Bloody Big Bad Benz is the Bloody Biggest Piece of Tosh

[chaseracer]

My Merc had over 170k miles on it, but the interior was still very fresh indeed, and you could drive it for six hours and not know you had... I'd give the Merc the edge in driving dynamics too. They're not perfect by any means, and a 'bulletproof' reputation isn't always a good thing, but I'd have another...

 

I agree - mine was good too.

 

[Pete-M]

My W124 was OK. 260E, so nothing special. It was not the epitome of reliability, it got through window switches, a wiper mechanism, the obligatory glove box handle, a water pump and an exhaust in the three or for months I owned it. Steering was crap and although the car felt substantial, it didn't turn out that way.

 

My 210 is higher mileage, feels much tighter, is a lot quicker and quieter and uses less fuel.

[Jim Bell]

At least it will hold its value. Mercedes will never be cheap cheap. They may be shit, but you won't lose money on it. Sell it and buy another two 405s?

[danthecapriman]

I'm another Volvo believer! The 740 is utterly miles ahead of Mercs of similar vintage. The plastics can be a bit pants in Volvo's but they are built like tanks and I love driving them.

My mate had a W124 and it was not a patch on my 740, it broke constantly and in fact he ended up borrowing my 740 several times when his Merc was broken. The Volvo was also several years older and had done higher mileage than the Merc.

That W124 was scrapped a few years ago now due to galloping rot (it was horrendous!) but the old 740 is still going now with another owner.

 

And now I'll really upset the Merc boys! My mk2 Granada pisses all over Mercs too. Better looking, better drive, more comfortable, and arguably less rot prone! And this has done more miles than my old 740 and my mates Merc.

 

Sorry guys, I just don't get the Mercedes thing, I'm with Junkman on this one.

[artdjones]

A friend ran a 230TE for about 6 years.The leather looked just like that plastic Rover 25 stuff and a lot of small details looked very poor,things like door switches etc.Mind you,I seem to remember the taxi drivers protesting at the factory not long after release because of the decline in quality over the W123.

Just remembered that BMW had a similar problem when the E36 came out -loads of early faults.Thought only BL got the customers to do final development.

[forddeliveryboy]

Horses for courses. With old chod, the simpler and cruder the better for 90% of people. If it's well made like a rwd Volvo then perfection. Something finely engineered and a bit involved will grow much worse as garages do less than perfect work down the years. For everyday gadding about, simple=good. A 124 diesel is simple, but in a rather intricate way.

 

I'd say at least half the CXs, GS, 2cvs and other pre-Peugeot CIts were severely compromised by general garages who didn't know what they were doing or who couldn't be arsed. How many Mercedes automatics have had their fluid changed every three years, even though there's a full row of stamps? And how many of those fluid changes actually changed all the fluid, instead of draining the 2 litres out of the box sump and then topping up? The other 7 or 8 litres lives in the tc, there's a small allen bolt to access this on the flywheel, which needs a bit of seeking out. If you don't change the fluid, the box wears and you lose 10 mpg after a few years of neglect.

 

Send people to a concert full of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart and most will struggle to get it, they'll find it tedious and annoying. If the musicians are shit it will be truly dire anyway. Those who can be bothered to travel to a decent performance and who are interested enough to learn a bit will find themselves seeking more, captivated by genius. Try and explain that to someone else who wants instant gratification and they'll laugh in yer face.

 

124s are a long way short of perfect, but they're pretty good when right. A mid-90s A6 TDi is the perfect example of why MB realised they had to change - it's simple beyond belief, effective, quick, economical and doesn't rot. I've driven them both back to back, a 300D (if working properly) only starts to make more and more sense beyond 4 hours or 300 miles. They're unnecessary, 95% of the time in Britain, for 95% of those looking for cheap old transport. 

 

Here's a little story - guy in pub sees me turn up in a CX turbo, this is years ago when they were worth hundreds. He's interested enough in cars to know what it is, asks for a ride out and gets very excited (this one had 250hp+ but more to the point was well-sorted). He buys me a pint, we talk cars. Says he was blown away by the CX but wouldn't ever need to go at that sort of speed away from autobahns. Me says it's about lack of fatigue rather than blowing away other fast stuff.

 

We talk more cars, he spends an hour eulogising about his 300CE. Fast, economical,  amazing - no, AMAZING ride, quality which would last 1000 years. I grow weary. He looks disturbed when I mention the ride is so good becoz Citroën licence. Much shaking of head, no, not possible. Itsa bloody Mercedes BENZ! Saw him again a week later, car sold. Why? He rang up MBUK with the VIN and a lady had told him that his suspension was indeed gas over oil and was licenced. Replacement? Audi 80 cabriolet. "Not half the car, but I couldn't be doing with the worry of that problematic French suspension".

