90's daily driver investment
Discussion
Hi All,
I seem to be nearing the chinos everyday age and having a soft spot for old Mercedes.
Driving around 5 miles per day with 1 to 2 young kids in baby seats / boosters.
What would you choose:
E320 convertible
500/560 sec
E500
190E Cosworth
Which do you think would increase in % to buy price the most over 2 years?
Thanks :-)
I seem to be nearing the chinos everyday age and having a soft spot for old Mercedes.
Driving around 5 miles per day with 1 to 2 young kids in baby seats / boosters.
What would you choose:
E320 convertible
500/560 sec
E500
190E Cosworth
Which do you think would increase in % to buy price the most over 2 years?
Thanks :-)
Tricky one. 560 SEC seems to have gone already, 500E/E500 are already double the budget of the others, and I'm not sure on the appeal of the James May Special. Your chinos would need to be red to drive that.
W124 cabs seem to be trying but haven't really moved much - 320 Sportline without a grey interior would be my bet if you're purely thinking growth potential. Dark blue/cream or silver/black with air, cruise and a hole-free hood should do it.
I think the key is what you like, rather than which will outperform the stock market - given a big enough budget, I'd go 500E, as I just think they're epic, and the low numbers and the Porsche/Merc story does lend itself to investment 'potential'.
Or how about a really really clean early 129 500SL with the original engine. Maybe go newer - a good (if they still exist) CLS55.
W124 cabs seem to be trying but haven't really moved much - 320 Sportline without a grey interior would be my bet if you're purely thinking growth potential. Dark blue/cream or silver/black with air, cruise and a hole-free hood should do it.
I think the key is what you like, rather than which will outperform the stock market - given a big enough budget, I'd go 500E, as I just think they're epic, and the low numbers and the Porsche/Merc story does lend itself to investment 'potential'.
Or how about a really really clean early 129 500SL with the original engine. Maybe go newer - a good (if they still exist) CLS55.
I think it's very hard to keep an "investment-grade" car in proper condition while daily-driving it and moving small children around. The car will get dirty, dinged and dull. Bits of trim will break, that you'll find are No-Longer-Available (Mercedes-speak for grab your ankles and go on eBay). You're talking about a 5 mile daily drive, barely time for the engine to get warm. Plenty of accelerated engine wear from all those cold starts and heat cycles.
What you save in depreciation you'll spend on maintenance, bodywork and improvement. And at the end of it, you'll either have to battle Joe Public jn all his tyre-kicking "what's your best price m8" glory or go to a specialist dealer who'll take it back for less than you paid. Prices may have risen over the last few years but you know the rest of the phrase "what goes up..."
So the important thing is to buy the car you like, that you will enjoy and that you won't mind spending the time and money on. And only you will know which of the cars it is that does it for you.
After all that, my left field suggestion is the £15k, 73000 mile W210 E55 AMG Avantgarde on Charles Ironside's website at the moment. And a bulk order of Bilt Hamber Dynax.
What you save in depreciation you'll spend on maintenance, bodywork and improvement. And at the end of it, you'll either have to battle Joe Public jn all his tyre-kicking "what's your best price m8" glory or go to a specialist dealer who'll take it back for less than you paid. Prices may have risen over the last few years but you know the rest of the phrase "what goes up..."
So the important thing is to buy the car you like, that you will enjoy and that you won't mind spending the time and money on. And only you will know which of the cars it is that does it for you.
After all that, my left field suggestion is the £15k, 73000 mile W210 E55 AMG Avantgarde on Charles Ironside's website at the moment. And a bulk order of Bilt Hamber Dynax.
I’ve got a w124,1992 500e that I’ve had for the last few years as my daily driver, to date it has been an excellent day to day car, brilliant comfortable driving for the odd long distance trip.
It has been serviced without any major problems, parts are easy enough to buy and again not mega bucks, good on tyre wear.
Is always a surprise to other car users with its capabilities.
There has just been an article in Classic Cars this last month worth reading.
If you are interested in them pm me.
Have fun.
KT
It has been serviced without any major problems, parts are easy enough to buy and again not mega bucks, good on tyre wear.
Is always a surprise to other car users with its capabilities.
There has just been an article in Classic Cars this last month worth reading.
If you are interested in them pm me.
Have fun.
KT
I don't think there is much potential for further price inflation with any of these cars except, perhaps, the E320 cabriolet.
The SEC has already gone bananas and the market is full of crumby cars at stupid prices.
The 500 E/E500 is of somewhat niche appeal in the UK being LHD and subtle of appearance. Prices have increased significantly. It's a great car but I think the market is small. Again, there seems to be a lot of second rate cars out there.
The 190 E 2.3-16 and 2.5-16 lag behind the BMW E30 M3 even still. They are a vastly better car and very easy to live with. There may be some further increase with these, if only because they are so far behind the inferior competitor./
So what about the A124? If anything, prices of these have fallen over the last decade. When I started obsessing about used Mercs, maybe 15 years ago, these were typically hawked at £25k. You can get a very good one for £10k. The quality is astonishing, really, really something, far in excess of the "regular" 124 models. They are very usable. They are elegant and refined and comfortable (perhaps explaining why the market does not take to them). They are quite rare, especially in the UK (they were launched into a recession at prohibitive prices). And 4-seat Merc cabriolets have always done well, long term. My one piece of advice is don't get a sportline car. Sportline really ruins the 124. It does nothing for the handling, the ride is significantly stiffer and they suffer badly from roll-rock. Why anybody would want a stiffly sprung 4-seat cab is beyond me. The problem with this is that sportline was standard fit on late UK E320s: you had to special order the car without it.
