240D for 200 mile daily commute?
 

Hi guys,

Looks like I may, for a time, need to commute 100 miles each way to work and home. That would be a 200 mile daily commute. This will likely go on for a number of months, possibly a year.

As seen in my signature, I do have an excellent condition 240D 4-speed, with right around 138K miles. I personally think she'll be fine to do this, at least for a while.

So... should I start racking the miles on the old girl, or do you have other suggestions?

Thanks,

Packman

Your geographical location is not posted so we have no way of accertaining what kind of weather conditions you drive in. These cars are also approaching antique status so that should also be considered.

If you have a genuine 138k mile 4 speed 616 engined car it in a way is a shame to run tons of milage on it in this fashion. There are cheap cars around that could do this service and even get much better fuel milage in the process.

The 240d will do current highway speeds but it really lets you know it is doing it. This might prove tiring over constant distances.

I have done fair distance commutes in my early years to work. Cost of fuel time and wear and tear involved. I might stay in the area through the week and go home on weekends.

Your car should manage what you propose it just may not be the best solution in my opinion.

I agree with Barry's comments and will add that you need to be realistic about the reliability factor. You are essentially saying you will put 48k onto the car in one year.

Even if the car is extremely reliable, something will go wrong from time to time. Entering this equation is the time you will have available for DIY, the availability of a known and reliable shop to do work if necessary, waits for parts, etc.

Further complicating that would be if the problem occurs 100 miles away at your workplace. Then the shop question is x2.

Need to ask yourself if, after spending 1000 miles a week in the car, if you will really look forward to being obliged to spend your day(s) off wrenching on it, should the situation arise (you won't necessarily be able to 'live with' minor things that come up, as much doing that mileage).

Personally I would suggest you find a used Accord or Camry and bang the miles onto that. If something does go wrong, easy to get parts fast and they are a known quantity that any shop will take on. Then a reasonably easy sell once the year is over.

Then your 240d gets to remain pristine :D.

You'll be fine, and I might add that you'll do as fine as I do when driving my E300 over-the-road. I routinely log 500-750 mile days with no trouble at all in mine. The fuel economy an old car like that puts out is amazing for it's age, and I arrive refreshed and relaxed after a day on the road in it. The ergonomic seating is just what your body needs for distance driving too.

Having had one 220D and two 240Ds in our family all do 200K or over on mostly highway driving, (the last 240D did over 375K) I don't know why some ppl would tell you not to do so when it's a piece of cake driving these cars at highway speeds for long distances.

Happy dieseling!

I agree!

Just make sure you've done the normal repairs before commuting. Valve adjustment, oil change, fuel filter change. Check hoses, primer pump, engine mounts, glow plugs. Then just do a visual inspection before you leave to go home. Diesels are meant to be driving, they suffer more ware going back and forth to the grocery store then going 100+ miles a day.

Personally I would get a 5-10 year old Honda for a commuter car and preserve the 240D. Your car can handle the commute without issues but if it is pristine I wouldn't want to mess that up.

I love 240ds but they will never have a high collector value. I would not hesitate to use one regularly. Once they are sorted there is not that much to go wrong. Just fix and repair as needed without putting things off and you should be fine.

When I drove one on the highway regularly I kept my speed to about 72 mph. Above that gets pretty noisy.

A swap to a 354 diff would help a bit but if you plan much town driving it will get tiresome having to be prudent on the clutch on takeoff.

As long as you are not in the rust belt, run and maintain the old girl! These cars were meant to be driven, not to sit in a garage waiting for the weekend! Service is fairly easy because there is little to go wrong. Things like a door seal, re-gluing the dash wood, or linkage lubrication are all small things that you can do to the car in the evening. It is also highly rewarding! Fuel mileage is not half bad for a 30-year-old car and power is adequate. The only thing that will truly kill the car is rust, so keep off the salt!

When I worked in W113's and W198's, I used to take a bunch of injector pumps to Pacific Fuel Injector, one of the best experts in the US. Gus, the venerable German immigrant who owned the shop, always insisted that injector pumps gum up and deteriorate when a Mercedes sits for too long. Keep your IP healthy! :D

Move Closer
 

Or get a cheap apartment next door to work and go home for the weekends. I wouldn't want to do 200 miles a day of commuting in anything. However, if I had to, a W123 would be among my top choices.

Edit: Assuming 25 mpg and $4/gal fuel, a 200 mile round trip commute will cost $32 a day, five days a week, 4.3 weeks a month. That's $688 a month just in fuel. You can almost certainly rent a cheap apartment or spend the work week in a cheap hotel for less cost.

I can't imagine 3-4 hours on the road, Every day. We live about 150 miles from our work and get home on weekends.Still plenty stressful.

A nicer Honda or TOyota might be 10 grand. Ouch...

We have 2 cars and a van. Usually drive either my 86 vw or my 85 Merc. Occasionally take our newer Econoline but it only gets about 3000 miles a year.

Skippy has the answer- that would be my suggestion also.

And his wife might actually be happy to see him when he gets home! :D