Who drives the old Benz daily? How often is it maintain?
Parlez vous Anglais? ;D ;D
If by daily u mean every 3 weeks, then yes.
I rarely drive the 6.9 except summer. I try to change oel every year, which is usually only about 2000km.
Regards
Nathan
this last month i have been driving my 6.9 everyday, covering about 300km's a week. It is just more fun to drive than my newer car.
Foss, it can only be good for the car.
I drive the 6.9 whenever I can, now that the engine runs well. I normally drive it long distances and even on unsealed roads occasionly.
It's not a daily driver though.
Tim
Mine's a daily driver, 40km/day.
I.
I drive my six cylinder '78 280SE every day, except when I'm out of town or sick in bed; she's never failed me, not once. I change oil every 5-6K miles (Valvoline 20/50). She burns a little oil, though not more than should be expected, and I've never seen a spot of oil or coolant on the driveway (152K miles now). I dread the rare drive I have to make in my wife's Camry (although the a/c in the Camry is far superior).
Hemersam
Dallas, Texas, USA
P.S. Now that I'm online, I pose a question: I have to buy new tires pretty soon (replacing the Pirellis) and am looking at Maxxis Escapade, Hankook Optimo, or Toyo Versado, both of which are highly rated by Consumers Reports magazine. What do you guys think (e.g., are Michelins really worth all that extra money?).
I did use my 450 as a daily driver earlier in the year, but a heap of travel and the wife's preference to use her car have meant the Benz has often sat for a month at a time without being driven. I was putting about 50+kms a day on it, at the moment I'd be lucky to put that much a month. I get it serviced every six to eight months, which will usually involve some level of "serious" work as well as the basics. Last service that was replacing a good portion of the front suspension bits that wear, this time it's going to the lower control arm bushings and some attention to the transmission.
Hemersam - I went with the Toyos (although I don't think they were marketed as Versado, but that could be a US/Aussie thing) and have been very pleased with them. They handle well, are nice and stiff, have a good amount of grip but seem to be pretty hard wearing. They look good too - they're a plain tyre without a lot of the "designs" that seem to plague the cheaper brands. They certainly don't look as great as the XWXs, but I doubt I'd notice the handling differences and at less than a quarter of the price it wasn't really a decision!
Matt.
FLutes: thanks for the reply on tires. If you still have Toyos on your car and have the time, could you go to Toyotires.com and see if the tread pattern, etc., for their "Versado" tire on their website is the same as yours. Appreciate it if you can.
Hemersam
Definitely a different tyre. Mine (after some searching) seems to be sold as a Toyo 330 here - it was the only good tyre I could find in a 205/70x14. The tread pattern is similar, but not quite the same, the Versado has four channels, the 330 has 3. I can't find an exact match on the Toyo US site but the Versado is probably the most similar.
My 1979 300SD was my daily driver for 2 years before I sold it. I started driving my 1980 300SD a couple of weeks ago and it is now my daily driver. The transmission is iffy but hopefully it will hang in there. It's got at least 300,000 miles on it (odometer stopped working a while back). I still think the W116 is the most comfortable car I have ever driven.
My old 280SEL served me through the first year of Uni till i dropped my hours at work and could not afford the fuel (round trip was 110klm) ended up riding on those other type of Big Mercedes with a chauffeur ::)
When the AC on the 450 SEL was fixed she was given a good daily driver experience between the Wheatbelt and Busselton 400klm + drive and it was excellent, even with the outside temp in the high 30s (Celsius) or even higher there was no stopping her (certainly stopped more modern brands though ;D
A great daily driver when the need arises, sheer pleasure to drive.
Oil changed at 10,000klm (Valvoline Plus 20-50) and plugs at 20,000klm (NGK BP6ES), AC to be re gassed before this Christmas by a very helpful Shire worker ;)
Tyres used are Federals that are made in China, OK but need to watch for pressure loss on very hot days over a week, pretty good performance for the price but dream of fitting Michelin (best tyres i have ever owned in the distant past)
My 280 gets driven daily, generally about 50kms, sometimes up to 200. Its a lot nicer to drive than any newer car I can use...
