Oh no, not another W124. Lord Sterling's Benz: Will he fix it or will he fix a Rover?

[Bear]

I've got space to store/work on/break a W124 here...

[Tayne]

 

Also, it looks as if I'm going to be negotiating with the insurers over how much they want to give me. Sigh.

 

I'd be sending them copies of all the receipts you have for recent work.

[richardmorris]

I did that when my cx got written off in 2001( my only crash).

 

Their first offer was £600- the assessor had never seen one before and went on an average 13 yr old car. I faxed them thirty pages of invoices plus a valuation from my garage of £7000 and they eventually upped the offer to £3000 on the basis that at was what I'd paid for it, and told them what it was worth on the insurance. Still pissed off about the whole thing 14 years later- it was the very last series one cx ( a Pallas) registered in the country - manufactured in 1984 and registered in 1988. Australian PO spec too.

 

Happily for you Lord sterling, w124 estates are a little more common to value and replace. Good luck!

[2MB]

Never seen an S124 look so small.

In answer to the hypothetical question you didn't ask Lord, if your bed is a single it will fit in the merc but the tailgate won't fully close. I hope you get the chance to try, or at least get a fair price from the insurance and make some money back on the car sonehow

[Lankytim]

If you can get it to Stoke i'm sure I can porta-power that pillar and sill back out.. I just need to get it back from Mr Bollox...

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 part out 

 

 

You mean 'break for spares'?

 

 

We already have one goddamned Yank here, don't need no more. Thankyou.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I've had two Insignia hire cars - I like 'em.

 

I have a mate in Iver Heath with two E280 Merc Estates for sale. Both are about 1994 ish, on the button, MOT'd and proper. One is white, the other dark metallic green. Both need at least one front wing repairing/replacing but both have very, very good histories with the right bills. I would think £1250 would secure one. The green one has had everything - spheres, auto box rebuild, head gasket etc and it belonged to a very caked antiques dealer iirc.

 

PM me if you need his number.

[Inspector Morose]

You mean 'break for spares'?

 

 

We already have one goddamned Yank here, don't need no more. Thankyou.

Any more.

[warren t claim]

You mean 'break for spares'?

 

 

We already have one goddamned Yank here, don't need no more. Thankyou.

What gas mileage are you getting out of the GM station wagon? ☺

[rainagain]

I did that when my cx got written off in 2001( my only crash).

 

Their first offer was £600- the assessor had never seen one before and went on an average 13 yr old car. I faxed them thirty pages of invoices plus a valuation from my garage of £7000 and they eventually upped the offer to £3000 on the basis that at was what I'd paid for it, and told them what it was worth on the insurance. Still pissed off about the whole thing 14 years later- it was the very last series one cx ( a Pallas) registered in the country - manufactured in 1984 and registered in 1988. Australian PO spec too.

 

Happily for you Lord sterling, w124 estates are a little more common to value and replace. Good luck!

 

Ah joys of owning an old car and dealing with insurance.

 

Insurance company: I know you have spend lots of £s on you car and looked after it and spent ages looking for a good one, but we've found this dodgy wreck with a bent MOT, its never been serviced either but it looks roughly the same as your car therefore that's all we're going to offer you.

 

I had the same problem when my Alfa went for a drive itself and hit my neighbours car, it was a low mileage diesel but because there were tons of wrecked twin sparks on Autotrader for four pence that is what they kept trying to offer me.

[nebuchenezer]

I've had two Insignia hire cars - I like 'em.

 

I have a mate in Iver Heath with two E280 Merc Estates for sale. Both are about 1994 ish, on the button, MOT'd and proper. One is white, the other dark metallic green. Both need at least one front wing repairing/replacing but both have very, very good histories with the right bills. I would think £1250 would secure one. The green one has had everything - spheres, auto box rebuild, head gasket etc and it belonged to a very caked antiques dealer iirc.

 

PM me if you need his number.

Would said mate be of Irish/Australian heritage and possess a most interesting garden?

[Lord Sterling]

Ok, just had the car rental people on the phone to me today, they were wanting to swap the Insignia for an A-class as the A-class is a more "premium" model. I don't really like them and am more than happy with the Insignia.

 

This of course led to me phoning up the 3rd parties insurers which led to us speaking about the valuation of my vehicle. They think my vehicle is 'worth' £800 to which I laughed. Having looked on various websites like Autotrader/CarandClassic etc... E280 Estates seemed to priced around £1800+. They are now going to send an independent assessor around to value the Merc. Anyone ever gone through this?

[Sloth in a bowl]

Ok, just had the car rental people on the phone to me today, they were wanting to swap the Insignia for an A-class as the A-class is a more "premium" model. I don't really like them and am more than happy with the Insignia.

