91 E class versus 07 E class
I do agree that the old 1991 E (124) has higher build quality though.
Just take the emotion out for a minute. Have a long look at the old 1991 and the new 07. Dont you think thick 07 is better looking?
Nickel Mania
I loved my W124, BUT! Here is part of the laundry list I can remember.
The head gasket failed the first time at 39,000 miles. Mercedes paid for it since it was a very minor leak and I caught it very early.
Maybe it is because I was in my late teens and early 20s when I drove it a lot, but the flex disks went bad after about 20k miles. No big deal, but I had to stay on them to make sure nothing happened. The later replacements lasted much longer.
Original water pump started to drip at 45,000 miles. At that time the plastic sides of the radiator were also starting to leak so I had a new water pump, thermostat and radiator put in. One year later, the expansion tank needed to be replaced because it looked awful and could burst at any time. (Bud, they did always use distilled water).
The one-stop power window function for the front passenger window would stop at about ½ of the way down. I never fixed it because they wanted to change the “convenience control module” this was way too expensive considering that most cars only had this feature for the driver’s window anyway.
At about 70,000 miles and 4 years, the fuel injectors were flooding the engine and causing hard starts if it was hot out and the car was parked for 40 minutes or so after being at operating temperature.
At about 70K also, the head gasket failed again, but internally. Oil got into the antifreeze. The car dealer in Tampa repaired it at no charge! How embarrassing!
Also at about this time the rear shock absorbers needed to be replaced with an updated model number. The original ones were leaking.
In 1998 (7 years in Florida), the evaporator (the inside part, I am almost sure). Leaked Freon and required replacement with an improved part. At that time they also changed all the vacuum hoses that can also fail in the automatic climate control system and make the vents not function correctly (this was preventative since the system was already open).
In 2000, the wooden trim panels in the doors really started to rattle. They were all removed and they were re-installed and tightened. Al rattles were gone at that time.
The headlights were TERRIBLE!!!!! Fog light lenses were replaced twice because they tended to get opaque with age and looked bad.
About 90,000 miles after the first water pump was changed, its replacement started to leak again. No big deal, but aggravating.
After about 10 years of service the windshield wiper mechanism had to be taken apart and cleaned because the grease in the arm gearing got old and hard and was making the wiper move with great difficulty.
The rear (3rd) break light assembly got old and broke loose causing me to get a burned out brake light warning. Had to buy a complete new light assembly.
Amplifier and fader switch in center console failed after 9 years. I never like the radio anyway. It was very expensive to replace the radio. Now my 1995 Audi S6’s radio has also failed completely.
The interior B pillar trim started to come unglued.
At 135,000 miles, the front struts started to groan when turning in spite of still being OK as far as performance.
Overall, the car was very reliable because it never left me stranded and I caught everything before it truly failed. But compared to my W211 and the 190E (and all of the other cars my family had) it was the WORST! I did not think that it was a lemon, but it sure was a bit moody sometimes.
My W211 is 2.5 years old and has 25,000 miles. It is infinitely more complex than the W124 and has had only 2 issues that were totally minor. As you might see, I will beg to differ with the idea that the W124 was this bullet-proof car. It was a tank, but it would only treat you as well as you treated it in return. I would still have that 300E today if it would not have been totaled by a Jeep, but I have finally gotten to love like my W211 more than my W124. I liked the W201 I had in Europe, it was truly reliable and trouble free, but I really liked my W124 more in comparison in spite of all the problems it had.
Now back to the original W124 versus the W211. There is no more comparison, the W211 is better in every way (performance wise) and costs comparably less. As for reliability, in my personal experience, the W211 has been great and the W124 was not. However, it is still early.
This is only speaking from personal experience.
Steve
I loved my W124, BUT! Here is part of the laundry list I can remember.
The head gasket failed the first time at 39,000 miles. Mercedes paid for it since it was a very minor leak and I caught it very early.
Maybe it is because I was in my late teens and early 20s when I drove it a lot, but the flex disks went bad after about 20k miles. No big deal, but I had to stay on them to make sure nothing happened. The later replacements lasted much longer.
