Vintage Diesels Could Rack Up One Million Miles

I have to say that Japanese and domestic auto manufacturers have been building cheap reliable diesels (both cars and trucks) for years. The problem isn't the manufacturers - it's the EPA regulations that block US diesels. Ford and Toyota have well-documented quality diesels in use around the world, but most people in the USA won't pay the extra $3000 (or more) for a diesel version of their favorite vehicle. For good reason too - diesel fuel is more expensive in the USA than gasoline...and that's because oil companies don't have a very good market for diesel (because no one's buying them).

It's a catch 22, and it all points back to the EPA. If only our environmental policies were a little smarter...we could have diesel cars and trucks that got better fuel economy and produced fewer greenhouse gases. We could also enjoy million mile engines.

— tundrahq (View Profile)

Posted on 1/5/2009 12:58:24 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

My father use to have a 1985 300 Turbo Diesel. The thing was not only build like a tank it was great on mileage. The door shut more solid than any car to date, no joke. My S550 doesn't have that solid sound the old S-class had. Sure it didn't have the most horsepower but it was enough torque to get you around.

— Agent63 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 8:54:38 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Detroit needs to Go Diesel so Americans can reduce thier maintenance costs on vehicles and reduce our consumption of goods.

Buying a new car every 24 months was an il-concieved idea in consumerism.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 2:33:47 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

It would be so much cheaper for Detroit to drop Diesel Motors into cars insted of spending all this crazy money on R&D to create a better battery.

Enough already.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 2:35:15 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

I was able to get 250K miles out of a Ford Aerostar by changing the Oil every 3,000 Miles. Imagine the longevity one could get from a Diesel Powered Car.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 2:36:23 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

I had Man Diesels on the Cruise Ship I worked on.

Those V-10 Motors were a work of Art. The Germans overbuild everything and those German Diesels are made for every possible scenario you could throw at it.

Those German Engineers smile when you overwork thier stuff and push things to the limit, because they know that they build things not to fail, no matter what.

— mercuryguy (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 2:40:16 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I got a slight bit nostalgic when I came across this piece.

My grandfather had a 70's 300 diesel in ORANGE, which lasted somewhere between 350 - 500,000 miles. The odometer broke after approx. 350,000 miles.

— richardposluszny (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 2:52:07 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Many gas stations are beginning to offer diesel.

I believe many Shell stations are offering their diesel fuel now.

— richardposluszny (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 3:21:51 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

In my area, diesel is available but the thing is that it can be only used in 2007+ newer cars.

— Htay7500 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 4:07:35 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Most all pumps down here (TX) offer diesel. I've never seen a place that doesn't.

And Htay, you have that backwards, the low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) is for use in 2007+ but it can be used in *any* diesel. The incompatibility is using the older diesel in a 2007+ car. Read the sticker again next time you're at the pump.

— jeffy210 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 9:34:24 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

"Vintage Diesels Could Rack Up One Million Miles"

Tell me something I don't know.

— Htay7500 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 4:06:21 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

there are many gas powered cars with 300k 500k, if you read the article and not just the headline the guy is hoping for a million miles and he only has about 170k on his dieael and i have seen gas engines with 300k. this story is not really a story at all.

— 1UAW (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 5:29:37 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

have you heard of a buick 3800 v6? and 170k is not a "significant" amount of miles as stated in the story. My 1999 Cadilac Deville has 200K. As the article mentions he is hoping for a million miles and only has acheived about 170K from his cars. It also dose not state if the engines have been rebuilt or not. Good article and good motors but not great.

— 1UAW (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 6:26:02 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Impressive but one of my friends had a Mercedes-Benz 190E with a petrol 2.3 and that made it well past 500K.

— kpaxx (View Profile)

Posted on 1/4/2009 8:20:44 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

my fathers skoda octavia, 1.9 VW TDI, 360.000 km on the clock. Turbo changed 1x, air sensor changed 1x, clutch should be changed in my opinion soon (my father refuses to acknowledge that), rear suspension changed.

otherwise 0.

— andraz (View Profile)

Posted on 1/5/2009 8:00:00 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Nice article, but I feel a little let down.
I wonder if the NYT writer even bother to ask what kind of fuel economy he was averaging in his vehicles?

— Bored (View Profile)

Posted on 1/5/2009 9:44:16 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

A lot of Mercedes' gasoline-powered cars also rack up a lot of mileage. There's a magazine I have at home about a guy in Singapore who has a 1985 230E, one of the last, with already over 1.4 million kilometers on the odometer - original engine, transmission etc. He claims all he does is change the oil and maintain the car like the instruction manual says he should. I must have posted this on GCZ a long time ago and I won't be home for awhile so I can't re-scan it.

Also, there are two guys in my town in Germany that are both owners older Mercedes', well one of them is. The older Benz is a 560SE with over 600,000 km on it. This guy runs a wood business and he uses this old W126 S-Class to principally venture into Eastern Europe. Not sure what year his W126 is.

The other guy has a more recent W210 E-Class, an E230 4-cylinder, possibly a 1996 or 1997 model with over 500,000 km on it. He's also got a 5-speed manual in it.

My dads 2002 Mercedes E320 Avantgarde recently broke the 100,000 km barrier. It's at 100,583 km right now and still running strong. Never had any problems with it. Sold my '85 300SE W126 to my neighbor. It only had 171,000 km+ on the odometer - barely broken in.

— Wimmer (View Profile)

Posted on 1/5/2009 10:04:19 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Hey Wimmer! Not surprised you posted on this thread!!
Why'd you sell the 300SE??

IMO, this was Mercedes at its peak - design, construction, image. I'd love to get one of these

— Hachee2001 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/5/2009 12:05:49 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Wimmer, generally I only come here to see what's happening , but don't post too often. It's a good place to click and find news/pics easily, but the downside is the usually ridiculous comments section (apologies to the few individuals who are the exception to the rule).

I'll have to check out carspin.net (I think I did a while ago, but I'll do so again). What's GCZ?

— Hachee2001 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/5/2009 3:01:31 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1