Hi Guys
First post so hope in right place. I am looking at bvuying a 1988 300CE in gorgeous condition BUT I have 2 kids and need the extra spot in the middle at the back. Of course the coupe doesn't have a seating position there so I was wondering if anyone has done or knows if a sedan rear seat from the appropriate era would fit in without too much effort and if there were appropriate mount points for a lap sash belt (assume thats what is in the sedan)

Thanks Guys

Ray

If you've only two kids, why do you need the extra spot? You & your spouse at the front 2 seats, and the two kids at the rear two.

They are at the age where 'friends' might be coming along.
Too me it's not a big issue BUT if I am to get blessing to buy (from the Treasury Department aka my wife) I need to be able to answer the criticism of 4 seats.
Personally it's my toy not the kids but when the kids arrive those arguments don't hold much water anymore. The other option is an E39 BMW nice car but not the 300 Coupe !

Hm, tough call man. Would you consider maybe a 300te or a regular w124 sedan?

You could always get a 400e or 500e & not tell the wife why those numbers are larger

Ray,

Do you have a coupe now with children? Reason I ask is I had a 1991 300CE for 12 years....040 Black/Palomino. When my first child came along, I thought I could 'make due' with the 2-door and a child seat.

That lasted about 2 months....got old really fast. If your kids are older and don't need child seats you may fare better than I.

I sold my CE and bought a W124 wagon. Best of luck in your decision.

As far as whether a 300E rear seat would fit....sorry, I don't know.

Yeah but honestly I know the guy who owned this since new and he has fastidiously looked after it and i drool (well not physically anyway) over the thing everytime I see it !!! Here's a piccie of the unit in question !

Wow. Okay, that is pretty gorgeous. Do you have a family car that could suffice for when you need more than 4 seats?

Yeah we have passed the child seats, my girls are 10 and 8 but we are about to enter the phase of the "puberty zone" (play appropriate drama music) and school friends to netball, tae kwan do, parties etc is the issue !!! Maybe I should buy this, sell the wife's little Kia 4 door hatch and buy her an E39 BMW

My kids are still young....2 and 4. Even in the wagon with the 3rd seat, things are snug - but liveable.

Keep in mind that even if another seat would fit, you might only have seat belt anchors for 2 passengers.

Don't know how tall you or your wife are but rear seat legroom goes from limited to non existent depending on the position of the front seat.
Having owned a C124 from new in 1988, I will attest to it not being rear seat friendly...even the ingress and egress is difficult

The rear seat of a W124 or S124 will not fit a C124 without much modification and retrimming.

Ed A.

P.S.
The pic you posted is not a 1988 C124 unless it has been "facelifted"

Exactly....especially if your guest gets poked once or twice by the belt presenter!

You got it correct

The C124 doesn't have the rear seat width to comfortably seat three people..maybe about nine inches between rear seat positions.

You want to really discover how limber you are?
Try to clean the inside of the rear window on the CLK63 Black Series.
No backseat, front seats have no tilt mechanism and not a great deal of travel....
Not an ideal situation for a senior citizen !!

^^^Boy, I'd like to have your troubles.....

you "could" pad the center box and add belts to the two inner anchors for short rides...

yuo will be fine, my true opinion is that it will work,
a 500e wont helpe you either cause it has the same 2 seats in the back as the coupe, i have measured the seats size from the 93ce i have and it is 50" and i measured the ones in the 500e which i have also and it is slightly less , so i think it will work.
you should go for it , don't lose that baby, plus use it as an excuze to buy it, tell your wife that you will change the back seats, and if it won't work afther oyu already purchased it, well what can u do you wont find anyone to sell it at that "high price"

Measure the height of the lower cushion in both the C124 and W124.
I think you'll find that the cushion is lower in the coupe and the cab to gain headroom and is slightly higher then in the sedan.
Also measure the depth of the lower cushion, the sedan should be a bit longer and will limit the travel of the front seats in the coupe.
Keep in mind that the coupe and the cab have a shorter wheelbase and lower roofline then the sedan.
The width is about the same but the side of the sedan seat is finished differently and will not fit as the coupe cushion will against the door panels.
And the fit of the one piece upper cushion is not being considered.

Your right there she has had substantial facelift ! Guy who owns it imports and sells european accessories specialising in MB, BMW, AUDI etc.
The most standout mods are :

Fully Zender Body Kit (front bumper, side skirts, rear bumper
Lowered on Eibach Pro-Kit Suspension
LED Sports Mirrors
Wood Kit refurbished
Interior refurbished
ERGON E Class Wheels 17" x 7.5"

As i said in other message I have been dreaming about this car for 5 years as it has been in his showroom most of the time. (212,000 kms on clock) !
My immediate thought on looking at it is elegant, class with a touch of sportiness that doesn't take away from it's other features.

While I am here can I just say thank you to everyone - I have not met a more friendly bunch of people on any sort of forum particularly to a newbie who has yet to buy the car of his dreams (but your sealing that fate by the comment hahahahah) Thanks Again

Ray

Funny you should bring this up.. I was wondering if the CE seats fit in a sedan. :P I want 2 seats in the back, not 3!

Love how our situations are reversed. See, if you lived in the good ole middle east, we woulda just swapped.

Back in the 80s, we toured France, having driven from London at 100+ mph, with 4 children in the back of a CE. The youngest was in a baby seat leaving almost no room for the other 3.

That, of course, was before the invention of Health & Safety when CEs had more room and the car knew its way home from the pub!

Great days!

RayH

as you know i have the 500e and the 300ce, wich bouth have the same two seats in the back, mesured the widths , depths and hights and there bouth identical. 22"wide, 18"deep, and 8" high, i dont know about the 3seats, yet but as soon as i'll have a trip to the junk yard will measure that one also.

I know what you have but you're comparing similar things.
The C124, A124, Sportline and 500E all have the similar configuration split rear seat.

If you notice in your pic of the 500E the added side bolster and lower tray that fills the space between the upper/lower seat cushions and the door sill entry.

You can see on the pic below that the standard W124 top and bottom rear seat cushion fits the space to the door sill entry.
This makes it too wide to fit into the space between the C124 side panels without modification.

my eyes are open now, thanks. i didn't know if the regular sedan has that lower tray,