Original water pump started to drip at 45,000 miles. At that time the plastic sides of the radiator were also starting to leak so I had a new water pump, thermostat and radiator put in. One year later, the expansion tank needed to be replaced because it looked awful and could burst at any time. (Bud, they did always use distilled water).
The one-stop power window function for the front passenger window would stop at about ½ of the way down. I never fixed it because they wanted to change the “convenience control module” this was way too expensive considering that most cars only had this feature for the driver’s window anyway.
At about 70,000 miles and 4 years, the fuel injectors were flooding the engine and causing hard starts if it was hot out and the car was parked for 40 minutes or so after being at operating temperature.
At about 70K also, the head gasket failed again, but internally. Oil got into the antifreeze. The car dealer in Tampa repaired it at no charge! How embarrassing!
Also at about this time the rear shock absorbers needed to be replaced with an updated model number. The original ones were leaking.
In 1998 (7 years in Florida), the evaporator (the inside part, I am almost sure). Leaked Freon and required replacement with an improved part. At that time they also changed all the vacuum hoses that can also fail in the automatic climate control system and make the vents not function correctly (this was preventative since the system was already open).
In 2000, the wooden trim panels in the doors really started to rattle. They were all removed and they were re-installed and tightened. Al rattles were gone at that time.
The headlights were TERRIBLE!!!!! Fog light lenses were replaced twice because they tended to get opaque with age and looked bad.
About 90,000 miles after the first water pump was changed, its replacement started to leak again. No big deal, but aggravating.
After about 10 years of service the windshield wiper mechanism had to be taken apart and cleaned because the grease in the arm gearing got old and hard and was making the wiper move with great difficulty.
The rear (3rd) break light assembly got old and broke loose causing me to get a burned out brake light warning. Had to buy a complete new light assembly.
Amplifier and fader switch in center console failed after 9 years. I never like the radio anyway. It was very expensive to replace the radio. Now my 1995 Audi S6’s radio has also failed completely.
The interior B pillar trim started to come unglued.
At 135,000 miles, the front struts started to groan when turning in spite of still being OK as far as performance.
Overall, the car was very reliable because it never left me stranded and I caught everything before it truly failed. But compared to my W211 and the 190E (and all of the other cars my family had) it was the WORST! I did not think that it was a lemon, but it sure was a bit moody sometimes.
My W211 is 2.5 years old and has 25,000 miles. It is infinitely more complex than the W124 and has had only 2 issues that were totally minor. As you might see, I will beg to differ with the idea that the W124 was this bullet-proof car. It was a tank, but it would only treat you as well as you treated it in return. I would still have that 300E today if it would not have been totaled by a Jeep, but I have finally gotten to love like my W211 more than my W124. I liked the W201 I had in Europe, it was truly reliable and trouble free, but I really liked my W124 more in comparison in spite of all the problems it had.
Now back to the original W124 versus the W211. There is no more comparison, the W211 is better in every way (performance wise) and costs comparably less. As for reliability, in my personal experience, the W211 has been great and the W124 was not. However, it is still early.
This is only speaking from personal experience.
Steve
Nickel Mania
All of this stuff (with the exception of headgaskets) is very minor and can be done quite easily in a small space with a couple of floor-jacks, stands, and a bit of skill and willingness. Really minor stuff.
The issue with the newer cars is the limited lifespan that ALL circuitry provides under constantly changing environmental conditions (age related).
You were quite unfortunate. Sounds like your car was not the finest MB ever put out. But MB stood behind the headgasket TWICE, and that is most certainly never going to happen today due to their current "take it or leave it" dealership policies.. They stood behind the 350SD I own when it had 88K miles and needed a rebuild (38K miles off warranty). And they supplied the original owner with a brand new longblock, with parts and labor completely FREE! Almost $20K dollars in work out of goodwill back in 1995.



Nickel Mania
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
Forward thinking engineering is worthless if it isn't dependable or doesn't work.
Last edited by Barry45RPM; Jan 20, 2007 at 11:48 AM.
But I still think the 124 at least has the feel of better materials in the interior. And having driven a couple 20-year old examples recently, I have my doubts that a 20-year old W211 will still drive so well as a W124 does today. I guess we'll see in 2020+.