 

This of course led to me phoning up the 3rd parties insurers which led to us speaking about the valuation of my vehicle. They think my vehicle is 'worth' £800 to which I laughed. Having looked on various websites like Autotrader/CarandClassic etc... E280 Estates seemed to priced around £1800+. They are now going to send an independent assessor around to value the Merc. Anyone ever gone through this?

Cheeky beggers at the insurance. The cheapest correct generation E class estate on autotrader is £1600 and that is a private sale with 233k miles on the clock.

Looks quite nice though.

[dave21478]

Man, I am so far out of the loop with new cars.

 

To me a modern car dashboard looks like this....

 

 

This is like a fucking spaceship or something....

 

 

[richardmorris]

Check out car and classic website

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/classic_cars.php?category=&make=31&region=&country=&era=9&advert_type=&price=&keyword=280&S.x=91&S.y=27&S=Search

 

and w124.co.uk for silly priced ones!

[Lord Sterling]

Ah joys of owning an old car and dealing with insurance.

 

Insurance company: I know you have spend lots of £s on you car and looked after it and spent ages looking for a good one, but we've found this dodgy wreck with a bent MOT, its never been serviced either but it looks roughly the same as your car therefore that's all we're going to offer you.

 

I had the same problem when my Alfa went for a drive itself and hit my neighbours car, it was a low mileage diesel but because there were tons of wrecked twin sparks on Autotrader for four pence that is what they kept trying to offer me.

Yep, sounds like this is what I am going through. Insurance company spot a random W124 TE on the net for about £750/£800 and say they want to give me that. There is (or was) a 1991 300E estate for that price which I was eyeing up, but ideally I would have liked a near identical car of the same facelift/spec, bht that's hard enough as it is seeing as they are pretty rare.

 

I'm only concerned that the assessor might undervalue my car.

[richardmorris]

Remember it is your car, not theirs!

[andy18s]

Find as many ads for the same car as yours with similar mileage,condition ect and the price you think appropriate

Get printed copies to show the assessor when he comes around and make sure he looks at them

Give your Merc a decent clean to push the impression that you have taken better care of it than the sub 1k cars they will try compare it to

Nothing overboard like back to black on the tyres lol

[Pete-M]

Insignias are shockingly bad.

 

I'd suggest looking for a W210 instead of a W124. They both like to rust, but a good 210 is massively nicer to drive than a 124. 210s have decent steering unlike the 124, are quieter, comfier, quicker, more spacious, better on fuel, they're much better equipped and at the moment the 210 is cheaper than a half decent 124.

 

I've had a couple of W124s and wouldn't thank you for another one. The build quality thing with them is laughable, people rattle on as though the W124 is some amazingly solid piece of kit that lasts forever when they're no better screwed together than anything that didn't come from Longbridge. Wiper motors, window switches, springs, bushes, water pumps, ignition locks etc on the W124 are all a bit crap in reality, and any 124 that hasn't spent every night in a warm garage will be just as rotten as a 210.

 

The W210 also has issues but they're so much nicer to drive I don't see the point in running a 124 instead.

[richardmorris]

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C637039#

 

£10k!

 

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C636288

[Sealtainn]

When we had our minibus petrol-bombed we had an assessor come out to toast some marshmallows see the state of the charred remains and make us an offer. This was in 2004 and it was a 1991 LDV 400 Minibus with less than 50,000 miles. He initially offered £350 but Mrs Seal flashed her tits at him and said we needed more to get something else to transport the kids - we ended up with a cheque from the insurance company for £750. So there is an AS lesson there for everyone

[chaseracer]

Will Mrs Seal travel to south Birmingham?

 

[purplebargeken]

100% agree with Andy18s. Loads of ads is helpful. Good luck Mo.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Would said mate be of Irish/Australian heritage and possess a most interesting garden?

 

 

Yes.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Insignias are shockingly bad.

 

I'd suggest looking for a W210 instead of a W124. They both like to rust, but a good 210 is massively nicer to drive than a 124. 210s have decent steering unlike the 124, are quieter, comfier, quicker, more spacious, better on fuel, they're much better equipped and at the moment the 210 is cheaper than a half decent 124.

 

I've had a couple of W124s and wouldn't thank you for another one. The build quality thing with them is laughable, people rattle on as though the W124 is some amazingly solid piece of kit that lasts forever when they're no better screwed together than anything that didn't come from Longbridge. Wiper motors, window switches, springs, bushes, water pumps, ignition locks etc on the W124 are all a bit crap in reality, and any 124 that hasn't spent every night in a warm garage will be just as rotten as a 210.

