RE: Shed Of The Week: Mercedes 300CE

RE: Shed Of The Week: Mercedes 300CE

Author
Discussion

derin100

5,214 posts

242 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
Oddball RS said:
pavka007 said:
derin100 said:
Granted it's took me two years of effort and grief plus literally circa 10 times £££££ SOTW's price to get it into this condition but here's my 300CE:

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/gallery/index.php?spg...
Oh boy.....this is just superb.
If you selling I am buying biggrin
I am serious about it.
Indeed credit where it is well and truly due!
Many thanks! thumbup

The trouble is, it took me so long and cost me so much to do this one that I'm loathed to sell it.
It's still easy to buy a 'cheap' one of these cars but they do cost a lot of money to get into really good condition. Before this 300CE I had a red 230CE (please see my website: http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/Mercedes_C124_230CE/i... ). I bought it for £1800. By the time I'd finished with it, to put it up for sale, it had cost me nearly £6K. Then just at the point of being ready to sell it it developed a major engine problem (big-end bearing) which then forced me to put in a replacement secondhand engine from a low mileage car. By the time that was in with a new head-gasket put into that before it went in (as a precaution) that was the best part of another £2K that went into the car and I ended up selling for only £5.5K!

I went much, much further with this 300CE. Hence it has cost me nearer the £10K mark. I've put it on my website at higher than that only really to appease my wife and give the semblance/pretence of me actually trying to sell it!

I think she's actually maybe even semi-forgotten that I have it! biggrin

One isn't supposed to advertise one's cars in these sections...but a minimum amount of searching on my website might take one to page for it. wink

There is also a link to many more photos of the work that I did myself during the renovation. Basically the boring, tedious and laborious stuff that doesn't require a huge amount of knowledge or skill but just takes endless hours. However, all the big mechanical stuff etc I had done by third parties and that's obviously where the big costs were involved.

What the photos won't convey is the grief and aggro I encountered along the way. Even seemingly little things like the (literally) days I spent myself trying to adjust and get the windows aligned as best as possible to reduce wind noise after a Merc specialist said I'd just "have to live with it".laugh


vournikas

11,682 posts

203 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
Shed Of The Year, for me.

Bloody marvellous

derin100

5,214 posts

242 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
OldandGrumpy said:
Heres mine.Twenty years old and flawless. Beautiful beautiful drive.
Lovely!

I didn't even know they made a 400 ?!!!

(P.S And we live very near each other! smile )

P.P.S....Oh no...that the poster (vournikas) just above! Hahaha!









Edited by derin100 on Friday 22 August 18:49


Edited by derin100 on Friday 22 August 18:51


Edited by derin100 on Friday 22 August 18:52

carinaman

21,221 posts

171 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
Phil303 said:
Ex Boy Racer said:
That mileometer reading looks very dodgy - number position is all over the place
And that leather looks like it's been sat on for possibly more than 121,000 miles.
Wouldn't the service history show any clocking? As would the .gov.uk MoT history check, unless it had the hair cut before then?

daveco said:
Was the 320 the biggest engine the coupe came in in the CE? I know the saloon had the hammer but would be interesting to know if the 420 or indeed any other V8 or large V6 made it under the bonnet.
The 3.6 AMG ones?

MarshPhantom

9,658 posts

136 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
derin100 said:
Oddball RS said:
pavka007 said:
derin100 said:
Granted it's took me two years of effort and grief plus literally circa 10 times £££££ SOTW's price to get it into this condition but here's my 300CE:

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/gallery/index.php?spg...
Oh boy.....this is just superb.
If you selling I am buying biggrin
I am serious about it.
Indeed credit where it is well and truly due!
Many thanks! thumbup

The trouble is, it took me so long and cost me so much to do this one that I'm loathed to sell it.
It's still easy to buy a 'cheap' one of these cars but they do cost a lot of money to get into really good condition. Before this 300CE I had a red 230CE (please see my website: http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/Mercedes_C124_230CE/i... ). I bought it for £1800. By the time I'd finished with it, to put it up for sale, it had cost me nearly £6K. Then just at the point of being ready to sell it it developed a major engine problem (big-end bearing) which then forced me to put in a replacement secondhand engine from a low mileage car. By the time that was in with a new head-gasket put into that before it went in (as a precaution) that was the best part of another £2K that went into the car and I ended up selling for only £5.5K!

