• The Forums are now open to new registrations, adverts are also being de-tuned.

Looking at poss buying an E320 Coupe??

Bishy

Bishy

Active Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2009
Messages
200
Hi guys, I sold my E55k in Jan to help raise funds for my new house! :( and have bought a Rover 200 Diesel (off a freind who had it from new) in an attempt to be sensible and save money BUT suprise suprise I hate the bloody thing so Im now thinking sod it! Im gonna buy myself anther nice car but on a buget!

My plan is to buy a modern classic that still looks cool and that has some modern bits like Ac and air bags etc etc + that hopefully wont loose to much if any money :thumb:

Looked a a few BMW 635 Highlines which ive always loved BUT they can have serious issuses with rust and electics etc sooo alway liked the E320 Coupe which also seams to have been made back when Mercedes really did make carsd well??!

Anyway spotted a couple That I want to vei which range wildly in price!....any advise or owning experience please peeps?? ;)
 
E320 coupes are gorgeous cars, and might not depreciate if you don't buy from one of the "specialist" companies, however, get a bad one and you'll sure be forking out to run it. I've had a dozen 124s, 2 of them 320 coupes, and the things that cost me a lot of money have been:

Headgasket, if it hasn't been replaced it'll probably need it some time soon.
Wiring loom - same as above

Also I have heard the 5 speed auto box, can give trouble and is pricey to fix.

Rust, they do rust as they are old cars, places I have found rust one ones I've owned or looked at rear arches, rear quater above the bumper, above rear lamp clusters (look really closely, it's well hidden), front wings, jacking points, below headlamps on inner wings, bottoms of doors, doors under cladding and suspension mounts under rear wheel arch. Things that regularly don't work that are fixable but annoying OTG displays, seatbelt extenders, window regulators, suspension bushes and ball joints, etc etc.

Get a good one though and you should really enjoy it. good luck with your search.
 
CCAALLVVIINN said:
E320 coupes are gorgeous cars, and might not depreciate if you don't buy from one of the "specialist" companies, however, get a bad one and you'll sure be forking out to run it. I've had a dozen 124s, 2 of them 320 coupes, and the things that cost me a lot of money have been:

Headgasket, if it hasn't been replaced it'll probably need it some time soon.
Wiring loom - same as above

Also I have heard the 5 speed auto box, can give trouble and is pricey to fix.

Rust, they do rust as they are old cars, places I have found rust one ones I've owned or looked at rear arches, rear quater above the bumper, above rear lamp clusters (look really closely, it's well hidden), front wings, jacking points, below headlamps on inner wings, bottoms of doors, doors under cladding and suspension mounts under rear wheel arch. Things that regularly don't work that are fixable but annoying OTG displays, seatbelt extenders, window regulators, suspension bushes and ball joints, etc etc.

Get a good one though and you should really enjoy it. good luck with your search.
Click to expand...

This covers the lot, if its a facelift model the wiring loom is biodegradable and has a 10 year shelf life so i would expect to see that element nailed. if not as mentioned above its a lot of money approx £500. Another point to look at is the springs and shocks, std coupes have quite a high ride height by todays standards and owners do tend to use dropped springs and leave the shocks, this can cause the shocks to fail and will need replacing. if you can get a sportline model which sits a little lower but gives a smooth ride. As always buy the best you can that hasnt been messed about. the more original it is the better.

Good luck and keep us posted:thumb:
 
Thats some great advice guys thankyou :thumb: ive found a few really nice ones already so fingers crossed that they are as nice in the flesh :cool:

The sportline seams to be the one but a good standard one will do the trick too.

P.s when was the face lift?? is that when they went from being CE's to E320 coupe's and are all the facelift cars 5 speed auto?

Oh and one last question if I find a car that hasnt got cruise control does anybody no if it can be retro-fitted?? (love cruise control! lol)

Thanks again in advance :)
 
Bishy said:
P.s when was the face lift?? is that when they went from being CE's to E320 coupe's and are all the facelift cars 5 speed auto?

Oh and one last question if I find a car that hasnt got cruise control does anybody no if it can be retro-fitted?? (love cruise control! lol)

Thanks again in advance :)
Click to expand...

The cars were facelifted in late 93 but some prefacelifts still got the later m104 engine.The 5 gear was optional but most of them are 4.As for the cruise yes it can,and is on my list for this summer.This is a very big step down from the e55 but you`ll love the old w124.Let us know how you get on :thumb:
 
d w124 said:
The cars were facelifted in late 93 but some prefacelifts still got the later m104 engine.The 5 gear was optional but most of them are 4.As for the cruise yes it can,and is on my list for this summer.This is a very big step down from the e55 but you`ll love the old w124.Let us know how you get on :thumb:
Click to expand...

Think most things would be a step down from the E55 it was the most complete all round car ive ever owned or willprob ever own again! however the E320 coupe will also be a huge step up from the Rover Diesel that im smoking around in at the mo! :dk: lol

Sounds like the 5 speed box may be troubleby the sounds of it

Thanks for the imput :thumb:
 
Sorry, one more thing, and I'm not sure if this is true rather than a feeling I got from the cars I have owned, the pre facelift cars (with the "heritage" grille) seem to be better built and resist rust better than the later ones, my personal fave is like the previous poster said, a 320ce so earlier body and later engine, but they are quite rare!

Good luck.
 
Where are you based? There are lots of people on the forum with experience of W124s. If you find one you like the look of it's possible that someone on here might be able to give it the once over.
 
Think we should get heritage grille on wikipedia or maybe Nick Froome could update his site :D

Pre facelift do appear to resist rust better although they all go in the end.

