hi everyone,
I am thinking of buying the above car, it has 174K miles on it. Can anyone tell me what is likely to go wrong with this type of care, common faults etc, and what I should be asking the vendor prior to making a decision ?
Cheers
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Bomb-proof build. But essential that it has a full Mercedes history - check all MOT / Service stamps to see mileage is consistent. Be prepared to walk away if anything you ask for isn't available. It seems to have done around 10,000 miles per year, which isn't that high - was it mostly town driving, or just left at a station/garage all weekdays? I assume an auto gearbox? They're better. Although servicing may be [relatively] expensive, that goes with top-car ownership - balance that against the sheer pleasure of not being in a 5 year old Astra for the same price. Use the Mercedes Benz owners' forum on the net.
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I've bought/sold/repaired a fair number of these and could write a few pages, but not got the time.
Rust is starting to break through on some of these. Check under the h/lights, sunroof opening, wheelarches. Pop the plastic covers off the jacking points and see if there is rust around the tubes - bet there will be.
If its not had an autobox rebuild then it will need one soon - they tend to go for about 150k and then give trouble. Reverse clutch wear is main problem. Manuals are not bad IF you fill with CORRECT oil (ATF Type A Suffix A - NOT DEXRON!! - which gives inferior shift quality).
Listen out for whining diff (afflicts many higher mileage MB's and also BM's).
Engine wise - rad will have reached the end of its life - is it a new one.
Valve guide wear (smoke on startup and overrun?).
Around this age the bushes in the rear arms tend to be splitting - not a cheap job to fix becuse there are a lot of them.
They are good cars and difficult to 'kill' - pretty sturdy. Bear in mind that they don't have many of the modern saftey features (airbag, EBD etc) - although it should have ABS. Don't overpay - I see a lot advertised at silly prices.
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which merc forum do you recommend?
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which merc forum do you recommend?
I don't read any of them, sorry.
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Aprilia is a one-man Merc forum (meant as a compliment....)
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Looks like my post was wiped, perhaps because it contained a hotlink to a dealers. The intention was only to lead you to a good source of information about these cars, and you'll find it by Googling W124 + Brighton. I also added that, unless the present car is a sparkler, you might consider going for one of the larger engines.
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How much is the Merc selling for then and how much MOT left?
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You will probably find the Mercedes-Benz Club
www.mercedes-benz-club.co.uk/
more helpful than
www.mbclub.co.uk/
which tends to be concerned with more recent models.
But you'll have to join the MB Club. If you are going MB anyway, club membership is money well spent -- an excellent monthly magazine and a good, friendly online forum.
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And, as I wake up, one or two other points:
* Later models may well have airbags, as my 1996 W124 Coupé does.
* The self-levelling suspension should be checked.
* You can get a good Nissen radiator (made in Denmark) from GSF for one third of the MB dealer price for an MB OEM one.
* There are plenty of independents around who offer servicing at very reasonable rates and, in my opinion, better quality than MB dealers, especially for cars of this generation.
* Find a local expert (independent servicer?) and pay them a fee to check it over.
I have two W124s and a W126, which are absolutely reliable and blissfully light on electronic complications.
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Many thanks, some very useful info there.............just to add, The rad has been replaced, The drive belt was changed at the last service , in the last 2 years it's had no major work other than the first service which cost £800 and included replacing all the brakes except the front discs (as they were in reasonable condition)..........
Many thanks to everyone for your input, I will keep you all posted to the outcome of my findings! and get back to you when I decide what to do.
Cheers!
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Many thanks for your input Ed, the car is manual gearbox, and as far as I have been led to believe it does have a full service history.
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Like many things, the price you pay changes attitudes. If less than £2k, OK.
If over it, it should be immaculate imo...
madf
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