Is a W124 300E a money pit or a worthwhile vehicle to own? - Page 5 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Zulfiqar · #61 08-30-2013, 09:31 AM

Nice thread,

anyone thinking of owning a W124 - specially the 95 E300D, GO FOR IT. Its a car your great grandkids will also see running around. (like the MB commercial shows a kid holding a pic of his grandfather and the same mercedes parked behind the kid)

I would not call it high maintenance, parts are not very expensive (try getting parts quotes for some complicated toyota/nissan part). My car has never stranded me - I have even took it on dirt roads etc. Its a car built to survive. You would need a nice expanded tool kit and some custom made tools to service it though.

Wayfarer · #62 12-18-2013, 11:33 AM

Yes, very interesting thread. Over the last 15 years, I've owned five W124's: a '92 300D that I personally put over 250K on, an '87 300D, a '95 E420, another '92 300D, and my current daily driver a '94 E320. I love them all, and each had it's own unique personality.

Out of the bunch, the best was the '92 300D that I drove a quarter million miles. Wasn't cheap to maintain, but wasn't horrible either. It NEVER broke down or left me stranded. The only pain was recurring issues with the electronic boost control for the turbo. My second '92 300D had the electronic boost bypassed with an old fashioned pressure wastegate and was FAR superior. I traded it on my E420 and while I liked the E420, I still regret trading my 300D for it (ah, impulse....). The '87 had the straight six diesel, super fast, but the interior was dated and was a pain to work on, especially belts, radiator, etc., with that long block. The '92 I5 had plenty of room in the front. The E420 was a sinful pleasure. Great highway car. Truly fantastic. 27-28 mpg all day long at 75 mph. And you could hardly tell it was running with that V8 and tall gears.

Finally, I'm now driving a '94 E320 for the last two years. Was looking for a diesel W124 but prices were sky high. Literally double the equivalent gas car, same condition, same miles. SO I figured what the hell, I can pay for a lot of repairs with the savings on initial purchase. I came upon a really nice 2nd owner E320 with 107K. It now has 131K. In 24K miles, I had to catch up on maintenance, including a full 90K service, new Bilsteins all around, and new tires. All regular maintenance items. The only failures were the smog pump and MAF, both of which I repaired myself relatively cheaply after easy diagnosis.

I gotta say, I really like the gas inline six (M104). It has always run perfectly (save for the MAF) and positively sings at high RPM. The fun factor is much greater with the six than with my diesels.

Everything has pretty much already been said. The most important being that you really need to keep up on the maintenance for a W124 NOT to become a money pit. But if you do, then it will be a reliable, long-term ownership experience with moderate repair costs over time. I like the diesels very much, but the gas cars are also superb and transform the car into a much sportier zoomier personality car. With the gassers soooo much less expensive to buy, these days, I'd say go for a well-maintained late-run (94-95) E320 with the fantastic M104 straight six.

Regardless, the W124 is one of Mercedes best designs ever. It straddles perfectly the era of no-expense-spared engineering and build quality with the modern driveability era. Earlier cars had tank-like build quality but less-than great handling and driveability. Later cars than the W124 had great performance and handling but crappy build quality. The W124 is the perfect blend of quality and performance.

jake12tech · #63 12-18-2013, 11:57 AM

I've owned 5 w124's and worked on them when new and have two w124s now. Both '92s needed work when I had them. I got lucky on my '92 300D because I had done all the work to it already and it drained the other guys wallet before mine in parts. My '92 300E is in ok shape, but I've got it running and driving now. I didn't expect much for $650.00. I disagree with the quality of the w210s being crappy. You can't expect to drive a car forever and not wash the salt off and never expect the elements to take it's course on the body and components. It's possible for even a w124 to need a new spring perch from rot. Let's face it, even a 124 with deferred maintenance won't drive forever if not taken care of just like any car. No car is "bulletproof".

liquiddog · #64 12-18-2013, 09:31 PM

Now deep into a w201 rebuild, I'd guess 10k if you pay under 2k for a running car. That's if you do all the work yourself. Considering a bean sprout car like a Ford Focus or base model Kia is 17k at a minimum, I'd guess that's not bad.

I don't mind working for the things I have, so the time investment doesn't bother me. My wife is still warming up to it. I work on it every weekend.

pawoSD · #65 12-18-2013, 09:53 PM

I was the founder of this thread.

My W124 is long gone (early May) traded in for a Jetta Sportwagen TDI 6-speed. The 300E had many issues, high fuel consumption (barely 17mpg usually), A/C broken, exhaust failing, engine stalled when turning, noisy fuel pumps, transmission had weakening reverse....interior worn...paint was baked/destroyed, it wasn't worth putting effort into. I can say the VW has not really met my expectations, its quite small inside, child seat in back + normal height adult in front of them isn't really doable. Visibility is terrible vs. the W124, seats are no where near as comfortable, the door panels are emitting a white residue, the power inverter outlet was broken on delivery, the rear window defroster is failing already, the defrost is a joke, the wipers turn into frozen clubs and have no heater to thaw them, the climate control is slow and has to be adjusted often... the clutch goes from barely touching to full engagement within about 1-2cm of travel....also, in the winter around the city it barely gets over 30-32mpg, which makes it more expensive to drive than a car getting in the 20's on premium. Also the turbo lag/drive by wire feel leaves a lot to be desired. Needless to say, come spring I am jumping back into a used MB, preferably a W210 or W211 wagon. Open to W210/11 sedans also and *maybe* the R-class but probably not.

Not going back to W124 as wife doesn't like the look and its her car most of the time. My bro has a W210 E320 and its a fantastic car. He's put over 10k on it and it has had virtually no issues at all....I think I repaired my 300E about 6 times to cover that many miles.

liquiddog · #66 12-18-2013, 09:59 PM

The main issue I'm seeing with my w201 is anything plastic or rubber is toast due to age. It doesn't matter how many miles are on it in that respect. I just like the car, but I think you are on the right track with a newer chassis if you want less fuss.

pawoSD · #67 12-19-2013, 01:49 PM

My W201 is actually holding up better than my W124 did....interior is tex so its holding up much better than the leather did. Chassis holding up well so about the same. Its a diesel now so I eliminated that problem too.