For that matter, I doubt my new 221 will be as enjoyable to drive and own in 2025 as our 1991 190 is today. For all the reasons well stated in this thread already, Mercedes has changed. I don't think they had any choice.
And the prices have been coming down in real terms. I'm not paying much more for an S550 than people paid for an S500 ten years ago. For that matter, compare the new price of a '87 560SEL to an '07 S550.
At idle, with the car in Drive and the A/C going there was a weird rattle in the exhaust near the catalytic converter. The repair also was related to a service bulletin that was fixed by changing the exhaust mount near the catalytic converter. They also changed the little shock absorber in the serpentine belt, but I think that was just in case that noise came from there.
Neither one of these two issues ever occurred again.
Aside from that, I recall having one burnt out light bulb where the A/C vent flow control knob (that looked like an Oreo cookie). Since I was young and I did not feel like taking apart my new car I paid the dealer $27.00 labor for this stupid thing.
Also, the bottom control of the power seat for the passenger side did not always work when you tried to move the seat back. It was the switch at the door and they replaced that under warranty. To be fair, there is a chance that an idiot friend of mine did it when he was riding with his knee against the door. He denied it, but I still wonder about that.
There were a few other things, but I can’t remember them. I am sure that I had a few burnt out lights, but that is quite normal.
I don’t think that this was a jinxed car, what everyone has to be aware of is that I am incredibly picky and observant when it comes to vehicles.
Steve
All of this stuff (with the exception of headgaskets) is very minor and can be done quite easily in a small space with a couple of floor-jacks, stands, and a bit of skill and willingness. Really minor stuff.
The issue with the newer cars is the limited lifespan that ALL circuitry provides under constantly changing environmental conditions (age related).
You were quite unfortunate. Sounds like your car was not the finest MB ever put out. But MB stood behind the headgasket TWICE, and that is most certainly never going to happen today due to their current "take it or leave it" dealership policies.. They stood behind the 350SD I own when it had 88K miles and needed a rebuild (38K miles off warranty). And they supplied the original owner with a brand new longblock, with parts and labor completely FREE! Almost $20K dollars in work out of goodwill back in 1995.
My 300E looked and rode as if it were brand new until the very end! I see that you noticed that I am speaking from truthful experience here, but for some reason I do not look back at my W124 and considered it to be a lemon. However, my W211 is still HANDS DOWN more reliable than the W124 was (for me).
I would still buy a used W124 if I knew that it was taken care of and I saw its service history. However, older MBs need to be taken care of and known; otherwise a little problem can cost you tons of money or ruin the car. We have had several 5 cyl 300 diesel MBs and we always inspected the oil cooler lines and changed them every 5 years no matter what. We later sold the car to an acquaintance who ignored this item, 5 years after we sold him the car he burst the line and fried the engine on a car whose body was perfect and ruined an engine that had a lot of life left in it before he ran it out of oil. He felt very stupid.
Time will tell, however, if the W211 will hold up. So far I think that it will. If my Audi is in such great shape after 11 years, I think that my Benz will also be OK. I am not too hard on my cars.
Steve
PS hope you guys are keeping up with this thread:
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/145960-w211-recalls.html
fine, i'm biased to my 124, but i'm not ashamed to admit it!
I really like the w211, but I love the w124, it has a soul.
I purchased the W124 new in December of 1990 and I owned it until July of 2004. I bought my W211 in August of 2004 and it is still going strong. I have had many cars, but I have always kept my Es for a long time.
I guess I should be more specific then. When comparing the first 2.5 years and first 25,000 miles. My W211 has had fewer than half the visits to the dealer, that is a fact and there is no arguing about that. That is why I made the statements I made. Also, as far as trips to the dealer I am not counting the extended oil life of the W211 which is another great plus. I ended up servicing my W124 by about 3,500 miles or 4,000 at the maximum (I know the manual sated 7,500 miles). I started servicing the W211 at 5,000 miles intervals and I now plan to just use the FSS. This is a lot more convenient. Of course this is not a problem with the W124, it is just a change in oil technology and I am not counting regular service as a trip to a dealer because of a problem.
I also stated that only time will tell if the W211 keeps up being this reliable. But so far I have no reason to feel that it will not be.
Steve






