Cheap w124 convertible

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ChipChop

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 5, 2020
Messages
4,487
Location
Newcastle
Car
S210 320cdi w201 190d 2.5
Very cheap. MOT history makes interesting reading.

 
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These cars are money pits at the best of times, he will be well shot of that; as I was of mine.
 
It doesn't help that the advert has tones of the classic "Now that I've found out how much it's going to cost to fix, I'm trying to get shot of it while pretending it's not that bad"
 
These cars are money pits at the best of times, he will be well shot of that; as I was of mine.
I am guessing there are lots of parts which are bespoke to this model which means dealer only so high costs?
 
To be fair the car doesn't look that bad, after all there are no mentions of body corrosion in the MOTs, but of course needs to be seen. For someone with a rusty bucket with a good engine it can be a cheap buy for engine transfer and a bit of DIY on suspension and brakes.
My problem is that I don't have u rusty bucket :)
 
I am guessing there are lots of parts which are bespoke to this model which means dealer only so high costs?

Worse, can’t get them, they also rust like hell, my friend broke one, listed £12k of parts and sold a goodly chunk of that very quickly.

They are lovely cars but do not match most peoples expectations of a W124
 
Probably an engine wiring harness issue
 
VERY very sad, I adore that model, and now, years too late, is one I would have taken on in a heartbeat, parts are about and they have a massive following, a genuine appreciating classic.
 
VERY very sad, I adore that model, and now, years too late, is one I would have taken on in a heartbeat, parts are about and they have a massive following, a genuine appreciating classic.
If this car was near to me i would have bought it. £3500 is about as low as you will ever get one with MOT.

Get it bought Martin 1 :thumb:
 
This seems a fair price. Must be ten grands worth when sorted. But you could easily chew through £5k on renovating it without trying. Suspect it’s one for the competent home mechanic (that rules me out)!
 
A bit more than £10k I think. Oh the tragedy of getting old. :wallbash:
 
Can anyone explain why these w124 convertibles rust so badly?
 
I think most old MBs rust tbh?
 
Can anyone explain why these w124 convertibles rust so badly?

The underseal on the bottom of the car traps water between it and the metal, and they rust away merrily unseen. They have a complex underbody (dirt and water traps) with many bungs (apparently the bungs cover holes that were used on the production line to move the car but I’m not sure it’s true) this allows water in too.

The paint is poor quality and when it chips it allows water in, and it rusts.

They leak too I reckon, which rots the floors out too.

I’ve had four of them over the years, starting 20 years ago, when they were young. Each one has rusted in the same places. The last one, which I sold last year, was a particular disaster of a car. There are many components that are currently unavailable, from rear side window glass to roof ECU and comfort relays. This makes ownership a daunting proposition, and expensive too when they go wrong.

In the U.K. these are not expensive cars, a 220 with over 200k will not be £10k plus, my 320 with 125k was less than £10k and was in decent condition with no faults. Things may change, but currently these are cars for those who feel lucky or have deep pockets.

These were my favourite cars of all time, Im glad I owned them, but for now I’m sticking to the older stuff.
 
The underseal on the bottom of the car traps water between it and the metal, and they rust away merrily unseen. They have a complex underbody (dirt and water traps) with many bungs (apparently the bungs cover holes that were used on the production line to move the car but I’m not sure it’s true) this allows water in too.

The paint is poor quality and when it chips it allows water in, and it rusts.

They leak too I reckon, which rots the floors out too.

I’ve had four of them over the years, starting 20 years ago, when they were young. Each one has rusted in the same places. The last one, which I sold last year, was a particular disaster of a car. There are many components that are currently unavailable, from rear side window glass to roof ECU and comfort relays. This makes ownership a daunting proposition, and expensive too when they go wrong.

In the U.K. these are not expensive cars, a 220 with over 200k will not be £10k plus, my 320 with 125k was less than £10k and was in decent condition with no faults. Things may change, but currently these are cars for those who feel lucky or have deep pockets.

These were my favourite cars of all time, Im glad I owned them, but for now I’m sticking to the older stuff.
Thanks for that info Ccaallvviinn. What a pity. They are such elegant cars.

On a positive note on a sunny bike ride today i saw a mint silver pre facelift CLK driving along with the top down.

That was a stunner as well and of course the bonus with CLK's is they cost bugger all.
 
The 208 is a real bargain, had one myself and whilst nowhere near as elegant as the 124 it is a safer bet, all parts readily available for now from breakers
 
I love my A209 CLK to bits -- and I don't care what it's worth, but I really would like a 124 rag top.
 
The underseal on the bottom of the car traps water between it and the metal, and they rust away merrily unseen. They have a complex underbody (dirt and water traps) with many bungs (apparently the bungs cover holes that were used on the production line to move the car but I’m not sure it’s true) this allows water in too.

The paint is poor quality and when it chips it allows water in, and it rusts.

They leak too I reckon, which rots the floors out too.

I’ve had four of them over the years, starting 20 years ago, when they were young. Each one has rusted in the same places. The last one, which I sold last year, was a particular disaster of a car. There are many components that are currently unavailable, from rear side window glass to roof ECU and comfort relays. This makes ownership a daunting proposition, and expensive too when they go wrong.

In the U.K. these are not expensive cars, a 220 with over 200k will not be £10k plus, my 320 with 125k was less than £10k and was in decent condition with no faults. Things may change, but currently these are cars for those who feel lucky or have deep pockets.

These were my favourite cars of all time, Im glad I owned them, but for now I’m sticking to the older stuff.

You've made me think twice before looking again :(
 
You've made me think twice before looking again :(

Go into it with your eyes open and be aware of what can be wrong with them and how much it costs to fix these issues.

My last one was a 320, it had had the engine ECU, coils, head gasket, wiring loom, one rear window (NLA) exhaust (cab specific) rust (and it wasn’t a rusty one), windscreen (straight forward you would think) attended to. It was fairly original body wise and had rust on every panel.

It has never been neglected and had a good deal of history and bills, it got to the point where I was scared to drive it for what would go wrong next.

I decided to sell it whilst everything was working and before something like the 5 speed auto, comfort relay, etc etc went wrong and it really really stung me.

I expect it’s been perfect for the guy that bought it from me.
 

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