Mercedes Benz W124.
Discussion
I've decided to do a little blog on my W124. Primarily because I've recently taken leave of my senses and decided to repaint almost the entire car. This makes no financial sense whatsoever. I do like my cars to be in good condition though so needs must...
I'll try and document as much of the work as I can but bear in mind that the bodyshop undertaking the work are approx 50 miles from where I live and due to work commitments, it unlikely I'll get to visit more regularly than Saturday mornings. The proprietor has said that he'll photograph as much as he can and I'll share that here.
My W124 experience started on 18 July 2009. I went to visit my Uncle to borrow something or other that lunchtime. He suggested we made a trip to the local motor auction that afternoon to see what's about. He came away with a 2005 Astra. I came away with a 1991 W124 230E. His car cost a few thousand pounds. Mine cost a tiny two figure sum. Ok, slight exaggeration. It made £100 in the auction ring. But I found just over two quid in the car when I got the keys.
Why so cheap? Well, it had no number plates for a start. It had just had a cherished plate transfer according to the little sheet in the window listing the specifics. On the other side of the screen was a tax disc with a fortnight left to run. Registration was 8 HG. A good sign. I went to the office and asked to see the V5. I used to work there many moons ago as a weekend job as a student so they'll let me check documents etc beforehand which is always good! I just wanted to see how many owners it had and where it was from. Four owners, current owner from Wilmslow, entered by the Volvo dealer in Warrington.
Back outside to the car to have a better look around. Bodywork looked ok. Small blister to the OSF arch and OSR arch. Oddly the NS arches were completely rust free! Couple of light dents here and there. Wheels looked scruffy. And the tyres were cheap and nasty. It was left unlocked so I had a look inside (111k on the clock and pristine in every way). The bonnet was then lifted. Slight problem. Removing the dipstick showed the the head gasket had failed in a big way! Mayonnaise everywhere. Header tank bone dry. Felt a bit deflated at this point but I thought I'd hang around to see what it made.
The driver comes over and it won't start, flat battery! Jump leads saw it start on the button if noisily. Exhaust was blowing loudly. I followed it into the ring where it promptly overheated and dumped all its water on the floor. The auctioneer tried to start the bidding at £400. Nothing doing. He came down and down until someone agreed to £100. That was me. The gavel dropped in an instant.
I went to the payment desks to be told that the reserve was £500 and how much more did I want to pay? Not a single penny was the reply! They rang back early the next morning to say it was mine. I hot footed it down in the truck to collect my winnings...
At this point in time, I had my Elise, Scirocco, Alfasud and Touareg. The house was a bombsite as I was in the middle of a rewire, new kitchen and bathroom and replastering. In short I had too many cars and was skint. So the Mercedes began a three year hibernation in a garage on a relatives farm.
Fast forward four years to the summer of 2012. Sadly, I had sold the Alfasud in 2010 as it was stored on the same farm. Shame I didn't keep it longer as I recently saw it advertised for more than double the £4,000 I sold it for... I was getting earache re the Mercedes so I collected it from North Yorkshire and returned it to Merseyside.
Task 1: get it roadworthy and MOT'd.
I'd often wake in the middle of the night worrying about ABS lights being stuck on and calipers being seized etc. The car was very kind to me in the respect that it came out of storage in much the same condition it went in. On the good side, nothing was seized. The bad side, well the head gasket hadn't fixed itself...
In short the impeller fell off the water pump which stopped coolant circulation. The head gasket failed on cylinder four which was letting lots of water into the oil AND the hot exhaust manifold which was now cracked and blowing loudly. The radiator had also failed due to excess pressure I imagine. I stripped and rebuilt the head myself. Lane Ends Engineering skimmed it for me. It was far from flat when I dropped it off! My Dad's cousin is the last remaining blacksmith in Liverpool. He welded the exhaust manifold for me.
Costs to get engine running again:
Bosch S4 Battery £57
Elring Gasket Set £28
Delphi Radiator £110
Water Pump £40
Gates Fan Belt £9
Mercedes Thermostat £12
5 litres Volkswagen Coolant £10
15 litres Volkswagen 10w40 semi synthetic £27
2 x Mercedes oil filters £14
4 x NGK spark plugs £6
Beru Ignition Leads £24
Beru Distributor Cap and Rotor Arm £25
Mercedes Air Filter £17
Cylinder head skim £30
Exhaust manifold repair £25
Total £424!!
Costs to get car roadworthy again:
4 x Continental Premium Contact 5 tyres £180
Diff, gearbox & PAS fluid change £60
Secondhand drivers headlamp £15
Mercedes ball joints £26
Mercedes anti roll bar bushes £14
Replace all fuses £3
Wiper blade £6
Full geometry at Phoenix Motorsport £70
MOT test £35
Total £404!
