Older Mercs... anyone drive one?

Mr Benevolent

I've developed a bit of a hankering for the W124 coupe and similar, they just look so purposeful and elegant without being overly curvy. Seem to be fairly reliable too, if a touch heavy on the go-juice. I'd post this in Classic Cars but the W124 isn't really a classic yet. I will buy one at some stage in the next five years, but I'm curious if anyone has one and what they think of it? Oh yeah, and the W220 S Class is nice too, if a bit of an electronic nightmare. Now that I think about it, does anyone have an older AMG?

vectra

I dont have one but always imagined having a 190E Cossie as a keeper.:cool:

Hal1

They are still a good looking car, I always fancied owning one some day.

weeder

jaysus hope you havent seen the scangermobile thread :pac::pac::pac:

quenching

I own this 190E, 1984 with 35k miles, looks and drives like it left the showroom yesterday...



And have just recently bought this W124 estate E220, with 200k+ miles as I needed something with 7 seats, nowhere near as perfect as the 190 but still miles better than the majority of modern cars, last forever and usually simple and cheap to fix. There's probably more of the coupes around now than the estate as they tend to be looked after better. I've looked at several coupes over the years in small "independent dealers" and the vast majority were overpriced junk. Take your time finding a good one and buy it when you find it rather than needing one now and buying from the selection of whats available at that time. Most will have been imported from the UK so check VERY carefully for rust, particularly the front wing area and jacking points.

vectra

They were the 190 Evo11
Wouldnt say no to one though :pac:

This is the model i was on about

Seweryn

Confab wrote: »

I've developed a bit of a hankering for the W124 coupe and similar, they just look so purposeful and elegant without being overly curvy. Seem to be fairly reliable too, if a touch heavy on the go-juice. I'd post this in Classic Cars but the W124 isn't really a classic yet. I will buy one at some stage in the next five years, but I'm curious if anyone has one and what they think of it?

At the moment I drive both - an S124 250TD Estate and a W201 190D. Fine cars with superb build quality, very reliable, economical (the 190D returns 50 mpg on average, the estate would do 40-45 mpg) and very easy and cheap to service (no cam belt). The 190 has covered 335k km, the Estate 435k and both running great without major problems. The Wagon is the one to buy if you carry any sort of stuff - it has on board loading capacity of 650kg (self leveling suspension is standard) plus you can pull a heavy trailer if you wish. Photos below...




Good Luck with your research.

Anan1

I used to own a 320E with the 5spd auto. It was a great car, and with an unusually good specification - essentially the interior of a 500E. One black mark is that it was a right PITA finding traction out of wet junctions.

I had a W124 for a few months last year, ex taxi 230000 miles on the clock (may have been clocked really as that's not too bad for a 1992). Was very simple to work on really, I wouldn't be too handy but I got her through the NCT without too much trouble, ABS had a few things not right that took me a while to sort but it was quite do able after finding a friendly Merc forum. Savage comfortable cars, they really soak up bumps in an unbelievable fashion. I believe the 2.2 in some of the Coupes wasn't the best Merc engine but I may be wrong on that. Biggest problem with the Coupe is the price, folks ask looney money for them. I paid €430 for this, admittedly needing tires, TLC and NCT and a good clean.



If there is anything majorly wrong with any you look at it should be obvious, when they are right they seem perfect to drive. As said look carefully for rust.

Seweryn

RoverJames wrote: »

...Savage comfortable cars, they really soak up bumps in an unbelievable fashion. I believe the 2.2 in some of the Coupes wasn't the best Merc engine but I may be wrong on that.

They are lovely to drive, especially on bad roads...
As for the E220 - the 2.2 M111 Engine is actually one of the best petrol engines they made. It is well engineered, powerful, reliable, economical and with some modifications it was manufactured for many years after.

vectra

RoverJames wrote: »

I paid €430 for this, admittedly needing tires, TLC and NCT and a good clean.

Now that was a bargain :eek:

vectra

vectra wrote: »

Now that was a bargain :eek:

I thought so too, but after a few evenings after work trying to fix the ABS etc I was undecided. Took about €400 to get her to NCT standard, most of that was the cost of 3 tires though, and €90 for an overvoltage protection relay. Sold her 3 months after buying her but she will go forever I reckon, very slow though, 2.5 nasp.

I must put up some pics of my latest motor at the weekend.

vectra

RoverJames wrote: »

I thought so too, but after a few evenings after work trying to fix the ABS etc I was undecided. Took about €400 to get her to NCT standard, most of that was the cost of 3 tires though, and €90 for an overvoltage protection relay. Sold her 3 months after buying her but she will go forever I reckon, very slow though, 2.5 nasp.

I must put up some pics of my latest motor at the weekend.

Still though.. Nice car for a grand

peasant

While the W124 / S124 was one of the last "properly engineered" Mercedes cars, they aren't faultless either.

Corrosion can be and is an issue on many of them. Notorical black spots are the jacking points (rot often goes unseen for years due to the cladding), the bottom of the C-pillar (often terminal chassis rot at this point) and in the estates the frame of the rear windows leaks, allowing sometimes huge amounts of water in, rotting the whole back of the car from the bottom up and from the inside out. Bythe time the rust is spotted it is often too late.

vectra

vectra wrote: »

Still though.. Nice car for a grand

Indeed Or €700 for the chap I sold her to, although she developed a fault a week before I sold it, vacuum line that shut off the fuel pump broke so she wouldn't stop off the key. Dropped the asking price to €700 for a quick 100% honest sale.

Mine had a bit of rust at the bottom of the boot door (that was the worst of it), some around the rear windscreen (tiny blisters) and some on the front wing. All hacking points etc were sound and even the NCT chap commented that she was perfect underneath. If I was keeping her a good boot door would have been in order, if I found a black one.

mike65

I'm getting nostaglic

shawnee

Yeah those 124s are exceptional. My friend who is major into mercs and has driven them all reckons that they are the most comfortable and the best. I like the coupe myself but with family the two door is not that suitable, also they would like the juice so one should be prepared for that. Have settled on a 123 coupe myself as a classic.:D

biko

I've been looking at this one for a while as a project car.
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/1134575

How can you not love it?

choo choo man

biko wrote: »

I've been looking at this one for a while as a project car.
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/1134575

How can you not love it?

That steering wheel would have to Go ! Manual too

mickdw

I am tempted to look for an early 70s w114 coupe. They really do look well now.

dirtydiesel

Recently spotted a 500sel which has been parked up for 2 years, the boot is rotten as are the arches, has a 2.5d engine fitted and it still starts, was considering buying it for a restro project but its in need of too much tlc.
Amazing spec for an old car, even has electric headrests.
Big fan of old mercs, great cars.

shawnee

That estate looks ok but would have to drive it to see how well the conversion was done. Again , I would nearly always go for an auto box when buying a merc, however at the money it's certainly worth a look.;)

ShadowHearth

well i had clk200 00' and i loved it. thought ask anyone and they will tell that real mercs are up to 96 year, after that merc took a huge dive with quality...

i personally would love an cl500 ( 96ishish)...

unkel

Nice cars up there

I'd love to own a W126 500 SE(L). I might even consider swapping my 928 for a 30 year old one