I bought the E240 a few weeks ago, I've spent a bit of money making it better (PAS fluid flush, new bespoke mats, new windscreen wiper). Having driven it daily this week, I'm not sure that it provides the type of experience that I expect from a fun car. It's too modern and too smooth and whilst it does everything an E-Class should, my W123 and W124 are a lot more fun. Until today, I haven't driven my W123 or W124 since I bought the E240. I had an opportunity to take the W124 out today and it made me more happy than the E240 ever could. I think that I should sell the E240 but will only do so if someone from Retro Rides or AS wants it. I'm not going to offer the car to the general public as I do not want to be dealing with tyre kicking morons who expect a brand new car for the price of a month's lease hire.
Facts:
1999, E240 Avantgarde, 2.4V6 petrol engine, 5 speed automatic gearbox.
Just ticked over 130k (yesterday). MoTd until February 2022. I've put my private plate on it (G9PTC) which will be coming off. The original reg is V903DLP. The MoT history doesn't show up any horrors.
Fully stamped service book, various receipts, last serviced late last year and comes with most previous MoTs and 3 keys, however one of the keys is tired. The main key is relatively new.
Decent spec, full leather interior, part electric seats, electric folding mirrors, cruise control and air conditioning, which doesn't work. Not sure why, I haven't investigated, it might need re-gas or it might need a complete rebuild. Everything else works as it should, including the heating and cooling system. The original radio cassette player works perfectly, all the speakers work and the sound quality is quite decent for an old car with standard ICE.
The interior is pretty much mint. There's the odd little mark here and there but on the whole, it looks like a three year old car inside. I
The exterior is good but not perfect. There is a small crack in the front bumper and the wheel arches are showing initial signs of corrosion. Nothing serious, just localised small blisters along the inner lip that haven't broken the paint. There are no dents, no lacquer peel, all the panels are the same colour and the brightwork is all there and in good condition. I think it's a very pretty car. The plastic headlight lenses haven't gone yellow.
The CLK (correct size and offset for a W210) alloy wheels are in good condition, including the spare wheel, which is as new. Front tyres are Continentals, the rear are Events, the spare is a Dunlop. All tyres are as new, with plenty of tread and no sidewall damage.
The boot is big, the original tools and jack are in place.
The car drives great, the engine starts first time every time, it's really smooth and surprisingly economical. Gently driven you will see 40MPG on a run, around the houses 33-35MPG. The gearbox is the smoothest Mercedes Benz transmission I have ever experienced. There are no clonks whilst selecting P, D or N and whilst driving the changes are seamless. The suspension is nice and tight, there are no clonks and knocks. The car steers straight, the brakes pull up nicely. The front disks and pads were replaced very recently by the previous owner.
There are two issues that are worth noting. Whilst the power steering system has quietened down dramatically since the fluid was replaced, at parking speeds there is still a distant squeak that can be heard at low speeds. The steering is smooth, there is no resistance or interruptions, it goes from lock to lock and the car drives absolutely fine. When I bought the car, the reverse lights were not working. I fixed the problem but every so often the lamp failure warning message pops up on the dash display. I have checked, all the lights work, including front and rear fog lights, all work ok. Research on the internet revealed that the system is very fussy and responds to the tiniest voltage drop. And that's all the bad news.
To summarise, it's a tidy 22 year old E-Class, it drives really well, doesn't use much fuel, it has 9 months MoT left and shouldn't cost much to run.
If someone gives me £750 cash, they can have it. If nobody wants it or I'm offered £749, I'll keep it. It's insured (Admiral multi-car policy that is costing me peanuts) and taxed (monthly direct debit) so it's a cheap toy.
Viewing and collection from 5 mins from M40 J3.
You can read the whole story and see plenty of photos, on page 12, here:
forum.retro-rides.org/thread/204912/mercedes-benz-w123-230e-w124?page=12
Facts:
1999, E240 Avantgarde, 2.4V6 petrol engine, 5 speed automatic gearbox.
Just ticked over 130k (yesterday). MoTd until February 2022. I've put my private plate on it (G9PTC) which will be coming off. The original reg is V903DLP. The MoT history doesn't show up any horrors.
Fully stamped service book, various receipts, last serviced late last year and comes with most previous MoTs and 3 keys, however one of the keys is tired. The main key is relatively new.
Decent spec, full leather interior, part electric seats, electric folding mirrors, cruise control and air conditioning, which doesn't work. Not sure why, I haven't investigated, it might need re-gas or it might need a complete rebuild. Everything else works as it should, including the heating and cooling system. The original radio cassette player works perfectly, all the speakers work and the sound quality is quite decent for an old car with standard ICE.
The interior is pretty much mint. There's the odd little mark here and there but on the whole, it looks like a three year old car inside. I
The exterior is good but not perfect. There is a small crack in the front bumper and the wheel arches are showing initial signs of corrosion. Nothing serious, just localised small blisters along the inner lip that haven't broken the paint. There are no dents, no lacquer peel, all the panels are the same colour and the brightwork is all there and in good condition. I think it's a very pretty car. The plastic headlight lenses haven't gone yellow.
The CLK (correct size and offset for a W210) alloy wheels are in good condition, including the spare wheel, which is as new. Front tyres are Continentals, the rear are Events, the spare is a Dunlop. All tyres are as new, with plenty of tread and no sidewall damage.
The boot is big, the original tools and jack are in place.
The car drives great, the engine starts first time every time, it's really smooth and surprisingly economical. Gently driven you will see 40MPG on a run, around the houses 33-35MPG. The gearbox is the smoothest Mercedes Benz transmission I have ever experienced. There are no clonks whilst selecting P, D or N and whilst driving the changes are seamless. The suspension is nice and tight, there are no clonks and knocks. The car steers straight, the brakes pull up nicely. The front disks and pads were replaced very recently by the previous owner.
There are two issues that are worth noting. Whilst the power steering system has quietened down dramatically since the fluid was replaced, at parking speeds there is still a distant squeak that can be heard at low speeds. The steering is smooth, there is no resistance or interruptions, it goes from lock to lock and the car drives absolutely fine. When I bought the car, the reverse lights were not working. I fixed the problem but every so often the lamp failure warning message pops up on the dash display. I have checked, all the lights work, including front and rear fog lights, all work ok. Research on the internet revealed that the system is very fussy and responds to the tiniest voltage drop. And that's all the bad news.
To summarise, it's a tidy 22 year old E-Class, it drives really well, doesn't use much fuel, it has 9 months MoT left and shouldn't cost much to run.
If someone gives me £750 cash, they can have it. If nobody wants it or I'm offered £749, I'll keep it. It's insured (Admiral multi-car policy that is costing me peanuts) and taxed (monthly direct debit) so it's a cheap toy.
Viewing and collection from 5 mins from M40 J3.
You can read the whole story and see plenty of photos, on page 12, here:
forum.retro-rides.org/thread/204912/mercedes-benz-w123-230e-w124?page=12