W124 half wood steering wheel:Opinions pls

[bh13coupe]

I purchased a walnut leather steering wheel from a supplier who advertises in merc enthusiast (their add has lots of pics of interior addons and light upgrades) cost was approx £300 (£200 cheaper than a merc main dealer). I didnt have to ship the old wheel out on a return basis like some sellers. I did have one issue with this wheel, it kept blowing a fuse when the horn was used, this knocked out my indicators and starter motor which was a pain in the backside. however my local independat fixed the issue within an hour by running a relay on the live or negative feed (i think) on the horn ,forgive my lack of knowledge. the fix wasnt much in cost. I have a friend who also has a late model w124 coupe who had the same issue on an aftermarket walnut leather steering wheel. I beleive the same wheel is often sold to many models (s class, SL, E class and C class) and this the cause in the problem as not all power for the horns are the same. if you can go genuine, please do but you will pay for it. Mine isnt OEM but it looks the nuts and makes my car interior look so much better than the old wheel.

 

[WDB124066]

I would very much like to hear from anybody who has purchased a new one form a MB dealer.

I say this because after saving a certain Gentlemen a lot of money he offered to do something in return. At that time I was in Singapore and I asked if he would buy a wood leather steering wheel for my 1996 Sportline Cabriolet. We ordered it off Cycle & Carriage. When it came it was grey not black, the leather was of a different pattern & it had the wrong hub for a 124. It cost (everyone sitting down) $3,800 Sing dollars.
Well when I got back to NZL I got a hold of MB and asked if they could get the right one, they were very good and said they would. As all parts for NZL come from Singapore in any case they got on the wire and checked that I had been given the correct wheel and the answer was yes. So, we looked up the part number and compared it to the one we had and yes it all matched - but the wheel does not fit and does not even match the rest of the car! I think MB have made a mistake here, the wheel I have looks like it is for a 140 not a 124 - part numbers mixed up I think.

The hub changed after 1993. There is a note in the MB system that explains that prior to 1993 there is a wire to be installed (supplied with a replacement wheel) to make the horn work but post 1993 the replacement wheel should fit straight on. There is a spiral contact ring that is required for post 1993 124’s

Has anybody bought one of these wheels from a MB dealer in the UK or elsewhere and what did they end up with. Love to know as I have a commitment from MB NZL that they will change it out for the correct one if we know what the correct part number is. Sounds Mickey Duck to me that MB cannot replace the one that came with the car that they sold new, but there you go.

Regards to all WDB124066.

 

[WDB124066]

no experience of the seller, but they do look good.

here is how a genuine one looks for reference:

Has this one been recovered. leather does not look right to me?? Attached is a photo of a bog standard one with 185,000 K's on it.

Regards, WDB124066

 

[Ventolin]

Hi,

Sorry for the late posting...

I bought a wood / leather steering wheel for my W140 from Gericia International. It cost a bit more than ebay (£365) but was able to pick it up direct from the supplier. I also bought a wood/chrome gear knob and chrome surround for the gear gate - both very good quality.

The wheel was a geniuine MB wheel but retrimmed. The quality is excellent and a very worthwhile purchase as I still have pleasure from using it a year later. Mine has cream leather and matches the leather colour in the rest of the car exactly (though it was a bit lighter when first installed).

Mercedes Benz were not able to order the genuine wheel as they were out of stock in the UK and in Germany (and had been for a while from what I was told).

Hope that helps,

Regards,

Vent

 

[d w124]

I got parts from them before,and they are good i must say.

 

[SilverSaloon]

Has this one been recovered. leather does not look right to me?? Attached is a photo of a bog standard one with 185,000 K's on it.

Regards, WDB124066

Hi

no, not recovered. it was brand new when that photo was taken so the leather hadnt had the chance to go shiney etc - still had the "new" matt finish thats lost after a few 1000 miles.