I've bought a W124 estate and I'm a numpty! Please help!
Discussion
OK, this is embarrasing:
I've had a 1995 200TE for 2 weeks and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the rear seats down! (There I've said it!)
I can get the seat bases up easily, but can't do anything with the backs.
What am I doing wrong? What lever/switch/catch/handle am I missing?
Thanks all
I've had a 1995 200TE for 2 weeks and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the rear seats down! (There I've said it!)
I can get the seat bases up easily, but can't do anything with the backs.
What am I doing wrong? What lever/switch/catch/handle am I missing?
Thanks all
PULL HARD! 
once the seat bases are raised you need to give the backs a good yank to bring them down. You'll feel like you're going to break something, but you won't, honest. I always have a bit of a fight with mine, they stick pretty securely into place.
once the seat bases are raised you need to give the backs a good yank to bring them down. You'll feel like you're going to break something, but you won't, honest. I always have a bit of a fight with mine, they stick pretty securely into place.Edited by chazola on Friday 25th November 17:22
Edited by chazola on Friday 25th November 17:22
Indeed: the backrest locks are vacuum operated. They are released only when the rear door is open. You may need to give them a sharp kick from the boot. The boot roller blind is mounted only to the nearside backrest: with the roller blind in place, you cannot lower the nearside backrest unless you have first lowered the offside one. Observe the holes in the rear of the seat base in which you can store the headrests when the seats are folded.
And you're not a numpty: this gets everyone first time round.
And you're not a numpty: this gets everyone first time round.
If you remove the squabs the headrests can stay. That way you can get 7 feet of load area behind the front seats
To remove the squabs pull the red handle up
Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk
To remove the squabs pull the red handle up
Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk
Would you believe it - I've looked for 3 or 4 months for a W124 that isn't a total dog, then I find one that's not brilliant (needs front wings and paint peeling in several places etc) but not too bad so I buy it.
Now a pre-facelift 300TE in Almandine (which is what I wanted all along) turns up 10 miles away.
Going to see it tomorrow, so I might end up with 2 of the things shoe-horned into the driveway soon (and a SORNed BMW E30 - wife's not going to be too happy.)
Now a pre-facelift 300TE in Almandine (which is what I wanted all along) turns up 10 miles away.
Going to see it tomorrow, so I might end up with 2 of the things shoe-horned into the driveway soon (and a SORNed BMW E30 - wife's not going to be too happy.)
mccrackenj said:
Would you believe it - I've looked for 3 or 4 months for a W124 that isn't a total dog, then I find one that's not brilliant (needs front wings and paint peeling in several places etc) but not too bad so I buy it.
Now a pre-facelift 300TE in Almandine (which is what I wanted all along) turns up 10 miles away.
Going to see it tomorrow, so I might end up with 2 of the things shoe-horned into the driveway soon (and a SORNed BMW E30 - wife's not going to be too happy.)
She'll be less happy when she sees the fuel bill if you get the 300TE Now a pre-facelift 300TE in Almandine (which is what I wanted all along) turns up 10 miles away.
Going to see it tomorrow, so I might end up with 2 of the things shoe-horned into the driveway soon (and a SORNed BMW E30 - wife's not going to be too happy.)
chazola said:
mccrackenj said:
Would you believe it - I've looked for 3 or 4 months for a W124 that isn't a total dog, then I find one that's not brilliant (needs front wings and paint peeling in several places etc) but not too bad so I buy it.
Now a pre-facelift 300TE in Almandine (which is what I wanted all along) turns up 10 miles away.
Going to see it tomorrow, so I might end up with 2 of the things shoe-horned into the driveway soon (and a SORNed BMW E30 - wife's not going to be too happy.)
She'll be less happy when she sees the fuel bill if you get the 300TE Now a pre-facelift 300TE in Almandine (which is what I wanted all along) turns up 10 miles away.
Going to see it tomorrow, so I might end up with 2 of the things shoe-horned into the driveway soon (and a SORNed BMW E30 - wife's not going to be too happy.)
Maybe that's the ideal combination - a small, newish, (reliable?), economical, easy to drive city car for most of the running about, and a sound but cheap W124 estate for dogs/B&Q and longer runs. Perfect? (A really minty 300CE would be nice though, wouldn't it? Sometimes I actually wish we did more miles pa so that I could justify 3 cars)
Ah, that's ok then... I had a 300E (same m103 engine as the TE) when I lived in the U.S. and it's a great engine, smooth and good at high revs but thirsty. Watch out for oil in the coolant, although I thought mine had blown it's headgasket it turned out the ATF cooler (which is part of the radiator) was leaking into the coolant. New radiator sorted it. They can make some tappet noise on start-up and use a bit of oil at high mileage but it's nothing to worry about.
I have a E300D estate for my 'day to day' car, I can live with 35mpg rather than 20-25 on the petrols! I'd like a petrol 6-cylinder 124 for a 2nd weekend car at some point as it's a great chassis, probably a CE too.
I have a E300D estate for my 'day to day' car, I can live with 35mpg rather than 20-25 on the petrols! I'd like a petrol 6-cylinder 124 for a 2nd weekend car at some point as it's a great chassis, probably a CE too.
Edited by chazola on Friday 2nd December 16:05
Well, I've done it. After looking for months for an estate I now have 2!
The 300TE I looked at yesterday is the very one I saw about 4 months ago and missed out on.
I saw the car advertised only about 5 mins away and went to see it. 1989 Almandine red 300TE with beige cloth. The owner couldn't get it out of his garage because it was blocked in by a 190E that wouldn't start, but I saw enough even in the cramped & dark conditions of his garage to whet my appetite. It appeared to be absolutely rust free. That was on a Friday. I told the guy I was very interested but obviously would need to see the car properly and drive it etc. So, I arranged to go back and see it on Monday. I rang on the Monday morning and it was sold! aagh!
It turns out the guy who is selling it now saw it on the Saturday, took one look at the bodywork and bought it on the spot. Now he's not using it and has decided to sell - at about £200 more than he paid for it, but that's life.
It really is in great condition body-wise and drives very well. The interior is a bit grubby but I'm hoping a weekend with the right products and a load of elbow grease can sort that. Need to get the driver's seat bolster repaired though, and get a replacement plastic trim for around the seat base. The it'll get a set of 8 or 15 hole alloys, new tyres and a thorough check over and service from a local specialist and hopefully it'll be all sorted.
Now I need to sell the 200 . .
The 300TE I looked at yesterday is the very one I saw about 4 months ago and missed out on.
I saw the car advertised only about 5 mins away and went to see it. 1989 Almandine red 300TE with beige cloth. The owner couldn't get it out of his garage because it was blocked in by a 190E that wouldn't start, but I saw enough even in the cramped & dark conditions of his garage to whet my appetite. It appeared to be absolutely rust free. That was on a Friday. I told the guy I was very interested but obviously would need to see the car properly and drive it etc. So, I arranged to go back and see it on Monday. I rang on the Monday morning and it was sold! aagh!
It turns out the guy who is selling it now saw it on the Saturday, took one look at the bodywork and bought it on the spot. Now he's not using it and has decided to sell - at about £200 more than he paid for it, but that's life.
It really is in great condition body-wise and drives very well. The interior is a bit grubby but I'm hoping a weekend with the right products and a load of elbow grease can sort that. Need to get the driver's seat bolster repaired though, and get a replacement plastic trim for around the seat base. The it'll get a set of 8 or 15 hole alloys, new tyres and a thorough check over and service from a local specialist and hopefully it'll be all sorted.
Now I need to sell the 200 . .
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