Seeing the 2.8 badge on the right side of the trunk of this 300E threw me for a moment. Is this a European gray market import? Did someone replace the 2.6 badge with a 2.8? Nope; it’s a genuine US market car, but only sold for one model year, in 1992. It featured a 2.8 liter version of the fairly new DOHC M104 six, as a lower price alternative to the “real” 300E, which now had a 3.2 L version of that same engine.
It was followed in 1993 with another one-year only model, the E280, when the nomenclature reversed, with the E (now officially the “E Class”) coming first. And by 1994, the 2.8 had been dropped in the US E Class, replaced effectively by the new C Class C280.
As to the condition of this one-year wonder, it looks like it’s out of commission; the dreaded biodegradable wiring, perhaps? But there’s a W123 300D in the driveway looking hale and hearty.
Prior to 1992 and this 300E 2.8, there had been the 300E 2.6 as a decontented version. I’m not exactly sure what all the differences were other than the smaller engines other than power seats. But mostly it gave Mercedes a way to increase sales volumes by selling a car with less prestige value. We all know that it didn’t actually cost less to build an otherwise identical engine with less displacement. This all goes for the 2.8 L version, of course.
But unlike the 2.6, which was a bit weak-chested with 158 hp, the DOHC 4-valve 2.8 had 194 hp, more than the previous 2-valve 3.0 L M103 six with 177 hp. Yes, the 3.2 had even more, with 217 hp, but the 2.8 was more than enough to motivate the fairly light and very aerodynamic W124, and upped its top speed to 143 mph (230 km/h).
I should point out that the 300E received the first version of the M104 starting in 1990, at least in the coupe and cabriolet version. This was a 3.0 L, the first DOHC 24 valve variant of the family. The later 2.8 and 3.2 L versions had variable valve timing, which resulted in better low engine speed torque. The 3.0 L m104 was a rather peaky “sport” engine.
Looking at this I can see it also didn’t have the little headlight wipers that the 300E was adorned with. This was the last year before the facelifted version with fairly revised “face” appeared in 1994.
Here’s what the 2.8 M104 looked like, from another car. It’s 24 valve DOHC head made it a physically significantly larger engine. The M104 developed a rep for eating head gaskets and of course has more advanced electronic engine controls, some of which can be challenging. The old SOHC M103 six is generally considered to be less fussy and easier for DIY repairs and maintenance. Then of course there’s the wiring issue; quite a few had their biodegradable wiring harness replaced under warranty, but not all.
The interior (also from another car) looks to be essentially identical to the “full” 300E. Mercedes had added more zebrano wood strips on the dash and door as the original W124 interior looked a bit sparse in that regard. Needless to say, interior materials were all top-notch. The seats were still the old-school spring and filling type; that would be changed soon enough. Some like them; others not. In a rather shocking bit of quality control lapse, the driver’s seat back in my first year 300E had terrible lumbar support, and I had to use a cushion to keep me from getting back pain after less than an hour. After several years in a rare occasion when Stephanie drove on a trip and I rode shotgun, I realized that the passenger seat was just fine in that regard; it was just a flaw in the driver’s seat.
I’ve written several lengthy paeans to my white 300E (links below). I used to have a visceral emotional reaction when I saw others on the streets for many years; that’s finally gone. It’s been 32 years since I sold mine; it was a very different chapter of my life. Little did I know then that I would become a shitbox driver, the very antithesis of the 300E.
There’s times I walk by nice sedans parked at the curb and I glance into their comfortable interiors and I have a pang of desire to sit in one again, cocooned in nice materials and ambiance, with a soft and quiet ride, all of which are utterly absent in all of my cars, except Stephanie’s TSX. But where am I going to ride in one? To go hiking, off a rough gravel forest road? To the hardware store and market, twelve blocks away? To my rentals, eight blocks away? Nah; it’s just not relevant to my lifestyle anymore. But thanks for the memories!
Related W124 CC reading:
Curbside Classic: Mercedes W124 (1985-1996 E-Class) The Best Car Of The Past Thirty Five Years by PN
CC Capsule: 1993 Mercedes-Benz 300E (W124) – The Greatest Mercedes Of All Time? by B. Saur
CC Capsule: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 300 TE – Still A Classy Alternative by B. Saur
COAL: 1992 Mercedes-Benz 400E – The Sleeper by Jim Klein
COAL: 1993 Mercedes Benz 300E – The End Of The Line For The German Way by Matt Spencer
Gotta love the Black Flag sticker.
