A helpful dealer mechanic once told me "If you really enjoy this,you'll soon be out-of-luck--New cars are hooked up to the Dealer PC right to a giant BENZ computer"
So my question is: WHAT IS THE NEWEST (OLD)MERCEDES BENZ CAR (DIESEL) I CAN BUY AND STILL FIX/MAINTAIN/EVEN REBUILD ENGINE IF I HAVE TO. Someone has said stop around 1990.
&*()#$! I wish they were all like my 83 240D--maybe I should go out and buy 5 or 6 of them.

the majority of electrical related problems are with the sensors. Since driving CWP's (cars with puters) I have YET to ever have the actual puter go out. It is usually either sensor problems or wiring. Including other vehicles over the past 10 years the only thing that took me awhile to troubleshoot was the "ignitor" and that was on a Mazda. I find the mechanical maintenance items kinda/sorta fun.

Jim
'95 E320
'97 CRV

I think the "you can't work on a modern car" thing is vastly overstated.
I can remember people saying that about my 1980 BMW 320i, with CIS injection. It was impossible to work on because it didn't have carbs.
People said the same thing about Motronics when it first came out, "the computer controls everything, you can't work on it."
Of course, shadetrees work on those (now) primitive cars all the time.
My view is this: An internal combustion engine is an internal combustion engine. The only thing that has changed, and not even that much, is the injection system. Sure, a lot of the injection parameters are increasingly controlled by computers, but its all the same basic principles. The reality is that the basics really have not changed.
Now, it often takes a while for scanners, code readers, good manuals, etc. to trickle down to the shadetrees, but it eventually happens. So, is it possible for the average guy to do a lot of work on a 2000 MB? Probably not. Will it be possible 6 years from now? I think so.
I've looked over my '01 C240 pretty closely, and have reviewed as much tech stuff as possible. It does have gadgets, but it generally doesn't seem that complex. I plan on keeping it 15 years, and plan on doing all of the maintance and repair work on it once the warranty/service runs out. If I have to buy special tools or code readers, I'll do it.
(that is just my opinion, admittedly based on past BMW ownership, not MB ownership. I think maybe more "DIY" stuff is made for BMWs, for some reason).

Brian K,

Couldn't agree with you more!!! Code readers will eventually be available for cars equiped with the new OBD III? Computers. It didn't take long before they had the code readers for the OBD I and OBD II cars. II being better since you get more information capabilities. I enjoy the fact that the computer does the work, showing you exactly where the problem(s) exist. Computers controlling radio controls, phone capabilities etc... on the other hand.......


Can I get some feedback on my comments from techs?

__________________
1989 300CE - 269,000 km
1994 SL600 - 59,000 km