Hove calling! W124! Over …

[grahamperrin]

My driving history in a nutshell – my memory of the details is fuzzy (I'm not sure about the order of things, or dates) but here goes …

• randomly, a 1965 Hillman Super Minx saloon caught my eye not long after I moved to Brighton … before that I had no plan to become a driver, but I fell in love with the classic, bought it for maybe £600 and that was my incentive to learn to drive; I soon passed
• a white Ford Cortina estate, my first automatic, I imagined that it would be economical but soon realised that it was no cheaper than the Hillman at MOT time … some trouble with the brakes, then the smoking engine was beyond economical repair and that's probably when I let it go
• a 1967 Hillman Super Minx estate, modified by a previous owner to have (amongst other things) overdrive with a gearbox from a Humber Sceptre and so on … fun to drive, but the mods led to occasional puzzles over spares and repairs – standard exhaust pipes not fitting, and so on
• one or both of the Hillmans had head gasket replacements, the engine compartments were so spacious that I could sit on the wing with my legs under the bonnet, ha ha
• in 2004 I got a 1986 230TE automatic, in July 2007 the estimated cost to get it through an MOT was beyond my budget so I planned to sell it at low cost
• a Ford Granada Mark III, top-of-the-range Scorpio, estate, automatic, more features than the 230TE, better bodywork, generally fine to drive
• after a month of driving the Granada, I realised that the 230TE was old, tatty and costly to repair but (newsflash!) much more luxurious than a Ford, so I decided to keep the Merc
• 230TE back on the road in October 2007
• 230TE went off road in April 2008, only because the road tax expired
• back to using the Ford (memories of this time are particularly fuzzy – I guess that the Ford had been taxed and insured but parked up unused for months)
• then £400 to fix the power steering on the Ford (had I not learnt my lesson from the Cortina?), very shortly after that the head gasket blew and I toyed with the idea of getting it fixed – trying to kid myself that the £400 hadn't been a total waste – I sought quotes from maybe three garages but none of them offered to do to the work because it's reportedly a pig of a job (compare with the genuine fun of changing gaskets on 1960s Hillmans)
• somewhere in the midst of all this the insurance on the off-road 230TE was approaching its expiry date so again I aimed to sell it at low cost (it looked quite beautiful after I ceased to treat it as a practical runaround, began recognising it as a luxury) but ultimately around October 2008 it was scrapped – heartbreaking to see something so loveable disappearing down the road on the back of a tow truck
• somewhere in the midst of all this I couldn't get a buyer (newsflash!) for the Granada Scorpio, so off that went on the back of another tow truck, the day of a friend's funeral and whilst I wasn't sorry to see the car go (the loss was only financial) it wasn't until the driver pulled away that I remembered the £90 worth of fuel in the tank … suddenly the £50 in my hand seemed even worse of a deal … what a time of misery, ha ha
• somehow in the midst of all that, a G-reg Mazda 323, £100 in August 2008, it felt very sporty and modern (compared to the 230TE) but after a few months the head gasket blew, or I blew the gasket – I suspect that after the robustness of the Merc, I had simply thrashed the Mazda (at £100, I could afford to)
• late 2008, around £750 on a 300TE automatic – a little more modern than the 230TE but somehow, not as luxurious
• after maybe three years, a relatively massive spend on something for the back axle plus replacement of a fluid pipe (self-levelling suspension) that nearby Mercedes-Benz of Brighton found difficult to source – if I recall correctly the eventual solution was a custom pipe from a specialist in Worthing
• then maybe two years with delightfully little required to get the 300TE through MOTs – I was, still am, very pleased with the earlier Mercedes-Benz (Portslade) advice to get the axle and other work done
• this year around springtime the 300TE became more than springy in tandem with springtime, but before long it was ludicrously bouncy … eventually the novelty wore off and I accepted that the rear suspension was probably on its way out (there had been an advisory for the coil springs on two past MOTs)
• taking into account the amount I would have to spend to get the 300TE really comfortable again (sunroof, air con, an electric window motor and maybe many more small things) I simply began looking for another car
• en route to my first viewing I missed a turning on the M23, found myself heading for the M25 with no chance of reaching the showroom in time so I took the opportunity to give the car a longish run (most of my everyday driving is very leisurely, 20 MPH around town)
• the next day I realised that the bounciness had gone, a little alarming at first but then I realised that it felt pretty much the same as my older 230TE, which had been without self-levelling suspension
• a glance underneath the 300TE revealed fluid leaking from a pipe (probably the custom one; the brake fluid was and is fine) so then a 'phone call to someone reassured me that being without self-levelling suspension need not be a safety concern.

