Just another W124 thread..
 

All this chatter lately about W124s has had me up at night scanning craigslist. On the way in the office this morning I spotted this sitting out front at the local
MB dealership, so I couldn't resist. Went over to have a look and drive at lunch.
Now I understand what everybody means when they affectionately refer to these as tanks! Clearly this car has been well cared for, but I’m amazed how solid it was for such high mileage. Feels like it was carved from a solid block of metal. Cruised great, but I was kind of underwhelmed about the power or lack thereof (this from an E30 guy of all people). Is that par for the course?

Anyway, I think I might pass on this one. I think I’d rather have a sedan or coupe. The guy mentioned they’re in it for 4.5 I believe.

1994 MERCEDES-BENZ E-Class E320 in Bloomfield Hills , Michigan

Not enough power? Well that's why you need a 500E!

Nice AMG wheels on that car.

The car isn't really "underpowered" so much as overgeared-I mean', its not a ball of fire, but on back roads etc its much peppier if you manually shift it into 3rd gear-the shift gate allows for easy shuttle between 3rd and 4th for this reason.

Haha, tell me about it!

Maybe it could use a tune-up, it seemed to have slight hiccup at idle.
Really screwed together well. Now I can see why they're so popular.
Now if I could find a Sportline coupe...

Agreed. I just replaced the rear crank seal, and some driveshaft bits on a 2006 model.

I'd get in some turrible trouble with one of them cars, if'n I owned one.

Right on. Bro' has one. Understated hot rod rolling bank vault.

Not trying to hijack but for you Benz fans, here's a dedicated couple and amazing journey with a G-wagen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18910560

That's a lot of money for that car with those miles. They're around in better condition for less $$. If it was gutless, it's a tuning issue or it has a tired motor. They were not slow, really nice performance and torque from that M104 engine.

Not a 124, but a guy showed up at my job yesterday in one of these:

http://img2.netcarshow.com/Wald-Merc...llpaper_02.jpg

I'm liking these wagons.

That's a w211 wagon, (two generations newer). Any car is going to look good with the right rims and lowered like that, but I'll agree that it looks sharp.

If I ever stumble upon one when car shopping, I'm buying it. I love the W124, and I think the 500E is the ultimate iteration. Swap in a standard W124 back seat so I have three seatbelts for my kids and it's the ultimate DD.

I want a w211 AMG e55 wagon in the worst way.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349904404.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349904418.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349904451.jpg

Is there a way to inspect the front suspension tower mounts without disturbing the mastic coating MB puts on them?

Stop it!

I'd be real happy with a w211 e500 4matic wagon. Test drove one a couple months ago, loved it, but my wife likes her w203 c320 wagon and wants to get a couple years out of it before we do anything.

The gwagens are tempting! There was a g300 turbodiesel (om606) on the west coast for a real good price last year, it still haunts me!

my understanding is that the spring perch issue is really just on the 1996-2002 w210s. Mine had been replaced, they were pretty bad! I've seen pictures of bad ones, typically the undercoating is flaking and bubbled by the rust/moisture

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349915454.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349915467.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349915478.jpg

e500 4-matics are common. There will always be plenty around. The w211 e55 wagon, OTOH, is a relatively rare beast. Especially in interesting colors. Most are black or silver or grey. There is a beautiful metallic blue one that runs around Silverlake, neighborhood in L.A.), I just want it. :)

Pretty sure that the G-wagon you are referring to was my friend's, was it silver? If so, I drove it a bit before he sold it. Not real impressive with the weight and gearing on it, that engine in a w210 sedan is super-sweet. It was slow and got so-so fuel mileage, but I suppose a gas V-8 G-wagon is really thirsty so there you have it. I cannot what those things are good for other than looking cool in Aspen, Colorado or something(?)

It was on eBay and it went for about $34k IIRC. :cool:

Like I want a trust fund...

This one pops up at a local show. From what I can tell it is a real AMG Hammer estate.

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1164/5...535e9c26_b.jpg
Benz Estate by willtel, on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2106/5...8de63985_b.jpg
IMG_4714 by willtel, on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2597/5...d66a2545_b.jpg
IMG_4715 by willtel, on Flickr

Since we're sharing some of our porn...

http://www.hatchandsons.com/pages/sa...9/images/1.JPG

http://hatchandsons.com/pages/sales/JB129/images/3.JPG

If you're one of the rare people that actually use it as intended, they are unstoppable off road. It's basically the German version of the Hummer.

You people are killing me with the 500E pictures. Something about those just hits home, it's one of the few cars with an automatic that I would buy.