The W124 and W123 for me are the best Mercedes ever made in terms of reliability, prestige and elegance.
Almost…
“I saw a Black Flag sticker on a Cadillac
A little voice inside my head said, “Don’t look back
You can never look back” — song lyric from The Boys of Summer by the Ataris (2003)
Just this past week I saw a similar vintage 300D – also a rare W124 version – and that got me thinking about others, namely the 2.6. But I’d forgotten about these 2.8s as well. Great find – there can’t be too many of these left, and unless I saw the badge, I wouldn’t even recognize it. At least the diesels had the front fender gills to help identify them.
While this car does look like its out of commission, it probably hasn’t been for too long. The license plate is a 2021 issue, and those Pacific Wonderland plates cost $100, so it’s rare to see one on a beater.
Excellent find. Cool to see on a Monday AM. The best styled cars, often have the cleanest marriage of lines. That they own.
What’s going on with the headlights? They look home made. Was this a US spec thing? These cars never had these headlights over here. It looks like there’s an early Ford Sierra peeping out of a Mercedes face.
Hey Ed !
As far as I know are these the original W124 US-spec beams. Even those for the early C-class (W201) looked similar.
Thanks Mr Midsommer. From memory we here in England land had composite light on these, a fog/spotlight in the inner third and main beam and dip in the outer two thirds. They filled up the aperture and looked better designed. For me the W123 will always be ‘the’ Mercedes of the eighties.
Back in 2002 or there about, I noticed a tan MB E class sitting on the street with a for sale sign in the window. I stopped and looked. It was mint both inside and out. I wrote down the info and called a few hours later. Long story short, that car was sitting in my garage a few days later. It was a local car that I had never seen and the older couple kept it like new
If memory is correct, it was a 1989 because I had a 1969 MB and a 1979 Cadillac Seville as well and recall thinking how funny that I had a 69, 79 and 89. Other than that, I can’t recall which model my 1989 was. Would it be a 300 E? Can’t even recall what the engine was, but think it was an inline 6 cyl. Would that be correct? Anyhow, it looked just like this white one but tan.
It would have been either a 300E or 300E 2.6.
Did you have it for a while? Did you like it?
Boy, I just can’t recall if it said just 300E or the 2.6 now. I’m stumped.
I had that one for about a year and decided to sell it (should never have). I like to play around with cars (older ones) and the grass is always greener on the other side of the highway. haha.
The old 1969 blue 280S was a fantastic base car. Light blue with dark blue BenzTex seats. Manual trans, Thermo King A/C and that was it. Not even a radio! I finally sold that one in 2008 because I was down to just one old car and driving the manual in the car club drives was kind of a pain. It went to a guy near Seattle (WA). I then picked up a 1987 Chrysler 5th Ave. as a quirky car for our club events.
IMO the ’60s and very early ’70s Benzes were M-Bs their best: modern cars with old world quality that slowly declined thereafter.
What’s the condition of the older, gold, “Benz” round the corner? Looks a somewhat “close quarters”, neighborhood.
The fault-prone wiring in these ’92-96 W124s wasn’t literally “biodegradable”. That term arose as a bit of snark and/or misunderstanding that others mistook literally and yet others then parroted, referring to new wiring insulation their supplier (Delphi) manufactured using a more eco-friendly chemistry process to comply with gov’t mandates.
Unfortunately, they didn’t do (or wasn’t time to do, with looming mandate deadlines) enough pre-production testing to find out the new insulation formula would eventually turn brittle with age and heat, causing it to crack/crumble leading to shorted circuits.
I’ve read it’s actually not that difficult to replace the engine wiring harness and throttle-body actuator wire, which apparently is the only affected segment. Just lay out the new harness alongside the old one, going down the length swapping over like-for-like connections one by one. Knowing this, one might score a poor-running but otherwise good-condition mid-’90s Benz for a song and replace the engine harness yourself. Most of these harnesses have already been replaced by now, so you might even score a replaced harness (there should be a tag on it with a manufacture date, and the insulation should still be pliable) off a salvage car for much cheaper than new.