W124 series E class, advice for a newbie

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Designed for automatics in the US where they call it an emergency brake and rarely use it. Really doesn't work well with a manual. Can't imagine my car as an automatic, 0 to 60 would be measured in decades!

Bob
 
Originally posted by Motard
Can't imagine my car as an automatic, 0 to 60 would be measured in decades!

Bob

Just wait until the re build is finished :D :D :D :D

Ian
 
Not making too much progress with the rebuild Ian, you might just find a box of bits waiting for you when you come down in the summer!
Whenever I am up for it there is always a reason why I can't, when I do have the time I lack motivation. Maybe the fork lift will beat you to it lol.

Bob
 
Six months on

Had the car six months now, very useful for moving house with all that space.

Had one mechanical service - with all the usual bits costing about £300 at a non Mercedes specialist (£53ph) - plus a/c unit serviced , new boot struts, and a temporary fix of a leak around the manifold gasket. (another £400).

This worked out as very temporary - one of the studs had sheared off and was told that I needed to have head taken off engine. They noted also that it needed front suspension bushes and rear propshaft coupling.

Now living down in Cornwall, and took it to a garage that services a lot of Merc vans and tractors.. this time £18ph...he has drilled out stud without removing head, and done the other bits. Interestingly, the manifold had lost another 2 nuts since the temporary repair 2 months earlier - vibratation ?

Haven't had bill yet, but hope it is fixed now. Gearbox still fairly clunky when warm despite oil change and prop coupling (told new rear prop coupling was solution by Merc specialist).

Not exactly the paragon of modest priced motoring given FMBSH, but I'm enduring it at the moment as I like the car.
 
Glad you are sticking with the W124 M8 - Brill cars

Good choice of yours to go with the 220 as that's a practical minimum size given the weight of the beast - mines a 200 and its very irritating going up long hills!

enjoy for many years to come :D :D

Steve

PS I wonder just what was the biggest engine option offered on W124's
plus does anyone know of a definative listing of models / engines

ie W124 with a M102 engine
 
Steve Chafer said:
PS I wonder just what was the biggest engine option offered on W124's
plus does anyone know of a definative listing of models / engines

ie W124 with a M102 engine

They made a 500E / E500 from 1992 to 1994 with the 5 litre V8 but it's a rare beast indeed. I think the next size down was the AMG E36 which was the E320 taken out to 3.6 litres and is even rarer, so much so it's not even listed here.

http://www.mercedes-benzownersclub.co.uk/model_list.htm
 
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I'm sure one of the members has an E36. Very nice car, the E500 is a bit of a mentalist motor so I've read. German musclecar.

I've had my 124 for 5 months or so and I think it's great. Had a few jobs done, steering damper/rear disks shoes and pads/diff oil seals and a full service with air con refurb. I don't think parts are that expensive but I look at it as a quality car, and with a little spending often should last for years to come.

I think I got lucky with one in very good condition, I find the quality of the paint is incredible for a 9 year old car.

My new hobby is washing and polishing - I'm turning into a sad git! :p
 
andy_k said:
the AMG E36 was called the S124
The "S" in S124 simply refers to it being an estate, all estate 124s are S124s.
 
I have just got back from a weeks bucket and spade holiday in Pembrokeshire.
My Battlecruiser ( W124 E36 amg saloon ) must have surprised a few on the M4 hurtling past with its roof box.

This is my first W124 and the first car in 20 years that doesn't give me back ache from driving 100 miles plus . I love the car but it did cost me a few pounds around Christmas time and I was tempted to throw in the towel and buy a Ford Focus for about 10 minutes. I'm glad I didn't act in haste.

I think all the W124's are great cars and I really wanted an E320 estate when I fell over my Battlecruiser. I could possibly be tempted out of mine for a mint W126 560sel or something like a 3 or 4 year old E430 estate but it would be a difficult call.
 
Shude said:
The "S" in S124 simply refers to it being an estate, all estate 124s are S124s.

I thought all estates were "T"s?

K
 
All 124 estates are "T"s and all are "S"´s as well:

In the showroom, all E-class estates (until today) are called "T-models". (T for "transport"? I´m not sure)
The Mercedes-Benz internal model name for the E-class of 1984-1995 was "W124". However, estates were marked as "S124".

After four years with an E 200 estate (1994) with manual transmission and without air conditioning I have decided to go for the max and I found a nice 1995 E 320 with 5-speed auto, air, leather, asd, asr, carphone etc.

These cars are not exactly cheap to maintain, but they do give you a return on your investment: A value and satisfaction I have not found in a Toyota, a Ford or a Citroen. Of course it is crazy to burn 13 liters of fuel per 100 km, but for the next five years or so it shall be, and when I turn fifty I will grow up and buy a used Ford Mondeo or Toyota Avensis Diesel. Maybe.
 
W124 Boot capacity vs newer E class estate

Does anyone know what size boot the E class 124 estate has in relation to the newer one ?

