Buying a Mercedes W124 200E

[Lee777]

Hey guys. I’m considering getting a W124 in about 2-3 years time hahaha but was just thinking about it and I was curious to hear some opinions.

 

Im currently 18, planning to use the money I’ll be getting in NS and earning while waiting for Uni to buy my first car. Was looking at the W124 because I love the classic look and the price point seems roughly right. 

 

But thats where I have my first problem; say I want to own a W124 of good driveable condition for 5 years with a 5 year COE. How much should I be looking at in total? (Including road tax, maintenance etc.) [assuming COE remains at current prices]

 

secondly, is owning this as a first car a good idea? I’m interested in cars but I have little to no knowledge about maintaining one or any details beyond engine capacity and horsepower haha. So I’m concerned about maintenance and even knowing which one to buy.

 

indeed, it’s still a little early, but I would just like to know a little more about what to expect should I begin looking for one and owning one. Hope you guys can give some input. Cheers!  

[kepiting1sg]

If I've the time, buy me a coffee and I'll likely answer your questions

[Lee777]

On 08/06/2019 at 8:13 PM, kepiting1sg said:

If I've the time, buy me a coffee and I'll likely answer your questions

Sure thing! 

Could you give a rough outline answer to my questions here tho? 

[kepiting1sg]

W124 started in 1984/85 up to year 1995/96.

So the newest W124 you can find is more than 20 years old and would have survived at least 2 rounds of 10 yrs COE.

The W124 is an easy to maintain car, that’s why many are still on the roads here in Sg & MY.

probably lesser electronics!

its a heavy car, so you may lose out to the Taxi uncle off the traffic lights but on the highway, it cruises happily. 

They started with carburetor fuel & air feed with contact point in the distributor cap timing for ignition. 

They went on to have fuel injection and electronic ignition in early 90s.

The older W124 in 1990 or earlier comes with Zebrano wood and in 1992, they offer walnut wood trimmings with very nice walnut sliding cover on the center console.

Wing mirrors and seats were manual & non electric.

Most of the 1992 models suffer from overheating in our Sg climate.

In 1995, the last of the W124 was called the Masterpiece.

MB gave all they have into this 1995 Masterpiece W124 outgoing model to be replaced by W210.

The Masterpiece came with electric seats, wing mirrors, auto cruise and wooden gear knob.

iirc, it comes with wooden steering too. 

I hope this is enough of an overview of the W124 and which year model you want to look for as it span over 10 years after the W123.

Ive owned the following E Class

1. 1977 W123 200E

2. 1991 W124 200E

3. 2007 W211 E200

4. 2010 W212 5 spd auto E250

5. 2011 W212 7 spd g-tronics E250

6. 2017 W213 9 spd g-tronics E250

The 1991 W124 I owned went through many phases of car audio changes for competitions including winning 1st place in KL for SQL. 

The 1st photo below was my W124 at a Car Exhibition at EXPO parked outside the convention display area. 

Together with my car audio installer MB Vito in the 4th & 5 photo.

We were part of the Seletar Sat night scene  in the early 2000s blasting our sound system away.

wonder how we get the juice to power up our audio system.

i was on a 500 amp special order high output alternator & my car audio installer was running 2 high output power alternators on his MB Vito.

[Wicks]

I am interested in good repair/service shops for my 1991 merc 200E. Thanks