Shall i buy this red w124 1993 e320 convertible?

[Smiley]

You do 40k miles pa and you are looking at a 15 yr old / 150k miler for over £10k?

Seriously a 15 yr old w124 cabriolet petrol auto is not the best car for that - depreciation is not the biggest cost when doing that sort of mileage.

If it is lowest cost that you are looking for then you need a modern diesel of some sort like a VW, Audi, BMW, Merc or Volvo; buy one @ 5 yrs old and around the £5k - £7k ish mark and then write off the whole value of the car in your mind - use it for 3 or 4 years and then give it away.

Then use the rest of the £25k for a nice w124 cab for the weekends (dry ones).

Sorted.

 

[WDB124066]

Have you thought about a new MB "E Cabriolet" with a diesel engine?
Again, not too sure of the budget, but that to me would make a lot more sense. It is just that I'd like to think the precious few, real minter, 124 Cabbies would be essentially "put out to pasture" and preserved for silly old farts like me to enjoy in the coming years.

Yes??

 

[The Boss]

My close friend is a cosmetic dental surgeon. He lives 2 roads away in stanmore, and works in Cambridge, and commutes every day. He is persistant on always running a "new" car.

His logic was simple.. It costs him more to not be at work than to be at work, thus his mode of transport was critical.

and not believeing in mercs (for now anyway) he runs 2 audi diesels (a5 cabrio and a5 coupe)

i guess, its important to put a price to how valuable your car is to your job, and use that as a basis of what car you want, how old it is, and what budget you can/should allocate to your purchase..

good nite peeps

 

[bh13coupe]

You do 40k miles pa and you are looking at a 15 yr old / 150k miler for over £10k?

Seriously a 15 yr old w124 cabriolet petrol auto is not the best car for that - depreciation is not the biggest cost when doing that sort of mileage.

If it is lowest cost that you are looking for then you need a modern diesel of some sort like a VW, Audi, BMW, Merc or Volvo; buy one @ 5 yrs old and around the £5k - £7k ish mark and then write off the whole value of the car in your mind - use it for 3 or 4 years and then give it away.

Then use the rest of the £25k for a nice w124 cab for the weekends (dry ones).

Sorted.

Bang on smiley, I have the pleasure of a VW Passat TDI tiptronic for most of my weekly miles including children transportation, my coupe (alas not a cabriolet) uses a tank of fuel amonth max as the spare car.
Great as the w124 is, the cabriolet is not the sort of car to do that kind of mileage without spending joke money keeping it perfect. If you buy a thrashed one for less money it will probably let you down. For me a used golf TDI 170 with DSG 60Mpg and fast £10k and a splendid w124 e320 cab sat in the garage waiting for the weekends £15k.

 

[Charles Morgan]

I use my coupe as my main car, but I don't do huge mileage. If I need a load lugger I hire. In concept though I am keen on keeping my car used normally. I think it is better for the use.

 

[grober]

I use my coupe as my main car, but I don't do huge mileage. If I need a load lugger I hire. In concept though I am keen on keeping my car used normally. I think it is better for the use.

I would agree 100% its best to keep all those moving parts "moving" Just like its better for cars to sit outside in free air rather than in a heated garage. There are exceptions of course. Cars may be better undercover in areas of high industrial chemical precipitation or intense UV, and all will benefit from being garaged in the winter months to avoid the hugely corrosive/abrasive road salt/grit damage. Otherwise use as intended.

 

[Ade B]

Take it from me - doing high miles on a petrol 124 6 is a rapid way to burn money. I was getting less than 24p per mile on petrol alone.. factor in other costs and it becomes eye watering - I did 45k in 3 1/2 years.

They have 6k miles service intervals (mine did anyway), suspension parts will need replacing, engine bits (water pump, AC, CHG) will need replacing. Then there is structural rust (which mine didn't have) rear subframe mounts, jacking points - cooked electrics from water ingress etc. etc.

