Need Advice! Time to Scrap my W124?

[tonywashere]

OP, since you have no money I would strongly recommend you do not get yourself in debt over this car, especially expensive credit card debt.
You could spend £100s then next month find you need to spend £100s more on something else that has come up.
agree with previous posts, sell it and move on, don't waste time.
IMHO you should be looking at something cheap to buy and run, low insurance group. A quick look on ebay shows over 17,000 cars for less than £1,000, OK some will be for scrap or repair, autotrader also shows thousands of cars.

 

[neilz]

What about the Skoda 120L

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Škoda_120L_1986_z.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Skoda_120L.jpg

 

[neilz]

Or a nice Fiat?

fiat 127 €200 For Sale (1983) on Car And Classic UK

 

[Bennyc320]

Or a nice Fiat?

fiat 127 €200 For Sale (1983) on Car And Classic UK

Lol, I've seen worse cars than this on the road in Rome and Paris,

 

[Deleted member 11979]

I'm sorry to hear of your situation, if you're attached to the car and have somewhere to keep it, maybe put it away until finances hopefully improve, all the best

 

[CKLclive]

Lol, I've seen worse cars than this on the road in Rome and Paris,

christ ! think your right even I would think twice about this one
and I am a bodytech by trade

 

[Buster'stheboy]

Thanks again all for taking the trouble to reply.

Have been looking at cars on Autotrader and fleabay for hours, but not found any W124's that appeal to both eye and pocket.

If my car had as many problems as Neilz old 124 it wouldn't be such a hard decision.

Picked it up from the garage today and was almost hoping it would run lumpy on the way home, but it was faultless. I could get a cheapo replacement that's unreliable; this car has never let me down.

It only failed MOT on corroded sub frame mounting points, no advisories or anything. Mechanic still says dump it though as he thinks future problems will be expensive.

Am holding off making a final decision, as I'm hoping to get a 2nd opinion next week.

 

[nick mercedes]

It only failed MOT on corroded sub frame mounting points, no advisories or anything. Mechanic still says dump it though as he thinks future problems will be expensive.

Am holding off making a final decision, as I'm hoping to get a 2nd opinion next week.

If you like your car get it it welded up, it won't cost a fortune and you'll be happy.

No need for a MB specialist to do it, there are plenty of good welders out there, just shop around a bit, I doubt it would cost much more than £200 to fix it, possibly less.

 

[Buster'stheboy]

UPDATE - R.I.P 230e 1990-2012

After much thought (and a second opinion), and looking around at available used cars in my titchy budget (didn't like any of them compared to mine ).....

Decided to get car fixed :bannana:

Put car in garage on Monday and waited with baited breath for garage to ring up and tell me to come and collect my baby.

Garage phoned me yesterday and asked me to come and look at the vast amount of rot in rear end (whilst wheels off and suspension lowered) and again urged me not to waste so much money on repair of car which is near end of life.

Reluctantly agreed and he put the car back together and I drove it home for the very last time (in tears!).

I know 230e's aren't everybody's cup of tea, but I loved mine and can't imagine driving anything else.

So now I'm looking at 10 year old E and C classes, Volvo S40's, VW Golfs and Polos, but without much enthusiasm. Another W124 exactly the same would be ideal, but not readily available, especially up here in salty Scotland. Doesn't help that I live in the ar5e-end of nowhere either.

So - any thoughts or comments on the above mentioned vehicles will be welcome.

I spent hours last night reading about C class problems (W202) and it put me right off, but obv. people are going to write about their problems, not their trouble-free cars.

Sorry for rambling on again.

P.S.
Please vote in poll.

 

[Scott_F]

There are always plenty of W124's for sale on Ebay and elsewhere. You could focus your search as far as the north of England and possibly the Midlands.

You could then ring a few vendors and arrange to see a shortlist of 3 or 4 decent prospects over the course of a weekend. If you can borrow a car from a friend / family member and book a Travelodge if necessary (sometimes £19 if you book early enough) then your weekend expedition could come up with nice replacement for you.

However, if your budget really is that small, then possibly a 2.3 litre car isn't really for you and something like a 1.0 Peugeot 106 would be a wiser choice until your finances improve.

 

[d w124]

I`d say wait for a nice 124 to come along

 

[neilz]

+1

Hope you're selling the 230E ratherr than scrapping it

 

[Buster'stheboy]

I`d say wait for a nice 124 to come along

Thanks. 8 votes so far and all 8 say wait for a W124

+1

Hope you're selling the 230E rather than scrapping it

Not sure yet. I'd like to sell it but who would want a 230e with no MOT and a rusty bum? Especially as they'd have to travel many miles and take a ferry ride to come and see it. Then trailer it away!

I'd like to have kept the number plate (it's a Northern Ireland one), but apparently you have to have an MOT cert. to retain the number. I didn't know that

There are always plenty of W124's for sale on Ebay and elsewhere. You could focus your search as far as the north of England and possibly the Midlands.

True. Good idea.

However, if your budget really is that small, then possibly a 2.3 litre car isn't really for you and something like a 1.0 Peugeot 106 would be a wiser choice until your finances improve.

You're probably right, but I only do about 3000 miles a year so petrol/Insurance costs not really an issue. Reliability and comfort much more important for me. My car is so comfy that it's thoroughly spoilt me.

Thanks all for replies