New to the forum - just bought a 280TE

[inder]

Been lurking for a short while and thought I'd finally come and say hello. Just bought an L registered 280TE. No doubt I'll have lots of questions over the coming days/weeks but don't think I'll be disappointed as there seem to be lots of knowledgable people on this forum.

Oh, the car has 120k on the clock and is a light metallic blue colour - car was in immaculate condition, probably garaged most of it's life. Came with first aid kit, warning triangle etc and 6 spoke Merc alloys. I'm the 3rd owner.

 

[500E]

Hi !

Welcome to the forum. Well done on the purchase of the 280TE, and I hope you enjoy your time here. Lets see some photos of the car !!

 

[machasm]

Welcome.
I have found the majority of people who frequent this forum to be helpful and agreeable. i am sure that you will find the same.
Mac.

 

[sportyreptile]

Hello.

Hi Inder, the 280 is a cracking engine. It's pretty efficient for pottering around but will light up a treat when you feel
As long as it gets regular maintenance it'll do another 120K no problems.

I had a E280 saloon which was built like a tank ( A Panzer I think) - real quality. The only think I could replace it with was a bigger one! ( More of a Tigerll -- Gggrrrr).:bannana:

 

[MangoMan]

HI 'Inder' and welcome.

Congrats on your new purchase. A great car and 'Workhorse' if needed. I used to have an 'E' Reg 300te with nearly a quarter of a million miles on the clock, and still went like the 'Clappers'

Enjoy.

Cheers, Bill.

 

[COUPE FREAK]

welcome aboard,, even though your car's got too many door's,,

 

[andy_k]

welcome aboard,, even though your car's got too many door's,,

nah, it's got just enough doors

welcome to the club. The W124 estates are superb cars and so much more practical than those slopey roof coupe type thingies

Andy

 

[Subyland]

Hi Inder, the 280 is a cracking engine.

I'm sure PJH will concurr with that... :bannana:

Welcome Inder and glad to see another 124 on the forum...Look after it and it will do the same with you. And don't forget to post some pics...

 

[Ian B Walker]

Another person who saw the light A big welcome to you from me. W124's go on for ever, you will never regret getting yours and for those rare occasions that something doesnt do what it is supposed to do, there are folks here that can save you a fortune :bannana:

 

[MangoMan]

nah, it's got just enough doors

welcome to the club. The W124 estates are superb cars and so much more practical than those slopey roof coupe type thingies

Andy

It's not 'Slopey' it's 'Aerodynamic' lol

 

[C43AMG]

Welcome Inder.

 

[phoenix_nights]

Congrats on your purchase. You will soon find that the W124 was designed with it being an estate; the saloon and the coupe came as an afterthought

nah, it's got just enough doors

welcome to the club. The W124 estates are superb cars and so much more practical than those slopey roof coupe type thingies

Andy

 

[MangoMan]

Even though they were an 'Afterthought' they are much 'Soughtafter'

 

[inder]

Thanks for the welcome - I've got a couple of quick questions actually.

1. I went to a retail park a couple of days ago and had to go over the speed bumps they have there . The car now makes a creaking/knocking type noise when I go over any bumps - could it be the front suspension bushes? I've looked at the springs and they're fine.

2. The oil pressure sits on 3 when driving and starting up and drops to a teeny bit under two when idling whilst hot. And then it stays there although the needle seems to fluctuate a tiny bit - is this fairly normal?

3. Anyone have any idea on the cost of getting the fuel filler cap lock to work properly or is not worth the bother?

Cheers - oh, I'll do some piccies as soon as the weather improves a bit!

 

[andy_k]

1, it could be any one of the bushes, my bet is that it's the anti roll bar drop links

2, that's fine

3, if you can find the vacuum leak which shouldn't be too hard as there are only two pipes and a couple of seals then it will cost you pennies so of course it's worth the bother.

Take piccies in the rain, it saves you polishing your car

Andy

 

[Vlad]

Having owned a number of W124's I would hazard a guess that the rattling noise you hear when you are travelling along a rutted road for example, will be the anti roll bar bushes, which commonly fail on the W124....there are 4 of them and its a home DIY job if you like that sort of thing. If you have a look under the car, if you can see a gap between the bush and the bar where it goes into the bush, they are way past their best.

I've had to do them on every W124 I have had.

Your oil pressure is absolutely fine

Good luck

 

[basmar]

Welcome

Welcome Inder... W124's are indeed a great car.. I previously had a W124 250D with 170000 on the clock and no sign of stopping any time soon. I can definatley say it had slightly better fuel consumtion than my current SL320

I am sure your W124 will give you many years of reliable service... if you're not tempted to upgrade beforehand

 

[inder]

Yes the noise is a kind of knocking sound underneath the car - and yes driving along an uneven, bumpy-ish road makes it more obvious. I'm not really into car maintenance so will get the anti-rollbar bushes looked at.

 

[Ian B Walker]

Looked at Inders car this morning. All I can say is ..................... wow. Open the bonnet and you would think it came out of a showroom. Bodywork, spotless. Andy you were part right, roll bar bushes worn but more serious, steering damper is shot as is the drag link under it. Pleasure to meet Inder, nice guy.