PA2TU,

Several of your points are spot-on, and I agree completely. Even the part where you encourage W124 owners to try something new is good advice. With regards to the 124 being the last "blue blood" platform, I suspect a violent horde of 123 owners would take exception. It's all relative.

What is not subjective is that the Mercedes build quality dropped after the merger, leveled off, and has recently (2002-2003) risen to previous levels. I imagine any rational W124 owner would not blackball every 2xx, just MY97-98 and possibly to MY2000.

Ready for a crash course in business and economics? No-one in Stuttgart has been chasing Lexus around the block with a copy of Consumer Reports in their hand. The quality issues have everything to do with improved margins to substantiate the merger for majority shareholders. There are a limited number of ways to improve margins a few points without affecting quality. You can force a temporary margin increase using cheaper materials, but the bottom will always fall out on any long-term ownership item (like a vehicle).

That is what DCX learned after the early 2xx vehicles had been on the market for a few years, not how to better compete with Lexus.

The margin on any DaimlerBenz vehicle manufactured prior to 1997 was much smaller than an equivalent platform today. Not a coincidence, 1997 was the first year the integration process went from paper to plant. The Germans made two significant changes that led to much higher margins per vehicle: 1) full automation of the stamping and assembly plants, and 2) selection of a lower-cost supply chain.

The former has paid off in spades, the latter had some negative consequence (see the latest mass recall).

I have no regrets spending money on and fixing my W124. Total expenses including purchase are approximately $15k USD during the past two years. It is a somewhat unique vehicle on the road, represents a good example of German engineering, and should last quite some time.

Enjoy the ride, fellow Mercedes owner.
-DM

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1995 E420 SE black/black
2004 Volvo V70R AWD