The SEC has already gone bananas and the market is full of crumby cars at stupid prices.
The 500 E/E500 is of somewhat niche appeal in the UK being LHD and subtle of appearance. Prices have increased significantly. It's a great car but I think the market is small. Again, there seems to be a lot of second rate cars out there.
The 190 E 2.3-16 and 2.5-16 lag behind the BMW E30 M3 even still. They are a vastly better car and very easy to live with. There may be some further increase with these, if only because they are so far behind the inferior competitor./
So what about the A124? If anything, prices of these have fallen over the last decade. When I started obsessing about used Mercs, maybe 15 years ago, these were typically hawked at £25k. You can get a very good one for £10k. The quality is astonishing, really, really something, far in excess of the "regular" 124 models. They are very usable. They are elegant and refined and comfortable (perhaps explaining why the market does not take to them). They are quite rare, especially in the UK (they were launched into a recession at prohibitive prices). And 4-seat Merc cabriolets have always done well, long term. My one piece of advice is don't get a sportline car. Sportline really ruins the 124. It does nothing for the handling, the ride is significantly stiffer and they suffer badly from roll-rock. Why anybody would want a stiffly sprung 4-seat cab is beyond me. The problem with this is that sportline was standard fit on late UK E320s: you had to special order the car without it.
fastgerman said:
Hi All,
I seem to be nearing the chinos everyday age and having a soft spot for old Mercedes.
Driving around 5 miles per day with 1 to 2 young kids in baby seats / boosters.
What would you choose:
E320 convertible
500/560 sec
E500
190E Cosworth
Which do you think would increase in % to buy price the most over 2 years?
Thanks :-)
Far more likely that the car market will tank with Brexit on the horizon. Better to hold onto your pennies and buy once the market drops!I seem to be nearing the chinos everyday age and having a soft spot for old Mercedes.
Driving around 5 miles per day with 1 to 2 young kids in baby seats / boosters.
What would you choose:
E320 convertible
500/560 sec
E500
190E Cosworth
Which do you think would increase in % to buy price the most over 2 years?
Thanks :-)
Running costs will out weight any gains on all those.
Doing five miles a day, and transporting young children isn't the design brief originally intended I'm sure, but plenty of us do it.
I use my 90s Mercs (C36 and 300-24 SL) for work and play, but only between April and October. Winter would ruin the experience for me.
I'd avoid the whole what-will-it-be-worth-in-the-future thing. Buy one because you want it, safe in the knowledge that depreciation probably won't be an issue. You'll have to spend plenty of maintenance if you're serious though.
Plenty of really knowledgable owners on here too.
I use my 90s Mercs (C36 and 300-24 SL) for work and play, but only between April and October. Winter would ruin the experience for me.
I'd avoid the whole what-will-it-be-worth-in-the-future thing. Buy one because you want it, safe in the knowledge that depreciation probably won't be an issue. You'll have to spend plenty of maintenance if you're serious though.
Plenty of really knowledgable owners on here too.
andy43 said:
Or how about a really really clean early 129 500SL with the original engine.
I used to have a 1990 SL. It made an excellent daily driver for over 10 years and only cost me about £500 a year in servicing costs. I used to take my son to school in it every day. I only got rid of it because I fell in love with an old style Alfa Spider and chopped it in. I still miss it and might buy another.
The problem with the SL is the OP wanting to drive children around: the rear has lap belts only. I wouldn't want to risk their safety thus.
You can fit after-market 3-point seat belts (fixed, not retractable) to the rear of the R129.
The earliest models didn't have a passenger airbag as standard, some of the final two or three years had a passenger airbag that could be turned out with a very expensive dealer-only transponder in the child seat. In between you've no way of turning off the airbag and thus no way of putting a child seat safely in the front.
I take my daughter in the front of an R129 with no airbag. I am not sure she would be safe in the back, and apparently it's very windy there with the roof down.
The earliest models didn't have a passenger airbag as standard, some of the final two or three years had a passenger airbag that could be turned out with a very expensive dealer-only transponder in the child seat. In between you've no way of turning off the airbag and thus no way of putting a child seat safely in the front.
I take my daughter in the front of an R129 with no airbag. I am not sure she would be safe in the back, and apparently it's very windy there with the roof down.
I think r129sl has hit the nail on the head. I'd have an E500 personally but the values on these have really increased in the last couple of years. I missed the boat.
There's a nice-looking A124 in the PH classifieds
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
There's a nice-looking A124 in the PH classifieds
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
crossy67 said:
I've a friend with a 1990 190E 2.0 with iro 35k miles on it. It was a diplomats car and spent most of it's life in Hong kong and as such is in immaculate condition. He keeps tempting me into buying it. It does drive lovely and I have to admit, I am very tempted.
Go on, you know you want to!W124Bob said:
crossy67 said:
I've a friend with a 1990 190E 2.0 with iro 35k miles on it. It was a diplomats car and spent most of it's life in Hong kong and as such is in immaculate condition. He keeps tempting me into buying it. It does drive lovely and I have to admit, I am very tempted.
Go on, you know you want to!lucido grigio said:
I'd go so far as to call it a no brainer ,assuming the price is semi sensible.
It is a great car but am I the only one who remembers the front seats as being hideously uncomfortable? Admittedly I had my 190E immediately after a Saab 9000SE which had the best front seats I've ever sat in.
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