A 5 year plus rested 300 ce help please.

[Tony Rice]

I have the opportunity to purchase a 300 ce gold paintwork with cream leather, not sure of age or mileage yet , it is sitting on a neighbours drive and has been for more than 5 years, he is asking £500 as he feels that the supposed private plate has a value of £200.
I havent tinkered with old cars for donkey's so would kindly ask a few questions in the hope that you guys on here can advise me.
I can see externally the bodywork looks in very good shape, it has a cracked screen and will require new tyres all round.
What should I do before I stick a battery on it and try to fire it up?
What should I be looking for ?
I was told that the gearbox would probably be emulsified and that it is very expensive to drain and refill.
So many questions to ask but I guess first and foremost I need your assitance.

 

[grober]

Almost certainly need work before it will run. Most cars like that have not been "decommissioned" properly . Usually they have developed a fault that has put them off the road and they have been left to quietly degrade. First thing to determine is why the car was laid up- this may need to be solved before the car will even run!! The main problem may be dodgy fuel which may have partly evaporated gumming up parts of the fuel injection system-- I would certainly start with fresh fuel after draining any old stuff. you might still have to strip and clean the fuel distributor body for example. The gearbox fluid will be fine unless its been contaminated by a dodgy radiator heat exchanger and wrecked the box [ one good candidate for a car layup perhaps ??] On the other hand the brake fluid is deliquescent and should be renewed[[ but that's well down the list of priorities] First priority try to get the engine running- I would insist on that before thinking of buying . Non runners are a huge lottery as there are so many things you can't check out.

 

[bolide]

If he feels the plate is worth £200 I'd suggest he puts the plate on retention and sell you the car for £300

He won't do this because the car needs an MOT to remove the plate. The car won't be economic to MOT so the value of the plate is zero

Frankly if a W124 has been sitting outside for 5 years I'd walk away

Nick Froome

 

[BTB 500]

Not an expert on these but I think a cracked screen can indicate rust in the pillar(s).

Good advice from Grober above, if it's been standing in the open for 5 years I would also factor in a full set of tyres. Wouldn't trust the ones on it.

 

[GP801]

I would suggest you are doing him a favour by taking it away. If the screen is delaminating it could herald all sorts of horrors in the A- pillars and across the bulkhead.

 

[Tony Rice]

I would suggest you are doing him a favour by taking it away. If the screen is delaminating it could herald all sorts of horrors in the A- pillars and across the bulkhead.

Hi gp801, Thanks for your advice, I guess I am hoping that the screen crack is due to temperature issues rather than A-pillars and bulk head problems. Could you give me some guidance as to what and where to look for these such issues.
I have spoken to the fella and had a better exterior look at the car it was last running 4 years ago as was being used as a daily commute until he got a company car, it is parked outside his mothers house opposite where I live. It had an mot and no known issues, its done 100k and is very good internally, externally ( and from only having a brief look under at the cills, rear wings bottom of doors it looks sound . Apart from the two front wings that have got severe rust on the arches at the front , so I know I would be looking at changing those.
I need advice to make sure that my heart doesn't rule my head, as I think it looks bloody lovely, cheers Tony.

 

[Tony Rice]

Hi bolide, why would you think that it would be uneconomic to get through an mot ?

 

[GP801]

Front wings are no problem. Bolt off/on. Pattern parts are cheap - maybe £50 per side. MB ones pricey but fit better. There are repair sections for the rear arches if needed. Have a look at the jacking points and if you can the rear subframe mounts as these can rot.
For the A -pillars lift the trim either side of the screen. Serious corrosion should then be visible. If there is any bubbling on the A-pillar around the trim then walk away. It is probably rotten. 124s are of an age where delamination can be just age or due to more serious problems.
Gearbox fluid/filters around £150-170 from a good indie.
Mechanically they are strong but there are bound to be some issues after such a long lay up.
Hope that helps

 

[bolide]

Hi bolide, why would you think that it would be uneconomic to get through an mot ?

Because if was economic he'd have done it and sold the plate

5 years of sitting - don't bother. It'll be as rotten as a pear

Nick Froome

 

[Tony Rice]

Hi, gp801,
I have looked at the a pillars and there isn't any visible corrosion or bubbling, I think the screen has cracked through other reasons other than delamination.Thanks for your assistance.

 

[Deleted member 11979]

I have had many cars with the in line 6 cylinder engine, and to be honest they are very strong. Not every car is laid up because it is broken, and I find that if you drain the fuel and put on a good battery these cars generally start if they did when they were left there. I would take a good look at the ignition components and replace as necessary. The gearboxes are pretty strong, and as previous posters said cheap to replace. Rust is the issue. If there is no rust under the headlamps on the inner wings then the rest of the car is "probably" fine (look under the washer bottle). Mechanical parts for these cars and cheap and plentiful, and if well looked after, a 100k mile example has plenty of life left.

I have a 210k mile 1990 300CE that drives beautifully. Please ignore people that suggest only low mileage W124s are worthy of saving as this really isn't the case. They take plenty of abuse, and hide it well, but both mine have over 200k on the clock and were well used and looked after by the previous long terms onwers and the cars are a bargain.

However, I paid £486 for my 300CE, and it had an MOT - BUT needed 1 new front wing and 2 new rear arches, so £500 might be strong, especially for a gold one.

Save it, you will be glad you did, and stuff the purists / concourse queens!

 

[GP801]

When you describe the colour as gold do you mean smoke silver? In my opinion thats a good colour but there was another colour that looked more like gold and that's not so classy. Just my view but could affect the value. Can't remember the precise name of the colour.
I would agree mechanically very strong. Our estate has 140000 on the clock. It's hardly run in and can cover 1000 miles in a day with no problem.
If you plan to use it everyday just bear in mind they like to drink unleaded.

 

[219]

The other Colour was Champagne Gold metallic , which was carried over from the W123 series .

As with others , delamination does not always point to rust - it happened when the cars were current , the theory then being that it was due to stress placed on the glass since they were the earliest bonded windscreens . My 300TE had delamination in the bottom left corner of the screen when the car was less than three years old !

After five years sitting you will , at a minimum , need new tyres and all fluids flushed and replaced ; also pay attention to other perishable components such as coolant hoses and the poly drive belt . There is a vacuum breather hose under the air filter which is prone to split and crack - this can stop the car running altogether . Also check the brakes carefully , look particularly at flexible hoses and calipers for any signs of splitting / leaks under pressure - you will need to flush and change the fluid anyway . Expect the discs to be rusted - they may clean up with use but may need replaced - genuine ATE ones from ECP are not expensive - handbrake mech may also be seized but this is simple mechanical stuff .

The M103 is known to eat dizzy caps as often as every 30K and sometimes prone to oil leaks at the front end of the cambox ; CHG can sometimes give trouble too .

As already mentioned check for rust - inner wings behind headlamps , rear subframe mounts , front wings are cosmetic but commonly rust - you can sometimes get good ones from breakers .

Fuel and brake pipes corrode under the car , towards the back ; if you have SLS these pipes corrode too - parts cheap enough but a lot of work to replace .

The upside is that the cars are good for many thousands of miles my 300TE was on 200K when I sold it after the ASD diff went and it was uneconomic to put a new one in at upwards of £1K with no used ones to be found ; my 24 valve replacement got to 430K before being written off when hit by an uninsured driver .

124's are great cars .