 

The W210 also has issues but they're so much nicer to drive I don't see the point in running a 124 instead.

 

'Signias are alright.

 

 

But I'm sort of with you on the W210. The only problem is that they're not as DIY fixable as the W124 which, as you say, is an over rated car. The E34 BMW 5 Series was a better car in most depts.

 

When the 2004 onwards E Class is down to £3000 now (and they're a lovely thing) I do find these mega bucks W124's a mystery.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Any more.

 

 

Feel the tickle on your scalp as the irony went straight over your head Sir?

 

Thought not.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

What gas mileage are you getting out of the GM station wagon? ☺

 

 

You shittin' me hilly billy boy? Ain't none of your godammed business.

[Six-cylinder]

Price comparison for the insurance company.

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-1995-W124-E280-Automatic-Estate-owned-from-2-weeks-old-/261985764231?hash=item3cff918387

[NorfolkNWeigh]

You need to collect as many white room ads for overpriced dealer W124's and for every cheap one the Insurance company pull up you can counter with a £12,000 one that looks pretty much the same to a, no doubt, unaware insurance company office worker. Maybe they'll compromise at £5000 !

By the way saying you wouldn't pay £12k for that Insignia, try £28,000 for that Elite dizzler wagon.

[Lord Sterling]

Cheers for the ads lads, keep 'em coming and I'll get the printed out

 

Insignias are shockingly bad.

 

I'd suggest looking for a W210 instead of a W124. They both like to rust, but a good 210 is massively nicer to drive than a 124. 210s have decent steering unlike the 124, are quieter, comfier, quicker, more spacious, better on fuel, they're much better equipped and at the moment the 210 is cheaper than a half decent 124.

I've had a couple of W124s and wouldn't thank you for another one. The build quality thing with them is laughable, people rattle on as though the W124 is some amazingly solid piece of kit that lasts forever when they're no better screwed together than anything that didn't come from Longbridge. Wiper motors, window switches, springs, bushes, water pumps, ignition locks etc on the W124 are all a bit crap in reality, and any 124 that hasn't spent every night in a warm garage will be just as rotten as a 210.

 

The W210 also has issues but they're so much nicer to drive I don't see the point in running a 124 instead.

Personally I don't find Insignias too bad, they're not spectacular, but they seem to do what they are built for without the pretensions of wanting to be a premium car.

 

I agree with the "build quality" bollocks that people go on about, but it's just like any other myth that surrounds certain car makes. My Merc had the same problems as any other old motor, it leaked oil like a sieve, corroded wings and inside the engine bay. But the premium cost of them is what might save me here.

 

I'm unsure of what I'd like to get next. I really liked my car and I like the facelift W124s, the estate has certainly been useful. I'm torn between probably 2 unpopular cars being the W124 estate again or a W140 S-class which I'm aware could be a money pit.

 

The W210 is a very nice car and I admire a Green N-reg poverty spec E200 a lad who attends the local mosque has, but it isn't grabbing me enough to want one, I will have one at some point, but probably not just now, the W140 is an itch I really want to scratch, if not a W124 estate which can help me carry on enjoying/stressing over it, be a semi classic motor, a good investment and serve me for carrying tat around without the real need for a van.

 

You need to collect as many white room ads for overpriced dealer W124's and for every cheap one the Insurance company pull up you can counter with a £12,000 one that looks pretty much the same to a, no doubt, unaware insurance company office worker. Maybe they'll compromise at £5000 !

 

By the way saying you wouldn't pay £12k for that Insignia, try £28,000 for that Elite dizzler wagon.

One of the problems I might face is the old 'mileage' problem. To many of us, mileage is just a number but to many others it commands how much the car is worth and whether it is "worth" it etc...

 

My car has around 220k, some others currently for sale have done between 70k and 170k so the argument could be down to mileage. In the 21 years this car has been on the road, dividing 220k by 21 years averages at over 10k a year.

 

However, I will stick to 2 points, 1) The car is mine 2) To replace it with an equivalent model will cost about at least £2k.

 

Does the insignia really cost £28k? I guess thats brand new. Looking on Autotrader I saw a few of them for around £12k. The cheapest one is at just under £3k so they really do depreciate faster than driving one a couple of miles.

 

A bit more on the car rental bollocks happend today, the rental people tried to convince me to give up the Insignia for the A-class, so I got onto the insurance people and explained that whilst the A-class is seen as an upgrade, I do need a big estate car. They were happy that I was happy with the Insignia (probably costs them less) and were straight on the phone to the rental people so all seems fine, I still have the Insignia.

 

It's never just simple is it?