remanufacturing an MB - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

jsmith · #1 01-11-2003, 12:34 PM

a few years back there was an article on R&T on a shop that specialized in completely stripping and rebuilding bmw 2002's and volvo 24x's. i also came across a shop here in NJ that did the same thing with VW Beetles. in effect, you would have an "as new" condition car of those respective makes at what i thought was a reasonable cost.

i wonder if this is feasible for w124's. might anyone hazard a guess as to how much such an undertaking would cost - assuming that there is little or no bodywork involved? candidates would be w124 that currently cost under $10k. car prices are just so ridiculous nowadays. i believe that a "remanufactured 300e/e320" would be a much better choice than camry's/maximas and what have you's, that all cost $20k - $30k!

suginami · #2 01-11-2003, 02:08 PM

Man, wouldn't it be nice?

Stevebfl has posted before that many of his customers would prefer a brand new W124 or a W210 if one was made.

FWIW, there is at least one company out there that completely disassembles Chevrolet Caprices for Police Departments and sells them back as new. It seems that this option is cheaper than buying a brand new Ford Crown Vic. And many Police Departments prefer the Chevies anyway.

Snibble · #3 01-11-2003, 02:44 PM

So the car would basically be equal to a brand new one? All the parts are replaced for new ones, etc? Not bad of an idea if its true.. how much would such a 300E cost?

jsmith · #4 01-11-2003, 03:04 PM

i'm just thinking out loud and wondering what it would cost. check out this link to a remanufactured VW beetle (well ok they cheat by using mex parts)...

Brand new VW Beetle

mikemover · #5 01-11-2003, 08:35 PM

There's a place here in Atlanta that does ground-up, factory-accurate restorations on Mercedes, but I think they mostly deal with SLs....

Mike

Kuan · #6 01-12-2003, 08:46 AM

I've done a few 911's. A "full" restoration if you let some other person do it costs anywhere between $20,000 and $50,000 if you do it right. It's a lot of work. There's plenty to do which costs money and time.

Kuan

G-Benz · #7 01-13-2003, 02:57 PM

Uh....

...cheaper to just buy a used one or take your existing W124 and fix everything that's broken...

...gotta be about $10K cheaper to go that route!

If I had the money, that's what I'd do.

And I rebuilt (some) of my VW Beetle years ago for about $12K...with "German" parts!

jsmith · #8 01-13-2003, 05:12 PM

it's the high cost of labor that would make a strip down so prohibitive. you may be right - you take a 93-95 300E/E320 with mileage preferably around 100k. have the following done (in addition to regular A or B maint items).

-head gasket/valve seals etc.
-wiring harness
-throttle actuator
-MAF
-cruise control
-flex disk
-engine / tranny mounts
-shocks
-front and rear suspension bits and pieces
-AC evaporator

(anyone care to add to the list?)

what would the grand total be for the list of repairs?

placo1 · #9 01-13-2003, 05:24 PM

I'm slowly restoring my car and I find great pleasure in it.

Depending on what is required either I will do it or have my mechanic do it. For instance every time I take my car in for service I will have my mechanic replace any parts that look worn if they are related to what he is servicing. It doesn't matter if they are bad or not, they get replaced anyways.

The latest changes I've made are rubber gasketing, a new battery tray and clamps and eventually I'll replace the door sills and several other small items.

My belief is to buy the absolute best example (of the car you want) that you can afford and take very very good care of it. When you have some extra cash you replace worn items. The car will eventually be as good as new.

jsmith · #10 01-13-2003, 06:18 PM

that's pretty much what the majority of us are doing in the first place. my idea was to be able to buy a car that would be just about as new, with maybe even a warranty to boot. if they cost in the neighborhood of the current crop of midsize sedans, they would be a bargain!

i don' t fancy the newer cars - specially out of warranty. my own personal opinion is that the w124's were the last of the MB cars truly built to last...

suginami · #11 01-13-2003, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jsmith
it's the high cost of labor that would make a strip down so prohibitive. you may be right - you take a 93-95 300E/E320 with mileage preferably around 100k. have the following done (in addition to regular A or B maint items).

-head gasket/valve seals etc.
-wiring harness
-throttle actuator
-MAF
-cruise control
-flex disk
-engine / tranny mounts
-shocks
-front and rear suspension bits and pieces
-AC evaporator

(anyone care to add to the list?)

what would the grand total be for the list of repairs?

I think the list would be a little different depending on if it's an M103 or M104 engine.

The M103 would have to include valve seals and stems. On M104's they never go bad.

M104 engines have a throttle actuator, and the cruise control functions is part of the actuator.

M103's would need a new cruise control and whatever unit preceeded the actuator. (idle control valve??).