So the £98 W124 now owed me £928 and I'd done 95% of the necessaries myself. No such thing as a free lunch!
Costs to make car pretty again:
Powdercoat 5 wheels £100
Paintless Dent Removal £150
Blaupunkt Casablanca £40 (secondhand)
So we're at £1,218.
I ran around in the car for the next 18 months. The Scirocco is the daily, the Touareg is for work and the Elise is for fun so mileage added in 18 months was a modest 3,000. Unfortunately I had to have surgery on my back in June 2013 so the Mercedes was a Godsend post op. Automatic, light steering, supportive seats and ride quality that's 98% as isolating as an old Citroën.
Come Spring 2014, I'd only put approx 3k miles on the clock and regretfully, I decided it was possibly best that we parted ways. I'd enjoyed reviving the car, and was confident that it would provide someone with safe and reliable motoring for many years to come. Hopefully they'd use it more than I too. I advertised it for £1,500 which I thought was fair. However, the following few weeks were full of timewasters and missed appointments. I couldn't be bothered with the hassle and decided that the path of least resistance was the keep the car myself.
These are the photos I used to advertise the car last Spring. Essentially, other than having a few dents removed and the wheels refinished, this is how the car looked six years ago when I bought it. Rather handsome I think! Especially in Anthracite Grey.
So that brings us to the present day I guess. Note the nasty blister on the drivers wing. This is now double the size and very unsightly. On that basis, I exchanged £180 plus VAT at the local Mercedes dealer for a new wing. I took this to a bodyshop that painted a friends Quattroporte to a stunning standard and asked for a price to replace the wing and paint both bumpers which suffer marks of varying severity. In no time at all it was agreed that the best course of action was to paint everything bar the bonnet and the roof!
It's scheduled to be dropped off on Thursday or Friday this week depending on when I can fit it in with work. Is it a good idea to spend a small fortune on this old car? I'll be honest, I have my doubts! It makes no financial sense. And yesterday I suffered another slipped disc in my back. Being self employed I should reign things in now until my back is ok again but the wing is bought and the booking is made...
He's asked to keep the car for four weeks and I'll pay him some money each week to keep him motivated. I'll take photos when I visit and hopefully he will email many more.
Let's see how this pans out
I'll try and document as much of the work as I can but bear in mind that the bodyshop undertaking the work are approx 50 miles from where I live and due to work commitments, it unlikely I'll get to visit more regularly than Saturday mornings. The proprietor has said that he'll photograph as much as he can and I'll share that here.
My W124 experience started on 18 July 2009. I went to visit my Uncle to borrow something or other that lunchtime. He suggested we made a trip to the local motor auction that afternoon to see what's about. He came away with a 2005 Astra. I came away with a 1991 W124 230E. His car cost a few thousand pounds. Mine cost a tiny two figure sum. Ok, slight exaggeration. It made £100 in the auction ring. But I found just over two quid in the car when I got the keys.
Why so cheap? Well, it had no number plates for a start. It had just had a cherished plate transfer according to the little sheet in the window listing the specifics. On the other side of the screen was a tax disc with a fortnight left to run. Registration was 8 HG. A good sign. I went to the office and asked to see the V5. I used to work there many moons ago as a weekend job as a student so they'll let me check documents etc beforehand which is always good! I just wanted to see how many owners it had and where it was from. Four owners, current owner from Wilmslow, entered by the Volvo dealer in Warrington.
Back outside to the car to have a better look around. Bodywork looked ok. Small blister to the OSF arch and OSR arch. Oddly the NS arches were completely rust free! Couple of light dents here and there. Wheels looked scruffy. And the tyres were cheap and nasty. It was left unlocked so I had a look inside (111k on the clock and pristine in every way). The bonnet was then lifted. Slight problem. Removing the dipstick showed the the head gasket had failed in a big way! Mayonnaise everywhere. Header tank bone dry. Felt a bit deflated at this point but I thought I'd hang around to see what it made.
The driver comes over and it won't start, flat battery! Jump leads saw it start on the button if noisily. Exhaust was blowing loudly. I followed it into the ring where it promptly overheated and dumped all its water on the floor. The auctioneer tried to start the bidding at £400. Nothing doing. He came down and down until someone agreed to £100. That was me. The gavel dropped in an instant.
I went to the payment desks to be told that the reserve was £500 and how much more did I want to pay? Not a single penny was the reply! They rang back early the next morning to say it was mine. I hot footed it down in the truck to collect my winnings...
