About to buy a W124 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Midniteblubenz · #1 02-13-2006, 01:42 PM

I have a '91 300E right now. The car is mostly dealer serviced, but the car is about to turn 300,000 and I've into some major repair bills. I'm not going to put the money into it so I've decided to buy another W124 and park this one off.

I've found a 400E w/ under 200Km but I'm not feelin like buyin a V8 w/ gas prices now days. So its come down to a '93 300E and a '92 300E. I looked at a couple '94 E320's and several 300E's and its come down to this.

The '93 has 240,000km on the clock and a fabric interior (which really sucks), but it runs perfectly. The car is silver and the guy is willing to give it to me cheap. The only thing not working in the car at the time was one of the positions on the drivers power seat. I also noticed that the wiper blade starts on the passenger side and sweeps counter to every other left hand drive uni-blade Benz I've ever seen. It had a flat so I couldn't drive it, but I'm takin it to get checked out by Benz tomorrow.

The '92 is Maroon, has 185,000km and has a leather interior but when I checked out the car the HVAC wasn't working, the engine mounts needed replacing (it shivered at idle), and it was owned by a smoker (faint smell inside). The dealer said he'd fix the HVAC (apparently it just needs a new fuse). The exterior paint was in mint condition for the age and he claims its original. The car drove very nicely. Engine was smooth and the tranny shifts were the way they should be.

My pops came along with me when I to look at the cars and I prefered the '93 because it seemed like it was better maintained car. Also it has the M104 motor which I believe was a better motor. My pops didn't like the '93 because he thinks the milage is too high and doesn't like the cloth interior. He'd rather see my buy the '92.

Any advice?

Nabeel · #2 02-13-2006, 02:23 PM

If the headgasket has been replaced with the updated unit in the M104, it should be a durable motor. I think the cloth seats are kind of unique. If the '93 has the updated headgasket and wiring harness (if the car was well-maintained, the seller should know this), then it seems to be the better buy. However, don't limit yourself to just these 2 cars. W124s are fairly common on the used market, I'd advise you to look around further.

sfloriII · #3 02-13-2006, 04:08 PM

If gas is the issue for not buying the V8 I'd check again. I think the V8 only gets one mile per gallon less than the 6. At least that's what I've heard here.

420SEL · #4 02-13-2006, 04:33 PM

With the V8 you can burn more gas if you drive it hard (and you may be tempted to - its just fun), but if you drive it easy the milleage is not bad at all. If you are going to be doing mostly highway driving I don't think you'd notice the gas much at all, if you're planning to do 70%+ city driving you probably would.

softconsult · #5 02-13-2006, 04:55 PM

Neither one of those finalists seem to be great deals. I wouldn't believe that the A/C problem is just a fuse. If it is then why haven't they replaced it before showing the car? Surely you can find some better examples with less miles and better maintenance records. In my opinion, based on my three experiences with W124's , you will be seeing some serious repairs bills with either of these. At least with your '91 you know what you have. 400E ? Think more repairs than the 6 cylinder.

I would keep looking.

Steve

Larry Delor · #6 02-13-2006, 07:13 PM

I don't know what kind of mpg you are getting with your 300E, but I do know that with my E420, I have no trouble getting 23-24mpg. Worst mpg I ever noted was 21.

Midniteblubenz · #7 02-15-2006, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by softconsult

Neither one of those finalists seem to be great deals.

I would keep looking.

Steve

Time isn't on my side. I have a Chev Impala rental which I can't keep very long and I'm a regional manager so I spend a lot of my time on the road. I never considered a 400E because I assumed that the fuel milage would be considerably worse. From owner responses it seems to be not significantly worse than my 300E (I was avging about 22mpg).

There are one or two 300E's w/ 150Km on them but they're either 4-Matics or late 80's models (I'm not interested in either). The '93 I'm lookin at drives very well so I'm takin it to Benz and getting it checked out.

Incidently, can someone tell me whether the '93 300E's had a second gear take off. My '91 is first and I thought they switched to first gear start after 1990.

Nabeel · #8 02-15-2006, 03:23 PM

'93 should have first gear start.

Midniteblubenz · #9 02-15-2006, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by softconsult

Neither one of those finalists seem to be great deals... At least with your '91 you know what you have. 400E ? Think more repairs than the 6 cylinder.

I would keep looking.

