The value of 124 estates

[tintinmt]

Hi all. I am seriously thinking of buying an S124 as a daily driver. Trawling the internet brings up quite a few cars, but many can be dismissed on the gounds of spec or condition. I am looking for a 6 cylinder or a diesel out of personal choice, knowing they are generally more sought-after and dearer. I know its better to buy a quality car than try to improve a bad one.
The question for the panel is:-
'how much would you pay for a good quality car?'
I'm just looking for ball park figures because clearly condition must account for a large percentage of the price.
For example, would you pay the prices asked by the specialist dealers? Or maybe you're in the 'I won't pay more than a grand camp'.

Your thoughts appreciated.

 

[d w124]

That`s nice,good choice of a car
The prices for S124s are all over the place at the moment,but is worth the extra money for a good one

Haw many miles do you do per year?

 

[Scott_F]

A couple of thousand will easily get you a good-spec petrol model that has been well looked after and still has years of service to offer in return for regular maintenance.

If you're looking for a daily driver to be used in all weathers then spending the sums asked by specialist dealers probably wouldn't make much sense.

 

[tintinmt]

Thanks guys. 'Probably going to do 50 miles a day = 10K p.a.
A couple I liked the look of were between £2K and £3K. I just don't want to over pay - of course. The advertised prices bear no relation to those achieved - I'm guessing.

 

[d w124]

Thanks guys. 'Probably going to do 50 miles a day = 10K p.a.
A couple I liked the look of were between £2K and £3K. I just don't want to over pay - of course. The advertised prices bear no relation to those achieved - I'm guessing.

Than it has to be a diesel,have you seen this one http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/spotted-ebay/104603-s124-diesel.html

 

[tintinmt]

Yes I did thanks. Fussy I know, but I really don't like that pillar box red. I have to admit, diesel would be a sensible choice.

 

[GP801]

My experience of older cars is that it can take several months to iron out the little irritating issues the previous owners did not bother with. If you are after a daily driver a specialist dealer might make sense as these should have been sorted for you. It will still cost you far less in depreciation than a more modern character free box.

 

[GP801]

Just noticed John Haynes www.mercedesj-a-haynes.com have a very nice looking 230te for £3500. They have an excellent reputation. I know its not quite what you want but gives an idea of what a specialist can do.

 

[SilverSaloon]

I bought my S124 E300D from Charles Ironside about 3 years ago. Although it was higher priced than others i could have bought at the time, it had £2k spent on it by CI to bring it up to standard and hasnt cost me anything other than service items since.

Unfortunatly, its a workhorse for me and my family, so i've not treated it aswell as i could have done (although thats nothing a good clean/tidy wouldnt fix). I'm now on 232k and its going as strong as it ever has. I service it myself and its cost me very little in the 3 years of ownership, plus still worth much more than the same-priced Ford, Vauxhall estate would of been when I purchased it. So its a non-brainer for me. The main issue with it for me is the amount of mileage I do ruins the "classic" value of it.

Yes, i've got itchy fingers for an W220 S500L, almost selling up at times, but i'm not ready to part with the S124 yet.

 

[Scott_F]

Just noticed John Haynes www.mercedesj-a-haynes.com have a very nice looking 230te for £3500. They have an excellent reputation. I know its not quite what you want but gives an idea of what a specialist can do.

With 198k on the clock £3500 is a bit rude.

 

[MOCAŠ]

Funnily enough, the W124 estate is mentioned in a used car article in this week's Autocar. I don't have it to hand at the moment, but from memory I think they quoted a guide price of £4000 for a good example.

 

[Biglips]

Plenty of really good ones out there for 3k. No need to pay dealer prices. Don't be put off by a big mileage - if it has been looked after properly it will cope with this without missing a beat. Good luck

 

[SilverSaloon]

With 198k on the clock £3500 is a bit rude.

not sure about that, mine was at 179k when I purchased it for well over 3.5k. it is very high spec though.

condition is everything.

the prices are all over the place. if you are lucky you can find a good 124 estate very cheap and spend the amount you saved fixing any issues it will have. either way of purchasing would be fine.... worst is to pay the premium price and buy a dog! only pay the higher prices from a specialised dealer IMO.

mileage on a E300D really doesnt matter if its well cared for. Mine is at 232k now and drives the same as any 40k car i've owned in the past....

 

[tintinmt]

Thanks all. This is good stuff.

 

[tintinmt]

Just an update and foot note. I finally bought a 1990 300TE 24v. 'Plenty of toys - sportline including leather, cruise, electric seats etc etc. Blue black with very good paintwork. No rust - as far as I can see. Plenty of work done in the recent past. I paid £3500. Oh yes - It has 194K on the clock! Drives nicely though.

 

[trapperjohn]

Good Luck with it. Sounds a lovely car and a great spec too.

Mine will turn over 227K tomorrow so you have yonks of happy motoring to come.

 

[Biglips]

Good choice. Change the ATF if you cannot find evidence of it being done. I would also recommend you renew the ARB bushes as it transformed the handling on mine. Piccies please.

 

[219]

At the other end of the scale , I bought a tidy 300TE-24 out of a scrapyard for £750 with no paperwork or history of any kind - it was showing 170K , drove very well and no signs of accident damage anywhere . It went through the MOT needing only a brake pipe , then I had the bonnet resprayed to get rid of some stone chips around which the laquer was lifting - I then had a really nice looking car in Almandine Red with Mushroom leather .

When the paperwork came through , I discovered it had been a one owner car , on contacting him I discovered it had been serviced from new by MB Glasgow up to about a month before I bought it - at which point he had retired and traded it in for a new SL , the dealer had put it to auction and the breaker had bought it .

The dealership printed out a service history , whereupon I discovered the true mileage was over 400K ! The flip side was there was an invoice for £6.5K for a new engine fitted by the dealer 18 months earlier - this engine only had about 60K on it - hence the car running so well . All the workshop staff knew the car ( as did a local Indy from his time working in the dealership ) and they all said it had wanted for nothing .

I had a little more than a year's enjoyment of this car , until the fateful morning an uninsured driver demolished my garden wall and sandwiched the car against the wall of my house - I ended up breaking it for spares and recovered what I had paid for it .


Oh , and I know of a member on another forum who bought a 300TE on eBay to use as a hack while he was renovating a house - he won the auction at something like a tenner and got a MOT'd & running W124 with a big dent in one rear wing . The car came with a near full tank of petrol which itself was worth more than he had paid , then , when cleaning the car out , he found something like £2.50 in change under the seats

In the end , the car had cost £7.50 , it passed another MOT without needing anything and as far as I know is still running .

 

[d w124]

Just an update and foot note. I finally bought a 1990 300TE 24v. 'Plenty of toys - sportline including leather, cruise, electric seats etc etc. Blue black with very good paintwork. No rust - as far as I can see. Plenty of work done in the recent past. I paid £3500. Oh yes - It has 194K on the clock! Drives nicely though.

Pictures please

 

[Pigpen]

A 124 of any type as a daily commuter is a sound idea.

I live in central London and do just under 70 miles a day in my c124 E320 to get to work and back. I recently had a fuel related revelation, if I drive slower I use less petrol

The motorway portion of my commutethis week has been taken at 65mph, the needle has just got to halfway down and I've done 204 miles. If it carries on that way I'll be getting a smidge over 30mpg from the car which is amazing IMO.

My previous commuter was a 3 series diesel that replaced my old w124 280e. I had the beemer for 6 months and hated every minute of it. Lost a fortune when I flogged it as well so it's all about deciding where to spend your motoring pennies, at the showroom or on the forecourt.