Thank you Wizard for letting everyone know not to run away from older Mercedes-Benz vehicles. I caught the "Mercedes Bug" several years back when needing to buy a reliable vehicle "on the cheap" and saw that the 97 C230's that were just out of warranty were cheaper than the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry of the same year! Fast forward 8 years now and its it's got over 200K miles on it and zero major problems. Since then, I've added the GL450 Sport Wagon (all wheel drive SUV with the airmatic suspension) and most recently bought my wife the 2012 E550 Cabriolet with the Sport package which is a beast of a luxury convertible car!! Once you learn to tackle the maintenance, buy quality parts and fluids (Mercedes requires special coolant and transmission fluid for example or you'll literally blow a head gasket or your transmission) it ends up being a well engineered, reliable car that is the envy of the neighborhood!!

Theres a channel called MercedesSource .. they do literally TONNES of informative stuff about the 300D era mercs and general diesel engine tech

I like the car wizard he's much better than anyone else hes so calm and talks sence unlike scottty he actually gives you proper advice

Always a pleasure Wizard. Thanks for another great video and great learning experience!

Please do Audi for buy this, not that. Thank you!

Dear Car Wiiizard (as Tyler Hoover Would say) the better audio equipment in your videos has been a welcome upgrade the quality is much better Thanks for the Mercedes tips and tricks, keep em coming

Good video Wizard! I own a W124 & a W126. The number one thing that kills old Mercedes is dirty ground connections, it’s a lot of work but the key to reliability is cleaning up all the electrical grounds and connections + new fuses and as mentioned here replace those vacuum elbows. I find “Autohauz” pretty good for Benz parts.

I'd like to see an episode on Toyotas or Jeeps. Love those vehicles! Side note, the video and audio quality is great now just like your content! Definitely my favorite KZfaq channel by far! You the man Dave!

Still remember when people bought mercs for their reliability, damn Im old!

I remember once I had to pick up a replacement part for a customer's brand new (barely 200 mi on the car) SL500. It was just the wooden bezel that wrapped around the center stack and shifter. This was around 2005 when they had adopted the more rounded body style for the new models. I went to a dealership in South Atlanta, and that single piece was $1200. I was floored. I got the parts guy to give us the old industry discount, so it was $850 out the door. Still, I thought that was a ton of money, even if it was real wood with a beautiful lacquered finish. I wondered how long that white leather interior stayed clean in that car. Beautiful stitching and perforated leather, with like a high quality football pebble grain to it. I think that car was nicer inside than some lambos and ferraris from that era that I had been in.

thanks for the video, and the new camera is great! :)

I do not know how it is in the USA ... but in Germany you can read out the key on the newer CL for Service History.

4K & audio & content about cars 👍👍👍 sound effects on dashboards (superior)😅 overall rating (your the best wizard) Thank you for the great content

Car Wizard, I came across your video on the 2014 C300 and you are spot on. I spend maybe 2k-3ishk for service and this is twice a year because I do a lot of driving. I have a C300 with AWD and it's an 09 with right now just under 140k on the clock. The car has been reliable and I broke the bank once. Every repair has been under, at and maybe a little bit above the cars current value. Any service that the car needs other than what the repair book says is worth it.

You know that MB ML is well maintained.

The Mercedes museum in Stuttgart is really interesting, even if you aren’t a Mercedes fanboy. Really cool to see the history of the company and the automobile in general

Love you wizard! Thanks for all the info

The tips video was so enjoyable to watch. I learned a ton and loved the voiceover, "oops I'm sorry! I thought I was doing it right but I don't know why I stripped out that bolt!" 🤣

I just took delivery of my 2019 mercedes GLE 300. Awesome thing

Very appreciated, all your experiences! Up front pays dividends

English cars are well known for their solid electronics.

Got a W210 E55 and it has a lovely engine. Some problems you may encounter: (already said: window regulator, harmonic stabilizer, MAF-sensor, vacuum lines), door control units, valve cover gasket. They just tend to be run down a bit because they are so cheap nowadays... Any knucklehead can buy one of those things and have some fun with it, but come the first "big" repair, they just sell it again. When you get one for cheap, be prepared to invest at least half the purchase price into it to fix all those little issues. It will drive anyway, though, but if you want a very nice one you gotta put up with it.

New camera looks amazing - incredible quality

*Car Wizard! Thanks for answering my question about a 70s daily Benz* I don't like modern cars that much so my next daily is going to be a W123 240D. I hope to find a Combi/station for a decent price, then fixing it al up myself and then driving it until it or I die.