Steve

I had those cars checked out and I've reached the same conclusion. I've increased my budget so now I'm lookin at a '95 E320 w/ 160Km, a '92 400E w/ 155Km and a '95 and '97 C280 with 115Km.

I havn't driven any of them but I had leased a new '97 C280 for 4 years back in '98 and I had a pleasant ownership experience.

I'm leaning towards the 400E personally (I like its size and I find the E320 to be dime a dozen), but I don't know a thing about Benz V8's.

Someone care to tell me the common problems w/ these engines?

Am I making a mistake going for a V8? I'm driving all for cars tormw.

A264172 · #10 02-15-2006, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midniteblubenz

...I'm leaning towards the 400E personally (I like its size and I find the E320 to be dime a dozen), but I don't know a thing about Benz V8's...

The M119 engine is supposed to be excellent. Look to see records more with these cars than than with the M103/M104 cars because the repairs can be more costly and they are intrinsicly more subject to run into timing chain trouble. Wireing harness and AC problems are the big ticket items that are known to be problems, if they have not been done be wary. V8's tend to put on more stress related wear than 6's... because they can... another reason to look for records in whatever you buy.
Good luck.

Larry Delor · #11 02-15-2006, 08:12 PM

I'd lean towards a 94 or 95.
Things to look for are wiring harness issues (this includes the wiring in the throttle actuator). Make sure the A/C works - this would apply for 6's and 8's. Although I have not had it happen to mine, there is the possibility that some little oil tubes could become dislodged - fortunately, the repair isn't all that costly...there is a write-up/pictorial on it. Be sure to change your caps and rotors at recommended intervals - not doing so can threaten the life of the ignition module ($$$$!). Other than that, the only quibble that I have myself, is that this big ole fan resistor likes to break...it's more irritating than expensive.
I expect to sell mine once it reaches around 250k miles.

softconsult · #12 02-15-2006, 08:25 PM

I would also think about this aspect. 400E and Toronto, Canada, i.e. snow!
I think I would want to make certain that this 400 E had the ASR rear end.
Otherwise, it may be un-driveable in snow. I test drove a couple of 400E's last year. They have some serious torque.

Steve

AuctorEcclesiae · #13 02-16-2006, 04:51 PM

Also commenting on Larry's post, when examining the A/C system, be sure to ask about the AC evaperator. From reading posts here, they are a very well-known issue with the W124, and are extremely difficult to get at, resulting in mega $$ if replacement is needed. Too bad Mercedes didn't design their placement like in the W201's - they were much easier to access.

On the '95, the wiring harness will also be something to inspect carefully.

-Michael

Midniteblubenz · #14 02-17-2006, 05:08 PM

Well I drove all the cars this week. The two E-Classes are out. The E320 I looked at was in real bad shape. I cant believe that a dealer would even try to sell a car like that. The car only had 160Km on it, but it was not taken care of at all.

Its come down now to the C280's. The first one is a '95 white on black ( i hate black interiors) with 115Km on it. The car is cheap (because its white) and drives well. My only beefs with it relate to the fact that its a '95 so it has the old interior, no keyless entry, etc. It didn't have heated seats (important to have up here) or ASR (nice to have) and some of the power features weren't working (one-touch down on the windows, headrests).

The second C280 is a '97. The car is smoke silver on beige interior and has 185Km on it. The milage my only problem with this car. The hood has enough stone chips because the milage is mostly highway. Other than that the car is flawless. Every position on the electric seats works incl. the headrests and because its a '97 it has all the toys (keyless, heated seats, ASR, etc).

Which one would you buy?

AuctorEcclesiae · #15 02-19-2006, 04:57 PM

If I were you, I would take a closer look at the '97. If the car has maintenance records and has been well-maintained, with documented oil change and service intervals, I wouldn't be too scared of the mileage.

If I remember correctly, model 1995 on the C-class used, for the first time, the 5-speed, 722.6 electronically controlled transmission. I would scan for transmission work to see if this C280 had any of the "notorious" issues with the earlier versions of the 722.6. I think that the major problems were cleared up by the '97 model year.

Also - look on the forum for HVAC issues - if memory serves me correctly, the '95 model year had major headaches associated with the HVAC, but not so much in the later model years. The '97 might prove to be a bit more reliable in that regard.

Hope this helps. Good luck!