Quote:
Originally Posted by deanyel
There was a cosmetic change in 1994 but the idea that there was a 124 quality decline in 1994-95 is about as silly as anything you will ever read on a car forum.
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Replacing 16 good aluminum oil tubes with 16 cheap plastic ones on cars that MB was getting anywhere from 60,000 to 90,000 dollars for is a clear indication of where the company's collective heart was going during this time period. Who knows what else was being cheapened. Jim F. shows his own adventures with these plastic turds on his site. He has a few choice words about them here:
http://www.k6jrf.com/MB_lifter.html His M119 5.0 S class is a 94 BTW. My very early 93 has one piece aluminum tubes while my 95 E420 has the plastic ones. What possible reason was there for this switch to 2 piece plastic? To cause their customers who paid obscene amounts of money for their product misery, cost them money and possible engine damage? What possible purpose did this serve?
What kind of a company would go out of their way to save 5 dollars per car on cars they were getting 60,000 to 90,000 dollars for? One that no longer cared about making a quality product. It was the beginning of the Jurgen Schremp years that were to later nearly destroy the company.
Another cheapening of the product that occurred in the last half of 93-onward was the switch from closed deck blocks to open deck blocks. Again, who knows what other things that they were scrimping "Schrempping" on?
Another good example of MB's declining quality of that time period is the fact that the W124's replacement, the W210, which came out in 96 is not nearly as respected by the folks around here as the old W124 is.
We are all aware of the very dark period that MB has only recently begun to emerge from. That period began in the last half of 93 and was well underway by 94-95. For the record, the only reason I have my 95 E420 is because I couldn't pass up a running, driving M119 for only $575! You'll notice it's not even in my sig! And you'll notice there are never any running, driving 93 M-119s available that cheap!
Regards, Eric