Thank you for the post.

5:35 That isn't the model he is talking about.... he is talking about the new one! Love your channel!

I just bought a Super Clean 2007 ML350, been loving it so far, My first Merc.

I have that exact same ML350 from 2011 and can also reaffirm it is an incredible car. Mine is up to 120k miles and it still drives like brand new with only minimal maintenance. I even changed the spark plugs myself and it was pretty simple, just took some time and elbow grease. These trucks were meant to run hard and you can tell every time you fire it up.

my father owned a 61 olds f85 with this 215 ci aluminum v8. his was a 3 speed manual. very light car, smooth ride great mileage good power.

Triumphs and Rovers are pretty common here in Australia... maybe not as much now but when I was younger I had plenty of friends that had versions of them, mainly the Triumph Stag.

I'm looking forward to watching those Triumph videos.

I had a 190 E loved it not fast but nice for long trips

Keen for the videos on the Triumph. We have these here in Australia too. I thought it was common knowledge the Rover V8 was a GM engine that Rover bought the rights to. Evidently not.

Great info buddy!

Hey Car Wizard! Great job on the video and audio. May I also ask politely if you can do a video on the Volkswagen brand?. Thanks!.

Great video. U are correct. When my ABC pump died it made a huge puddle on the garage floor.

What about the 124's - 1985 - 1997. These have the best reputation for quality and longevity, and, while they were more technically advanced than the 123's and 126's, they still have the enormous advantage of being the LAST of the Mercedes WITHOUT COMPUTERS. I bought a 1993 W124 300E in Colombia last year at 99,000 miles. I have now just about solved all the 30 yr old problems that it had and it is a great car. People can't believe that it's 30 years old.

Really love the TR7/8s my great uncle who passed a couple of years ago had a TR7 softtop (2.0 inline4) from new and at some point in the mid 80s he had a triumph specialist in Lancashire convert the car to a TR8 with a slightly breathed on Rover V8 and he drove it for the rest of his life, unfortunately we had to sell it when he had to go into a home as I had no space to keep it....

Hi from the UK! I had a TR7 convertible in the same colour. It burnt to the ground. The main loom caught fire.

I like to also use ECStuning for my Euro car parts. I have an Audi A4 Avant 5spd manual and a MB CLS63S.

I brought a keeper model,W201 190D 1992 2.5 Diesel,I was wanting a car for 20 plus year,done 10,enjoy fixing it,new shocks,and injector nozzles, ect ,solid slow car,remind me of my flat head Plymouth days.

I really like the car wizard's advise I find it very helpful

Mercedes was actually Gottlieb Daimler's daughter. Carl Benz only had sons, I think 2 or 3 of them (they went along with Berta Benz, his wife, on the first longer motor vehicle trip in the 1880s, which was around 100km).

in the 1990s a car magazine interviewed and took photos of a person car - he had an original Volkswagen Beetle and he put in not one but two 3.5 Rover engines (side by side in the rear of the car/back seat) then turbo changed them for drag racing .... the thing was the car was still road legal because it still has all the lights etc and insurance/MOT/Road tax etc on it and he did drive it around even to and from the track - but he normally only used one engine for that

Thank you Wizards. I looked over the vehicle and it had an oil leak, and some of electronics werent working properly.

The Buick engine was also used in the Rover P5B ( b for Buick ) in the late 60's. The Queen had one, and another was used as the Prime Minister's car for a time.

I think for the B clas thebU joint he is talking about is the steering knuckle u joint very common on Nissan and Ford but inHave replaces a few Mercedes ones or at least heated them up with propane torch and worked in some grease

Hearing about the sparks flying on that TR-8 took me back to high school when I had a '68 Barracuda convertible 318 4speed. I liked that car, beat the heck out of it but one day I was driving along and all of a sudden the car filled with smoke. I found the insulation had burnt off one wire under the dash from one side to the other. Never found out what it was for. The car started and everything seemed to work and never did anything about it. Go figure. I had bought the car around '74 for $175 for junk from a dealer with about 100,000 miles. Only thing wrong was driver door had been hit and some rear quarter damage. I had a friend who was going to BOCES for auto body and wanted to fix it, but I needed the car to get to work and ended up giving him door while I fixed rear quarter with the usual jack, hammer body filler. One time I was racing my friend with him in his '66 GTO nad we were reported as one guy in a GTO and the other, me in a red car with only one door, lol. Never heard anything about it, especially in such a small town. Thanks for sharing.

