High mileage in my old 124 estate

MB-tex · Aug 29, 2024

Hi all
Thought I'd share this image of my car the other day. 33 bazillion miles! And look at that oil pressure too. I couldn't have got here without some great help from MB club so thank you. I just drove the car to Berlin and back without a hiccup (or breakdown cover) and am hoping to keep going to 40 bazillion. Wish me luck. I'll be back on here shortly I'm sure with the next challenge to be solved.

Best summer wishes to all

Tom

tmwsccsh · Aug 29, 2024

Well done!

I got a jaguar x-type up to 388,000 before the sill rot took it.

Keep going!!!

TMW

Williamwoo · Aug 30, 2024

It's barely run in!!
Well done - mine's only on half that!

MikeInWimbledon · Aug 30, 2024

Great to hear. Magnificent motors !

MB-tex · Sep 1, 2024

tmwsccsh said:
Well done!

I got a jaguar x-type up to 388,000 before the sill rot took it.

Keep going!!!

TMW

Yes, I think it will be rust that kills the car eventually. Mechanically it seems to be in great shape.

Pontoneer · Sep 2, 2024

MB-tex said:
Hi all
Thought I'd share this image of my car the other day. 33 bazillion miles! And look at that oil pressure too. I couldn't have got here without some great help from MB club so thank you. I just drove the car to Berlin and back without a hiccup (or breakdown cover) and am hoping to keep going to 40 bazillion. Wish me luck. I'll be back on here shortly I'm sure with the next challenge to be solved.

Best summer wishes to all

Tom
View attachment 160546

You’re getting there .

Just another 140000 or so to catch up with my 300TE-24 which was on 470,000 when a woman smashed into it on my drive and wrote it off .

My current S124 E220 estate is just run in on 206,000

MB-tex · Sep 3, 2024

Pontoneer said:
You’re getting there .

Just another 140000 or so to catch up with my 300TE-24 which was on 470,000 when a woman smashed into it on my drive and wrote it off .

My current S124 E220 estate is just run in on 206,000

470,000!!! Was it still running as it should? And had it had any major engine work? I often wonder just how long these motors will last with just regular oil changes and general replacement of failed ancillaries...

Talking of failed ancillaries..I'm going to start another thread on my neutral safety switch shortly. So any neutral safety switch experts out there...

Justintyme · Sep 7, 2024

Pontoneer said:
You’re getting there .

Just another 140000 or so to catch up with my 300TE-24 which was on 470,000 when a woman smashed into it on my drive and wrote it off .

My current S124 E220 estate is just run in on 206,000

And that's a part of the problem. Not having seen the actual damage on your car, I can't comment on whether it was repairable or not, or was it based on insurance figures. To see a load of "scrappies" loaded high on a salvage truck, heading for the breaking yard, would make you cry, when you see the condition of them. Any cars, even the ones nowadays, if properly serviced, are capable of astronomical mileage.

Pontoneer · Sep 22, 2024

MB-tex said:
470,000!!! Was it still running as it should? And had it had any major engine work? I often wonder just how long these motors will last with just regular oil changes and general replacement of failed ancillaries...

Talking of failed ancillaries..I'm going to start another thread on my neutral safety switch shortly. So any neutral safety switch experts out there...

It was driving like a new car , yes it had an engine overhaul at 380,000 which included valves and a timing chain , there was a water pump somewhere in the history too . It was serviced on the dot by the main dealer up until I got it .

Pontoneer · Sep 22, 2024

Re the damage

Pontoneer · Sep 22, 2024

Justintyme said:
And that's a part of the problem. Not having seen the actual damage on your car, I can't comment on whether it was repairable or not, or was it based on insurance figures. To see a load of "scrappies" loaded high on a salvage truck, heading for the breaking yard, would make you cry, when you see the condition of them. Any cars, even the ones nowadays, if properly serviced, are capable of astronomical mileage.

I was looking for photos , originally posted via Photobucket , which is now defunkt .

The incident took place on 21st August 2006 , and given I don't have the images on any of my photo drives , I think may very well have been shot on 35mm film , so I will now need to search through my negative files ( all filed in ring binders , in chronologcal order , but first I need to find the box of binders ) ...

Suffice to say the car suffered a heavy impact to the nearside which impacted on the rear door and B pillar , deforming both significantly , lifting the car and shifting it 3 or 4 feet across my drive and slamming it into the wall of my house ( a 180 year old cottage with 3ft thick stone walls ) and significantly deforming the osr wing as well .

I never even considered repair costs since it was obvious that the car was so badly damaged that a new bodyshell would have been the only option . It was so bad , I wouldn't have wanted it back , so after notifying my insurer and getting the expected derisory offer , I broke the car myself as it was more valuable to me in parts than as a claim . I did go through the expected argument with the insurer re them claiming they would 'not allow' me tp keep my car , but I pointed out it was , in fact MY car , and not theirs to make decisions about , something that took some time to sink in with them . , and if I find the post crash ones , I will post them here .