[twosmoke300]

Who the hell takes door cards off and lubes window mechs ?

[forddeliveryboy]

That's the problem with 124s - there's an almost 1950s auto-philosophy which goes with them. I do wonder if the electrics were designed with the British Army in mind - whopping brass contacts which will take centuries to wear out where others make do with 1/100th of the metal, but they do require servicing...

 

Otoh, brake calipers seem to be capable of being laid up for years, then come back to life like no Peugoet/Audi shit ever would. Cam chains are bigger than Ratners, too, half a million miles is nowt, just advance the diesel timing a little to make up for a little wear. Bastard rear wheel bearings, though, especially on the wagons.

[forddeliveryboy]

Do no updates = boring reliable-ness is restored or is it about to be fragged/roffled?

[Junkman]

Bridged, for all I care. Sadly Conelrad has joined the Mercedes Apologists ranks.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I've come to understand it. I have developed Stuttgart syndrome. 

 

 

It's old enough to remember the wall coming down (I'm referring to when my mum demolished our garden wall with a Sierra in 1992) so a few teething troubles can be excused. The charging problem was a wear item wearing, and the starter motor was just bad luck. I can't remember if it had any other faults, because I'm a Mercedes Apologist now and I've just filed them away as routine maintenance. 

 

The car isn't slow, it's unhurried. It is impossible to drive aggressively. Driving this car is as calming as an afternoon in an isolation tank - it should be prescribed on the NHS as a treatment for anger issues. It is devoid of the little irritations found in most cars. Nothing in the cabin squeaks or rattles. Nothing is flimsy, and every control works in a tremendously satisfying way, from the quiet "schlunk" of the vacuum operated central locking to the lovely action on the gear selector.

 

 

 

... 

 

 

 

 

holy shit I've got to get rid of this thing and fix my Rover, look what's become of me liking a diesel mercedes oh no

[hauserplenty]

When I make a wrong turn in my W124, I can just shrug it off. Driving any other car I'd be using some choice lower-deck language. Now: "Aw, so what, it's just a missed turn; I'll go around the block..."

Mercedes are true innovators. They're not for everyone. Which reminds me, I simply must remove the door panels on mine and spray the window regulators down with some white lithium grease...oh and there's those rear wheel bearings to change...just did the head gasket and the water pump...wonder if there's a wiper assembly in the local junkyard...

[Junkman]

Next time I make a wrong turn with it, I'll make sure it's off a cliff.

[forddeliveryboy]

A 124 does have a touch of neuroticism about it, I can get into (and drive off in) the crappiest CX after one and it's like there's a cloud lifted. Perhaps that's the attraction - they tried so hard to make it perfect, you feel the strain. If you fail to like an old Citroen, you sense the two fingers to fuck off to something more suited to you, with total insouciance.

 

 

Next time I make a wrong turn with it, I'll make sure it's off a cliff.

 

 

Thing is, it'll make sure you survive and suffer, whether you hopped out before or after. Whereas as you know, a C would try its hardest to finish you off.

[nacho man]

This is a keeper then.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ghosty]

 Mercedes will never be cheap cheap. 

 

[chaseracer]

That is not a Mercedes.

 

 

[Tetleysmooth]

I wish I'd taken some pics of the cabs in Tenerife, where I was last week.

 

There's a lot of W124's out there, most in excellent condition.

[BorniteIdentity]

I wish I'd taken some pics of the cabs in Tenerife, where I was last week.

 

There's a lot of W124's out there, most in excellent condition.

 

My friend lives there - I worked there for a bit.

 

We got speaking (in very pidgin English) to a fella behind the wheel of 190d.  The car is on the road 24 hours a day. He drives for 8 hours, then his sister, then their father.  And so on.  

 

From memory it had 670,000km on the clock which is good by anyone's standards.  But on an island the size of Tenerife? Good score.

[Tetleysmooth]

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

A car without Bluetooth is like a museum without interactive exhibits intended for children but usually left unattended: SHIT. The Merc's radio (a misnomer since it never managed to pick up a radio station) had to go. There was some discussion upthread about removal tools. Fortunately it turns out I did have the correct removal tool!

 

 

The reason the old radio wouldn't come out with the usual butterknife trick was because it wasn't in a cage. It had just been forced into the hole, and all the protruding bits on the radio had engaged with all the protruding bits of the car. A superb standard of workmanship.

