German Car Forum

Wow, thanks for the huge single-blade wiper responce guys. I didn`t mean to turn this thread in that direction. It was cool to watch as some of you have said. When the wiper got to the mid-section of the wind screen it slid (or pivoted) down a bit for even better coverage.

One of the other orignals I like about the W124 E-Class and W126 S-Class was the window switch locations. Thay were all located just behind the shifter. I thought that was so cool and unique! other cars typically had that switch-gear in the doors.

One thing that hasn`t changed though is the seat switch-gear, located in the doors. That was really unique! It seemed every other car maker was putting that switch-gear on the sides of the seat. I never liked it on the side of the seat (as our 1991 Volvo 940 SE.)

What do you guys think.


Btw, check out the C124 at the header. It was the CLK of that time
and was in fact the coupe version of the E-Class.

It seems todays CLK is closer to the C-Class MB.

The C124 was quit expensive back in the day. I still can`t recall if that car could be had with a V8.

Thats good to know, ive heard that they are very good reliable engines so ill see. Is there anything that I should really look out for when looking at the car? It will defiantly be a petrol engine though

Guess it wasn't that underpowered then.

Not really. The only thing to watch out for is the oil consumption I suppose, at least that's in the case of our 300SE. It's got nearly 180,000 km on the odometer and I am told that engines from that era become thirstier for oil when they get older. I guess that's something to watch out for with a 300E.

Check the reviews and scans I posted. There's bound to be something there. You could also check out a 260E though they're not as efficient as the 300E. A latter model E200 / 200E or 230E isn't bad either. Not very refined, but good on fuel and not that slow either.

The C124 was beautiful!
it even looked nice as a droptop. I agree with you about the CLK being closer
to the C-Class. Maby MB wanted to give the C a little hype this time around.

Thanks for these brochures, especially the 500 E. There is sometimes a Canadian model 500 E parked in front of a department store at a shopping mall I often visit. I have seen it several times. I'll take a few pictures with my new camera phone if I see it again.

I'm not a huge fan of the early-1990s AMGs, or any AMGs in general. I prefer even the limited edition, super fast Mercedes saloons to look a little bit less aggressive than the AMGs. I'd rather they all look like the dignified 450 SEL 6.9 (surprise).

If I could pick any of the cars in the W124 guide, I'd take a 1992 500 E. I like those orange indicator lights.

OMG, where do I start here?

Thanks Wimmer so much information on what is pretty much my favorite Mercedes-Benz of all time, arguably with the R129 SL.

Ahh..yes the marvel that is the single blade wiper which I have now. Everytime someone rides with me while it is raining they always get big eyed when they see it swoop across the windshield and "reach" into the corners all in few seconds. "Damn look at that" is the usual reaction. This was quite a piece of engineering and brainstorming. However like others have said it can't keep up in a really heavy downpour, but thankfully that isn't too often so I can live with it. The way it wipes light snow away when you first switch it on is priceless.

The thing about the W124 was that it was such a simply elegant car with all types of engineering-driven details. The 2 exterior rearview mirrors for example. The passenger side mirror was tall and narrow and the driver's side was long and skinny. No marketing here, purely an engineering lead solution/detail. What I really thought was novel was that on diesel models the passenger side front fender had vents in it, right in the sheetmetal. I just thought that was the coolest thing back then.

More on wipers. Mercedes really got smart on certain models later one when they used the single blade wipers pivoting action on one wiper (left side) in conjuction with a regular (but long) wiper on the other side on later day cars. This setup nearly wiped the entire winshield! You couldn't watch both wipers at the same time while driving. I think the 140 cars had this.

Did someone mention the C124? I remember the day it debuted as the 300CE. One of my best friends and I said we'd have these cars today, well by the time we were grown and could buy such a car the 300CE sits in the MB musuem...lol. The 300CE was breathtakingly expensive for the 1988 model year, something like $55,800 if I remember right. When I tell you that this was the most elegant Mercedes I'd ever seen up to that date I'm not kidding. For some reason I don't remember seeing the 560SEC until like 1989 or 1990. When the cabrio debuted for 1993 I couldn't believe how expensive it was and how well it sold at the same time, so much so that it was still produced for the U.S. market well into 1996 after the W210 E had gone on sale.

The 500E is likely my favorite Mercedes-Benz of all time. In this day of the CL, SL, CLS and AMG everything and Black Series this, that is quite an honor. The 500E was just so rare and expensive also, and the best one was the one year only E500 of 1994 which included the last facelift the W124 got before retirement. Plus this car had some Porsche engineering in its DNA, that sold it for a lot of people.

What really gets me about these W124 is the sheer number of them I still see in such great shape on the road today. I mean the newest one is 12 years old and their paint and bodies look new most of the time. I can tell you that nothing Mercedes made after the W140 up to maybe the current S/CL will be in such great shape 12-15 years after they go out of production. The first ML, CLK (my car), W210, W211, W220, C220 or current ML, R, or GL (or anything else made during these years) will most certainly not look as good or hold up as well physicially. There will be exceptions of course, but the majority of them will not, they just weren't built as good. I'm still horrified when I think of the first time I sat in the first ML. With a W140 sitting on the same showroom floor there was no way the same company could have made these 2 vehicles I thought.

I plan on having both a 124 car, either a 500E/E500 or a 300CE/E320 Coupe and a R129 SL before my driving days are over. Just to drive every now and then of course.