I did find some pre-crash images

Pontoneer · Sep 22, 2024

I did find some pics of the 190E that was narrowly missed by the errant driver , and put back on the road . That car was bought as a stopgap after my first 300TE expired due to the failure of the ASD , an expensive and difficult to get hold of item , resulting in that car being sold for spares . The 190 was for sale on a driveway 1 mile down the road , for the bargain price of £300 , and it served me well for 3 years or so , with the rusty arches being repaired and the steel wheels being replaced with the correct , for a very early 190 , 14" 15 hole alloys , before eventually being upgraded to a 190E 2.6

The 300TE-24 came about a year after the 190 , and about 18 months before it met its demise . The 190 was just kept as a spare car at that point , and after the 300TE-24 was broken up , it was replaced by my W111 Fintail 220S

I don't suppose the story would be complete without a few pics of the Fintail as well , and the new wall we got built courtesy of the household insurance after that woman demolished the old one .

I couldn't resist buying that one as my dad had one from new in the early 60s and it brought back so many memories of my childhood . Alas the body repairs were beyond me due to extensive rust , but I'd acquired it as a cashless swap for another car , and it was passed on in the same way . Incidentally , it was the same size , length and width , as my 500SEL , also seen in some of the pics .

MikeInWimbledon · Sep 22, 2024

Pontoneer said:
I did find some pics of the 190E that was narrowly missed by the errant driver , and put back on the road . That car was bought as a stopgap after my first 300TE expired due to the failure of the ASD , an expensive and difficult to get hold of item , resulting in that car being sold for spares . The 190 was for sale on a driveway 1 mile down the road , for the bargain price of £300 , and it served me well for 3 years or so , with the rusty arches being repaired and the steel wheels being replaced with the correct , for a very early 190 , 14" 15 hole alloys , before eventually being upgraded to a 190E 2.6

The 300TE-24 came about a year after the 190 , and about 18 months before it met its demise . The 190 was just kept as a spare car at that point , and after the 300TE-24 was broken up , it was replaced by my W111 Fintail 220S
View attachment 161624 View attachment 161625 View attachment 161626

I don't suppose the story would be complete without a few pics of the Fintail as well , and the new wall we got built courtesy of the household insurance after that woman demolished the old one .

View attachment 161627 View attachment 161628 View attachment 161629 View attachment 161630 View attachment 161631 View attachment 161632 View attachment 161633

I couldn't resist buying that one as my dad had one from new in the early 60s and it brought back so many memories of my childhood . Alas the body repairs were beyond me due to extensive rust , but I'd acquired it as a cashless swap for another car , and it was passed on in the same way . Incidentally , it was the same size , length and width , as my 500SEL , also seen in some of the pics .

“Be still my beating heart….

And then you showed the Fintail…

Pontoneer · Sep 23, 2024

Found the pictures of the crash that wrote off the 300-24 , here they are .

As already stated , I wouldn't have wanted it repaired after that , even though the car still started and drove after that impact !

ChipChop · Sep 23, 2024

Poor s124. Killed by a dreary Toyota Corolla by the looks of it. Crying shame.

Your old B reg pre-facelift 190e would be just on the cusp of 40 year old historic status if it were still around too.

Great cars.

ChrisPDuck · Sep 23, 2024

Yikes. That's a sad way for a car to go - safely tucked up at home.

No sign of an airbag going off in the Toyota - was she ok? And it doesn't look like she slowed down much across the grass - is there a story there? Did she pass out perhaps?

AP211 · Sep 23, 2024

Definitely not worth the hassle to repair but considering the damage to the Corolla and the wall it held up well!

Pontoneer · Sep 23, 2024

Exactly a week after the above crash , this happened .

ChrisPDuck said:
Yikes. That's a sad way for a car to go - safely tucked up at home.

No sign of an airbag going off in the Toyota - was she ok? And it doesn't look like she slowed down much across the grass - is there a story there? Did she pass out perhaps?

She took out my neighbour's fence across the road , only a week after it had been replaced following a previous crash ! When I went outside she was sitting there dazed , so I called an ambulance for her.

After a while , the cops asked me for MY insurance , and before giving it to them I asked why , given that my car being parked up my own driveway , which is private property , it needn't be insured at all , and they replied that since the woman was uninsured , they had to give an insurer for the purpose of being billed for the ambulance !

Once her hubby turned up there was almost a punch up between the two of them ; and hubby kept going on about paying for my car , and asking if the other one was the 'spares car' - couldn't seem to grasp that both were tested and insured , although the 190 at the time wasn't taxed as I hadn't been using it , but it was taxed on the Monday morning as I then needed to use it again .

Pontoneer · Sep 23, 2024

The above happened on the 21 August , on the 26th , THIS happened

Pontoneer · Sep 23, 2024

And the result , my GF's Nissan written off 6 days later ! And another uninsured driver - this time a young girl driving daddy's car , which she wasn't insured for . Daddy came up and paid cash to cover the damage to Jan's Nissan .