Conan
Well-Known Member
Bought on a whim. Have yet to regret it.
A few weeks ago I decided that I want some big ol comfortable sedan. So I started looking for the options I have. I wanted an X300 Jag, but it's over-budget and the maintenance would be a nightmare to do. I could've gone for an E34, but they're quite finicky. I also could've gone mad and get something like a Citroen XM, but I don't want a lawn ornament. And no Volvo, they're just not built for the climate.
Suddenly I found myself looking at W124. They're relatively cheap to buy, the parts are extremely plentiful, it's built to last, and it's the sort of comfortable cruiser I've always wanted.
This one came up on local Mercedes-Benz Club. It's a 1995 E200. Absolute basic spec. How basic is it you may ask? The W124 was very popular as airport taxi and hotel fleet car. But those usually are the bigger engine, leather and alloys equipped, locally built E220. This one is an imported E200 with hubcaps and MB Tex. But it's not a complete suomi-spec as it does have electric windows, automatic gearbox, and no cloth seat.
The car is a one family owner from new. The first owner registered it in January 1996 and kept it until passed away and his daughter inherited the car.
(Pardon the water-marked window).
The interior is in okay state. It's clean, the seats are neat, the wood is okay. It has this weird 90's aftermarket cassette radio (time to bring out the cassette to aux adaptor!). And also a very weird centre console compartment, it's the rolltop box thing like the factory setup, but it does not look like the one I can find on the internet, the whole thing is (plastic) wood and is not lockable.
It's equipped with the M111 2.0-litre engine, producing 136hp. Mated with 4 speed Automatic gearbox, slow would be an understatement. But that's not what this car is about. It's made for accelerating up to 120km/h (so not to break the speed limit) and stay there comfortably. What I love is that the engine does sound like an old school 4 cylinder. Not those vacuum cleaner crap that modern cars produce.
(I did intentionally park beside that W201. )
The car does have some issue. First of there's an oil leak (not the one visible in the first pic, that's somebody else's). I also suspect that there's a coolant leak somewhere (but the temperature does stay normal). I will be sure to keeping eyes on both of these until it's fixed. The oil pressure gauge also does not work, the Air conditioning is TOO COLD (I am quite worried about this actually, as fixing air conditioning is complicated, hopefully it's just that I don't understand how to turn it off), passenger side speaker is as dead as a dodo, and the windscreen washer does not squirt. I'm taking it into the workshop tomorrow having a check on important issues though.
The price for this one is 165,000 Bath (est. 4600usd, 4120euromoni) Not bad for a good late W124 in this country.
Here's the proof pic.
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