$6K is very reasonable for a nice W124 wagon under 150K with records. I think the market starts dropping like crazy after 150K and for some reason, even supposed Benz die hards get skittish after 200K. Want to ask the Mrs. if she'll take 6 for it today?

I am curious about three items on your W124, the head gasket, the tranny, and the wiring harness. Have any of these been replaced, if so do you have the documentation?

I have the complete history of the car from the day it was delivered.
I'm the third owner. The E320 belonged to the wife of a very good friend. He bought it when it was 5 years old, and had very low mileage, and had been turned in to the MB dealer, thus eligible for Starmark. Just before the warranty ran out, everything, and I mean everything was inspected and repaired at that time.

Head gasket - yes. Performed just under 100K under Starmark.

Tranny - No, but history of frequent fluid and filter changes. Our previous 87 300TD had well over 250K on the original trans, why not this one? It's driven carefully and maintained, just like the last one.

Wiring harness - Partial change. I sectioned in the portion that runs the coils, it was getting crispy under the cover, the rest is still in good shape ( I had a newish 94 harness to use).

You didn't ask, but;

Evaporator - Yes, did that myself a few years ago.

Would my wife sell it? Not unless you offered stupid money for it....

This car has been a garage kept car it's entire life. You can see it in the details, like the dash gage needles, and the bright reflectors in the front turn signals. Paint has zero crazing or fade, the interior still looks like new. My wife is crazy about where she parks it, nobody eats in it, blankets are laid down over the carpet when she transports stuff, etc.

With the 4-6k a year the car gets, I expect to have this one for quite a while.

Jim

__________________
14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

Wow! Sounds like a beauty! I ask about the tranny because the reverse bands are prone to going. The first sign would be the car strugling to climb up an incline backwards. I had mine replaced at around 180K.

Well, if you ever decide on selling send me a message.

Take care

I've bought several used '94s and '95s, from $700 for a rough one to a high of $2800 for a flawless and loaded black/black '95 with 120k on it.

I love the cars, but a nice one retail is maybe $4500, they just aren't worth that much anymore as a 17-year-old car. Also, wagons are hard to find when you're looking, and nearly impossible to sell when you're selling.

If it has issues or suspected issues, but is a nice southern body with good colors I'd pay no more than $2500-$3000.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I've never had problems selling E320 wagons.

95 E320 Wagon with 98k, documented wiring harness and head gasket, replaced transmission, excellent: $6500 to forum member



95 E320 Wagon with 119k, documented wiring harness and new head, AMG aeros and blacked out cladding, excellent: $6750 to forum member



94 E320 Wagon with 135k, documented wiring harness no head leakage (unknown if gasket has been done), very clean: $4750 (IIRC) to forum member's mom



95 E320 Wagon with 155k, replacement harness and new head gasket, average condition $3750. Sold on Craigslist



95 E300 Diesel 190k, New harness, trans, and evaporator. Great condition and black/black combo. Sold for $6000 to a forum member.



None of these cars took more than a week before they had a buyer. None of them did I come down much on the price, if at all. People have told me, and I'm guessing since they sold so quickly, that I could have gotten more for a few of them. $4500 for a well sorted, low mileage example is way under the money in my opinion. My guess is it would go in a flash. This is the absolute slowest time of the year to sell a car though, so deals can be had. That all changes like it always does in a few months.

If you don't mind some warts they can be had cheaply. There's a huge divide in price between sorted examples like my previous sales versus the standard "needs some work" cars. Jeff is right that starting with the right platform is the most important. I bought one 300TD for $500 that had $20,000 in service records. The car had rust holes you could put your fist through, yet people kept pouring money into a car that was rotting away before them and looked awful. Unless you know what you're doing you stand about an equal chance spending as much money, if not more, than if you bought the nice example to begin with. This is especially true if you don't do the majority of your own work or have a source of affordable labor. Paying book time at $100+ an hour really adds up fast.