Everyone bangs on about the loom and CHG but in reality if that's all that needs doing during your ownership it is a relatively cheap fix in the context of the petrol costs.

Re sub £5k/ 100k miles rust free coupes - mine went for less and Mr Ironside politely declined to take it as at 94k it was too high for his stable.

I can see the sense in an LPG conversion, and if you keep it a few years I wouldn't worry about colour combos as it will be worth little when it comes time to sell due to the stellar mileage.

With this in mind, I'd buy a clean car with high miles and budget to fix things that will need doing. The really nice ones are garage queens, run it as a daily and it will cost considerably more than an equivalent new car to keep in top fettle.

Best of luck

Ade

 

[nullogik]

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.

+1

Don't run along to Mr Ironside or any of the other Merc specialists before scouring the classifieds for a good few weeks...unless you are desperate and are time short and money rich, then by all means.

But if you look hard enough similar cars come up on Ebay, Gumtree, AutoTrader, Merc Enthusiast and Merc Club Gazette with similar mileage for half the price of his. I've seen several cars on Ebay that he's bought and he cleans them up and sells them for twice the price he bought them at.

I don't know why people hold these Merc dealers in such high esteem. People seem to forget that they are car dealers at the end of the day and thus not to be trusted (along with estate agents, lawyers and double glazing salesmen). Yes, they might get inspections done by dealerships but do you think they'll fix everything that is at fault? Being car dealers they'll repair the bare minimum they can get away with and spend most of the time/effort on cosmetic issues. My Dad has been in the car industry all his life and you should hear the stories.

As for the warranties. Anyone who has been in the car trade knows that those insurance policies are only fit for wiping your backside with.

Save yourself £££ and buy the same cars yourself, privately.

 

[S9KSY]

people seem to forget that they are car dealers at the end of the day and thus not to be trusted (along with estate agents, lawyers and double glazing salesmen)

lol

 

[jaymanek]

If you want a cheap one, I am selling an E220 cabrio for a friend. It used to belong to forum member kitthekat.

£6490, 104K on the clock.

 

[S9KSY]

I think everyone is assuming that I am your average car owner/driver.

I like to imagine that I am not.

I really really look after my cars.

Will give you what I like to believe to be the “PROOF”


Look at my current BMW 120d car when it became 5 years old with 152000 on the clock (now has 162k miles). It has never ever been polished and never been garaged. I took these pictures only after a quick wash at local garage that day.

BMW 1 Series • View topic - This is how my 5 year old (151000 miles) 1'er looks like NOWhttp://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1662

The fact that my tyres regularly last over 70000 miles each should give you an idea on how gentle I am with the car. Other people with similar tyres and cars go through them in less than 20k miles.

Also, apart from batteries, one tyre set change and a windscreen change, my current 1994 C-Class is still on its ORIGINAL exhaust, radiator, loom….everything.

It still looks, drives and even smells like the day I bought it new in 1994


OK, ENOUGH BRAGGING and back to the thread.

Members are suggesting cars “OTHER THAN THE W124” to me.

BUT THEN, I would NOT be driving a W124

AND, I dearly and utterly love the W124 Cabriolet.

Depreciation is a lovely coincidence, but not a priority.

If depreciation IS a priority, I should then avoid the newer E-class or CLKs convertibles.

If I find a good 30k- 100k mile example, I expect it to serve me for a good extra 250k miles with a little bit extra cosseting and care than I normally do. And, it will always be garaged, which is not a problem at home.

In another 10 years, it will be 300k miles on the clock, and would probably have one or two ragtops replaced, together with many many other stuff fixed/replaced.

And, I would have been driving a W124 convertible all the time.

You will be tempted to assume that it will then look like any other car with 350k miles.

I do not think so.

 

[WDB124066]

+1

I don't know why people hold these Merc dealers in such high esteem. People seem to forget that they are car dealers at the end of the day and thus not to be trusted (along with estate agents, lawyers and double glazing salesmen).