At this point in time, I had my Elise, Scirocco, Alfasud and Touareg. The house was a bombsite as I was in the middle of a rewire, new kitchen and bathroom and replastering. In short I had too many cars and was skint. So the Mercedes began a three year hibernation in a garage on a relatives farm.
Fast forward four years to the summer of 2012. Sadly, I had sold the Alfasud in 2010 as it was stored on the same farm. Shame I didn't keep it longer as I recently saw it advertised for more than double the £4,000 I sold it for... I was getting earache re the Mercedes so I collected it from North Yorkshire and returned it to Merseyside.
Task 1: get it roadworthy and MOT'd.
I'd often wake in the middle of the night worrying about ABS lights being stuck on and calipers being seized etc. The car was very kind to me in the respect that it came out of storage in much the same condition it went in. On the good side, nothing was seized. The bad side, well the head gasket hadn't fixed itself...
In short the impeller fell off the water pump which stopped coolant circulation. The head gasket failed on cylinder four which was letting lots of water into the oil AND the hot exhaust manifold which was now cracked and blowing loudly. The radiator had also failed due to excess pressure I imagine. I stripped and rebuilt the head myself. Lane Ends Engineering skimmed it for me. It was far from flat when I dropped it off! My Dad's cousin is the last remaining blacksmith in Liverpool. He welded the exhaust manifold for me.
Costs to get engine running again:
Bosch S4 Battery £57
Elring Gasket Set £28
Delphi Radiator £110
Water Pump £40
Gates Fan Belt £9
Mercedes Thermostat £12
5 litres Volkswagen Coolant £10
15 litres Volkswagen 10w40 semi synthetic £27
2 x Mercedes oil filters £14
4 x NGK spark plugs £6
Beru Ignition Leads £24
Beru Distributor Cap and Rotor Arm £25
Mercedes Air Filter £17
Cylinder head skim £30
Exhaust manifold repair £25
Total £424!!
Costs to get car roadworthy again:
4 x Continental Premium Contact 5 tyres £180
Diff, gearbox & PAS fluid change £60
Secondhand drivers headlamp £15
Mercedes ball joints £26
Mercedes anti roll bar bushes £14
Replace all fuses £3
Wiper blade £6
Full geometry at Phoenix Motorsport £70
MOT test £35
Total £404!
So the £98 W124 now owed me £928 and I'd done 95% of the necessaries myself. No such thing as a free lunch!
Costs to make car pretty again:
Powdercoat 5 wheels £100
Paintless Dent Removal £150
Blaupunkt Casablanca £40 (secondhand)
So we're at £1,218.
I ran around in the car for the next 18 months. The Scirocco is the daily, the Touareg is for work and the Elise is for fun so mileage added in 18 months was a modest 3,000. Unfortunately I had to have surgery on my back in June 2013 so the Mercedes was a Godsend post op. Automatic, light steering, supportive seats and ride quality that's 98% as isolating as an old Citroën.
Come Spring 2014, I'd only put approx 3k miles on the clock and regretfully, I decided it was possibly best that we parted ways. I'd enjoyed reviving the car, and was confident that it would provide someone with safe and reliable motoring for many years to come. Hopefully they'd use it more than I too. I advertised it for £1,500 which I thought was fair. However, the following few weeks were full of timewasters and missed appointments. I couldn't be bothered with the hassle and decided that the path of least resistance was the keep the car myself.
These are the photos I used to advertise the car last Spring. Essentially, other than having a few dents removed and the wheels refinished, this is how the car looked six years ago when I bought it. Rather handsome I think! Especially in Anthracite Grey.
So that brings us to the present day I guess. Note the nasty blister on the drivers wing. This is now double the size and very unsightly. On that basis, I exchanged £180 plus VAT at the local Mercedes dealer for a new wing. I took this to a bodyshop that painted a friends Quattroporte to a stunning standard and asked for a price to replace the wing and paint both bumpers which suffer marks of varying severity. In no time at all it was agreed that the best course of action was to paint everything bar the bonnet and the roof!
It's scheduled to be dropped off on Thursday or Friday this week depending on when I can fit it in with work. Is it a good idea to spend a small fortune on this old car? I'll be honest, I have my doubts! It makes no financial sense. And yesterday I suffered another slipped disc in my back. Being self employed I should reign things in now until my back is ok again but the wing is bought and the booking is made...
He's asked to keep the car for four weeks and I'll pay him some money each week to keep him motivated. I'll take photos when I visit and hopefully he will email many more.
Let's see how this pans out
Edited by MJK 24 on Wednesday 9th September 20:27
Looks great and nice to see the work you're putting in. Great colour and I wish I still had some Zebrano.
