zach1328

Oh yeah i already own one. I have a 93' 300E 2.8L . Been in the family since about 2001.
I love it, but all of my friends think of it differently. To them it will always be an old piece of junk.
But in 10 years when my friends 03' mustang GT is in the junk yard, we'll see who's going to be laughing.

And im still kind of lost on some of the things you guys are saying you have problems with. Maybe i just got a lucky one or something.

Map pockets are perfectly fine. The passenger side is starting to come of a little bit on the front end of it, but not even noticeable.
There is 1 tiny little crack right near the Shifter, but once again, only noticeable under close observations.

But i have had 2 specific problems. The ceiling in the back sags down..not the whole roof, just the leather stuff.
AND the plastic underneath the rearview mirror kind of came off. I don't know how or why..? I thought the plastic on the W124s was supposed to be pretty good.

funkgab

roofliner starts sagging with age on most cars.. plastic hardens and weakens with age as well..

the w124 300e was my 2nd mercedes.. i actually had a w202 c280.. man was it a bucket of problems.. sadly right when i fixed everything somebody hit me and it got totaled.. the w124 to me seemed like an upgrade rather than the c280.. sure its ac is a bit more outdated and its mirrors are uneven.. but the feel of it. i don't know it just feels great on the road.. all my friends call my car a piece of junk.. but it keeps up with there cars (if i try) but they sit in my piece of junk.. and their just like omg. spring seats? haha

i wish i just had the skill and knowledge to make my w124 perfect.. as it squeeks.. rattles... and has tons of problems.. still love it.. little by little.. well thats if i dont get another ticket.. cause if i do.. im done for haha

zach1328

Haha sounds like you have the exact same problem as me. It doesn't matter that it was worth over 40 grand in 93, it doesn't matter that it is one of Mercedes Benz' best cars. Its still a piece of junk in my freinds minds.
My friend has a 2003 mustang GT and apparently it is more reliable just because it is newer.
My other freind has a 2007 Honda Civic SI. According to him his car is:
1. More reliable
2. Faster
3. Better handling
4. More comfortable
ETC ETC ETC ETC!

It really bothers me because they don't understand how the W124 was built.
A mercedes worth $45,000 in 93.
Or a Civic Si worth about $25,000 in 07.

Clearly the car that was worth $45,000 is going to be better. Idk for sure, but $45,000 in 1993 should be about the equivelant of over $60,000 in 2007.
Also, when i tell them the W124 is "The best Mercedes benz ever built".
Then i get a response like "Oh Mercedes must make some sh** cars then".

And funk, a perfect car, In my mind, is a car that can do everything you want it to do with ease. I believe the W124 does that..?

Its OK though. Our W124s will always be called pieces of junk to newer car owners.
And people will always think of a W124 that way until they understand the true build quality.

I dont know if there is one thing about my car that hasn't been called junk.
The "junk" list (according to freinds)::::
The Stereo
Performance
The seats
Suspension
Handling
And the list goes on and on.

People just don't understand.
I still love my W124 though. I havn't really found one simple reason for loving it so much.
I guess i just have a lot of fun driving it.
The point of going fast is to have fun, but i have fun in that car without going fast. I can't explain it, i just love the car!

Maybe i love it so much because after 17 years of wear and tear the interior is still in amazing condition. My interior looks better than some cars that are even only 5 years old.
Maybe its because my car still shines after i give it a quick little wash.
Or possibly because i don't have to worry about taking the car to a junk yard to be smashed.
Maybe its because, after 107,200 miles and 17 years the car still runs like it is only several years old.

What more do people need to hear? Any 17 year old car that runs and looks like it is 5 years old is a good car in my opinion.
There are cars out there that can run 8 or 9 second 1/4 miles and do over 200 miles per hour.
There are cars that can transport you around in the best quality and comfort.
There are cars that look better than the W124.
There are cars that have amazing handling, and can rip around a race track at high speeds.

But for some reason, there isn't 1 car, not one car, that i have been as passionate about as i have been for the W124.
That is why i think it is simply put, one of my favorite cars ever built.

rivcal4life

I think the solution to your problems is:

get new friends.

