W124 Diesel Estate Prices?

[Sp!ke]

I've been browsing around looking for a replacement car for wifey.

She was after a LWB Pajero but after much research, I've been frightened out of that idea as so many seem to blow themselves up (if ebay and Pajero forums are to be believed).

So I've been singing the praises of the W124 and trying to convince her to get a nice clean example of a diesel W124 Estate.

However... How much do these things go for?

It seems a good 20 year old 7 seater Diesel W124 Estate with 100k on the clock can still fetch the wrong side of £6k

I'm a w124 convert myself but that's just plain silly.

A little more hunting around and it seems for £5k you can buy a fully loaded 2000 ML320 with 60k on the clock. Are the ML's really that bad?

Looks to me like the ML's are remarkably good value at the moment or am I missing something?


So what car would you buy in the 5-6k range?

 

[Ade B]

how about one of these

practical 4 door hatch back...



Ade

 

[Sp!ke]

Actually, I know these very well. I wont claim to have owned one but I spent many a mile in one and whilst being a joy to drive, ownership costs are shocking.

This has to be a daily driver... ok wifey only does 5k per year but still....

 

[grober]

Apart from rear shock/spring units, a large appetite for discs/pads, broken/missing chassis spot welds,dodgy sunroofs, failing manual 6 speed gearboxes, split catalytic converters, dodgy trim and the dreaded harmonic balancer pulley they're fine.
The later facelifted diesels built in Austria seem to be a better proposition but I guess they would still command a higher price than the very early cars built by the " GOOD OL BOYS" in Alabama.
If you can live with the fuel consumption, unsettled ride and poor rear visibility and if you are highly selective [which I'm sure you are Spike] you could indeed find a bargain in what is fundamentally a soundly engineered and safe car, but the later the better as in so many models.:bannana:

 

[Ade B]

Rx300?

 

[compress ignite]

Why were the "M's" made in Graz,Austria...

They (Mercedes) couldn't sell the Tuscaloosa, Alabama ASSEMBLED "M's"
to anyone in Europe...'Cause the "Quality Control" was soooo bad!

A twenty year old W124 will always beat ANY "M" ( unless you can find
one of the few 4.0 litre Quad Cam Twin Turbo CDI "M's" made in Graz.)

 

[janner]

This has to be a daily driver... ok wifey only does 5k per year but still....

Diesel W124 estates are rare hence silly prices. If she only does 5k/year then why not buy a petrol version? An E220 might be okay. The difference in fuel over 5k won't be much in real cash terms.

 

[DITTRICH]

If it's any consolation, I refuse to believe that any W124 diesel estate has done less than 150,000 miles by this stage unless it was a well documented one private owner example. Yes they do attract silly prices - more so than when I bought mine 2.5 years ago - but driven frugally they return 44mpg @ 50mph in 4th and not less than 30mpg in London traffic - which considering their size and load capacity and age is pretty remarkable. I think a younger petrol engined W124 would be sufficient. Is the estate bit an absolute requirement? as this further restricts choice.
If its any consolation, now is the time of year to buy a car.
Rgds
Les

 

[andy_k]

of the two estates we've owned the E320 is by far the most economical but it does little or no stop go driving as we are surrounded by open countryside and relatively traffic free roads.

Less than 5k miles a year makes a big petrol W124 seem like a great idea

Andy

 

[Vlad]

For the mileage your wife is doing a good petrol W124 Estate should be an option....more cars available and you can still find some good low mileage examples if you look hard

 

[Sp!ke]

Erm... well the wife will do only 5k per year, but if its a nice car, I may be borrowing it on occasion.

... and being an estate, it will probably get used on summer holidays and such. I quite fance the diesel idea purely because I like the idea of running on vegy oil.

 

[rjmd]

well as a guide i've just picked up this w124 diesel estate for just over a grand;

185k miles, needed new tyres and front disks
almost entirely rust free (few small <1cm spots here and there)
two owners each for 10 years,
10 years mercedes official servicing
10 years mercedes independent specialist servicing
everything works (but it is a base model, so not many toys)


just picked it up off ebay. they pop up now and then..

 

[finisterre]

I like that.

 

[Charles Morgan]

W124 24v diesel estates are now pretty rare, and if they have very good spec (which is even rarer) then they are not cheap, but will last for hundreds of thousands of miles, with much less to go wrong than a petrol W124. Personally, I suspect the lack of acceleration compared to a modern diesel will jar, but they are hardly going to depreciate much from here if properly maintained. My 320 has 120k on the clock and drives like new.

Alarmingly though, I stopped to fill up at Chiswick yesterday on my way out west, and this nice chap came over to admire my car, he had had a W124 estate that had recently been nicked, and the police had told him he was about the fifth owner of a W124 in recent months to have one nicked in the area. He hoped I had an immobiliser, which of course I do. I would be heartbroken to lose mine.

This is nice apart from the colour.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Talking of running a diesel on vegetable oils, could you run one on lard? A much neglected cooking fat, but the smell every day of say Gloucester Old Spot or Jabugo lard coming from the exhaust, oh vey!

 

[corned]

Talking of running a diesel on vegetable oils, could you run one on lard?

It's not just human arteries which would get clogged up. Now he wants to clog up the car's as well! He he.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Lard is a much misunderstood fat - a good, if short, guide from the Grauniad

 

[Dieselman]

Talking of running a diesel on vegetable oils, could you run one on lard?

Yes you can, you just need to heat it first to melt it into oil.

Have you got some pigs then?

 

[Smiley]

I have owned a w124 e300d 24v estate for many years. It has now done 240k miles; more than 200k by me. It drives pretty much the same as when it was nearly new with very few replacement parts having been fitted. Are they worth >£5k - imo no - not when 5 or 6 yr old w211 diesel estates are only just a bit more then double that. And the 211 will have half the miles of the 124 on it and a lot less rust lurking underneath. You just have to accept the added complexity of the 211 - maybe thats why the 124s are so expensive?
If you can find a presentable 124 diesel estate for about £2k or a cracker for £3k then I would go for it - otherwise buy something newer.

 

[E CLASS]

Thread resurrection - OP posted this back in 2007!!