Mercedes E200 (W124) | Shed of the Week
A Shed of the Week so good the man himself is tempted - that's the W124 effect
Shed quite often thinks about nabbing his best SOTW finds for himself. Only the threat of punitive action by PH’s legal overlords has stopped him. This week’s choice, a Mercedes W124 saloon in what appears to be excellent nick, has presented him with one of his most tempting moments.
This 1994 example is one of the last post-’93 facelift W124s, Mercedes ceasing production of the saloons in 1995. 136hp from the naturally aspirated 2.0 four might not sound like a lot, and it isn’t by modern standards, but smaller-engined W124 saloons like this could weigh in at under 1,400kg. Shed’s S124 estate with the legendary OM606 3.0 six non-turbo diesel probably weighs a bit more than that, but despite having about the same amount of power as the 2.0 petrol it’s remarkable how smoothly that old bus gathers pace and then holds it on motorway journeys.
As you’ll see, our Shed has the rather attractive 8-hole alloys, also in very nice condition. Shed is more of a fan of steel wheels covered by plastic hubcaps, as per his estate. Not only do these steelies laugh at giant rural potholes, their rims don’t go all crumbly and porous like alloy ones. He checked his tyres the other day, not because he thought there was a problem with leakage but because he felt guilty about not having looked at the pressures in the last three years. Turned out they were about 2psi down on the manufacturer’s recommendations. He was thinking about writing a strong letter of complaint to Mercedes, but in an unusual fit of generosity he decided to leave it.
These are old cars now, so failures are generally age-related as even the mighty steels used by M-B in those days have a sell-by date. Front wings are usually the first things to go but you can still find original replacement parts from scrappers or nicely-fitting new pattern parts from German specialists. Parts generally are getting a bit harder to find but you can still get a good deal of stuff from M-B’s regular parts supply folk, and at surprisingly reasonable prices too.
Shed is grateful for the development of space-age materials that have allowed him to bodge his way through much of his own 124 ownership experience. The fuel filler pipe on his S124 developed a leak where it went into the tank. That was sorted by a few well-placed splodges of chemical metal. The only other thing that’s failed in the last couple of years has been the tiny bulb that illuminates the right-hand side of the panel containing the cabin temperature and ventilation controls. Shed has a replacement bulb standing by, but he is waiting for at least three more things to go wrong in that area before bothering to replace it. Other electrical problems simply haven’t happened, with no ECUs or other equally indispensable components lying under the carpets waiting to be soaked into uselessness by blocked drains.
Although Shed never does it himself, he will tell anyone who can be bothered to listen that preventative maintenance is key. His estate has just sauntered through another MOT with nothing more than some wheel bearing play and tyre wear to report. In regards to this saloon, by the looks of its MOT certificates and its remarkably rust-free appearance previous owners have clearly followed this path. This is an unmolested car with the original footwell carpets in the boot, the original M-B radio still in place, and no air-con fitted, but in Shed’s eyes that’s another plus point. He prefers the tried and trusted method of controlling the cabin climate by winding the windows up and down. The passenger side window on his estate did seem to be playing up at one point so he bought a secondhand switch for that, but the car clearly sensed its arrival through the post because it immediately started behaving itself and has been operating perfectly ever since.
There was a good bit of structural rust to attend to on our Shed saloon in 2021, but that was taken care of at the time. The test that has just been carried out in February ’25 at 152,000 miles had just two comments, one for slightly corroded suspension components and one for a corroded brake pipe covered in grease. Shed was talked into some high-tech underbody rustproofing a good while back but he wasn’t impressed by the sight of it falling off after only a few years so he has now reverted to his old method of slathering used engine oil all over the underside.
As you’d expect, he’s not a big fan of looking up and having lubrication drip from a hairy old brush onto his face, so he has created an easy fix. This basically consists of an enormous open sump containing all the oil he’s taken from villagers’ cars over the last few decades. Any car that’s in for rustproofing is simply attached to a winch on the other side of the sump and then dragged through the sump, completing the task in a matter of seconds. When the owners pick up their cars the grip and braking can be a bit chancy for the first few miles but there are plenty of other vehicles in the village that they can bounce off if needs be, and of course any bodywork damage caused by that process translates into more business for Shed, so it’s another win-win situation for him.
And where do i sign up for the car oil dip rust treatment?
I remember the racing line at Donington was beautifully marked by a shiny streak all the way around.
While all the old clichés apply, I’m sure it’s probably a fairly dull drive; my spidery senses are saying there surely a reason to pass on this being a trade sale.
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