2005 Honda Jazz 1.3L M/T vs. 1988 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbo A/T (W124 Body)

[drey]

Reliability: 2 y.o. old vs. almost 20 y.o.
Performance:
Durability of Materials:
Ride:
Fuel Economy:
Parts & Maintenance:
Nationwide Availability of Parts:
Presence:

etc.

[niky]

Reliability: One question... does the 300D still run?

Performance: Probably even. Jazz steers better, but the Benz has a great suspension. The Benz can cruise at 160+ km/h all day, doesn't feel as fidgety as the Jazz at high speeds.

Durability: The 300D is a very durable car, but you have to consider the current condition. The dashboard and some of the door trims may have cracked or become brittle in the past two decades. That's the price you pay for soft interior trim... The suspension is relatively robust, but again, consider what condition it's in now.

Ride: No contest... the 300D feels like it's riding on a lake of oil... very smooth.

Fuel Economy: Wasn't the one buying diesel back then, so I don't really know. But the Jazz will be more economical.

Parts & Maintenance: difficult for the Benz... there are quite a few places specializing in Benzes, but I don't know where, we haven't had to go to any of them for quite a while. Honda Jazz, ok lang, but some parts aren't so common, which means they'll cost a bit. If you have major engine problems on the Benz, get ready to shell out megabucks.

Nationwide Availability: Benz? DHL... Honda? Depends on which island you're on.

Presence: Benz, FTW. But you'll have to spend a lot to get it to a condition at which it'll turn heads. A beat-up Benz just isn't impressive, IMHO.

[mbeige]

Reliability: Brand new Honda is reliable, definitely, but a Benz is just as reliable too if properly maintained. You're comparing a new versus a used car, but a used Benz will never let you down unless there's something wrong that has not been taken care of. Give it a good PPI (prepurchase inspection). The w124 body is very reliable, the om603 300D engine is a strong one but be careful about overheating it - as it has an aluminum head w/ iron block. The aluminum head can be risky if you're not keen on the temp gauge.

Performance: I'd go with the Benz, because here performance and comfort go hand in hand in the Benz. The Jazz will have the advantage of a newer suspension setup but you must know the w124 pioneered the multi-link rear suspension, something the Jazz can only cry about with its torsion beam rear suspension and front MacPherson struts. The Benz feels stable, confident, planted even at speed while the Jazz becomes fidgety and nervous. The 1.3L Jazz engine will be screaming at that speed too while the Benz with its double firewall will cruise along much quieter. Again, this also boils down to current condition.

Durability of Materials: I'd go with the Benz too. We have a w124 and it looks and still feels great after all these years. The Jazz, on the other hand, looks great but it's still brand new so give it two decades' worth of use. So this part can be deemed relative. Just keep in mind that previous ownership and abuse can take its toll on the parts. If you're to fix a Benz, always always go with OE MB parts especially the critical components such as brakes, motor mounts, door seals, bushings, etc - that way you can't go wrong. Aftermarket parts tend to usually be subpar quality to OE MB parts from my experience.

Ride: Benz seats are great but your 1988 specimen will not have the electric adjustments yet. Those came in 1990 I believe, we have them on our 300TE and it's so great it's flexible and comfortable. Almost limitless variations. Truly a step up from the w123. However, I have no experience with manual seat adjustments of the w124 maybe Ronw123w124 knows better here. However, I'd still go with the Benz because the Benz seats are sprung and hence, can dampen the ride even more than the foam-only Jazz seats.

One thing the Japanese cars will never have is tilting headrests. The Benzes had these since the 1960's and is very comfortable when cruising on the highway. It's not too comfortable to induce sleep but enough to be relaxing. The rear seats have fold away headrests too at the touch of a button.

Fuel Economy: Here's where relativity comes into play once more. The Jazz really is a thrifty car, but the diesel is just as efficient. The only thing the Jazz has over the Benz is its size, for its displacement and technology, it's surely ahead of the Benz but for what the Benz had back in the 1980's, it's surely still advanced for its time.

