Crunchy credit has been savaging the top end of the car market, and winning headlines as it does. But rising fuel and VED costs are doing much the same at the bottom.
Which, in short, is why I’ve become the custodian of the newest and oldest member of the Autocar fleet – this very fine 1993 Mercedes E280 estate.
I’ve always been a big fan of the ‘W124’ E-class, reckoned by many aficionados to represent the high water mark of Merc build quality, but even its aristocratic breeding hasn’t been able to spare it from the slide in prices that has savaged all big-engined petrol motors. Cars that would have cost upwards of £2000 a year ago are now going for a grand or less.
Which is where the logic of investing my own hard-earned in a representative example came in. First up, I should point out that the myth of the bulletproof W124 was exploded early in the selection process, there are some serious nails out there, many of which disguise their mechanical maladies beneath a good scrub-up.
Fortunately I had Nicholas Froome on side, Britain’s leading W124 expert, and purveyor of some of the finest examples going. With £1000 to spend I was looking at the opposite end of the market to where Nick normally deals, but his help was invaluable, especially the advice to look for mechanical solidity over cosmetic condition.
Anyway, after a couple of weeks of digging, the search turned up L403GYT – or ‘Git’ as it was instantly dubbed. It’s not the tidiest Merc around, with some exterior scuffs and an interior that seems to have been used as an adventure playground.
But the oily bits are all in fine fettle – and with just 107,000 miles on the odometer it’s barely run in by W124 standards (okay, being an estate it’s technically an S124, but that’s not got the same ring to it.)
So how much to seal the deal? £1100, complete with six months road tax, a year’s MOT and a full service history. Now the plan is to find out just how well a 15-year old Merc copes with my 600 mile a week lifestyle. I’ll let you know how we get on.
Join the debate
johndee
re: Meet our new, old Merc
Can't think why you chose the W124 as The World's Best Used Car. If you want a used car to have 'bombproof reliability' why choose a motor loaded with complicated technology now nearing the end of its life? The used car curse of failing electronics, complex auto-boxes, and expensive parts means the W124 is non-starter (pun intended). I mean, ECU at £300, auto-box rebuild at £1300, and air-con that's 'lucky if it still works'? The argument for simple technology cars is set out in two articles, 'Buyer Beware' - Motor -Oct 3 1987 and 'Cars and Complication' - Buying Cars Dec 1990.
Examples include the 1990 Volvo 740 estate, for just one model year the base model (and some 740 GLs) combined reliable Volvo 240 running gear with the then new shape body making for a super-simple, no electronics, no catalyser, but cheap to maintain and service motor that's reliable and comfy. Mine cost £850 and came with simple air-con, manual sun roof, manual windows, and manual everything else. Its electric window lifts don't fail because it doesn't have them. Need something more economical? Try an imported Nissan Pao, 1L and air con for £3k.
The only reliable thing about 15 year old executive cars loaded with toys is that these will fail with depressing regularity.
dillonsamben
re: Meet our new, old Merc
Running an older car just has to be plain common sense for the private motorist and the smaller business as well and having a £3,000 budget can buy you a whole host of bargains.
But as W124 and so many others know, the servicing of and the parts for cars such as Merc, BMW, Audi, Lexus etc. can be very expensive and surely the running costs (parts, servicing, fuel consumption & insurance) can be all very considerably higher than so many ordinary people can afford.
However, if the badge isn’t the ‘B’ all then the £3,000 budget can buy you a quite fantastic selection of 3 year old, end of lease fleet style vehicles so many of which are also with a fully stamped service books. Better still why not go for one that has been slightly banged and that has become an unrecorded insurance write off and that has had the very slight damage repaired and by doing this the world of motoring becomes a far wider place.
But it is the servicing costs which still ‘P’ me off in the UK, why is it that nowhere else in Europe charges such exorbitant rates as the garages in the UK do ?
nigel@woodleybo...
re: Meet our new, old Merc
I bought an H reg W124 3.0 litre estate 6 years ago, with 75000 miles on the clock. Serviced once a year, used as a company delivery van, as well as a family 7 seater, it has been brilliant. Now at 155000 miles it is time to let it go, as things are beginning to go wrong. What to replace it with? Most W124s are now old nails or people want overoptomistic money for them. It is a long time since it went out of production, so they are all quite old now.
TegTypeR
re: Meet our new, old Merc
Brilliant. I know Autocar is a new car magazine, but I'd love to see more features like this.
W124
re: Meet our new, old Merc
The W124 E220 I've got at the moment has been a bit of a nightmare as it goes. I still love it though. The 230TE I had before was one of the best cars I've ever owned - nothing amiss in 75,000 miles. Once they start to go or the services are neglected they start to eat themselves. They are rich man's cars and when they break they cost a bloody fortune to repair.
kerrecoe
re: Meet our new, old Merc
I bought one of these (a W not an S) a couple of years ago and it was an old dog. I liked it for about 7 minutes after I drove it away from the 'dealer' that took my money. I wanted the romance of an old Merc but the reality of everyday life in it was not at all what I expected. I gave it to my mum 6 months later and the damn thing is still going...just. She had to spend a considerable sum (more than it's worth) to get it through it's last MOT. I did my nut when found out- i'd have scrapped it and bought her something cheaper to run if i'd have known beforehand.
Still, good luck Mike- hope it works out for you.
W124
re: Meet our new, old Merc
I meant pre 2001 - damn this MAC Keyboard!
W124
re: Meet our new, old Merc
Good luck! Cool idea. People have been discussing the viability of this on the forums for a while now. It will be really interesting to test the theory and you picked the right type of car for the job. They are truly great motors without a doubt.
The saloons are much cheaper (and tend to be a bit less battered for obvious reasons) if anyone else is thinking of doing it. I've had a few (Coupes, Saloons and Estates) now and they do cost quite a bit to run - I've long thought that if you ran any other car to the same service intervals and servicing costs it too would last forever. It should take 600 a week in it's stride if you don't belt it. I know a superb mechanic if you have any issues. I'm looking to move over to a Mk1 LS400 Lexus next. You can pick pristine examples for shockingly little.
I reckon there's a new sweet spot for old motors a few grand over what you have spent here. There are cars knocking about (thanks to petrol prices and tax confusion) now that provide a real incentive to step out of that new A4 or 3-series. Old cars are green too if that is a factor for you. For my generation the cars that we lusted after in youth are viable second hand buys that come with air-con and abs. How about a flawless 420SE S'Class in black (not unlike the SEL Mickey Rourke drives in Sin City) with 60,000 on it. Full MB service history. Four and a half grand. Or maybe a 735 for a fraction of that. This goes all the way up to recent metal like pre 200 SLK430's and GS430's, 9/5 Aero's and the like.
There is a top article to be written about the rich pickings left for us as a consequence of CO2 tax and petrol madness.
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