Soon to arrive for me is a supposedly flawless 95 E320 sedan with 80,000 miles. I've heard flawless enough times from a used car dealer and have realistic expectations. I have to go through the standard W124 checklist, but hope to price it around $6000 as long as I don't have to do more than one of the big 3 (wiring harness, evaporator, head gasket). PPI says all are good, and there's some records to sort through, so we'll see.

__________________
1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

@ TylerH860,

Those first two wagons are to die for! The white one looks just like mine except mint. I honestly am considering my next car to be another w124 wagon and I think I would have paid your price, especially considering the work you had done to it. Mine is at 230k and runs beautiful (new head gasket, replaced tranny, and wiring harness is fine). I know it is only a matter of time before she goes though, especially considering it is my only vehicle. I might be crazy, but I'm thinking of getting another one for my next main vehicle. If not a w124 I will move up to a w210 or newer, w211 I think it is?

Does anyone have any experience with these models having traction control? Does it work well and make a significant difference, and most importantly does it break and if so render the car useless unless repaired, and cost a fortune? I have found that studded snow tires seem to be all I need up here in NH but the thought of traction control or a 4matic sounds pretty nice.

I have two W124s with traction control. I've also owned two 400Es, one with TC, one without. Generally, I don't take either E320 out in conditions that would require TC, we'll use the Exploder with 4WD and antilock under those conditions. I'd prefer not to have TC, but I'm not going to turn down a car because of it.

Two points I've learned:

The TC controls by applying the rear brake, and this will lead to surprising rear brake wear if invoked frequently.

My brother had a TC equipped car in northern Indiana, and hated the interference. While it may retard wheel spinning, it's big disadvantage, for him, was having it cut in and chop the throttle when he was making a left turn in front of traffic, leaving the car to creep across the lane, when some power and slippage would have been desirable.

Jim

__________________
14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

I probably will not go out of my way to find one with TC. I definitely do not want something interfering with the feel of the car.

Thanks for the insight.

To be completely honest, I have never felt TC/ASD to be a bother... Don't turn down a nice example because it has it.

Something to keep in mind..

I have seen many W210's with rust. I see very few W124's with it.

__________________
08 R320 CDI current

Past
95 E420
87 300D Turbo 5spd
90 300TE
83 300SD
85 300TD
92 400E
85 190D

The ASR system in these cars has a wiring harness that degrades just like the main wiring harness. Also if you have a bad battery or serious electrical problem it will cause a limp home mode scenario. The sensors are a little pricey too.

The trade-off is you gain heated seats with ASR package, and the traction control obviously. The only problem I had with one was during very cold days it would be in limp mode on start up. Once warmed up a bit I could shut it off and restart and the problem wouldn't be there for the rest of the day. Turned out to be the battery beginning to die.

Colin has told me the silver wagon I sold him (ASR car) had the harness cause intermittent sputtering problems about a month after he got it. He was able to swap it with a 96 throttle body (W210 chassis but same motor, and no wiring harness problems) and it hasn't been a issue since. Part was less than $200, IIRC.

The Green wagon was also an ASR car and it never gave me any problems.

All things being equal, I'd rather not ASR, but its not a big enough deal to turn me away from an ASR equipped car.

__________________
1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

^All accurate. I replaced it with a unit from a 1996 E320 with 74k and it has been fine ever since. Part was about $300 to my door, and install was free since I did it myself. Rebuilt units go for around $1000 and new $1200 so it was an easy choice.

If that is the only concern with the ASR of these cars I would not really worry about it to be honest.

The ASR is great, with one downisde IMO: it doesn't have an off switch. Many threads over the years on whether and how to install a disable switch for track or other spirited driving. I never minded it, but would have preferred an off switch be available.

On the upside, I never had an issue with mine, always drove great. Also, with ASR you get 4-channel ABS where the non-ASR cars have a more pedestrian 3-channel version, and the ASR cars get brake wear sensors on all four vs the front-only on non-ASR cars.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

My 93 e320 Wagon was the best car I ever owned. It's cargo capacity combined with its handling and performance was just right. It's very difficult for me to think of another car that can meets its value.