Shall i buy this red w124 1993 e320 convertible?

[S9KSY]

grey silver

LOL
True, Mercedes' "Silver" is actually GREY!
Compare the Mercedes of Michael Shumacher's and the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton's F1 cars. Which one looks really "SILVER"?
Not Shumacher's!

 

[S9KSY]

Between us, I am prepared to pay good money for a really mint example of a W124 Convertible that has all the toys and everything in it works.
However, I am not prepared to pay even £100 for a scrap heap

 

[S9KSY]

A request for advice from all knowledgeable and well informed forum members:
QUESTION: Which year were the best made W124 E320 convertibles (general reliability and resistance to rust!)?

 

[S9KSY]

go buy the green 1996 one. That would be my advice.

Thanks for your help.
Will have a look.
I am not sure about the colour, but I probably can tolerate it.

 

[The Boss]

A request for advice from all knowledgeable and well informed forum members:
QUESTION: Which year were the best made W124 E320 convertibles (general reliability and resistance to rust!)?

im not being biased, i own a pre facelift 320ce, not an e320, and id say come 1994, lots of chat on this forum about how paint changed, and wiring loom changed, thus, the best are either the pre 1993/94 models or the later 1997/98 year models, i feel the inbetween ones might have been in transition and the very very last models might be the soundest..

BUT

any w124 would put a smile on your face, and with care and tlc on the cars, you should not EVER have problems.

 

[Smiley]

They all suffer from rust problems - some seem to be much worse than others independent of the year. Try looking at the bonnet slam panel (I think that it what it is called) - just in front of the radiator with the bonnet up - some cars have bubbling rust all over this piece and others have none - and from the various cars that I have looked at + owned the better condition that this panel is in then the less rust in the rest of the car. Just a general guide not a substitute for a really good inspection. Most panels can (and do) rust on these cars I am afraid.

As far as reliability goes they all have the same problem areas - you probably know these by now - head gasket, engine loom being the two most common, auto box problems on "under serviced" cars - the ATF and filter should be changed every 36k miles but quite often is not (due to cost I guess).

If you have a budget of £25k then you should go and see the one at Charles ironside - it will have been properly prepped for sale. On the other hand I think your original post said something about "depreciation proof" - I would question that if you paying £20k ish for one of these cars - it could well end up being worth half that in 5 years time. The reason I say that is because there are plenty of good used 4 seater convertibles on the market including BMWs and Audis and this, coupled with the new E class convertible at pretty sensible money, will hold the prices of 124s down for many years - maybe 10 - 20 years - after that they will probably rocket at some point.

leave it to the kids in your will

 

[Apial]

As a generalisation, cars with seperate chassis used to rust less than monocoque designs. So as the convertible has more flex, has it more rust than the tin top?

 

[Apial]

I think you`re wrong.Find me a rustfree coupe below 100k for 5k,let alone a cab

I'm tempted....

 

[neilrr]

If you have a budget of £25k then you should go and see the one at Charles ironside - it will have been properly prepped for sale.

Ironside is no magician. He scours ebay & everywhere else for suitable cars, buys them, tarts them up preps them & sells them for double what he has in them.

Unless it's been done by a previous careful owner the car will still need a loom & pssibly an ECU, a head gasket & wings fairly soon after you buy one from him.

 

[The Boss]

Ironside is no magician. He scours ebay & everywhere else for suitable cars, buys them, tarts them up preps them & sells them for double what he has in them.

Unless it's been done by a previous careful owner the car will still need a loom & pssibly an ECU, a head gasket & wings fairly soon after you buy one from him.

not sure this is fair on his service.

Not that i have ever used him, but i think it is difficult to generalize the future requirements.

All cars will suffer from something or another after leaving the factory and based on the life it has been given, but i think some cars are luckier than others, thus will my car ever need a change in loom? Maybe? Maybe not!

time will tell.

I agree with you on one point that he marks up his cars by quite a bit, but they sell.. he sells.. he must be doing something right.

one thing i find shocking is how many times he can actually recycle a car, in terms of selling the same car over and over and over again...

though to add more to the spotting of alot of 124 cabs i wrote about recently, today i spotted a 124 pre facelift in black or dark blue, with clear indicators and upgraded rear lights, and it looked quite horrible

im glad i kept my indicators orange and not tempted to upgrade them to clear... phewww ...

 

[neilrr]

not sure this is fair on his service.

It's spot on. He's a used car dealer, not a God!

The car which my friend bought & to which I alluded in post 17 was an Ironside car. The PO had paid him £17,500 for it 2 years earlier & in that 2 years he replaced the loom, the CHG & an ECU. He tried to get Ironside to re-sell it for him on a SOR basis & he did take it in, but only to mark the price up to such a high level he could use it to steer customers to his own cars, which had a much greater margin.

 

[The Boss]

It's spot on. He's a used car dealer, not a God!

The car which my friend bought & to which I alluded in post 17 was an Ironside car. The PO had paid him £17,500 for it 2 years earlier & in that 2 years he replaced the loom, the CHG & an ECU. He tried to get Ironside to re-sell it for him on a SOR basis & he did take it in, but only to mark the price up to such a high level he could use it to steer customers to his own cars, which had a much greater margin.

ok. i take back my previous comment.

well not everything is a crystal clear as one thought eh..

 

[WDB124066]

He's got em, you want em, go see him. Nice to be aware he is a businessman, but please don't put that one on LPG - please.

 

[d w124]

but please don't put that one on LPG - please.

I`ll second that

 

[d w124]

Unless it's been done by a previous careful owner the car will still need a loom & pssibly an ECU, a head gasket & wings fairly soon after you buy one from him.

Not all the time.Niks a member here and a friend of mine,bought his E280 from Ironside two years ago.The car is still mint and none of the ^ had to be replaced

 

[Charles Morgan]

The moral of neilrr's story seems to me to be, just because it looks good and costs a lot, doesn't mean to say the usual problems won't emerge. If you are happy to spend the money, don't scrimp on an inspection by someone who knows what they are looking for. I have heard a similar story from someone else.

 

[bh13coupe]

if you are paying top dollar, I would expect to see the the loom and the CHG already nailed in the service history.

 

[d w124]

if you are paying top dollar, I would expect to see the the loom and the CHG already nailed in the service history.

Do you have to changer it,even though is nothing wrong with it?!!

 

[S9KSY]

but please don't put that one on LPG - please.

I do 40k miles annually!
I will be hammered by the 3.2 litres!
I had an LPG / Petrol Rover 75 and was fantastic.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

I do 40k miles annually!
I will be hammered by the 3.2 litres!
I had an LPG / Petrol Rover 75 and was fantastic.

Although they're fantastic cars, if I were doing that kind of mileage I wouldn't be buying a 124 E Class convertible and converting it to LPG.

I used to do about 35k miles a year, have now cut down to about 25k, that's what my BMW diesel is for...

If you're looking for a relatively 'depreciation' proof car that kind of mileage would cripple it. In my opinion an LPG conversion no matter how good would detract potential future purchasers. I know I'm not alone on this thinking...