It may not be the best move for the bottom line, but in terms of making a brilliant car for not a lot of money then you can't beat that value. I loved my 230E, such an underrated engine in these.
It may not be the best move for the bottom line, but in terms of making a brilliant car for not a lot of money then you can't beat that value. I loved my 230E, such an underrated engine in these.
Great read MJK24. The colours are lovely, and looks really smart as it is. You're doing the right thing: I'm biased though because my s214 is away for the same treatment.
Make sure you apply copious amounts of Bilt Hamber to the inner wings and underside while you're there!
Make sure you apply copious amounts of Bilt Hamber to the inner wings and underside while you're there!
Edited by harrykul on Wednesday 9th September 14:03
Just about to drop the car off at the bodyshop. Hopefully she will be finished in approx 4 weeks or so. I'll show the problem areas we are looking to resolve.
This is what £215 buys you:
And why it's needed. Note the deterioration in just 18 months from the photos above from March '14. I think the 'iceberg principle' applies to some of the rust traps on these cars.
OSF bumper scuffed:
Corrosion to top of drivers door:
Small scab to OSR arch. Looks a lot worse close up than in reality where it's not visible standing next to the car:
Passenger rear door. Little scab mid panel and three points of corrosion on the top of the door. This is the worst panel on the car for the amount of work it will need:
Slight blistering to NSF wing. This panel is going to be soda blasted back to bare metal and we will be able to start from scratch. If it's beyond help, which I don't think it is, I'll have to put another wing on!
And a matching scuff on the NSF bumper:
I think this is all fairly typical stuff for a 25 year old W124. Let the works commence!
This is what £215 buys you:
And why it's needed. Note the deterioration in just 18 months from the photos above from March '14. I think the 'iceberg principle' applies to some of the rust traps on these cars.
OSF bumper scuffed:
Corrosion to top of drivers door:
Small scab to OSR arch. Looks a lot worse close up than in reality where it's not visible standing next to the car:
Passenger rear door. Little scab mid panel and three points of corrosion on the top of the door. This is the worst panel on the car for the amount of work it will need:
Slight blistering to NSF wing. This panel is going to be soda blasted back to bare metal and we will be able to start from scratch. If it's beyond help, which I don't think it is, I'll have to put another wing on!
And a matching scuff on the NSF bumper:
I think this is all fairly typical stuff for a 25 year old W124. Let the works commence!
Went to visit the car today. It's kindness towards me continues...
The doors are obviously off the car and the Sacco's have been removed. The metalwork behind the Sacco's is perfect. Not even a blister on any of the doors. This is welcome news as I'm sure they can potentially conceal horrors unknown!
Next bit of good news, the inner wings and front panel are A1 too. I was fearful that there'd be holes galore but they've stood the test of time very well indeed. All metal work behind the front and rear bumpers appears to be pristine. Again, I'm grateful for that. I don't think this car has had a lot of use over the years.
The only thing that was broken during the strip down was the OSF bumper bracket. The captive nut had siezed and had to be cut off. Ordered a new one from the dealer tonight for £15.
The passenger front wing has gone away to be soda blasted and zinc primed. Should be back in a week or so. Meanwhile, prep is well underway on all four doors and the bootlid. The rear quarters and bonnet haven't been touched yet.
A few photos:
Small amount of grot on the NSF wing:
Drivers wing primed on the outside, rustproofed on the inside:
Bootlid and doors being prepared:
Inner wings solid and corrosion free:
And finally, one of the rest of the car:
The doors are obviously off the car and the Sacco's have been removed. The metalwork behind the Sacco's is perfect. Not even a blister on any of the doors. This is welcome news as I'm sure they can potentially conceal horrors unknown!
Next bit of good news, the inner wings and front panel are A1 too. I was fearful that there'd be holes galore but they've stood the test of time very well indeed. All metal work behind the front and rear bumpers appears to be pristine. Again, I'm grateful for that. I don't think this car has had a lot of use over the years.
The only thing that was broken during the strip down was the OSF bumper bracket. The captive nut had siezed and had to be cut off. Ordered a new one from the dealer tonight for £15.
The passenger front wing has gone away to be soda blasted and zinc primed. Should be back in a week or so. Meanwhile, prep is well underway on all four doors and the bootlid. The rear quarters and bonnet haven't been touched yet.
A few photos:
Small amount of grot on the NSF wing:
Drivers wing primed on the outside, rustproofed on the inside:
Bootlid and doors being prepared:
Inner wings solid and corrosion free:
And finally, one of the rest of the car:
) at 196,500 miles.
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