Discussion
A good example will ride really well, be very quiet & relaxed. If you're used to modern cars you may find a W124 a bit soft but the payoff is in the comfortable ride
I'd expect the 250 Diesel to be as quick as the 220 and probably a little smoother. The late 605 250 engine is very smooth but fairly gutless as it has no turbo - just nail the throttle till it does what you want. Don't be afraid to rev the nuts off it
Look out for rusty front wings, saggy and/or worn driver's seat, chipped & milky front screens, knackered tyres, rusty rear discs, vague auto gearboxes, failed window regulators, non-working central locking fobs (now over £200 each), worn front balljoints (car creaks over speed humps & when steering at walking pace), broken springs, non-working a/c, door locks not working on central locking, clocked cars, dodgy history, cars on the VCAR register and ex-taxis
Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk
I'd expect the 250 Diesel to be as quick as the 220 and probably a little smoother. The late 605 250 engine is very smooth but fairly gutless as it has no turbo - just nail the throttle till it does what you want. Don't be afraid to rev the nuts off it
Look out for rusty front wings, saggy and/or worn driver's seat, chipped & milky front screens, knackered tyres, rusty rear discs, vague auto gearboxes, failed window regulators, non-working central locking fobs (now over £200 each), worn front balljoints (car creaks over speed humps & when steering at walking pace), broken springs, non-working a/c, door locks not working on central locking, clocked cars, dodgy history, cars on the VCAR register and ex-taxis
Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk
There are some very late E250 diesels which were built in India. They are always dark blue over grey tex. I've no idea whether they are inferior to Unterturkheim w124s but you should be aware of them. I found an E250 diesel very relaxing to drive; far from fast but preferable because of its character to a slow 4 cylinder petrol. Plus, the saloons, being the least fashionable and popular of the range, are the coolest.
There are some very late E250 diesels which were built in India. They are always dark blue over grey tex. I've no idea whether they are inferior to Unterturkheim w124s but you should be aware of them. I found an E250 diesel very relaxing to drive; far from fast but preferable because of its character to a slow 4 cylinder petrol. Plus, the saloons, being the least fashionable and popular of the range, are the coolest.
I have a 300d W124. It is enormously slow, but once up to speed feels like there's no stopping it. I'm running it on veg oil and having some reliability 'challenges' as a result, but they are all my own making.
I have to say though that I prefer my W201 190e 2.0. All round it feels like a nicer car, albeit a bit smaller.
Just as soft though, just as confortable, and quite a bit faster than the big diesel.
I have to say though that I prefer my W201 190e 2.0. All round it feels like a nicer car, albeit a bit smaller.
Just as soft though, just as confortable, and quite a bit faster than the big diesel.
r129sl said:
How do they compare for economy? I'm trying to resist a 190 D 2.5 for commuting (60 miles a day and my other cars give about 23mpg).
There must be a wee psychic link there r129, I was looking at 190s on e bay last night and thinking what a great daily runner they would make. They are such outstanding value for money.Don't know about you, but the main reason I am thinking along these lines is the ludicrous costs of running and repairing modern cars; it's just constant spending on maintenance. And I do the work myself!
I would think the 190 2.5 diesel would be into the late 30s on fuel if it's a good one.
J
jith said:
r129sl said:
How do they compare for economy? I'm trying to resist a 190 D 2.5 for commuting (60 miles a day and my other cars give about 23mpg).
There must be a wee psychic link there r129, I was looking at 190s on e bay last night and thinking what a great daily runner they would make. They are such outstanding value for money.Don't know about you, but the main reason I am thinking along these lines is the ludicrous costs of running and repairing modern cars; it's just constant spending on maintenance. And I do the work myself!
I would think the 190 2.5 diesel would be into the late 30s on fuel if it's a good one.
J
r129sl said:
I've been thinking about it for a while. They're just such bloody good cars: better built, I suspect, than the w124. I think that with the 201 being Merc's first compact saloon they put a hell of a lot of effort into making it good. For me, the 201 and 124 have all of the virtues of a modern, particularly ABS and the multi-link rear suspension, with a simplicity of appearance, purity of function and quality of build that is no longer available at any price. I would like to know whether a diesel is going to be much more economical than a 2.0 or 2.6 petrol; but, to be honest, I quite fancy the languid character of the diesel.
Not sure how much more economical it will be, I ran a W201 2.5D auto for 6 months from London to Brighton, can't give exact figures however I recall having to push it over 4k rpm to maintain about 80 mph. Utterly reliable though could leave it parked in sub zero temps for over a week always started first time. Only reason I sold it was to trade it in for a G Wagen.I'd agree that the W201 is, by a small margin, better built than the W124 in some areas. They share a lot of running gear but the W201 seems to rust less and the interior trim is bullet-proof
An E300 Diesel Auto estate will do 33 mpg as an average, even in my hands, so anything manual will be more economical. I'd think a 190E 2.5 Diesel would improve on that a little
Gearing is the key here - 90 mph is 4k+ rpm so even an MB diesel engine will burn a fair amount of fuel
Fuel costs aren't everything - insurance & road tax on the W201 and W124 are very reasonable - maybe £150 and £205 per annum - and depreciation over 2-3 years will be zero. Try achieving that with a modern "economical" car
Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk
An E300 Diesel Auto estate will do 33 mpg as an average, even in my hands, so anything manual will be more economical. I'd think a 190E 2.5 Diesel would improve on that a little
Gearing is the key here - 90 mph is 4k+ rpm so even an MB diesel engine will burn a fair amount of fuel
Fuel costs aren't everything - insurance & road tax on the W201 and W124 are very reasonable - maybe £150 and £205 per annum - and depreciation over 2-3 years will be zero. Try achieving that with a modern "economical" car
Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk
Yes my 190D 2.5 was fine below 4k rpm above that which is where you need to be on the motorway was another issue.
As long as you have no vaccum or glow plug issues unstoppable, also need to make sure the autobox flexible cooling pipes from the rad are in good condition as they are exposed to the elements if the undertray is missing.
I recall trying to keep up with a W124 300D on the M23, it was a struggle
As long as you have no vaccum or glow plug issues unstoppable, also need to make sure the autobox flexible cooling pipes from the rad are in good condition as they are exposed to the elements if the undertray is missing.
I recall trying to keep up with a W124 300D on the M23, it was a struggle
amokwa said:
Yes my 190D 2.5 was fine below 4k rpm above that which is where you need to be on the motorway was another issue.
As long as you have no vaccum or glow plug issues unstoppable, also need to make sure the autobox flexible cooling pipes from the rad are in good condition as they are exposed to the elements if the undertray is missing.
I recall trying to keep up with a W124 300D on the M23, it was a struggle
Whilst overall I prefer my 190e (petrol) its comfortable cruising pace is at least 10mph slower than my W124 300D.As long as you have no vaccum or glow plug issues unstoppable, also need to make sure the autobox flexible cooling pipes from the rad are in good condition as they are exposed to the elements if the undertray is missing.
I recall trying to keep up with a W124 300D on the M23, it was a struggle
The 190's natural gait (IMO) is about 62-65mph. The 300D lopes along very nicely at 75-80 (indicated).
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