Titivating my Mercedes 124
Discussion
Lowtimer said:
I'm the same with my E39. I am fortunate enough that whenever I get out of any of my cars I think: wow, that is a good car. But even though it is shabby as anything it is the E39 that I pull on like my favourite worn-to-bits jeans and just feel at home.
Same with mine. I've spent far more on them than I could sell them for. I'm just at a loss as to what to replace them with.RoverP6B said:
Same with mine. I've spent far more on them than I could sell them for. I'm just at a loss as to what to replace them with.
Nothing really as there is still nothing like an old mercedes, solid cars,timeless, reasonably cheap to run and buy parts for,and will outlast most cars and still carry on when absolutely spent.Which also applies to the E39! My 535i has just flown through another MoT. Replaced two brake discs and pads and a brake light. Ironically, the other brake light went pop immediately after the MoT. I love the things so much that I can hardly imagine myself driving anything else on a daily basis. I've heard the E39 described as being as much a W124 as E34 successor, and I can believe it. For the most part, they're mechanically indestructible and they are just so bloody capable in so many different guises... the Torygraph even went so far as to call it the best car ever made - in the world... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/top-gear/why-top-g...
I had an early start this morning and found the private test track was empty. Conditions being 100%, I thought I'd see what my 124 could do. Well, at 5,000rpm in fourth (top), the speedo was wobbling over 117.5mph. It was still gaining ever-so-slowly and the engine will rev to 5,400rpm, but I thought that was plenty.
117 indicated on a W124 is probably more like 115 than 105. Which measn it's just about bang on spec, which is what I would expect from a car as well maintained as this, and with the frictional benefits of being thoroughly run in. There's really no reason for it to be any slower. The speedos were generally well within 2% when originally road tested by Autocar, and my 129 is only 2 mph out compared to GPS at a steady largeish number which I shan't specify here.
I suspect it was about 110mph.
Being half way through the bank holiday and having run out of things to clean and patience with my children, I found myself skulking around this car. Whereupon I found a lot of mud in the wheel arches. Like, enough mud to topsoil my garden. Notwithstanding I was wearing my best Sunday-lunch threads, I set to cleaning it out with my fingers. I find it's a good look in my job, dirty fingernails. The girls love it, too. I identified the start of dreaded corrosion; not enough to worry about but enough to warrant a bringing forward of the annual trip to the Man. This is what you get for living at the beach and treating your prized estate car as, well, your estate car.
Here is the nearside front wheel arch. If I get this during the summer, I won't need to replace the wing.
I also found this small bubbling on the same wing. Presumably the paint was damaged slightly when the clip for the Sacco panel was reattached last time.
The inner lip of the nearside rear wheel arch:
And finally:
Being half way through the bank holiday and having run out of things to clean and patience with my children, I found myself skulking around this car. Whereupon I found a lot of mud in the wheel arches. Like, enough mud to topsoil my garden. Notwithstanding I was wearing my best Sunday-lunch threads, I set to cleaning it out with my fingers. I find it's a good look in my job, dirty fingernails. The girls love it, too. I identified the start of dreaded corrosion; not enough to worry about but enough to warrant a bringing forward of the annual trip to the Man. This is what you get for living at the beach and treating your prized estate car as, well, your estate car.
Here is the nearside front wheel arch. If I get this during the summer, I won't need to replace the wing.
I also found this small bubbling on the same wing. Presumably the paint was damaged slightly when the clip for the Sacco panel was reattached last time.
The inner lip of the nearside rear wheel arch:
And finally:
I have been monitoring my expenditure on this car for one year now, using the excellent Road Trip App.
The headline figures are as follows:
23,853miles
30.36mpg
Fuel costs: £3,925.70 (16p per mile, £11.06 per day)
Servicing/maintenance/expenses: £1,792.61
Total £5,718.31 (23.5p per mile, £15.75 per day)
I don't think that's too bad. It includes the cost of insurance and road tax. I also get some tax relief because I am self-employed and VAT-registered and more than half the miles are business miles.
The headline figures are as follows:
23,853miles
30.36mpg
Fuel costs: £3,925.70 (16p per mile, £11.06 per day)
Servicing/maintenance/expenses: £1,792.61
Total £5,718.31 (23.5p per mile, £15.75 per day)
I don't think that's too bad. It includes the cost of insurance and road tax. I also get some tax relief because I am self-employed and VAT-registered and more than half the miles are business miles.
It spends a lot of time in heavy traffic; about 4,000 miles were fully loaded with a roof box running at 100mph-plus (that really knackered the figures); and I tend to cruise at 90-ish. My old 320 TE that it replaced generally gave me 21mpg in similar use. Even so, the mpg of the diseasel is a bit disappointing.
Jodyone said:
r129sl said:
I managed to make a mess of this:
nothing you can do about the temperature 
You plan magnificently well -some might say worryingly well- for these! I'd have called that a win
R129 kindly let me drive this vehicle (with his kids in it!) at the last Barge 1-5 Saddo event. It was magnificent. A couple of miles down the road and I understood how you could drive to the south of France in it. I did wonder whether it was broken at first when I pressed the throttle, however it has a real long legged charm once you are going. A wonderful car.
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