4-matic

Author
Discussion

p490kvp

Original Poster:

728 posts

255 months

Tuesday 24th October 2006
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Anything to be careful of when buying a late 80's E300 4-matic?

bolide

579 posts

261 months

Tuesday 24th October 2006
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I don't think the 4-Matic system is reliable enough at this age to make the cars viable. It could easily cost more to fix the 4-Matic than it costs to buy the car

If you can find one that's been ramped & stamped and cherished by a couple of owners, and the 4-Matic works properly, then go for it. But be prepared to scrap the car (or revert to 2WD) if the 4-Matic fails. Otherwise I'd recommend getting a late E280 or E320 with ASD

Nick Froome
W124

telegraph-hill

2 posts

219 months

Tuesday 7th November 2006
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Hi there,
a 4matic is a fantastic car but as usual in UK and USA after the 5th owner nobody cares about maintanance any more and than you can get something we called a "maintenance jam". The 4 matic Verteilergetriebe (transfer case) the block which is fitted at the and of the auto-box is the most problematic and expensive thing on the car. Check that the car has Full history. Don't mint high mileage when the car is maintained because in this case the transfer case is changed at least once :-)

Check if the 4matic light is on in the dashoard. This means a fault. Be careful, some of the owners remove the warning light from the dashboard at all. Mopf0 cars (all cars bevore 1990 ) do have a hydraulic switch on the left side in the engine compartment. Look that this switch is not set to test. In this case the 4 matic is switched off.

On the other hand the 4matic cars are the best 4 wheel drive cars mercedes ever build. Cannot explain why because I do not have the right english vocabulary right now but in my opinion the car makes lot of fun especially in the winter on on mud.

If you need some more informations please let me know..

Cheers,
Oliver