New Member with a W124 E320

[BillyW124]

i'm with Niks on that one, i thought I made a mistake too. I knew there was 'room for improvement' when purchased it, but once you pop you cant stop!

..of course there's quite a few 124's out there where you wouldnt have to do nawt to. But whats the fun in that eh?

 

[bh13coupe]

James, buying a W124 is one of the worst things you could have done! You'll really regret it one day that you bought one, it'll make you love it, drive it more and more to the point where any other car you drive will never compare to the way a 124 drives.

Ive spent more on my car than its worth and i still have plans to spend a lot more on it. Its the 124 way of life...welcome to the forum buddy!

He's not joking, but its cheaper than playing Golf
Welcome aboard HMS W124, the guys here are great and we all go weak at the knees at the site of a nice W124, even KTH286's coupe which gets a wash once every 2 years
Looking forward to some pics. You have an example in a rare colour which is a bonus.

 

[kth286]

He's not joking, but its cheaper than playing Golf
Welcome aboard HMS W124, the guys here are great and we all go weak at the knees at the site of a nice W124, even KTH286's coupe which gets a wash once every 2 years
Looking forward to some pics. You have an example in a rare colour which is a bonus.

Likes driving cars not washing them.

 

[Sorry Pete]

Welcome to the w124 club.

I similarly had a teenage crush on the w126 models and in fairness, yes, they are quite big, but you get used to them. The upside is that the w124 feels a far more modern car. Mine's going to celebrate it's 20th next year, and aside from standard service parts, a few front springs, and only recently a new back box, it's been faultless.

Keep on top of that preventative maintanence and it should run and run.

Cheers
Mike

 

[BillyW124]

how things going with the 124 james?

 

[jamesallum]

how things going with the 124 james?

Apologies, I’ve been away with work so not jumped into this community as much as I would have liked. Thanks for all your kind welcomes.

Still a bit mixed experiences to date. Current problem is with the gearbox, seems to be missing 4th and going straight to 5th. All changes are smooth but kick down involves a longer than usual delay. Lots of forum based research suggests that this could be solved through a) Removing any stored fault codes or b) a solenoid within the gearbox. I've had the gearbox oil changed and that made no difference. The really annoying thing is that garages and specialists don't want to touch gearboxes. It's a case of removing them and sending them off for a 1.5K recondition which seems a bit extreme until we know the route cause of the issue. I'm going to my local indie for a 3rd opinion later this month and will keep you posted.

What this results in is until I have resolved this issue there is a reluctance to attend to the small bits: paintwork, new but period looking head unit etc.

The comment that is takes 3 months of ownership to bottom out all niggles couldn't be truer and it's standing in the way of my bonding with the car. I’m planning to persevere though so watch this space!

Cheers,
James

 

[BillyW124]

hope you get the box properly diagnosed. get all major stuff sorted first then concentrate on the little niggly bits.

could it be some sort of torque converter issue on the gear box?

 

[jamesallum]

hope you get the box properly diagnosed. get all major stuff sorted first then concentrate on the little niggly bits.

could it be some sort of torque converter issue on the gear box?

You could be right. It's barely noticeable in normal driving conditions but bugs me. All the web based research points towards a solenoid valve inside the gearbox but should have more news soon I hope.

Cheers