W124 Hunt - Over Already?

"Dunnik" (dunnik) 04/03/2014 at 11:13 • Filed to: None

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I was expecting a hunt for a W124 to take a while. I had planned on a month: and the month of April is probably a good time to look, as people often like to update their ride in the spring. But it the hunt may be over just as I've started it with this 1 !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

If you're about to scream CP! because of its high price, consider this. He's had it appraised at $9500 but seems to be willing to negotiate ("make an offer"), seemingly aware that not too many people want to buy a car that is almost 25 years old. I'd try to push him down as far as possible, to 7 or 8.

Body and frame condition is, of course, my prime consideration. I would plan on keeping this car for a long time, and it'll be DD'd year-round, including the winter. So the lack of rust the seller claims - only summer driven and professionally rust-proofed - is a huge selling point.

The other big selling point is service records. I don't know if this covers just his period of ownership or if it goes further back (to 1990?!?), but I've emailed him about this and other questions. Everybody knows the advice about service records and an old German car, but this is easier said than done in this price range and with this age of vehicle.

Another point in its favor is the model year: a 1990, pre-refresh. As such, it should not suffer from that stupid biodegradable harness issue. Did the 1990 come with standard ABS? I'm hoping it also has the ASC option (traction control).

No pics of the interior - usually a bad sign - and so I've asked for those. The seller lives in Oakville, a relatively affulent bedroom community between Toronto and Hamilton (as oppose to a low-income suburb, call it snobishness if you will, but if I'm buying an old Merc, I'd want to buy it from somebody who lives in a neighborhood that looks like he can afford to maintain it.) It's tan on grey, which is kinda lame but I'm willing to live with that (silver or black would be my preference). You can't have it all.

So assuming the car is in good mechanical shape - with records that can give me an indication of what I'd face in the future - and assuming it has a low amount of owners, and assuming the interior is in decent shape - lots of assumptions at this point - what does Oppo think? NP or CP?

Update, have heard back from the seller:

"2nd owner as far as I know. Can take pics once I take out of storage. Interior is great. Not sure if leather or leatherette(how can you tell). Only leaks I see is from the krown rust proofing. Tranny fine no hunting for gears. Rpm is under 1000 ..600 I think. air bag light on for past 6 years on dash. Drive clean done every 2 yrs and local garage maintained car. You can take to dealer too if you like. No work done other than oil changes. Don't drive the car. I have others. Service records are just for when I owned it since 2001. Rarely driven in pass 5 - 7 years. City driving mostly. Yes abs,sun roof and driver air bag. Michelin tires but will need new ones to certify. Power antenna works and fully extended."

So you were right, 505Turbeaux, those tires are done for, but this is something I can use to bid him down. It hasn't been driven much but that's not a huge concern. After all, check this video out (posted to Oppo before) of a W124 that had been sitting for 10 years, started up by just re-connecting the battery and with the old fluids gumming things up (which was bad, of course, but shows you just how bulletproof these cars are).

Update 2: The Airbag light is a deal-breaker. Will not pass safety without it, and worst-case scenario is $4500 for complete replacement (bag, harness, sensor). If it's the sensor, which is possible, it's still 800. New tires: $700-900 and this is certainly into CP territory.

Party-vi > Dunnik 04/03/2014 at 11:19

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I could see $9,500 if this was a near-perfect car that has 9.5/10 paint, 9/10 interior, etc. If that's the case, do you really want to pay out the nose for an almost perfect example of what is going to turn into your winter beater?

Dunnik > Party-vi 04/03/2014 at 11:22

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Sorry if I wasn't clear, but this would be my year-round DD, including the winter. Fixed above.

Agreed though, the car has to be in nearly perfect condition to justify this price. But time and again I've read the advice that with an old German car, you buy the most car you can get. I've seen this car as cheap as $1,500, but I don't want to get a basket case.

Party-vi > Dunnik 04/03/2014 at 11:24

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OH! I thought it was just the winter car. My mistake. In that case go for it. They are very nice commuting cars.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Dunnik 04/03/2014 at 11:26

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Mine is pretty rust free, but it's so very miled out with such ragged paint I'd be lucky to get $3k for it, IMHO, despite the fact I've replaced some safety parts. Rust isn't really that common on these that I'm aware of, at least in comparison with the W210 and its front spring perches or portions of the floors of a W123.

The first thing to hit the interior on these is usually sun damage - mine is rough. That would be likely to show in the paint, though, and since his paint is in good shape, his interior likely is as well.

I'd likely call marginal CP at $9500, but partly depending on whether it really is a leather interior or whether it's really MBTex he thinks is leather. The mileage is lower than either my dad's 4MATIC or my 300D, but it's not ZOMG grab it now low. If you can push him to $7-8k, interior *is* leather, and it checks out well overall, it may be a solid NP - just for what a paint job would run you and how few of these have good paint and lowish miles.

Just expect to start getting into vacuum servo replacements from age within a couple years in the A/C and maybe door locks. Also, there's a control box near the battery on the gas that tends to get weird on the 300E, so if you start getting bad cold starts or erratic running, ask me about it.

Dunnik > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 04/03/2014 at 11:30

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Thanks RamblinRover, good tips!

505Turbeaux > Dunnik 04/03/2014 at 11:36

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way way crack pipe. Tires are crap, mileage is high. 90 avoids the bio harness. Be sure to inspect under the cladding. That is a 5-6000 car on the high end

Dunnik > 505Turbeaux 04/03/2014 at 11:45

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I don't know how you can tell the tires are crap from here. They have been polished up with ArmorAll or something for this picture, but you can't really see treadwear from here. Nevertheless, this is one question I'm asking him via email: tire condition/type/manufacturer.

Agreed that for this price its borderline CP, which is why I need to bid him down to make it more NP.

505Turbeaux > Dunnik 04/03/2014 at 11:56

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I can pretty much tell they are beyond half worn. If it is in Toronto the car would usually have a set of snows too if it was a conscientious owner. If not you are going to need some! I have worked on these cars and owned them a great long time. Also it would be preferable to have MB-tex vs leather (it looks like palomino leather from here) because it will always look great. If you are on facebook you can send any questions via a private message to the oppo page and I can help you suss that thing out

chuck07 > Dunnik 04/03/2014 at 12:25

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I prefer the m104 320 engine. I have a S320, was looking at r129 SL320's and grandparents had a 95 E320. The m103 is also a great engine.

That being said, I think this is a little high. Come in at $6000 and see what happens. I don't know the Canada market though. You are on the right track with looking at cars from areas where the people take care of their cars.

Looks like the leather on the rear headrests have seen better days. The rear passenger side tire looks worn, so factor in a new set all around.

Dunnik > 505Turbeaux 04/03/2014 at 12:59

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Thanks, and yes, would certainly run winters, but thankfully that's a long way off! The car would seem to have been a summer only car, so no winters included.

JasonStern911 > Dunnik 04/03/2014 at 14:08

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asking too much, but they are cool cars. make sure to have a pre-purchase inspection done if you are serious about buying it.