I went much, much further with this 300CE. Hence it has cost me nearer the £10K mark. I've put it on my website at higher than that only really to appease my wife and give the semblance/pretence of me actually trying to sell it!

I think she's actually maybe even semi-forgotten that I have it! biggrin

One isn't supposed to advertise one's cars in these sections...but a minimum amount of searching on my website might take one to page for it. wink

There is also a link to many more photos of the work that I did myself during the renovation. Basically the boring, tedious and laborious stuff that doesn't require a huge amount of knowledge or skill but just takes endless hours. However, all the big mechanical stuff etc I had done by third parties and that's obviously where the big costs were involved.

What the photos won't convey is the grief and aggro I encountered along the way. Even seemingly little things like the (literally) days I spent myself trying to adjust and get the windows aligned as best as possible to reduce wind noise after a Merc specialist said I'd just "have to live with it".laugh
Very nice Derin, where did you get your wheels refurbed as mine could do with some work. Absolutely love my 24V, same interior as yours but in smoke silver, the only downside is I keep getting pulled in by customs.

Paid £1850 for mine with 165k miles. It really is very tidy.

urquattro

755 posts

185 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
here is its big brother, 1985, 196k and not messed with apart from nokia phone and alpine top combination as original radio/tape unit was beyond repair.
15 years of depreciation and trouble free driving, steering a bit light though. !

wotnot

383 posts

173 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
I had two of these.
The first was all singing, all dancing; with electric seats and all the toys. Some git tail-ended it on the M6 and that was the end of that.
The second one was bought in haste and was a proper shed and I spent thousands restoring it to its former glory.
For reasons best known to herself, the wife decided it was far too old fashioned and had to go. Because it had 175k on the clock I lost a fortune when I (eventually) sold it.
Despite running round in a CLS55 these days I still miss those cars and am determined that one of these days I'm going to end up with another one.
Best cars I ever owned...

MarshPhantom

9,658 posts

136 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
Mine has climate control, electric sunblind, electric seats, flipped down rear head rests button.

Electric headrests are the best.

Anyone done a decent stereo upgrade, it's the only thing I want to sort out.

0a

23,879 posts

193 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
MarshPhantom said:
Mine has climate control, electric sunblind, electric seats, flipped down rear head rests button.

Electric headrests are the best.

Anyone done a decent stereo upgrade, it's the only thing I want to sort out.
I'd also like to know about a stereo upgrade.

The best extra is the electric rear blind. I use mind to shut out people who fail to understand 'merge in turn'.

405dogvan

5,326 posts

264 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
5 pages and no-one has broached the question of why this one is a third-of-the-price of the usual CEs...

Lovely cars but the price alone is a massive klaxon in my ears!!

p.s. I'm normally someone who doesn't worry about misaligned speedo digits given that sometimes 'just happens' but they do look VERY dodgy, I'd want a VERY close look at the paperwork and the rest of the car. It's not necessarily an issue even if it is clocked - price is OK and you buy on CONDITION anyway but you want a take a long look around this, even as a shed!

Edited by 405dogvan on Friday 22 August 20:09

wotnot

383 posts

173 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
MarshPhantom said:
Anyone done a decent stereo upgrade, it's the only thing I want to sort out.
My second car had a completely useless stereo forcing me to fit something else.
I fitted an unashamedly modern, if understated, Alpine. The sound quality was excellent but if I was doing it again I'd try a bit harder to find something a little more in keeping.

0a

23,879 posts

193 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
405dogvan said:
5 pages and no-one has broached the question of why this one is a third-of-the-price of the usual CEs...

Lovely cars but the price alone is a massive klaxon in my ears!!

p.s. I'm normally someone who doesn't worry about misaligned speedo digits given that sometimes 'just happens' but they do look VERY dodgy, I'd want a VERY close look at the paperwork and the rest of the car. It's not necessarily an issue even if it is clocked - price is OK and you buy on CONDITION anyway but you want a take a long look around this, even as a shed!

Edited by 405dogvan on Friday 22 August 20:09
Aside from the issues you mention the car has the usual rust, the seller says the bonnet needs repainting, and unless it has been done already it will need a full suspension refresh.

In such condition all W124s are realistically only worth £1k. My 300e 4 door just had a full 'underside' (suspension, brake and fuel lines, powder coating various bits and so on) and the bill was £2,300. Derin above illustrates the undeniable fact that these are old cars and returning them to good condition is expensive.

derin100

5,214 posts

242 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
MarshPhantom said:
Very nice Derin, where did you get your wheels refurbed as mine could do with some work. Absolutely love my 24V, same interior as yours but in smoke silver, the only downside is I keep getting pulled in by customs.