Parts & Maintenance: New cars don't usually need a lot of parts but Benz parts abound quite a bit too. Delodur, Ricky Chua, etc - these are some of the shops mentioned in the MBCP (www.mbcp.tk) threads. They may cost a bit more for the same generation of Japanese car parts, but they almost always last longer than the Japanese parts and are built much better. The 1988 did not have a lot of electrical problems so it's still a solid platform to begin with. The electrical problems of MB started in 1993.

However that OM603 engine has the crossflow intake manifold design that's hard to DIY if you're changing glow plugs, checking the throttle linkages, etc all because the good stuff are covered by it. Other than that if you don't mind taking it off to check the rest it should be good. Most of the interior bits are not as solid as w123 interior bits but are not hard to come by either.

Nationwide Availability of Parts: Diesel fuel filters are a must when traveling long distances, so rack up on those and get a good bunch with gloves and some basic tools if you need to replace a filter (due to bad/dirty fuel - after all it's diesel). The Honda might not be that kind due to it being newer but being a brand new car it should not pose much of a problem.

Presence: Definitely the Benz here.

Follow Niky's advice too when it comes to current condition - that's completely true of all used cars in comparison to newer ones. However, I must tell you that it gets addicting trying to find period-correct parts and accessories for the Benz. You've been warned

[ronw123w124]

Sorry but I'm biased here, the 300D W124 is one very reliable and super durable car, I can attest to this as I myself own a W123 and a W124 Benz. Maintenance wise, I don't really know the cost of upkeep for a Jazz. But the cost is comparable to maintaining a Honda Civic VTEC 1 (of course barring fuel costs), although I must admit that when I owned the Civic it was casa maintained as opposed to the Benz which I bring to a Mercedes specialist shop which is luckily just infront our office. I guess one reason that maintenance cost are almost the same is that the shop owner and I have become good friends. Lets just say that certain wear and tear parts would cost twice as expenive for the Benz compared to your run-of-the-mill Japanese sedan but the same part for the Benz usually lasts about three times longer than the one on the Japanese car. Parts for Benz are easily obtainable in Metro Manila, you just have to know the shops that carry Mercedes parts. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said outside of Metro Manila.

[ronw123w124]

Reliability:

Ride: Benz seats are great but your 1988 specimen will not have the electric adjustments yet. Those came in 1990 I believe, we have them on our 300TE and it's so great it's flexible and comfortable. Almost limitless variations. Truly a step up from the w123. However, I have no experience with manual seat adjustments of the w124 maybe Ronw123w124 knows better here. However, I'd still go with the Benz because the Benz seats are sprung and hence, can dampen the ride even more than the foam-only Jazz seats.

Sorry guys, but my seats are also powered.

[mbeige]

Sorry guys, but my seats are also powered.

That goes to show I still need to brush up on my w124 history. Thanks for the correction and I'm glad to know '88 models already had them.

[Mguy]

I don't know.

These two cars resides on two different spectrums. One is a 2 year old eco-car designed for practical and frugal people with not that much money to burn while the other is a 20 year old luxurious car, elegant and sturdy, powerful and was not really designed for the masses.

If you could answer the question na "Ano ba kailangan mo?" or the other question na "Ano ba gusto mo?", I guess that will do.

Being a practical person, I'll go for the Jazz and just drool over the MB.

[vinj]

Practicality-wise, i'd go for the Jazz. But of course one's heart and desires will long for the MB. I test drove a 300TE TD earlier this year and it was one good performer. Really nice to hit the highway with this car... the acceleration "feel" can be likened to a jet in take-off.

[ronw123w124]

That goes to show I still need to brush up on my w124 history. Thanks for the correction and I'm glad to know '88 models already had them.

I think U.S cars except for the 260E comes with power seats as standard, BTW, mine is a '92 300E 2.6.

[Flagg]

Forget the MB, boss. Marami na yang sira. It's only the prestige which has any worth... and this is gone once it starts spewing black smoke.

It can't be helped... ganun talaga diesel natin. Industrial grade lang.