I mean, you shouldn't be hanging out with the likes of SI and mustang drivers as it is. The difference between the w124 drivers and the mustang owners I know, is that the w124 drivers don't need to trash oter peoples cars to make their own look good. I honestly have respect for all different types of cars that are rare or specialty in some way. GT's, SI's, I like the new altima 3.5s for some reason, Volvos, datsuns, you name it. Many drivers (not the majority, but many) of GT's and SI's just see theirs as the only car worth driving out there, and probably only because they're decently fast. What they need, is for Ed's TTCE or GerryVZ's N20 500e to knock their dicks in the dirt. The sad part is, many of the time, they didn't even buy the cars they drive. It was a gift from mommy or daddy.

Anyway... /rant

funkgab

i agree with rivcal about respecting most cars.. and that the si or gt is from mommy and daddy...
a ex-girlfriend's dad of mine used to give me crap about my car all day.. (he drives a cooper S) i let him drive my car.. a week after i see an 300ce in front of his garage.. and broke out laughing.. and all he said was "you got me"
zach my car is approaching 278,000 miles and it still runs great (besides it eating so much gas :P)
honestly the price of a car does not matter to me.. if its a good car its a good car. i mean like the honda CRX.. i loved those because they were so fun.. but long story short.. it got jacked..
the w124 is not fun for me without going fast because the car feels so much heavier than cars i used to drive (jdm) haha 80 mph feels like 40 mph.. but yeah... im starting to learn from all the tickets i got
i just wish one day to get an 500e.. or a ce..

RBYCC

Perhaps because most of your friends still have acne ?

RHW

My story: I "hate" corporate America. Corporate America is all about squeezing smaller players (like you) dry while feeding bigger players (like Big-Car-Co.)

I am cheating corporate America by choosing and using the LAST generation of cars that were NOT built with planned obsolescence in mind.

Zach, you just need to learn subtle ways to change the topic. STOP engaging your friends on how great your car is, START complementing their cars and smiling back when they trash yours. Let them "win" and choose your battles more carefully.

Some kids don't get it, others don't want to. Who cares.

You either like, love, hate or dislike your car, and that is all that matters.

rivcal4life

I agree with Rich 100% on this. To be honest, their cars do have their pros. If they're too busy running their mouths about their own cars, the won't be able to badmouth yours.

190E 16V

Well said, Rich and Justin!

Zach; when thy're on a rant, you can smile and laugh too, knowing that you're the only enlightened one in the room.

rivcal4life

Zach, were do u live? If you're in CA, I'd be happy to meet up with them at a dragstrip when I get back from vacation.

Saijin_Naib

Dude, bring those toolbags to an SCCA AutoX meet. I bet you'll post better times (if you can drive that is). That'll shut them up.

I was posting better times than my friends lowered, tuned, g35 Coupe with rear diff/LSD.

I got endless crap from everyone at the meet, including the announcers over the PA but I had fun and I beat a g35, a Mustang GT, and came close to beating a tuned to hell GTI.

190E 16V

A little off-topic, but what times did you post???

Saijin_Naib

http://autox4u.com/2010results/642010_fin.htm#n

This was during the time that my car was pulling 13.8s 0-60s (still is) and I was pretty much in full drift and ****ing around for the fun of it testing out my new swaybars. I could have been more competitive but meh, I was there for giggles :P

ps2cho

As a friend of mine said a while ago....

"Bought the wife a Lexus...Most boring car I've ever driven. At 100k miles I changed the spark plugs and gave it back to her."

Anyway...I prefer to be a little different and I really like the styling. Every Joe and Jane has a "Honda".

At work everybody knows I care for my car a lot, and they always say "its just a car". I don't bother saying anything back because I don't need to
To them it is 'just a car' because they all drive the '5 year buy and junk' modern day models. That or until the pedal bricks.

I also enjoy knowing that a small bump is not going to destroy my bumper, lights, condensor, radiator, lights, bend the frame, fan coupling, fenders....as would happen with any modern day car.

neanderthal

If we are to be honest, new cars ARE made better, in terms of safety corrosion resistance, amenities (no matter how much you wanna complain about new cars, having a factory designed cupholder or navigation that is integrated into your dashboard is ****) ergonomics (although that is a matter of preference) etc. Their engines are for the most part not only cleaner running, but more economic in terms of fuel consumption and parts replacement. New cars generally only need plugs every 100000 miles, meanwhile your M103 engined car has gone through 18 sparkplugs, who knows how many caps and wires and so on.