 

The replacement radio, a Pioneer whose memorable model name might also be an IPv6 address, was removed from the Rover. It's mechless, but still comes in a warehouse sized case so it isn't any easier to install in old cars. A superb standard of workmanship.

 

 

Now all I had to do was slot it into the Mercedes. Except the cage doesn't fit, does it. Because of all the protrusions in the hole.

 

 

So tomorrow I'm going to have to stick a Dremel in my DIN hole. I am also tempted to install a couple of speakers in the rear, because that's one option box which was left blank. 

 

 

I assure you this will be carried out to the most superb standard of workmanship.

 

 

[Peter C]

Strange that your head unit won't go straight in, should be standard DIN size.

 

W124 speakers (front and rear) are not your standard size and there are only a few aftermarket brands still available. Please don't cut the rear shelf to fit 6x9s!

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Don't worry, I'm not the cutting type! If speakers can't fit in the existing hole and under the normal grille, they aren't going in. 

 

The hole is certainly DIN, but there are two substantial plastic bollards on the bottom (or the top of the ashtray enclosure). They've been hacked at in the past (probably to fit the old radio). Since there are no other references to this on the internet, I'm going to have to investigate it better tomorrow. Maybe it's part of some long forgotten bit of kit which can be removed. 

[Junkman]

 

So tomorrow I'm going to have to stick a stick of Dynamite in my DIN hole. I am also tempted to stick a couple of them in the rear, because that's one option to finally get rid of this shitheap. 

 

 

EFA

[hauserplenty]

Have a look here:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w124-e-ce-d-td-class/1409613-aftermarket-cd-player-install-how-1989-a.html#/forumsite/20548/topics/1409613

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I'm going to take a photo of this plastic obstruction tomorrow, just to prove I'm not mad. 

[richardmorris]

Easy fit in mine.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Done some suspension work on an e46 and a merc c180 coupe recently

 

BMW - holy shit everything was made of rust. EVERY bolt needed cut off and replaced.

 

Merc - hardly any rust, everything came apart without a fight and everything was a million miles better quality than the BMW.

 

Now admittedly the merc had been better looked after but it felt a million times better engineered. The BMW had the faintest veneer of quality, it all seemed nicely designed but very obviously an accountant had the last say

[Jerzy Woking]

As mentioned elsewhere, my W124 has sat on my driveway for 3 months with a dead battery (even having it on charge for 5 days made no difference) and yesterday I finally got round to replacing it.

 

Fired up as soon as the key was turned-didn't even turn over a couple of times, just straight away. if I leave my VW T5 for more than a couple of weeks, it takes a few turns of the starter motor before it starts, even though that has had new injectors, a service and a new battery.

 

I also have a Bluetooth stereo fitted to the w124-I hate CD's and this pioneer unit can play from Bluetooth or a USB (I found a tiny USB on eBay that only sticks out a few mm), so full music now possible. I think the speakers have been upgraded as it sounds really good.

 

The fitters had one hell of a job threading the telephone microphone from the back of the unit to the top of the steering column, where it sits unnoticed. He said he never had this trouble with ANY car he has fitted out before. And he left two of his Snap On trim fitting/removal tools in the car (which I only found yesterday when I was greasing up the seat runners).

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Please welcome to the stage THE PROTRUSIONS:

 

 

They look like they should push down but they don't. I'm going to cut them out.

 

Could be yours is different,they were always changing things,I know when I get parts for mine sometimes there's several alternatives and only the Vin will get you the correct bit

 

If your never going to put an original back in you can probably get away with removing those bits,please tell me it wasnt a Becker you destroyed to get it out

 

Lord no! This car lost its Grand Prix long ago. I destroyed faulty aftermarket tosh which pre-dated MP3 CDs. 

 

 

I also have a Bluetooth stereo fitted to the w124-I hate CD's and this pioneer unit can play from Bluetooth or a USB (I found a tiny USB on eBay that only sticks out a few mm), so full music now possible. I think the speakers have been upgraded as it sounds really good.

 

The fitters had one hell of a job threading the telephone microphone from the back of the unit to the top of the steering column, where it sits unnoticed. He said he never had this trouble with ANY car he has fitted out before. And he left two of his Snap On trim fitting/removal tools in the car (which I only found yesterday when I was greasing up the seat runners).

 

Yeah. I've installed the microphone unobtrusively at the top of the A-pillar but I can't find a route through the dashboard to the back of the radio. Every other car I've installed this radio in has had whopping great gaps all over the place to thread wires through!