Renntech offered a 6 speed conversion :D :D

Eric, you're evil. :D:D:D

I want one, too!

willtell, that's Jonathan Hodgman's blue Hammer wagon with the 32v motor

It was originally a Canadian delivery DIESEL 300TD wagon that was built into what you see by AMG Chicago. That car is pretty amazing, with well under 50K original miles

Jono owns Blue Ridge Mercedes Benz / AMG East in Lilburn

Hatch & Sons - 1992 Mercedes-Benz RennTech 500E 6.0

http://www.hatchandsons.com/pages/sa...6/images/8.jpg

W124s are fantastic cars but are becoming like 944s. They are true enthusiast cars but do suffer from deferred maintenance, so you have to be careful with what you get or be resigned to just R&Ring as needed to bring back to factory spec or better.

The nice thing about the cars is they are so well engineered, easy to work on with a great parts selection at very reasonable prices and have a serious cult following. I've finally started working on mine. It now drives better (for my taste) than my friend's '06 E500 and approaching another's '10 325. Of course it's a big heavy bank vault so even with all the upgrades, it won't really get there. :)

Entire front end done, carnage below, still need to do the multi-links and main control arm in the rear.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349961556.jpg

I love my W124
 

Special ordered at a FrankFurt MB Dealer by a NY architect living on Long Island for his commute into the city.

- Taxicab suspension
- 5 speed
- A/C dials (not climate control)
- Sunroof
- Radio
- right side mirror

Tried and true 4 cylinder
No ABS, Power seats, windows, rear headrests, as basic as they came in Germany at the time.

I just turned 74,000 miles. I bought it on CL 4 yrs ago with 59,000 original documented miles, delivery papers, cancelled check from dealer, every piece of docmentation from 1986 to present all for $3300. 100% original paint, always garaged and pampered.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349966145.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349966157.jpg

Here's one that someone put some $$ into:
 

Not everyone's cup of tea, but still nice. Young guy spent crazy $$ having this w124 wagon completely color-changed to Arabian Grey, a late '60s MB factory color, interior recovered in leather, etc...

The wheel and tire combo alone cost more than you would pay for the best stock w124 wagon in the country. :cool:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1350533344.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1350533398.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1350533444.jpg

Suede headliner:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1350533515.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1350533560.jpg

Seats freshly recovered in leather, smells great:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1350533624.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1350533676.jpg

That's fantastic Denis. The only thing that I dislike is the stretched tire look, otherwise very nice.

I agree about the wheels.

Phenomenal color, and a heck of a job on the interior.
Agree with you guys, shame about the stanceworks look.

Really jonesing for a coupe...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1350573444.jpg

Denis,

Let me know when he's tired of it. Will be happy to pay KBB private party "good" value for that one!

not quite as nice as the one Denis posted, but it's getting there. Have to raise the front end 1/2 inch and lower the rear 1/2 inch for the right stance. Problem is I have the thickest spring pads in the front and ran out of adjustment on the SLS rear, though I think I can reset that and adjust again. The H&Rs really drop the car and feel great with Bilstein sports up front. Just need to put a limo bar in the front and 500E bar in the back and the suspension will be done.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1350580703.jpg

those are great wheels Shaun

I have a set going on my wife's w203 c320 wagon. Not sure they'll look as nice on the newer car as they do on yours

I had a W124 that we bought new and picked up at the factory in Stuttgart. We put about 145,000 miles on the thing over the course of 12 years. I would not do that again. It was very expensive to maintain - much moreso than the succession of BMWs we've had since then. Nice car, but it has a lot of little things that can go wrong. Also, the seats were nowhere as good as those in BMWs, a factor on long trips. I think I'll stick with Munich.

Looks really good Shaun.

I agree. The w124 wagon has some nice angles and lends itself to mild hot-rodding really well. :cool:

Thanks Jake! With your rounded arches, I dare say they'll look better than with my squares. Post some pics when you get them on. Wheels are tough on W124s, especially wagons. They respond better to chunky styling IMHO, but it's hard to find a modern-looking chunky wheel. I think these E430 wheels offer a nice balance and just work.



Thank you Gentlemen. Understated, "sleeper" mods fit the wagons beautifully. I can't wait to get a new front bumper (need to find one) and paint all the lower body cladding same as the main body color. Then it'll start to really look sharp I think. Definitely fun cars. I can see why the fellow above went nuts with his. If you are married to the shape and quality, dropping $10K into a $3K car might give you something close to the equivalent of a modern E350. It would last longer too.

New:
C36 motor
Complete leather interior
Paint
Suspension

Of course you'd have to do some of the work yourself to achieve that price/goal.

Great looking wagon, Shaun. :)