SOTW: Merc 300ce

Coupe Merc for less than a grand? That's better value than Primarni.

By Garlick / Friday, 2 November 2007 / Loading comments

Ah the W124, the last of the great Mercs and a car I love following a stint of selling motors in my local Benz showroom many years ago. In fact, I could write about one of these every week but usually resist- until today.

The W124 series E class offered a car for all, I'd happily flog you a saloon or an estate with a 4 cylinder petrol engine, a 5 or 6 cylinder diesel or maybe you fancied a 6 cylinder petrol? Or 24 valves? But the one that did it for me was the pillarless E Class coupe, known as the CE- which donated its bodyshell to form a cabriolet too.

The coupe had an amazing feeling of solidity, gorgeous looks and best of all a tap of the electric window switch meant all windows dropped completely giving uninterrupted open air as the pillars dropped too. In an age when air con was an often un- ticked option box, it was a great feature. As if that wasn't enough, a little electronic arm offered you your seat belt as you shut the door.

Prior to the introduction of the E320, the pick of the bunch was the 3.0, 24 valve 300CE-24 but the engine was also available as a 12 valve 3.0 (300CE), still a very smooth engine and a decent performer- a much better choice than the 4 cylinder 230CE offered below it. As I write this I can still remember coming up with excuses why I should take our own 300CE demonstrator home instead of the dealer principle who ran the car.

I was surprised to find this 300CE lurking on Auto Trader below the shed budget of £1000. True, it has a slightly unusual spec in that it doesn't have leather, nor does it have cruise or A/C. But as mentioned earlier, back in those days buyers were faced with an exhaustive and expensive option list, and most were happy to forgoe options we would want as standard in todays superminis.

Fellow Merc enthusiasts will be able to help me here, but i'm sure there is a Sportline badge below the side repeater and the seats appear to have the Sportline cloth- meaning sports suspension from the factory and a sportier seat too- but I'm open to assistance with that as my memory of these cars fades a little. The Zebrano 'wood' trim certainly makes a statement too, I'm not offended by it, but many will be.

The owner has fitted the later series front indicators which has freshened it up nicely, along with a set of AMG look-alike wheels and at some point a car phone has been fitted leaving some rather unsightly holes in the dashboard. If I owned it, i'd put the original '8 hole' alloys back on, have a trimming bloke see to that dashboard and then enjoy it for years to come. Surely we all agree that this is a wonderful old thing? Or do I have ever so slightly rose tinted glasses?

Ad Says: 1991 Mercedes- Benz CE Class 300 CE 2dr Auto Coupe. Automatic, 181,742 miles, v.g.c good clean car 1 years m.o.t private plate not included no tax currently on s.o.r.n or swop maybe for something interesting w.h.y. £999.