I've found in lots of places that the newer one has 1900 litre capacity, the older 124 looks smaller, but don't know whether it is true.

many thanks in advance :)
 
Well i bought a 230ce 1991 model in Feb 2005. Its been in the garage a total of one full month. I have spent 700 pounds on a new timing chain, tappetts, manifold gaskett .. it went back to the garage twice as the first set of tappetts were pressumed faulty. They werent !!..so it went back again and it was the manifold gasket causing the tappett noise ) then the manifold gasket bolt snapped and it was re threaded. ( common fault ). Rear window motor also broke.I found out last week that i now need a whole new rear suspension system, bushes etc ( suspension moves and clunks when gear changes ) estimate from S&R Motors Formby £ 550 plus VAT ..lets round it up to £600 !...Oh and its loosing water so Ray at S&R checked it out ..ahhh cylinder head gasket sir..... i will relieve you of another £700 ...oh thats includin vat. The breaks are grinding and the abs is playin up.( god knows how much that will be ).A couple of weeks ago the gear box stick came loose and was spinning round in my hand, luckily a nice man at Chester Auto Box fixed that in 15 mins and charged £ 10....but was reluctant to take the money.... I later found out that the interior light for the auto box selector stopped working ..( related ...... hmm maybe ! ) Gear box has always been slightly jerky and i am now paranoid about it........and to top it all off i left the car in a pub on sunday night after downing a few sherbetts and returned on monday to find some shit bag had scratched the bonnett, boot, and doors. Pressumably the same bunch of retards that i bollocked for kicking their football against my bonnet the previous evening... . .. forgetting the scratching incident ..I really dont think theses cars are cracked up to what they are made out to be. Yes I have had some bad luck but if you read the majority of threads they are about things that have or are going wrong with their cars. The difference with these old cars is that the members on this forum love them so much that they dont seem to mind the expense or the hassle of getting them repaired ( read the threads yourself and make your own judgement) If you have a busy career, and kids, keep away from these cars as they are a money pit, you simply wont have the time to spend on them . Sorry to wet on your bonfire but thats how it is. You would be better off buying a brand new car ( BMW ) but merc if you want no image. It really would cost the same. As soon as my car is repaired i am off to bmw to purchase a brand new bmw 320 convertible...something i should have done in the first place.... ..thats if i can sell the damn thing....Happy motoring.
 
Sorry to hear of your problems,but that sort of thing could happen to any make, i have had very little trouble with mine, just the usual wear and tear for a 145000 miler, i take it that you won't be using this forum for much longer then ??? good luck Rob
 
shoee said:
Does anyone know what size boot the E class 124 estate has in relation to the newer one ?

I've found in lots of places that the newer one has 1900 litre capacity, the older 124 looks smaller, but don't know whether it is true.

many thanks in advance :)

from the smaller to the bigger:

s124=530l; s210=600l , s211=690l; all measured below luggage cover.

s124=2175; s210=1975; s211=1950l; all measured loaded up to roof and with rear seats down. The only unknown is if the figures includes the compartment where the rear facing seats are.

Hope this helps
 
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I'd disagree with the running costs comments, our 1989 230TE 220k miler has proved cheaper to run over the last 3 years than most other cars

Aside from regular servicing and replacing of parts that were due to be replaced at service intervals I've spent less than £30 "fixing" the car. If I take into account all of my servicing and running costs for the past 3 years (not counting fuel and insurance)the bill is less than £500 and that includes replacing the rear spheres!!

OK. I do my own servicing and get trade rates on parts but I still class the W124 as a cheap car to run as long as you choose carefully and buy one that's been looked after mechanically and that you continue to look after either yourself or with specialists.

There's an old adage that applies here

"There's nothing as expensive as a cheap Mercedes"

Andy
 
As i said in my thread Andy, if you have a busy career, and kids then you wont have the time to spend on them ! so you do have to take the car to someone to fix. Merc specialists arnt cheap. My wifes BMW 1991 which we have owned since new has given excellent service and is as cheap as a mondeo to repair.

By the way Andy my mercedes was chosen as carefully as possible. It has a full mercedes history, i had it examined by a well known and respected mereceds specialist, and i even tracked down the two previous owners who confirmed the car had been looked after !!
I am just warning potential buyers that these cars can be "money pits" . When i decided I was going to purchase a coupe I first logged on to this site and was convinced by the posts that these cars were indestructable ( I let my heart rule my head ).

The two posts following mine confirm what i said with regards to the members on this site defending mercedes over any criticism because they love em so much !!.......As for using the forum Robert, i will now and again, but only to give impartial advice to any new purchaser of an old mercedes benz. I think my experience has proved invaluable......... !!
 
Bad Luck Coupe

Forgive the presumption but what was the mileage and approximate cost of your coupe. You seem to have inherited a lot of problems from previous owners if you dont mind my saying. :( :( A new BMW coupe aint that cheap!!! Service history and mileage can be "massaged" by the unscrupulous. You put your finger on it when you said your 1991 BMW has given you faithful service " FROM NEW" You obviously looked after the car and in turn its been reliable. Maybe the 230ce has had a more chequered history. It only takes one neglectful owner to ruin a well engineered car. One post I heard described Mercedes as "durable" rather than reliable. These cars do last if they are looked after and have a reasonable amount of money spent on them over the years. I'm sorry if your Merc experience has been a bad one but get a good un and you will be hooked for life! :) :)
 

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