Paid £1850 for mine with 165k miles. It really is very tidy.
The place I used for them was 1st Class Alloys in Lichfield. He does a very good job at a good rate:

http://www.1stclassalloys.co.uk/

The finish on the wheels on the 300CE are what he terms "Deutsche Silver" which is a bit brighter and has a slightly more chrome finish than the original finish but I chose this (having had it on other wheels) as it still looks bright even if there's a bit of brake dust on them. However, I think he can do pretty much all finishes including the strictly original colour.



derin100

5,214 posts

242 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
405dogvan said:
5 pages and no-one has broached the question of why this one is a third-of-the-price of the usual CEs...

Lovely cars but the price alone is a massive klaxon in my ears!!

Edited by 405dogvan on Friday 22 August 20:09
Exactly....and succinctly said!



flatso

1,240 posts

128 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
Bump for a great shed; it really is mind boggling how a design that is 30 years old can still look contemporary.

W124

1,497 posts

137 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
They are funny things. A bit like fender strats - an incredible design, much imitated, but with massive and random lapses in quality model to model. You could buy three identical cars from the same year. One would be the best car you ever drove, one solid with the odd big bill - but the last would be almost unusably unreliable. I've had loads of them, so I know. Nothing, nothing at all, drives better than a properly sorted W124. I personally feel that the reputation for longevity Mercedes acquired has much to do with the high initial cost of the (especially in the up to about 1995) cars making them economically viable to repair for much longer. I always loved the design and the drive. I don't buy the 'hewn from solid' stuff. These cars have had, over their lives, fortunes spent on them. That's why they still work. Spend that kind if dough on any car and you'll get the same result. I'm just about to buy a C124 - a convertible. An utterly basic 220. I always go for the least spec these days. If it has no A/C I don't hurl money at it etc. etc.

Derin - That car looks utterly incredible. Strong work!

I would never buy another one of these at shed money. They can be wildly expensive to fix. For a grand I'd buy a W210.

Edited by W124 on Saturday 23 August 09:01

0a

23,879 posts

193 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
W124 said:
I would never buy another one of these at shed money. They can be wildly expensive to fix. For a grand I'd buy a W210.
I think it depends what you want. My W124 has done me very well for 2 years and 40k miles for a purchase price of £1,250.

However I now like the car - this is the big risk of buying an old W124! By the time i'm done, and being realistic, I will have put £6k+ into the car to make it perfect. But that's because I want to drive a sorted W124. It's cheaper than buying a new golf, and I know I'd rather be in my old merc!

OldandGrumpy

2,681 posts

240 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
@ derin100. Well done, money well spent in my book . I will never sell mine. I have been to Loire and Cumbria in mine and it never missed a beat. It still yomps up up to elevated speeds in grand style and is a smoothie all the way. On a hot summers day there is no better experience that opening all the windows and the sunroof and blasting off into the country for a pint. Keep it in third and it surprises many a modern car in acceleration, lovely noise from the six at the top end as well.

Edited by OldandGrumpy on Friday 22 August 22:12

0a

23,879 posts

193 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
OldandGrumpy said:
@ derin100. Well done, money well spent in my book Derin 100. I will never sell mine. I have been to Loire and Cumbria in mine and it never missed a beat. It still yomps up up to elevated speeds in grand style and is a smoothie all the way. On a hot summers day there is no better experience that opening all the windows and the sunroof and blasting off into the country for a pint. Keep it in third and it surprises many a modern car.
I had a work colleague in my W124 this week. He has a new Audi A6 3.0d and an A3 for the wife. After a couple of miles he asked "what kind of engine does this car have? It's really smooth" - it's sad that executive cars have gone significantly backwards with regards to the powerplant in terms of refinement over the last 20 years frown

mickyveloce

1,035 posts

235 months

Friday 22nd August 2014
quotequote all
As above; the great survivors of this breed (124's, 126's and 129's) have risen above shed level. I couldn't buy a 124 for a £1000 for the simple reason that I would have to spend loads of money in bringing it up to a high standards. Call it a character defect.
. I feel very lucky to have bagged my 129 300-24 some years ago. This 24v engine is a genuine work of genius and I would dearly covet a 300TE-24. From Mercedes Benz Classic. Obviously.