Here, you've left out Politicians.......!

Apart from pointing out the general pitfalls of Dealers, let's not knock them too much ay guys. At least they do present nice looking cars and at the end of the day I am sure we are all a pretty savvy bunch on here. We are not so stupid not to carry our due diligence before we buy, are we??

 

[WDB124066]

I think everyone is assuming that I am your average car owner/driver.

I like to imagine that I am not.

I really really look after my cars.

Will give you what I like to believe to be the “PROOF”


Look at my current BMW 120d car when it became 5 years old with 152000 on the clock (now has 162k miles). It has never ever been polished and never been garaged. I took these pictures only after a quick wash at local garage that day.

BMW 1 Series • View topic - This is how my 5 year old (151000 miles) 1'er looks like NOW

The fact that my tyres regularly last over 70000 miles each should give you an idea on how gentle I am with the car. Other people with similar tyres and cars go through them in less than 20k miles.

Also, apart from batteries, one tyre set change and a windscreen change, my current 1994 C-Class is still on its ORIGINAL exhaust, radiator, loom….everything.

It still looks, drives and even smells like the day I bought it new in 1994


OK, ENOUGH BRAGGING and back to the thread.

Members are suggesting cars “OTHER THAN THE W124” to me.

BUT THEN, I would NOT be driving a W124

AND, I dearly and utterly love the W124 Cabriolet.

Depreciation is a lovely coincidence, but not a priority.

If depreciation IS a priority, I should then avoid the newer E-class or CLKs convertibles.

If I find a good 30k- 100k mile example, I expect it to serve me for a good extra 250k miles with a little bit extra cosseting and care than I normally do. And, it will always be garaged, which is not a problem at home.

In another 10 years, it will be 300k miles on the clock, and would probably have one or two ragtops replaced, together with many many other stuff fixed/replaced.

And, I would have been driving a W124 convertible all the time.

You will be tempted to assume that it will then look like any other car with 350k miles.

I do not think so.

Ok,Ok, but you have to promise us all you will really look after it - and just to be sure you going to need to bring it along to a GTG every now and then for an inspection. And we don't want to hear any more about this LPG business either

Apart from what you will almost certainly know by now, just figure on a suspension and gearbox rebuild. Maybe the valve gear will rattle a little by the 350,000 mile mark too. Took my 190,000 k car out today and it really is still a good car, and I am fussy. It is still getting a birthday in the rear end though, as they do tend to wonder when those bushes wear.

 

[Charles Morgan]

+1

Don't run along to Mr Ironside or any of the other Merc specialists before scouring the classifieds for a good few weeks...unless you are desperate and are time short and money rich, then by all means.

But if you look hard enough similar cars come up on Ebay, Gumtree, AutoTrader, Merc Enthusiast and Merc Club Gazette with similar mileage for half the price of his. I've seen several cars on Ebay that he's bought and he cleans them up and sells them for twice the price he bought them at.

I think this rather misses the point for a lot of people. I bought my coupe from Nick Froome after having my time wasted on viewing a car in Cornwall that was owned by a family friend. I am the first to admit I am not qualified or experienced enough to establish what needs to be done to a car to bring it up to scratch, and given that I have no appetite to travel long distances (it is nothing to do with the time, more to do with the tedium) to view a car, then find a local independent who is prepared and has the time to view it, including getting the car to him, in the timescale someone is selling a car in, spending the money and then deciding not to buy, then doing it all over again is to me something that I have a finite amount of enthusiasm and money for, but is the full time job of a specialist. I suspect they kiss an awful lot of frogs before finding the prince.

Recourse to a private individual is non-existent, and as to warranties, well, my car has the invoice to one warranty company (the same as provide mine) for the recent and expensive replacement of the air-conditioning compressor. As for the all second hand car dealers are untrustworthy, actually all people with whom one treats should be treated with due caution, but ultimately I subscribe to the Reaganite principle when dealing with Soviet Russian nuclear disarmament - trust but verify.

