Mercedes W124 (300,400,500E)

[Aldon]

Howdy. I've been considering this car for a few months now, after falling in love with the chassis and design.

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Before I go on rambling about my opinions on maintenance, fuel consumption and whether it's worth buying this car, I'd like to know if anyone owns this car or a similar model, and what I'd need to look at when purchasing any of these models, and what some common issues are with these cars.

If this doesn't fit to The Garage, feel free to move the topic.

 

[phucheneh]

Seems like somebody here is a fan of those.

But I think most of us are gonna tell you that if you're examining reliability, maintenance, ect...this is probably not the car for you. I see it as more of an enthusiast's project car, like an E30 BMW. And I think the E30's were more solid cars, just by matter of being simpler. The...W201, I think?...would be more of their competitor.

There's a reason that, as you go back further through the generations, the bigger cars seem to get more rare. I think there was just too much 80's electronics to crap out...lot easier to hold an E30 together than an E28, I'd think...I never see E28's out on the road. Dunno which is the more common model for the Mercs.

They do have a very classy appeal that you don't find in a lot of cars from that era, I will admit. But clearly this is the model you want:

 

[NutBucket]

I thought the W124 was generally regarded as the "bulletproof" era of MB? Maybe I'm mistaken.

 

[phucheneh]

Wait...aren't YOU the Merc guy? Heh. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else with an 'N' name.

The only ones I still see out on the road are the diesels. When I think 'bulletproof,' I think more of 190's rather than the 500's...those are the ones I tend to see in videos from the Middle East or African nations...places where older Euro cars are a lot more prevalent. And I always figured it was because, like the mentioned E30 Bimmers, there weren't a lot of 'luxury' features to them.

Old luxury cars always scare me. But I guess most of the features I would not be surprised to find inoperative on that vintage really don't impact the overall 'reliability' of the car's basic function. If you really wanna keep it cherry and have everything work, though, they seem like they'd be a typical combo of electronics failures and obsolete/unavailable parts.

But I was mostly just speculating and looking for an excuse to post a pic of one of those 190E's, which is still one of my all-time favorite cars when it comes to bad-ass aesthetics. :awe:

 

[NutBucket]

Nope, never even driven a Merc now that I think about it. Maybe you're thinking of halik? He's the anti-used Germans cars are money pits guy.

 

[Aldon]

Won't find the Evo I or II anymore, and even if, it will be auctioned for a fortune, most likely. The 500E is getting there, and as a matter of fact, the 500E is already in one museum somewhere in Germany. There are still some, though, of course.

I don't think I'm ready to finance my own car yet, and I'm probably hoping for the best when it comes to these cars considering maintenance. What's the worst thing that can happen? Engine failure, sure; broken/rusty dampers (?), broken axles (?). Details such as plastic, leather and other things are normal for that age.

 

[Zenmervolt]

When I think 'bulletproof,' I think more of 190's rather than the 500's...

The W124 has an even better reliability reputation among the mechanics I hang out with (most of whom have been working on German cars since before I was born and I'm not exactly all that young anymore) than the W201 series that was the 190E.

Very, very, few W124 models had the 500 engine. That was a special order option and those cars carry a hefty price premium today. Slightly more came with the 4.0 litre V8 and were not special order cars, but the vast majority came with I4 or I6 engines ranging from 2.0 to 3.2 litres. The I4 and I6 cars should be damn near indestructible.

ZV

 

[halik]

190e-16v!

 

[thedarkwolf]

I thought the W124 was generally regarded as the "bulletproof" era of MB? Maybe I'm mistaken.

The bulletproof era was the w123 cars.

 

[Zenmervolt]

The bulletproof era was the w123 cars.

The W123 series were definitely tanks, but so were the W124 and W201 cars.

It really wasn't until the W210 models that things went downhill.

ZV

 

[bamx2]

+ 1 on the W123 being "bulletproof" . The W124 drives better but is not as durable. (I've owned diesel versions of both models).

 

[Aldon]

In regards to being bulletproof.

 

[T2urtle]

I always loved those 190e. Can't tell the difference between many of them. It has a timeless look for me, much like how many think e36 is timeless.

Just so many beaten examples.