5 speed boxes appear to give electrical trouble with high miles, mine has so far been fine (92k) but my neighbour lost reverse on his 150k A124 a few months ago and spent £800 odd getting it fixed and it had to go back a couple of times under the repair warranty to get it sorted properly.

Opinions differ, the 5 speed was sold as an extra so make your own mind up.

I'd buy on the usual spec and condition rather than year, colour etc. Although some colour combos are pretty challenging. (Never seen an Almandine red car with matching panels and baked bean coloured leather might be difficult to move on...)

Specialists charge a lot because they take OK cars and give them a good going over fixing most of the following list.

Based on my experience things which are likely to need doing if they haven't already been done:

CHG
Loom on facelift cars
Rear subframe bushes
ARB bushes
Springs
Front ball joints (pricy on the sportline suspension as they don't detach from the lower wishbone assembly)
Paint - most unpainted cars will have varying degrees of rust (front wings, aerial are common points) and of course most will be 15 years odd old.

The rear screen is likely to be delaminating on most cars you see - provided the window heater still works I wouldn't worry.

Depending on mileage, I'd budget for £2-3k for ongoing repairs if the above haven't been done and if you like your car to run properly or buy one from a specialst pre fettled.

My car has had £6k + thrown at it in 3 years and 40k+ miles and there are still niggles which I live with.

Engine characteristics between my 300-CE24v and the later E320 are different. The later M104 makes its power a lot lower in the rev range, earlier car is a bit schizo (horses for courses). Never driven a 12V 300CE.

Happy hunting

Ade
 
janner said:
Where are you based? There are lots of people on the forum with experience of W124s. If you find one you like the look of it's possible that someone on here might be able to give it the once over.
Click to expand...


Im based in Somerset, going to look at a couple in Bristol on Thursday all going well :)
 
Ade B said:
Think we should get heritage grille on wikipedia or maybe Nick Froome could update his site :D

Pre facelift do appear to resist rust better although they all go in the end.

5 speed boxes appear to give electrical trouble with high miles, mine has so far been fine (92k) but my neighbour lost reverse on his 150k A124 a few months ago and spent £800 odd getting it fixed and it had to go back a couple of times under the repair warranty to get it sorted properly.

Opinions differ, the 5 speed was sold as an extra so make your own mind up.

I'd buy on the usual spec and condition rather than year, colour etc. Although some colour combos are pretty challenging. (Never seen an Almandine red car with matching panels and baked bean coloured leather might be difficult to move on...)

Specialists charge a lot because they take OK cars and give them a good going over fixing most of the following list.

Based on my experience things which are likely to need doing if they haven't already been done:

CHG
Loom on facelift cars
Rear subframe bushes
ARB bushes
Springs
Front ball joints (pricy on the sportline suspension as they don't detach from the lower wishbone assembly)
Paint - most unpainted cars will have varying degrees of rust (front wings, aerial are common points) and of course most will be 15 years odd old.

The rear screen is likely to be delaminating on most cars you see - provided the window heater still works I wouldn't worry.

Depending on mileage, I'd budget for £2-3k for ongoing repairs if the above haven't been done and if you like your car to run properly or buy one from a specialst pre fettled.

My car has had £6k + thrown at it in 3 years and 40k+ miles and there are still niggles which I live with.

Engine characteristics between my 300-CE24v and the later E320 are different. The later M104 makes its power a lot lower in the rev range, earlier car is a bit schizo (horses for courses). Never driven a 12V 300CE.

Happy hunting

Ade
Click to expand...


another informative post thankyou, well I guess that id best be sticking my hands as deep in my pockets as I can to get the best one that I can afford and then hopefully have fairly trouble free motoring! well fingers crossed lol
 
Having had several w124s over the years I would recommend spending more (£4k) on a really good sorted one rather than £1500 - 2000 on a clean one - you will soon spend the other 2k!
 
Still not had chance to veiw any yet but hopefully will this weekend and a dare I say BMW 635CSi Highline

will keep you all posted :thumb:
 
Sls i don`t think so,is not a sportline to have sport chassis!There is so many nice 124s out there and for that price you can get a better one
 
I think that car is overpriced. Your over half way to E36 money.
 
Bishy said:
Found this pre-facelift which looks mint but not as good looking as the facelift??

any thoughts on this one??

1990 G Reg*MERCEDES-BENZ CE CLASS 300 CE-24 W124 COUPE AUTO - VERY RARE SPEC*
Click to expand...


I'd say worth a look. In terms of price, its not cheap but then again its from a dealer, looks nice and clean and if the mechanicals and toys match, its not dear either. Climate is a plus, fuel economy meter hahahahahah!

I'm biased but I'm not convinced the facelift was an improvement, it updated the looks but changed the proportions a bit, I like the earlier car's front end, its got a proper Benz snout and in two tone paint actually looks leaner than a stock facelift which has a lardy profile. It is maturing nicely being several generations old now and a clean unmodified car is increasingly rare. You also have the exclusive heritage grille which adds serious kudos amongst the cognoscenti ;)

Re SLS, never seen it on a coupe, it looks high for a sport chassis but will be easy to check by running the VIN through the russian site.

Ade
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Similar threads

H
Mercedes W124 Coupe
Replies
3
Views
2K
grober
grober
pint6x
2009/2010 C207 Coupe buying advice please
Replies
7
Views
748
pint6x
pint6x
B
Looking at a 10 year old (plus) MB..
2 3
Replies
47
Views
4K
badj
B
Back
Top Bottom