I'd reserve this statement for pre-1995 MBs only
I'd like to know more about the S/E transmission switch? I take it it makes the car start out in 1st gear all the time. Where are they available at? How much and how hard to install? I would appreciate any info you could give. I notice a big difference in standing start acceleration when I manually shift my car into 2nd gear for a first gear start.
I'd like to know more about the S/E transmission switch? I take it it makes the car start out in 1st gear all the time. Where are they available at? How much and how hard to install? I would appreciate any info you could give. I notice a big difference in standing start acceleration when I manually shift my car into 2nd gear for a first gear start.
KevinS
KevinS,
as I posted above the S setting still has the car setting off in second gear ,as is usua,l unless you push down hard on the accelerator pedal when the car will set off in first. In E the car will never start off from anything other than second gear.
I keep mine in S permanently so a first gear start is available if required..... it can still outsprint many new cars.
The switchable automatics came in some time during the mid eighties I think.
Not sure but I think you can buy an aftermarket system to override the standard non-switchable automatic.
In the 94 and 95 models, they do start in 1st gear, and the difference is minimal unless you are looking to gun it. mine shifts out of 1st at about 15 or 20 soo the engine is in 2nd gear and about 2000 rpm, same as in a 2nd gear start. if you are gunning it, the old 300's start in first as well and so the performance is similar.
Although I'd reserve this statement for pre-1995 MBs only 
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