Need Advice! Time to Scrap my W124?

What Car Next?

  • Wait for a Good W124 to Come Along

    Votes: 13 81.3%
  • Buy a 10+ yr old E or C class

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Get Nissan Micra or similar, as obv. can't afford to run a Mercedes-Benz

    Votes: 3 18.8%

  • Total voters
    16
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Buster'stheboy

Active Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2007
Messages
228
Location
The 1970's
Car
W124 230e 1989
Hello all :)

First post here, though I joined in 2007 :eek:

Would like to know what you think about my dilemma.

Beloved 1990 230e went for MOT and garage have recommended scrapping! :eek:

Apparently the back end is very rusty underneath and garage won't even give a quote as he says that there is no way of knowing how far the corrosion goes until he starts working on it (rear axle would have to be dropped etc). He doesn't think the cost is worth it, given the age and value of car. He said it would be "hundreds" and he recommends that it goes to Merc heaven :(. It was also in for a service (which he didn't do, after seeing the underneath) and needs possible new brake pipes and exhaust, maybe other things too - it has been running a bit lumpy since Xmas Eve.

Here is my dilemma:

I don't have much money (none, really). I would have paid for the MOt repairs and service by credit card and paid it off monthly. Can't really afford to buy another car. Which means my choice is to either pay a lot of money to fix it and hope it lasts another year or not have a car at all.

I love this car and would hate to scrap it. I have always wanted to try and keep it going until it reached classic car status (esp. for road tax!).

The cons are that it costs more than I can really afford for Road Tax and Petrol. Have to admit this has been bothering me for the last couple of years.

The only pros are that I love it.

Don't relish the thought of not having a car at all. I only use it 2 or 3 times a week, but live in a rural area and also use it for taking elderly parent to shops, appointments etc.

Also anybody think it's worth trying an independant Merc specialist for a quote?

Also (sorry for rambling, am a bit upset!) would the car be worth selling for spares rather than scrapping? It has good leather seats and original 8 hole alloys. Is there a market for these?

Thanks for reading.:)

Any thoughts?
 
My old w124 coupe had the dreaded rust on the rear subframe, my local grease monkeys welded it all back up for £600 , it was better than new.

You don't need an MB indy to sort that , any competant garage can do it, same with the brake lines.

There is a market for w124 parts, but mainly the more specialist stuff ( 500e bits , old skool AMG bits etc )

What happens is that the underseal on the rear subrame cracks and water gets in which then runs along the subframe under the underseal ( does that make sense ? ) , Unless you live near the sea and drive it into it regularly i'd be surprised if it couldn't be fixed.

I'd get another garage to look at it personally. Where are you based , maybe a member can recommend somewhere ?
 
Thanks :) It doesn't sound so bad when you put it like that.

I do live near the sea, plenty of salt in the air and on the road.

Our garage has said it is repairable, but he just can't say how much it would cost and he thinks it will be much more than the car's worth.

Unless somebody on here has a good recommendation I'd feel a bit unsure about getting a 2nd opinion as I have been ripped off so many times in the past by garages and the one I use now is very honest and fair with us.

I thought I saw a garage in Port Glasgow being recommended on a MB forum once, but can't remember their name.
 
All what Howard Says. Especially a local welder, your lumpy running could just be the required service.

Bad news, even when your car gets to 25 years old you will still have to pay road tax on it. I think the car has to be made in 1973 at the eldest. 74 onwards you pay tax. Shame but there it is.

Good Luck with it. I would hate to think I would have to scrap any of mine.

Your leather interior could take a while to shift as there are not many 124s around for it to go into. Say between 2 and 400 for that including the door cards. 8 hole Alloys around 100. You can get more but you would have to wait ages.
 
Port Glasgow would be Merparts :)

To be brutally honest, the garage are probably right - the cost of repairing it is going to be uneconomical - £££s in welding, plus the MOT test, service, brake lines and exhaust :(

The car would weigh in for a couple of hundred scrap, plus whatever bits you can sell off it (seats/alloys + a few goodies) I expect you could buy a better car for the scrap value + salvaged parts + whatever you'd spend fixing/servicing/MOT'ing it etc. Probably around £1000+ all in IMHO - could get another 124 or something different?

Unless there's some really important factor that we're missing - exceptionally good condition otherwise, loads of recent work etc then I would be inclined to move on :eek:

Best of luck,

Will
 
Port Glasgow would be Merparts :)

To be brutally honest, the garage are probably right - the cost of repairing it is going to be uneconomical - £££s in welding, plus the MOT test, service, brake lines and exhaust :(

The car would weigh in for a couple of hundred scrap, plus whatever bits you can sell off it (seats/alloys + a few goodies) I expect you could buy a better car for the scrap value + salvaged parts + whatever you'd spend fixing/servicing/MOT'ing it etc. Probably around £1000+ all in IMHO - could get another 124 or something different?