Chris
My 280SE sees daily use. My brother in law lives with us and he takes it around town to school and work. We swap between this and my 560SEL. When I have the 116 I drive it about 60 miles a day roundtrip to work. I garage it in the winter though because there is quite a bit of rust forming that would absolutely destroy the car once the New York salt hit it.
would/want/trying to.. but car proving a bit unreliable at present (1976 W116 350SE Euro, with intermitant strange heistatinon when warm)....
but when fixed i will defentatly will.
wow this is great to see. it makes me want to get mine back on the road daily. i was driving it a couple days ago, and its just the most comfortable, sturdy car I have. and i don't know why im not driving it more often. there are a few issues i want to get straightened out on it, but i think this thread has motivated me to get her back in tip top shape! I'm literally driving about 300miles a week. and it would be nice the 116 help out .
I drive the 450 a few times a week, but have stopped recently because I discovered a head gasket leak. It is very, very minor and is only affecting one cylinder... but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
I'm planning on doing the chain and gasket sometime in the next few weeks. I am taking most of the top end off, so I will decide then based on what I find if I want to start the EFI conversion now or not.
But... I do wish I was driving it to school every day. I walk past it to get into the Dodge Dakota Quad cab... just isn't the same in the truck.
My 280SE had been my daily driver since 1997, continuously, apart from a 2-year folly with a W140 in 2006-7. Mileage is now indicated at 481000km.
I use the car for daily home-work-home in traffic, all my runarounds to industrial areas that I do for my car activities and day-job, I use it for long distance family holiday trips, I use it for long distance business travel, I use it on bad gravel roads for safaris, I transport building materials in it, and , oh, I even used it as my wedding car in 2004.
Quote from: s class on 13 October 2010, 07:23 AM
My 280SE had been my daily driver since 1997, continuously, apart from a 2-year folly with a W140 in 2006-7. Mileage is now indicated at 481000km.
I use the car for daily home-work-home in traffic, all my runarounds to industrial areas that I do for my car activities and day-job, I use it for long distance family holiday trips, I use it for long distance business travel, I use it on bad gravel roads for safaris, I transport building materials in it, and , oh, I even used it as my wedding car in 2004.
Are you going to open a bottle of champagne when it ticks over the 500,000k's mark ? 8)
I probably won't open champagne, but I will open the engine.... my goal is to reach the 500 000km mark before the next engine rebuild. The engine is a bit weak at the moment.
Yep my 280 is a daily driver and I love it. There is a late model diesel Peugeot parked next to it, not a bad car and now and then I grab the keys to that one but it only ends up reminding me how much I love the Benz. The Pug has really become the wifes car (or the car when we need to stick the dog in the back of a wagon) and she has always had the fear of it being such a big car, and it is a manual trans. But the Pug decided to throw its oil filler cap away and it took a week to get one in from the dealer and so I drove the 113 while the wife took the 116. Was getting a bit nervous when she said things like "its not as big as I thought and its pretty easy to park etc........... but I suppose I could always buy her another one! But it is all just transport to her and she is happy back in the Pug. And I forgot to say mine is on a straight lpg conversion, runs perfectly and so cheap to run.
And of course saying all this it will start having trouble.... touchwood...... touchwood......wheres some wood!
Mine's a "daily" driver but since I live 9 miles from work and only work 15 days a month I only put around 3500 miles a year on it.
Michael
I certainly do, in and around town and out of town which the old girl appreciates ! :)
After selling the 500SEC last Xmas, the 6.9 is the only car I drive. I don't drive much as there's the motorbike and bicycle but every so often it gets a lot of use within town and without. Mileage is now coming up to 79K.
Been drivin my 74' 450 SE since I got it, and I love it! It's such a pleasant, nice car to drive. I came from drivin my moms '98 E320 daily, and I honestly prefer the W116. I'll still take the W210 every so often because it gets better mileage, and I like havin the ABS in the rain. Still though, I find the S-class just so much cooler to drive. It feels so solid. And even without ABS it stops really well. The AC blows cold, it's just an amazing car that I'm happy to drive every morning. Honestly, I'd be happy just keepin this car and refreshing it as needed.
Yes my 300SD is my daily driver up here on the B.C. coast... he's got just over 435,000 km on him now and runs very well. Front suspension needs some work and windshield and back window leak but not terribly.
He's my truck and does everything i ask. Just finishing up the garage so he'll have a home where i can get to work on him when i have the necessary time and funds...
My current daily is an 87 230TE (M102) with 410'000 km on the clock but its a bit underpowered for my liking, When I picked up my 450SE I drove it for a few weeks daily and put a few thousand km on the clock but some issues forced me back to the wagon for now.
That said Ive given up on new cars and im spending my cash on making the 2 Benz's better daily drivers and that is what they will stay.
Cheers.
Tony