I have had my low mileage (70K) W124 for almost a year. It was previously owned by one careful Japanese man who paid for whatever the dealer told him the car needed for 17 years. I have $$17K worth of service records from that dealership so this car definitely had serious regular care.

Even when it was 4 years old it had some serious failures like the AC system evap core at 18K for $2600, and lots of gasket problems under 25K miles, (cyl head front cover, valve cover, front cam cover, ( power steering pump seals and later the pump itself $500) Rear end resealed at 60K for $660

This car cost $6000 to keep the A/C running in less than 50K miles and 14 years or 35% of total operating costs. That just sucks but luckily I have had no A/C problems so far.

The worst feature of owning one of these cars is the rather obscene cost of labor along with relative incompetence of Indies in diagnosis and repair. Even veteran certified mechanics seems to understand these cars very well so I pay them $75 an hour to learn, and sometimes break things on the car. Very few choices here in Hawaii especially on outer islands.

I was recently in the Philippines and noticed a few W124's for sale in Davao City, Mindanao. They are still status symbols there / only a very few trained Benz mechanics available. A nice used W124 sells for almost $10K even now and for $20 A DAY you can have the best Factory trained mechanic fix your problems and yes they are competent (I spoke with several owners) but good luck trying to find a place to buy parts wholesale... forget the junkyard idea all together.

The main problem as I see it for most of us is labor cost. That problem is non existent in the Philippines.

I love the way this car drives, even more so than the W210 E430. It just says quality. It is an absolute pain for most mechanics to figure out how to take things apart, door panels, speaker covers, power seat cables, etc

And when they start to run poorly they just start throwing parts at it, potentially costing owners a fortune. There is some DIY info but not like a RWD Volvo which by comparison is a very easy back yard mechanic car, but then this is a Benz and I definitely appreciate the quality.

Finally the dealerships service writers, or parts dept. experience is abysmal, as they seem to despise DIU'ers, even getting them to print out service records with prior owners OK is like pulling teeth except you get a serious dose of attitude as well. OEM parts are available but Mercedes likes to disarm them by changing parts #'s and having diagrams that are illegible but if you can provide parts # and have lots of patience they will save you significantly.

So the incredible quality seems to be tempered by great hassles of ownership understanding how to keep them running. Still they are amazing cars. I sold other cars because I really enjoy driving her... Trouble free, look elsewhere.

 

I agree. To keep these cars in tip-top shape it costs quite a bit. On the other hand, in my case a seriously neglected example will run for years and years before kicking the bucket. All in all, they are a money pit for the enthusiast or perfectionist but a damn reliable car regarding "point a, to point b" transit from my experience. I can't see myself parting with my sedan in the future so I don't mind throwing cash at it every now and then in hopes to maybe drive the perfect W124 I always dream about .

This just reminds me.......A/C.......Sunroof......Rear drivers side window motor.....tie-rods....steering damper...the list goes on It helps to become your own mechanic, you don't have to have fancy diagnostic equipment as you would more so for the newer electrical headaches today.