So now, again, I'm slowly looking for something to follow on from the 300TE. No rush – the MOT is good until November 2014, and so on.

I find it unexpectedly amusing to look back over the years, to throw together the points above without digging through paperwork. A somewhat chaotic history, and I have never looked back on it as a whole so I'm glad to put together this introduction – but sorry for other readers that it's so long!

Now I recall other episodes – like, I continued to drive (and top up the clutch fluid tank of) the modified Super Minx Estate for a long time after the bell housing cracked – but I'll save those stories for another day/year …

Cheers
Graham

 

[steviebabes]

Not a bad vehicle history for someone who wasn't bothered about learning to drive!

Oh, and welcome aboard by the way!

 

[jamesfuller]

Welcome to the forum. Many cars look more luxurious than the older Mercedes, its spending some long hours driving them that shows how good they are compared to the rest though. Turns out a lot of luxury features are just gimmicks to sell cars.

 

[Hartzpartz]

Your memory appears to be okay to me! If you want a solid, over engineered, rust-free Merc, perhaps you should buy my R129 500SL?
Have fun on this great forum!

 

[grahamperrin]

Cross reference

… perhaps you should buy my R129 500SL? …

Thanks!

That's gorgeous, I'd be dizzy with pleasure for a while but for the long term, I'm after something quite different:

• estate buying advice (W123, W124, W210, W211), auto diesel preferred

Side note: that plea for advice is also at Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums – normally I shouldn't cross-post, but this type of plea from me should a rarity (hopefully no more than once every five years or decade) – is that OK? Steer me to a sticky if needed.

 

[grahamperrin]

300TE escapade in 2010

Somewhere near Mile Oak Farm in Portslade.

Things look quite lovely from a distance. At a glance, the first photograph is vaguely continental and brochure-like.

For a truer picture, zoom in to the second …

:fail

 

[219]

The problem with the SLS on your 300TE was that one or both of the spheres had burst , allowing the nitrogen gas to escape .

All W123 and W124 estates have SLS as standard , but it works completely unobtrusively .

The main faults are rotting hydraulic pipes , in the area of the rear suspension , burst spheres and sticking/seized level control valves . The struts and pumps tend to be reliable , unless the system is run dry which destroys the pumps . On the six cylinder cars you have a tandem pump which also runs power steering and is very expensive to replace if you run the SLS side dry ( ask how I know this ) .

 

[grahamperrin]

The problem with the SLS on your 300TE was that one or both of the spheres had burst , allowing the nitrogen gas to escape …

Thanks – I aim to have a local garage give it the once over before the end of the month. For now that 300TE is off road at a friend's house …

… and I'm enjoying the E280 that I purchased yesterday, driven home around an hour ago

 

[grahamperrin]

… For now that 300TE is off road at a friend's house …

Off-road but still MOT'd taxed and insured and I took it for a spin and a quick wash last weekend. Started fine, as one would expect

----

It's recently for sale but I have only fifteen posts (not the thirty required for an ad in the appropriate area, and I don't intend to post for no special reason) …*does it break the rules to mention it being up for sale? (Can I steer people in the general direction of the ad?) Mods: just delete this post if I'm out of order. Thanks.