Unless there's some really important factor that we're missing - exceptionally good condition otherwise, loads of recent work etc then I would be inclined to move on :eek:

Best of luck,

Will

Sadly, much as I hate to see a favourite car go, I'm with Will on this one.
 
+2 ,sorry bud but think you have to move on you could pile a load of credit card
into it and be worse off
 
Thanks to all for replies, much appreciated :)

I understand the argument for scrapping, but I can't believe that I'd get a decent car for the amount of money I'd be spending on mine, which means I'd probably have no car at all.

Will, I had a look at Merparts web site but it didn't ring a bell. I had a vague memory that it was 2 brothers whose names began with J. Had a google tonight and there is a garage in Port Glasgow called J&J Motors. Anybody heard of them?

I still can't make my mind up, but will sleep on it. Thanks again.
 
Buster, before you get disheartened, there are cars out there for very little money. I've just sold mine for less than the asking price, as I didn't have time or space to mess around. It was no oil painting, but mechanically reliable, four newish tyres and with no reason I could think of to fail its next mot.
 
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Try selling it rather than scrapping it - sold mine barely roadworthy for almost £950 with a very high mileage and more rust than the Titanic!
 
I'm with these guys also, I'm sure for the cost of repairs, mot ect you could pick up a nice runner with tax and an mot on it, I think this is a case of head vs heart! I had the same dilemma with my first mini, poured money in to it fighting rust and age with not much effect apart from a lighter wallet,
 
I'm of the opposite view.

I would get the car repaired.

There is absolutely no reason why your car cannot live as long as you.

Better the devil you know.

A different car may bring unknown problems.

By reparing your car (even by someone else) you will learn so much more about it; and knowledge is definately 'power'.

By taking a deeper interest in your car, you can achieve the position where nothing to do with your car will ever be a surprise.

I do not have breakdown cover, because I feel I know my car so well, that I attend to matters on a pre-emptive basis, and have accumulated sufficient parts over time that cost to repair almost any item is low and readily available at short notice and will be in the boot.

Make it one of your life's ambitions to pass your classic car onto a loved one in the future - put it into your WILL - now. That should motivate you.
 
If you're figuring on fixing this and paying by borrowing on your plastic, then I'd follow the majority in advising to let the car go.

My thinking here is that you're leading yourself into a path of going into debt in keeping the car on the road. It something else goes wrong with it before you pay that balance off, then you're only putting yourself further into the red.

I'd advise to get whatever money you can out of the car while it's still worth something, get rid of it, and do what you can to put yourself back on an even financial keel again.

Get yourself a dirt cheap run-around and get your finances sorted out, then come back and get a better car again when you're comfortably able to.
 
Thanks to all for replies, much appreciated :)

I understand the argument for scrapping, but I can't believe that I'd get a decent car for the amount of money I'd be spending on mine, which means I'd probably have no car at all.

Will, I had a look at Merparts web site but it didn't ring a bell. I had a vague memory that it was 2 brothers whose names began with J. Had a google tonight and there is a garage in Port Glasgow called J&J Motors. Anybody heard of them?

I still can't make my mind up, but will sleep on it. Thanks again.

I bought my 124 estate for scrap money just by being in the right place at the right time,it went straight through the mot with no advisorys so I was was lucky but there are cheap cars out there if you are prepared to wait for the right one:thumb:
 
I was in your exact position - money vs car, if you try to sell it you will find a buyer. Stick it on eBay for £1500 classified and you'll get a cash buyer coming the day you list it offering the £990 which you grab. At least that's what happened with me. I wanted my car to be restored but with all the rust and faults I decided to let someone more experienced tinker with it, and these Polish guys were enthusiasts. Even if they end up breaking it for parts (ATM, 3 months 10 days on, it's still insured) you'll have got money. But chances are the new buyer will keep it alive.

I know how you feel, and I think most people remember how reluctant I was to let it be scrapped. When I listed it I was worried a breaker would buy it, but in the end that wasn't the case!

I wouldn't scrap it, I'd sell it. Whoever says an old W124 with faults is impossible to sell, mine sold in a day. Make the classified price too high, people will make what they think are good offers which are actually more than the car's worth! For what I sold mine for I found there were better lower mileage ones with no rust (new panels) on Autotrader!
 
Exactly - there's going to be much better condition cars - W124s included - for less than this one will end up costing.

As the OP is on a budget, it's foolish to suggest he keeps it and puts himself further into debt - you have to let your head rule your heart sometimes.

It's a rotten 1990 230E, not some vintage classic :eek:

Time to move on - its for the best :)
 
stick it on ebay for what you need to buy a replacement. if it doesnt sell then as i guide i broke a E200 1994 estate and made approx £1500 in parts aslong as you are happy to take the bits off and post them and have a scrap car on your driveway until you are ready to weigh in the carcass. after the £1500 i reckon there was still £600+ worth of bits on it when i scrapped it.

then once you have the cash for another, buy it, ensuring you leave enough left over for the repairs/work it will need.
 

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