Mercedes seems to be returning to a quality first position, but even with the newest S and CL, they aren't built like the old days exactly. I really believe Mercedes used thicker sheetmetal and just heavier components for nearly everything back then. However in Mercedes' defense they've had to use lighter things because unlike those old-tech cars, today's Benzes have so many electronic systems and what not that increase weight so if they didn't lighten their cars in other areas you'd wind up with something like the Maybach. Heavy as hell. The Maybach's model designation is by the way, W240. Hint as to what it is based on.

P.S. I don't care what none of you all say, I like the blunted frog of a C140 coupe. With the right wheels and some tint it looked the part!

M

Yes it is much closer to the C-Class, I have a W208. It was quite a switch for Mercedes, which BTW went without any entry-level coupe for the 1996 and 1997 model years in the U.S.

The W208 CLK was/is in its defense much sportier than the C124 was, especially from a design standpoint. I guess they ordered Sacco to come up with something sportier since by this time the Lexus SC had arrived. The prices were something too. A 300CE Cabriolet was like 80K in 1995, but that same money would buy you a CLK55 Cabriolet years later in the W208 series. The CLK320 and CLK430 Cabrios were much cheaper than the 300CE/E320 ragtop.

As far as I know the C140 never had a V8 from the factory. A 400CE or especially a 500CE would have caused quite a panic back then, but we're talking about the days before Mercedes niche-plugging fetish.

M

Hi guys!! Just found this website on the wolrd wide web:

catalogue - german / technical data

The have nearly every catalogue of the W124.

I'm very interested in this car - maybe this could be my first car in one or two years...I'm impressed by its build quality and you can really get a lot of spares!!

Great posts Merc1, keep up the good work!

Anytime.

And thanks for sharing your memories, comments and experiences.

Thanks wimmer for the excellent post. Brought back some memories of my 1990 300TE. It was White with Navy interior and a very sweet car. My wife loved it. Only one problem with it was the front seal had to be replaced twice Other than that is was one of the nicest wagons we owned. Put about 125,000 miles on it before we traded it on a W210 wagon.

Fantastic post, thank you for this information. I also love the mercedes W124 series. I own a E 220 Coupe with 330000 Km and 13 years but works perfectly.

Thank you for the scans.

PD: The W124, the last of the over-engineered Mercedes-Benz series.

I'd say the W140 was the last one, but it really doesn't matter....for better and for worse Mercedes-Benz just doesn't make them like the 140 or 124 anymore. In some ways that is great and in other it just isn't the same. Oh well....one can always get a Maybach.

M

Wrong section!!!

Can a mod please relocate this thread to the MB classics.


http://www.germancarforum.com/older-mbs-classics/

Hello everyone.
I'm new with this forum, and after reading quite a bit of comments and topics about merc here, especially W124, I found a lot of useful and interesting things.

I live in Indonesia, and right now I have a 1991 300E, which I've owned for about a year now. I admit, it's really feel great driving it. It feels so comfortable, and give my self a feeling of self esteem, just by holding the steering wheel.

Does anyone have a scan of articles, or brochures, or anything at all, about 300E..?

Thank you..

Ah...the 300E. Such a solid car back in its day. I remember the commercials in which they showed it could do 140 mph with the manual transmission. Most likely the most simply elegant Benz ever devised. Arguable only to the W126 S-Class. The 300E had only what you needed and nothing more. It was agile and just the right size for the time since the 190E was too small for more than 2 people.




Here is a nice writeup on the 300E from one of my old favorite sites:

300E - Mercedesshop.com


M

Thank you Merc1.

Okay, I've read and heard a lot of positive comments on W124, especially 300E, on handling, performance, maintenance, etc.

But I would also like to know about the negative comments, especially on 300E, and also the comparation to any other merc type, or any other cars (BMW for example).

And why is that, that I've heard a lot such as "W124, merc don't make one like that any more", or "W124 is simply the best merc ever built", etc?

Well for one, the overall build of the W124 cars compared to say the E-Class that came right after it, the W210. The W124 had the classic bank-vault door slam, the plain looking, but minutely detailed interior that felt like it would last forever, and in most cases they do. The classic I6 which met its end 2 years into W210 production. The single blade wiper, the spring-suspension seats, the odd sided rear-view mirrors. All were phased out a few years after the W124 expired. Some of these features it and the 190E brought to the table were so iconic of the time. The W124 was chock full of little engineering (not marketing as in today's Benzes) driven details. Last but not least the clean, simple, elegant styling.

The only real things I've seen and heard about the W124 problem wise is that on the I6 there is a usually head gasket problem after about 90-100K miles and A/C units often fail.


I personally loved the W124 (and R129 and W126) for their purity of design and longevity in the market. They carried the Mercedes "look" for a generation and did it with grace. Everyone knew what a Mercedes looked like during those years.


M

I have always been a fan of the w124 series.

Most recently, I had the chance to view an 88 300ce. It was a pre-face lift model as the door panels did not come with the wood trims. I test drove it and it has the torque and power of a 3 litre. However, one thing that puzzled me most was the speedometer which only read up to 220kmh. According to the technical data, 300ce cars were able to reach over 220kmh. I would have imagined the speedometer to read 240kmh at least as in the case of the w126 300sel which shares the same engine.

Can anyone confirm that early model 300ce or 300e for that matter came with speedometers that read up to 220kmh?

Or could this be a 230ce with a M103 engine in it?

what gives?