Great video, great cars

I'd love some advice for folks who want to do their own routine maintenance, like oil changes and winter wheel swaps. In particular, I'd love to know your advice on the best ways to get under modern cars safely. My old Saab was easy, you could practically just shove the jack under it anywhere and lift. The modern cars I've got only have the four lift points, which seems to eliminate jacking it onto jack stands. Any tricks? Any thoughts on four-point lifts that are suitable for folks handy enough for oil changes and sensor replacements, but who aren't into "I do my own engine swaps" territory?

Would love to see you do one of these for Lexus and BMW.

You've lost a lot of weight Wizard, looking good ! Well done man, keep it up ! 💪

How do you do the chip matching between the large parts. Up here in Canada only a dealer is allowed to do that. Frustrating.

I had a black on black 126… I loved that car. 300SE with custom exhaust (not diy). Surprisingly quick. But 1/4 to full throttle was the same, I couldn’t tune the CIS injection, even with a wideband. I miss that car but if I had kept it I would have torn my hair out. Also it had a slipping trans and crash damage on the front and rear.. maybe for the best even if I mis it

Another Amazing video Wizard!!!! Wish I lived closer, I'd give you a headache or 2 with my Mercedes 😂🤣😂 Pelican parts also has an amazing forum, particularly for diesels! Gotta watch out for that #14 (or was it #17?) Head on the 350's. Agree with you on the quality... I bought a w212 because it's the last, what I would consider, true looking Mercedes however, compared to the quality of my w123, hands down the quality just isn't there anymore...

More history of that small V8. After Rover bought it, a person in Michigan had purchased rights to it in the late 70's. He modified a number of Chevy Vegas with this mill and they were great! Light weight and v8 power! For just $1800!

Had a 2014 E350 and a 2016 C300 and both of them had creaks and squeaks from the plastic interior parts. Just sold a 2009 CLS 550 with airmatic suspension. The actual air shocks themselves were very expensive to replace. Good video wizard.

If you do another MB q&a, I would like to know your thoughts on a 2010 E350 4 Matic sedan (W212) pre-facelift. It’s got the M272 engine. About 10 months ago, I bought one with 41,000 miles. It had a good service history. I have not had one issue since I bought it.

OMG wow... this exact car (Gold TR8) was at my friends consignment car lot for sale about 5-6 years ago in Los Angeles! Small world! I also LOVE the ML, I would buy yours, but I already have one. :(

Can you do one about the Range Rover evoque. I just brought one because of the discovery video you made I like how it has a Ford eco-boost engine and something that I feel comfortable maintaining

Confirm the relay package is there. If you click through and search that list Amazon gives you, there is a kit with just 2 manual breakers of those are all you need.

I love the SL500 (300?) In the background

Loving the TR7. Yes I know it's an 8 but basically it's a TR7 which was sold in the UK with a 4 cylinder engine. Towards the end of its production lifetime they had the bright idea of putting the Buick/Rover V8 in it and changing the model name to TR8.

Do a video on comparing older big 4 door sedans. town car, 740il, etc

9:30 Perhaps he is talking about the steering shaft u joint? If you spray it and it gets easier, well there's your problem.

I own a 126 300SD 1983. It is built like a tank! I love working on this car. I get many parts from lkq junk yard! Pelican parts, Rock Auto. There are thousands made and imported here in the states, and many are in junk yards! I love the 5 cylinder inline turbo diesel!

Great microphone. Much improved

Ah the old Rover V8, use to be everywhere, SD1 Police cars, Army Land Rovers, Sherpa vans, Sports cars. You name it they used it, there getting pretty rare these days. I had a 3.9 in a Range Rover Classic made a nice noise and plenty of power. It worked perfectly for the first 100K miles but after that all hell broke loose, the head gaskets failed and shortly after that the oil pump failed, ended up doing an LS swap.....

The Lexus LX hydraulic suspension is bullet proof. LX’s cruising around with 300k miles with the original setup. Saw an early model 470 parked in the low position today while parked. Still working.

Can you do this for Ford products? Or consider a live Q and A sometime!

Wizard, love the content! Which Benz diesel is better ML350 or ML250?

My 1976 TR7 caught fire under the dash. I had to strip out the wire harness and replace a load of burnt wires. What caused it i never knew, but in the US it was quite common. We weren't allowed to know why back in the UK.