In short, I am happy to pay for someone else to spend their lives buying cars with all that entails, and if it carries a premium, so be it. Looking at Ironside's prices that premium would be too much for me, but clearly he is successful. Surely for the price he charges, someone else could sell similar cars with all the important issues dealt with?

 

[d w124]

How about this one Mercedes E320 cabriolet For Sale (1996) on Car And Classic UK I doesn`t have an aircon though

 

[Setanta]

Ah, but you underestimate the attraction of such waffel as:

"Purchased by a Mr S Raffles, a gentleman, in 1992, it joined his stable of cars and was used only for special occassions and spent the rest of the time resident in an oak coachhouse. Resplendent in burgandy coachwork over mushroom hide, it features all appointments. Following a peasant revolt and the demise of Mr Raffles at the hands of Messrs Fagin and Twirpsnot, stableboys to the neighbouring estate, the car was then purchased by Dr Jones as a present for his wife who only drove it on Sundays to the shops. A change in personal circumstances saw it move to the ownership of Ms R U Gullible of Kent, a retired company director lady doctor owner where it was recommissioned for road use in anticipation of a special event. Sadly, this did not eventuate and it was passed to our care where we are proud to offer it for sale".



Pass me a bucket. Please.

I had a few calls from "specialists" on previous sales - timewasters. Offers over the phone not far from the SMS "wotz ur lowest price bruz" brigade.

Buy cheap, sell high - not a problem by me but would never give my hard earned over.

Been quite fortunate with the private sale cars that I have bought and no intention to change that in the future.

Mickey Mouse and Daisy Duck could have owned the car for all I care - service history and maintenance records are what I look for and buy on.

 

[rickw]

This thread seems to have become a debate about Merc specialists.

I bought my 300TD from Charles Ironside just over a year ago and it was relatively expensive. It looked fantastic and to be honest its gone pretty well for the past year. The alternator packed up about 3 weeks into my ownership and Charles paid for this to be replaced as it was within the 90 day 'warranty' period. However, the air con has never worked consistently well and I had to replace the remote locking system that had failed. I also put in a USB type stereo to replace the outdated radio/cassette. My impression is that an estate from Nick Froome would not only look good but that he would also deal with the things that can't be seen so easily. He also offers a whole years warranty, installs CD/radios, replaces bushes etc. So if I do go for another W124 estate I will either go to Nick or source one privately using the much greater knowledge that I now have, having owned one.

I think there's definitely a market for the type of buyer who is prepared more for an older but well kept example from a dealer. However, undoubtedly its much much cheaper to buy privately if you know enough to assess the car properly - I didn't a year ago but might do now, in part from all the useful tips picked up from these W124 threads.

 

[S9KSY]

This thread seems to have become a debate about Merc specialists

Which is still relevant to me. I may end up buying the W124 Cabriolet from one of them.
Rickw, why didn’t you ask the dealer to fix the aircon? Or, did you? Also, I take it the remote locking failed after the 3 months.

 

[neilrr]

Ah, but you underestimate the attraction of such waffel as:

"Purchased by a Mr S Raffles, a gentleman, in 1992, it joined his stable of cars and was used only for special occassions and spent the rest of the time resident in an oak coachhouse. Resplendent in burgandy coachwork over mushroom hide, it features all appointments. Following a peasant revolt and the demise of Mr Raffles at the hands of Messrs Fagin and Twirpsnot, stableboys to the neighbouring estate, the car was then purchased by Dr Jones as a present for his wife who only drove it on Sundays to the shops. A change in personal circumstances saw it move to the ownership of Ms R U Gullible of Kent, a retired company director lady doctor owner where it was recommissioned for road use in anticipation of a special event. Sadly, this did not eventuate and it was passed to our care where we are proud to offer it for sale".

Have you ever worked for one of the big London auction houses? Your style seems familiar.

 

[Sonny Burnett]

when i retire i want a CL600 that looks to big for me.. lol