Peter C Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Poo count 2 (including the one I did this morning). Car is in Enfield, approx 45 minute from me. All looks promising, seller sounds a nice chap. Wish me luck. Don't tell the rozzers. w00dy, dome, loserone and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegod Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 This mornings poo doesn't count, that said.....chodspeed Sir Peter C 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuew Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Ooh. Naughty. Have fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 I would have predicted an e39 or a w210, pre Audi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twiggy Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Good luck then ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 I found a 1990 Mercedes W124 230E in 5 speed manual flavour, with 86k miles, FSH including 26 stamps and receipts, 1 owner from new, 11 months MoT, in a dubious shade of burgundy with a cream cloth interior. The car was advertised in good condition, with slight lacquer peel to the tops of the doors and a small blow from the exhaust. It certainly looked great in the photographs. The asking price of £2,200 ono was keen and the car was located near Enfield, approx 45 minutes from me. The car was advertised on a Facebook page, by a seller with an Italian sounding name who, according to his Facebook profile, which did not feature a single photograph of him, was apparently born in Bialystok, Poland. Fair enough. We agreed to meet at 5pm. I arrived at the landmark referred to in the seller's instructions just before 5pm and called him. Rather than guiding me towards his address, he told me to meet him outside the local Londis shop in 2 minutes. Ten minutes later, the W124 stutters around the corner, headlights switched off (it was dark by 5pm). The seller and his mate looked very young Asian / Pakistani, not the mature Italian / Polish face that I was expecting. The seller apologised for being late, he said that the W124 wouldn't start and he had to jump it from another car. A brief inspection revealed that the car had horrendous lacquer peel across all four doors right down to the badly overpainted cladding panels, the exhaust was blowing quite badly, the engine wasn't running evenly (perhaps due to the blowing exhaust), the aerial was snapped off and the allegedly mint interior was minging. I didn't need to see more. I thanked the seller for his time and left with no deal. On route I explained to my long suffering wife that my expectations were not sky high considering the fair asking price and that I was optimistic that I would buy the car based on what I saw in the photographs. Shame really, as another W124 would have been perfect for daily duties. ChampionRabbit, Cord Fourteener, bigstraight6 and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 58 minutes ago, HMC said: I would have predicted an e39 or a w210, pre Audi. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I have decided not to purchase a used car ever again that has an EML and an OBD socket. dome, barefoot, HMC and 2 others 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Sorry to see your car woes recently Peter! What you need is a nice mint 206 gti 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 16 minutes ago, Jamie said: Sorry to see your car woes recently Peter! What you need is a nice mint 206 gti 😁 If you were closer... then perhaps.... nah. HMC, Shite Ron and Jamie 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairnet Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 you need an avensis or an auris into one of the *nicer parts of the capital expecting a nice car eek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minimad5 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Buy my S210. Then spend the change on a few bottles of bubbly and a M&S meal for you and the missus. Cavcraft and HMC 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 6 minutes ago, Minimad5 said: Buy my S210. Go on, tell me more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Hunt Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 2 hours ago, Peter C said: I arrived at the landmark referred to in the seller's instructions just before 5pm and called him. Rather than guiding me towards his address, he told me to meet him outside the local Londis shop in 2 minutes Years ago it was “i’ll meet you in the car park of the Rose n Crown and the Logbook was with the DVLA for change of address. That Photo was probs old or they threw a bucket of water over it round the corner before driving it to its photo location, give it the wet t’shirt look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty2006 Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 They are really handsome looking Mercs and I’d love to own one one day. It’s a shame the selling world is full of chancers like that. They probably bought it cheap because it needs a “headgasket” and once they drained the oil out of the coolant they’d put in on road test, used and abused it then tried flog it on for 200% profit. That’s all it seams to be now. Good luck finding another if that’s what you’re after! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavcraft Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 If you want to be disappointed by a seemingly inexpensive Mercedes, please get in touch. Saabnut, BorniteIdentity, Dave_Q and 1 other 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w00dy Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 That sounds very disappointing, it looks a nice car in that photo. I had a similar experience with an E39 before I found mine. Interesting that it had lacquer peel since it looks similar to my old 230E in Barolo red, which was a flat paint with no lacquer and looked lovely polished up. Cavcraft, Dick Longbridge, Peter C and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 54 minutes ago, w00dy said: That sounds very disappointing, it looks a nice car in that photo. I had a similar experience with an E39 before I found mine. Interesting that it had lacquer peel since it looks similar to my old 230E in Barolo red, which was a flat paint with no lacquer and looked lovely polished up. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 1 hour ago, Cavcraft said: If you want to be disappointed by a seemingly inexpensive Mercedes, please get in touch. Have done. What you got? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 16 hours ago, Peter C said: Wrong, wrong, wrong. I have decided not to purchase a used car ever again that has an EML and an OBD socket. I'd much rather have the ECU moaning what the fault is than the nonsense you get with a random mechanical K-Jetronic fault! Cavcraft and Cord Fourteener 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cort16 Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 We've put all the information collected from your profile into our latest computer technology and after 3.7 weeks of processing and 700 punched paper cards it produced this answer. Lexus GS300. Like a Mercedes E320 petrol or BMW 530i but built properly. Floatylight, Eyersey1234, stripped fred and 5 others 4 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 18 minutes ago, cort16 said: We've put all the information collected from your profile into our later computer technology and after 3.7 weeks of processing and 700 punched paper cards it produced this answer. Lexus GS300. Like a Mercedes E320 petrol or BMW 530i but built properly. Everything that you've said is 100% correct. There is no denying that a Lexus of that vintage would be infinitely better built and more reliable than a Merc or BMW. Trouble is, I don't like the brand, however if I treat it as a posh Toyota then perhaps it might just work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cort16 Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 Toyota are bound have sold this in other markets as a Toyota crown or aristo or something . Just think of it as a posh avensis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shite Ron Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 The W124 looks stunning in the picture, must of been a huge disappointment. I once drove all the way to Slough to look a supposedly mint 2.3 Ghia Cortina before it was easy to send pictures on the internet. It was nothing like the description and full of filler, a 5 hour round trip waste of time. This looks very nice as a daily about 2 million times better than an Audi but not quite a W124. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-E200-Elegance-59k-Miles-No-Reserve/324365931157?hash=item4b85b75295:g:eL4AAOSwIMJflqtR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 4 hours ago, Peter C said: I don't like the brand, however if I treat it as a posh Toyota then perhaps it might just work. That's precisely what it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 What about a c124 as nod to having a coupe but also keeping the Merc 124 thing going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 Plot twist. I found an interesting 1998 reg (Asian import) W124 on eBay this afternoon, I placed a bid, which was the highest bid until 5 seconds before the end of the auction, at which point I was all set to increase my offer but due to my iPad’s slow response I missed out by £50 and didn’t win. Bugger. BorniteIdentity, Cord Fourteener and Lacquer Peel 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 1 hour ago, HMC said: What about a c124 as nod to having a coupe but also keeping the Merc 124 thing going. Nah, I really want a sedan. I don’t get the coupe / cabrio W124 thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 I’ve just found a cracking W124 260E on Facebook Marketplace but with MoT until early December. Seller will put a new one on but not before the end of November. Why advertise now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 My quest to find a nice W124 continued when I found a lovely looking 320E advertised via Facebook Marketplace. The car was local to me and the advert sounded promising. I sent a message to the seller expressing my interest and spoke with him the following day. Nice chap, sounded honest. Too honest perhaps because he told me that the engine has an issue, which hitherto he has failed to diagnose, which causes the engine revs to fluctuate at idle, between 1,000-1,500 rev/min. A little research on the web and some advice from guys on a W124 Facebook page later, which suggested that the issue could be caused by a myriad of defects, I decided not to even view the car. I decided that I'm not going to buy another W124 for daily duties. I have copped out and ordered a new lease car, which I will hopefully get in a couple of weeks. And what exciting car am I getting? A Kia Exceed, no less. I'll see myself out. theshadow, SiC, loserone and 7 others 2 5 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Didn't fancy a Stinger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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