 

[grahamperrin]

300TE sold

I sold the 300TE two days ago, Sunday, after featuring the advertisement on Gumtree.

A few points that may be worth noting, for anyone else who finds themselves in a similar situation:

• one person seemed to be interested only if it had a tow bar
• for a few hours, someone from out of town was chomping at the bit to buy it for export, pleading to not let it go to anyone else
• that person put things off from Saturday to Sunday, but ultimately he didn't reply to texts or calls, so I re-contacted other people who had shown an interest
• from that second contact, I sold it to a local self-employed dealer who hopes to do something with it other than scrap (I was less interested in the money, more keen for someone to get enjoyment out of driving it).

Whilst I was waiting for the buyer, another dealer (someone who lives where the car was parked) asked about it. He's a regular exporter. For him the defining thing was petrol; its price has risen (e.g. in the Gambia) so he was focused on diesel alone.

 

[Diane Gollop]

We are letting our 1994 E280 estate 7 seater go shortly in lieu of some holiday camper perhaps. All the hydraulics have been replaced already. So when I get to 30 posts I will probably be selling my old girl. She will only go to a very dedicated discerning buyer.

 

[TomsAmg]

Hi, welcome , lovely part of the world that

 

[Diane Gollop]

was that for me or him. I am guessing him!!!!!

 

[grahamperrin]

Fast forward five years.

Your memory appears to be okay to me!

Unfortunately not! For the past … I don't know how long, I've been telling myself (and other people) that I previously had just one S124.

Today I stumbled across my 2014 potted history and realised, there were two. Moments in time:

• https://goo.gl/photos/oeMVRzEDPCUi1YtD7 (2007), 1986 230 TE with a memorable red leather interior
  
• https://photos.app.goo.gl/LMN7bwSDpjUqDt8o7 (2010), 1988 300 TE.

Very similar exteriors but now I recall, the 300 TE had a blue leather interior.

Rewind to 2007: realistically the 21-year-old 230 TE had rusted beyond economical repair, but I was gutted when it went for scrap. It seems that my 2014 memory of selling the 300 TE was later mashed up with the gut sadness about the earlier loss and eventually, in my mind, there became Just One Lovely Old Merc.

Also forgotten, rediscovered today: Low budget S124 (300TE) total cost of ownership: reflections | Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums (2014).

Since 2014 the 2000 E 280 Elegance has been fine, practical. MOT pass last week, following a fail for corrosion (offside front inner wheel arch, sorted for just £160 after two earlier quotes that were more than four times as expensive). During the fortnight before the retest I began looking at possible replacements, whittled down to two:

1. back to an S124 auto, preferably a diesel
2. forward to a W251 R Class, preferably a diesel, probably a long wheelbase (long enough to sleep in; I'm not sure whether the same would be true of the standard wheelbase).

Retro is most appealing. Two days ago I test drove a 1996 (Phase III) E 300 diesel. Reading the advice there (BenzWorld.org) alongside a 2014 topic here: estate buying advice (W123, W124, W210, W211), auto diesel preferred. tl;dr the E 300 is probably solid enough, but its interior is functional more than beautiful (compared to the red leather that I had twelve years ago, the photo album above). On one hand:

• I'm prepared to pay more than three times as much as this E 300, for an S124 that's more glamorous.

On the other hand:

• I know that S124 auto diesels are now quite rare, so part of me wants to rush at the E 300 opportunity.

Modern is slightly less appealing but I do like the look of the R Class. I have yet to see a W251 in real life, for now there's this: Ballpark UK costs to deal with CV joint noise | Mercedes-Benz Forum and re: other possible problems, I keep an open mind.

 

[grahamperrin]

Two days ago I test drove a 1996 (Phase III) E 300 diesel.

Sorry, the link there was broken. Instead: E 300 diesel estate – S124 – 1996 | Mercedes-Benz Forum

 

[WOODYTHEWISE]

Sorry....