Lucas prince of darkness.... Good luck with the TR8. They are actually great cars. Parts are so easy and cheep to get. Well they are hear in the UK....

If I am not mistaken, GM tried to buy the engine back at one point but Rover wasn't selling. I think it was a Buick engine, if memory is correct. Probably a decent engine.

3.5L is HIGHLY modified from its original form. Friend of mine had an Olds F-85 with the 215 and my goodness was it gutless.

Had 2 new German MB's....NEVER again. Switched to Lexus and glad I did. But I don't go to Lexus dealers for service.

C300 AWD blows the front diff and needs a new trans around 80-100k

Lmao. He said a lot of cursing involved. That was good

Car wizard, these are lovely and well appreciated videos you put out for us. Extremely educating. Well I have a problem coming to a conclusion on getting either the 2008 ML350 or 2010 ML350. I sincerely need your opinion and advice on this as it would aid my decision making. And a couple of reasons for your selection, please... Thanks a lot Car Wizard...

I will say after working on and E46 and E90 BMW's and an E83 I can say that working on my in laws 03 C240 4matic has been pretty easy/simple in comparison. Mercedes-Benz cars also seem better built - where as BMW and Audi use plastics everywhere (valve covers e.t.c.) this Mercedes had aluminum valve covers and was real easy to do a valve cover gasket job ... no stupid PCV placement or oil traps don't have to completely remove the main wiring harness that routes through both ends of the vehicle. Newer BMW's are just Junk riding on a Badge name (nothing more than fashion statement) don't care how much power they make or how fast they can go.

I own a 2000 E55 AMG. Look out for rust otherwise it's a solid car. Also own a 1977 450SL, fairly straight forward car. Between the two I'm $22,000 all in the past five years (purchase, maintenance and repair). I would recommend these cars.

I am a serious "do it yourself" mechanic. I enjoy it and have done it for decades. I am not afraid to spend money if needed, however a genuine Mercedes Star diagnostic system is beyond what I am willing to pay. Since I own many Mercedes, mostly early ML's (163,164), what bi-directional diagnostic equipment would you recommend I look at for less than 3,000 (or so). Thank you Mr. Wizard.

Love you, you are a great guy 😉

Great audio/video now.

You can build a Triumph TR8 from parts at Rimmer Bros in England. Lucas electrics, the accident waiting to happen!

If you need parts for the triumph, try rimmerbros

Thanks for videos Mr. Wizard! Q: do you have to take the heads off to do the valve stem seals on 2002 Mercedes S430 (M113 engine)?? oil getting into spark plugs :(

please make a video on what you need to know before you are working on air suspensions

What about the steering shaft ujoint, I know that quite a few front wheel drive vehicles have them. I'm not sure about an A class however since I live in North America.

Sit in a 2020 G wagon or 2019 S class...the quality is not going down lol. The base level cars for the brand on the other hand... a class, c class etc it for sure is.

lol that spit fire actually spit fire

I had 2 Triumph TR7s. I loved these cars. Just as a broke kid(22), they were a bit pricey. Parts before the internet were insanely expensive. Always wanted the TR8, 30 years later I still like them. Got the money, but too busy. 😢

That's so weird. I was looking at that car thinking, *_"I wonder if that's my old TR8?"_* But no. I sold a Pharaoh Gold 1981 TR8 to a guy who owned a Oklahoma City Electrical Parts shop in 2012. At the time it was the lowest mileage TR8 in the world. I also owned a 1980 TR8. It was my daily for 8 years. There's a part of the ignition system inside the distributor that gets hot & causes the engine to shut off. It starts again when it cools, but most TR8's have had this part replaced with aftermarket ignition systems. A design problem with TR7 & 8's is there's no depression in the monocoque for the wiring bundle. Over time it chafes against the carpet and you get shorts. This was a design oversight which was to be addressed in the next refresh.

I just bought a 2000 w202 c230 kompressor and I absolutely love this car . It is well built and was well maintained and is in excellent condition

Any thoughts on the Audi Allroad C6 Wizard? Thanks.

Get a new harness from Rimmers, they're cheap and easy to fit.

AMATEUR QUESTION please : Why would a harmonic balancer need to be replaced ? Is this not just a fixed weight/ dimension item ? What wears out ?

So in the end, go for an old car, go for the W 123! If you can find a decent rust-free one. If you need a car, whatever brand, go for an old one. Is that progress?

ahhhh that crisp 4k

The amp gauge is jacked up is my guess