mpruden

I'm inexperienced at finding older cars and am looking for some pointers. Not that it matters, but I'm hunting for a boring, but very well sorted sub 100,000mi Mercedes w124 wagon, preferably a later model year. I realize this isn't a 993, but hoping to gain some knowledge from the awesome community here.

Aside from combing autotrader, ebay, CR, cars.com, and getting lucky... are there tricks in finding these cars? How do the "pros" do it? Is it old-fashioned networking, trade secrets, voodoo?

Appreciate any insights you can share.

ilko

Ask in the W124 section on MBWorld.org. There is also a long thread in the For Sale section about W211 AMG wagons which started as a WTB. People on that forum are very helpful.

BTW, there was one in my neighborhood for years but I haven't seen it recently. If you're interested I can slip a note under the windshield wiper next time I see it if it's still around.

Here's a pic I took of it last winter. Which may or may not influence your decision

TRINITONY

also benzworld.org....

pelican has a benz fs forum with a bunch of real old benz too...

nathan1

I see you are in Folsom, so not too far out of the Bay Area. W124 wagons sold like hot cakes in that area so there are still lots on the streets there. I would just set up and account on Craigslist SF and set up an alert anytime one pops up. Then you get an email and can follow up. If you are more adventurous there are also lots of these in Portland, OR and Seattle, WA and there is no road salt, intense sun, etc so you will find them fairly well preserved. The only challenge is that being a wagon they didn't often get the love of your typical P-car as they were pressed into family car duty, think spilled sippy cups and gold fish crackers...

Also you might talk to your local independent MB service place, customers often give up on these cars when something expensive comes up such as a trans, CCU unit, etc. I was literally GIVEN a 1 owner 70k miles spectacular W126 560SEL when the transmission started acting up. They were quoted $5k to fix it. I solved the issue for under $500 + my labor and its an amazing car. Total investment less than $500, awesome! Good luck W124 are great driving, solid cars.

mpruden

Good call on the PNW region.

I'll also figure out a way to monitor the forums. Does anyone know if there is a definitive forum for the w124 cars, in much the same way Rennlist is for 993s?

The prefect scenario would be a purchase from a well-regarded w124 enthusiast.

Appreciate the advice, guys. Thanks.

TRINITONY

http://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w124-28/
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w124-e-ce-d-td-class/

Quadcammer

benzworld tends to be better for the 80s models.

there is also peachparts

wolfgang1

i highly recommend the mercedes benz car club classifieds

http://mbca.org/classified-ads

I just bought a 30k mile 1985 300d which arrived on Friday. It looks like a brand new w123. I found it on the mbca site... i love buying used cars from previous owners who loved them... and there is a high correlation between owner care and joining the brand's club...

steve g

http://www.searchtempest.com/search?...min&maxAsk=max

jcochran1

I'm excited for this purchase Matt!

at933

My first car was W124 300E 24V, the best car in the world still. Good luck!

mpruden

What a find. That's what I'm talking about. Crazy how the interiors hold up on these cars. I don't even want to know what chemicals they put in the vinyl to hold up like that.

What a timesaver. Thanks!

Heh, I'm just "looking."

That being said, I do have the green light from the boss to add another antiquated German oil-leaker to the fleet.

Got to strike while the iron is hot, as they say.

steve g

You should also consider the 123 series. We owned a 1982 240D for a few years and it was a wonderful cool car. It only had 45k when we bought it. I was driving by a church and saw a guy driving the car onto the lawn so I pulled in the parking lot and asked him about the car. He told me he was donating the car to the church and they were having a 100 ticket raffle for $75/ ticket. After learning that he was the original owner and after about 15 minutes, him showing me the car, I wrote him a check for $7500 - he was happy. I was ecstatic and my wife was pleasantly surprised when I got home. Our car had manual windows and a manual sliding sunroof and a case of oil filters in the trunk from 1981, along with the original sales documents and a few oil change receipts from the original owner. Every time we brought it in for service to the local MB dealer, the older mechanics and service writers just fawned over the car and were more than nice, even when we only brought the car in for simple oil changes, less than a $50 service. We kept the car for 3 few years putting about 15k miles mostly summer and spring driving. We finally sold it to a friend, driving it from IL to NJ, taking a leisurely summer road trip vacation. I'd love to find another one someday.

sdcabrio

The wife and I love wagons, especially the w124, but we have never come across a really, really nice one at the right time. I do currently have a w124 convertible I picked up about 2 years ago. I have always loved the w124 body style (all variants - coupe, cab, sedan and wagon). My car was a one owner with ~ 120k miles on it with lots of records and was always a So Cal car. Its a 3rd/4th car along with the 993.

Being my first benz I found the MBworld.com and benzworld.org websites to be fairly helpful. There is a lot of info there if you search. I have yet to find a forum as active/helpful as Rennlist.

The things to be aware of with the 6cyl w124 is head gaskets, wiring harnesses and potentially transmissions. The two former were dealt with on my car by the previous owner, but I did lose reverse about 5k mile into ownership. My indy benz guy replaced some bands, made some adjustments and tweaks to the trans for $800 and I have been problem free ever since (knock on wood).

I and many others feel the w124 is the last of the hand built, tank like, over engineered benzs. Good luck with your search and feel free hit me with any ??s.

mpruden

Still not 993 related, but I posted this thread a bit over a year ago. Thanks to the recommendations of those here, I finally found a wagon and have been tinkering with it over the past many months. Just wanted to say "thanks Rennlist" and give you all a view of the finished product.