Rare E36 estate (W124) but needs work

[BillyW124]

If you ask me, to restore it properly with properly being the important factor here it will cost hell more than 10k.

I can vouch for the above from my very own project of renewing parts and enhancing my coupe to date since 2009. i'm not even done yet.

It was already decent enough to begin with compared to this estate. I kid you not, I've crossed the 10k mark with ease and i havn't even done my spray job yet to put things into perspective...

 

[DITTRICH]

Absolutely it could cost up to 10k to get it right.
But to the right buyer it's worth it. That money over 3 years with a lovely car at the end is worth it.
There aren't too many E36 estates floating about fella!!!

I know it's very rare but its in sh!t condition.
I think its value is not for restoration but to sell to an owner of an existing E36 estate who will use the plastic, mechanical and electrical bits to keep their own car on the road at a cost far lower than buying spares from MB (assuming they are still available).
If restored by someone in the trade, the costs would be far lower, but no less substantial. Purchase + Materials > £5k IMHO and if labour is factored in its could easily double to £10k as suggested above.
The irony is that if the Ad had been sufficiently detailed to illustrate the likely costs, then I bet it would sell more than the asking price. After all, if such a vehicle popped up at Avantgarde or Charles Ironside, it would be north of £15k even with that mileage on it.

 

[swannymere]

Looks like flood damage to me.

How can you tell?

 

[scillyisles]

We seem to have two trains of thought here - one train from rose tinted posters who think this can be restored and made smart for less than £10K and the other train which thinks this is going to cost more than £10K.
Whilst the car is one of seven RHD E36 estates rarity does not necessarily equal value or make it valuable.
From the photos posted, the car is in cr*p condition. God knows what other horrors are lurking underneath the bonnet and with the running gear.
Why is the paintwork peeling? My guess is from cheap repair and respray which goes at odds with the "maintained at all costs" in the ad. I would imagine that the rust underneath this car will be pretty bad. The wheels are truly shocking and no way are they 2 years old.
If you restore this car properly with parts from MB or other quality sources then parts alone would probably be approaching £10K. Some parts will be very difficult to procure. A quality respray is going to cost £3k and then you have labour costs for mechanical work, bodywork etc etc which would not be insignificant.
Even when restored the car is not going to command a huge price as it will have done at least 341Kmiles which will always limit the value.
As Dittrich says, the best value in this car is for an existing E36 estate owner to use this car as a parts donor to keep their car going for longer at reduced cost.

 

[poormansporsche]

the rear bumper alone has got to be worth £££££ in germany though !!

 

[neilrr]

Ask Jay Manek what his final costs were.

He's gone through this a similar car that was in much better shape to start with - http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/mbclub-projects/117212-my-w124-300te-amg-restoration.html

 

[swannymere]

If i had the cash to buy it and restore it properly i'd seriously consider it, if you keep it for another 10 years it will be cheapish motoring.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I've spoken to the person selling the car and it is a genuine bereavement sale, he comes across as a very honest bloke.

The only thing was that his wife had listed it for IIRC £1750 instead of £2750, which is still a decent price; I mean how often does an S124 E36 come up for sale? Even if it has done lunar mileage, it's still a very rare beast.

 

[millo777]

I can't see this one ever making sense from a financial perspective, as not many people are willing to fork out big money for a car with inter stella mileages even if they have been restored.

To restore as a keeper is another prospect altogether, and considered as a project car it actually makes more sense to me to start with a shed like this, as there would be more impetus for a full respray and sorting of suspecion rattles etc. starting with a 7k car that was just o.k would probably end up needing a similar amount of work anyway.

Is a large part of the front bumper missing? that could be a pita, not to mention costly to fix. The wheels also look like the w202 versions, which don't work quite as well as the originals imho.

 

[brucemillar]

The more I look, the more I like. It's a great looking car that deserves to be saved..

Be careful condemning it based on pics and words alone. My 124 is a 1985 car and virtually no rust. CLK Clive had it for a week and did a stonking job on the repairs that were required and not at silly money.

It has got to be worth somebody's time to have a look in person at it.

No not me with 4 cars and no space not a good idea.....Tempting..

 

[DITTRICH]

I've spoken to the person selling the car and it is a genuine bereavement sale, he comes across as a very honest bloke.

The only thing was that his wife had listed it for IIRC £1750 instead of £2750, which is still a decent price; I mean how often does an S124 E36 come up for sale? Even if it has done lunar mileage, it's still a very rare beast.

He's just upping the price because he's realised there's quite a bit of interest...
Blaming on the wife too!

 

[ricardo62]

I reckon that would be an ideal project for mike brewer and edd china on there wheeler dealers prog , and it would make interesting viewing , if they knew about it then I reckon they would take it on

 

[d w124]

I give it two weeks before we see it on German ebay

 

[A210AMG]

I wish I had any skill in cars as I would be very tempted,


I'm too busy doing a house up though and I know more about them


Still unlike most cars I can see that going up in value

 

[haggis2768]

Damn shame the price got bumped up, was looking forward to the trip down there to collect it.

 

[BillyW124]

I bet its 100 times worse in the flesh than in the pics. Somthing tells me its been sitting around doing nothing.

..the pic with the open tailgate is a sign, not the obvious corroded boot catch, but if you look closely all the signs of a 124 being sat for a while..must be rusty as hell behind those carpets, especially with the estate leaking window issue.

Despite all that and whats been said it's peanut money really for what it is and only good for someone to restore it for keeps only. Not to sell.

 

[Biglips]

Worth that all day long with the very rare bodykit.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Even though I'm not too up on the W124 'scene', even I understand the attraction of this car, high mileage or not; it's rare enough for a any W124 E36 to come up for sale, never mind a 7 seat estate.

If I didn't already have two AMG's, I'd be winging my way down for this car, without a shadow of a doubt.

I mean, how ****** cool is a black S124 E36? And for less than three bags, it's got to be a bargain.

 

[230K]

Where have the rear facing seat belts gone???????

 

[Biglips]

Where have the rear facing seat belts gone???????

No dog guard/ luggage cover either that I can see