looking for some nice pics of you w124's! im looking forward to purchase one soon and i want to see all the possibilities and styles that are available. so if you dont mind post some pics up of your w124 and let me know if theres any information i need to know about these cars. i have a sample pic of what i kind of want my car to look like. & thanks!

 

 

dope car man, got more pics? what have you done to it?

 

Nothing just late model bumpers to a 86 300e and (I know the hates coming) cut the coils to go low. I'm sitting on a up hill in that photo and I had a good friend snap a few shots of my car that day. He made it look better than it is. My paint is really beat. To be honest these cars are expensive and will always need money like any old merc would. That being said I would drive one for the rest of my life they are so beautiful.

 

I'm in the process of tryna buy a 300e so im pretty new to all of this. are there any major differences between each of the years?

 

86-89 all the same90-93 have some differences under the good but the same motors. Just different smog adaptions and what not. Then 94-95 are considered face lift cars. New motors new hood color matched bumpers. Quite beautiful but everything from the years as far as cosmetics go are 100% interchangeable. Any big questions your having have you owned a benz before? Thanks for the compliment btw.

Edit: all years refer to previous model set, all parts of the cars from 86-95 cosmetic wise all interchange.

 

this actually gonna be my first car if i find one i like, so yeah im pretty excited. i appreciate the info too man

 

Yeah I got mine when I was 17. Have had it for about a year great cars. They can get bad with maintenance. Hope you get one they are quite the fun cars to drive.

 

thats cool, im 17 right now. hard to maintain or expensive?

 

You wont be disappointed. I had a considerable wad of cash last time I went to buy a car and settled on this one pretty quick even tough I could've spent a lot more. I took a couple of older guys with me who are experienced with the old school domestic game and you could tell at first they thought the car was going to be a joke. All doubt ceased when we test drove it, these cars are rolling vaults. In all honesty it may be bad to have as a first car, because of the quality. I rarely get into a car (even 2012s and other new ones) and don't immediately think, "wow my 25 year old car is put together nicer than this"


In my personal opinion you want one from 89-90. First, I think the pre face-lift cars look better, and will continue to with time because they are a little more defined and a little more in-your-face (big chrome grill, trunk boot). The 94-95 (along with the c class) started the decline into Benzs looking like every other car. Second the m103 is more generally reliable in most peoples opinions I read, It's also simple (I'm 19 and do everything myself the only obstacle I run into is lack of tools). You avoid the head gasket issue and the bean curd wiring harness. Third I say pre 91 because in 91 they adopted traction control. There's no way to turn it off and it kills the driving experience for me. It's also one more expensive thing to fix.


I notice the one in your picture is black, try and find one that's another color to look at first. The best looking part of these cars are their body lines, black hides them somewhat. I ended up getting stuck with black rims because silver was out of stock. Overtime I started to really hate the black rims because you couldn't see them. That's my experience with these cars, sorry to get a little off topic, here's some pictures new to old. car is dirty in most of them

 

I should say, m103 is the engine pre 93 and m104 is post. Sorry for the confusion I tend to ramble on and assume everybody knows what I'm talking about

 

so you're suggesting that i should get one before 93?

 

Yes. If cost is an issue. Parts are generaly cheaper, and its simpler.
Before 91 if you don't want traction control, also there's some changes from the early years that made the car more reliable. I can't remember exactly, but in 88 or 89? Id say generaly your best bet is 89-93

 

do you know anything about the 94-95 models?

 

If they are low miles they are good. They look really good.

 

They are also the two face lift years if your going to go that late into model years I would suggest getting the coupe they look so b****in.

 

I haven't owned a facelifted model personaly but here's what I know. Okay the m104 is the engine in the 94-95, the main differences being a 24 valve dohc instead of the 12v sohc, and the different fuel injection system. Stock and brand new from the factory its good for about 40 more horsepower, but suffers from a weak headgasket, and if the wiring harness hasn't been replaced its rotting out as they were required to have a bio degradable harness that year. Another thing about those model years is when replacing ball joints ($20 per side, DIY) its becomes $100+ per side because the ball joints are connected to the control arms and you have to replace the thing. I'm fairly certain you would also need more electronics orientated tools. A lot of other little changes but for the most part its the same. Id say if you can find one that's well taken care of, can afford it and have a good source of income then try the facelift. Otherwise stick to the m103 as its probably easier to learn on.

 

Here's my version of W124, slightly different from the vast majority I think. But really not that far away from your sample pic, I just went with the blacked out headlights (and tail lights) to set my own twist to the looks.

 

pics are a little old but it still looks like this - was planning on selling the headlights but no interest so will probably just keep them