That said, the W124 and its ilk are designed to LAST. And that is something that cannot be said for the new cars.

Chappy

Is Proactive the new 'Seafoam'?

RBYCC

Jovsky

For me, I have a '90 300E and gave me no problems so I added a 2000 C230 Kompressor.

zach1328

Haha..How the hell is your car so fast?
I tried to race my freinds Civic SI and i got a slight jump on him b/c he wasnt ready.
And sure enough about 2 seconds later he flew past me.
Except i had an extra person in the car, i had the ac on, he didnt. His car was warming up, mine was already warm.
So it wasn't fair for me, but regardless he beat me.

So how do you beat cars that run 6s 0-60s in a car that runs 8s stock..?

I'd like to learn some of your secrets .

And also, no, i don't live in california.
I live outside of Houston, Texas.

Its ok though, ive moved on.
To me its not all about who's car is faster 0-60, or who's car is fastest around the track.
I don't know what it is, but there is something about my car that makes it "fun" to drive all the time.

The point of going fast is to have fun, but in the W124 i don't need to go fast to have fun.
Although, it is a LITTLE bit more fun to go fast

Saijin_Naib

Sometimes by driving slow, you can drive faster if that makes any sense. My friend with the G35 is just getting used to his car and pushing it like that so he didn't have a chance :p

My friend in the GTI got screwed by adjusted scoring but eh, whatever :P

I highly recommend SCCA if you are at all interested in learning the limits of you and your car in a safe environment.

funkgab

same boat as you.. haha or theyll be times where i pretend i hate my car because its old and these foolish people agree and say its going to break down because its old so they end up driving (saves me gas) :P

all the little small bumps arn't going to do anything to our cars except stupid rocks hitting our headlights hahaha

zach1328

Hey guys. This is a little bit off topic, but..

I'm taking speech to get it over with, and i have to write a speech that is due tomorrow. I decided to do the speech on W124's because they are what i love, and i know a decent bit about them.

Anyways to get to the point. I was just wondering if anyone can tell me some interesting/fun facts about the build history of the W124.

What was some of the new technology they used?
How much of it was hand built, how much was machine built?
What is parts are on the car that even today are rare to see on cars?

Anything like that, just whatever comes to yall's minds as interesting about the W124.

Thanks =).
And sorry for the Off Topicness!

Chappy

I would suggest purchasing a copy of the E-Class Owner's Bible (W124). Hours and hours of reading:

http://www.amazon.com/Mercedes-Benz-...8013289&sr=8-1

190E 16V

The W124 500E was the only MB - Porsche joint project. 500E was the first manufacturer produced 4 door sedan to compete and perform with the likes of the Supercars of the day, the Porsche 911 and Ferrari's of the 90's.

The car was designed primarily by MB, and developed and tested by Porsche.
Porsche had a lot of unused capacity in their plants and were in a bit of trouble. A deal, possibly brokered by the German government, had the car hand-assembled in the Porsche factory.
Unpainted body shells were shipped to Porsche in Stuttgart where the engine bay was adapted to take the V8 from the SL. Transmission tunnel was enlarged, car lowered an inch, widened by an inch, special widebody fenders installed, front and rear, a front bumpr/spoiler reduced front lift by 40%. the car was hand-assembled at Porsche, shipped back to MB for painting, back again to Porsche for final assembly. Brakes and running gear were developed from the SL drivetrain, with many modifications, including a different engine mgmt system. The car developed the 322 bhp of the SL, with more torque, 354 ft/lbs, I believe. Although electronically governed to 150 mph, the car's delimited top speed was 178mph!!!
Cars were tooled between work stations on wooden pallets, taking 18 days to assemble each of the 10,479 cars produced between 1991 and 1995, model years 92 - 94.

These cars were owned by many celebrities including William Shatner and Arnold schwartzeneger.

According to a knowledgeable source on this forum, all 124's were welded by robots, inspected, and then finished by hand.

Go to Wiki, or 500ecstasy.com for more info.

I'm sure you know to SEARCH
on here for more info, right?

190E 16V

Famous 500E Owners:

Other famous owners,

Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) Race driver/writer for Car Magazine
Jay Leno
Michael Schumacher
Al Unser
Jerry Seinfeld
Ted Kennedy
Gerry Van Zandt

and many others...

Go to this thread:

http://www.500ecstasy.com/forums//sh...lebrity+owners