Beschreibung
For sale is my beloved Mercedes Benz W124 E320 estate car.
I am selling it as the ULEZ zone extends to my area in October this year. It is our family car but is only used at weekends as my wife and I both work in Central London.
I spent a lot of time looking for a clean example in the UK. Unfortunately there are very few left and those that remain tend to be high mileage, tired and rusty examples.
I ended up importing this car from Japan in September 2016. It was the best example I could find and importantly it was in excellent condition and there was no rust anywhere on the vehicle. This is not unusual for JDM imports as they use chemicals instead of salt on their roads in the winter. You may have noticed that some of the MB classic car dealers are now also importing their cars from Japan.
It arrived with a mileage of 145, 793km (90, 591mi) and the clock is currently showing 171, 191km (106, 373mi). So the car's travelled less than 4, 000 miles p. a. since it was built in 1994.
Vehicle key features
Car underbody sealed with Dinitrol upon purchase
The car was supplied with upgraded E500 brakes
The car has upgraded 16" MB 8-hole alloy wheels (spare wheel is still 15")
Matching tyres all round: Continental Premium Contact 5, 91W, 205/ 55/ R16
Thatcham Class 1 alarm and immobiliser fitted (key code will be supplied)
Alarm enables remote central locking
Full leather interior
Walnut trim
Climate control
Cruise control
Tilt and slide sunroof
Heated driver and passenger seats
Electric driver and passenger seats
7 seater
Two sets of keys + alarm fobs
** I am retaining the private number plate, the original plate of M521AGL will be reinstated upon sale**
Please see below for the complete options list for this car
Since buying the car in 2016, I have paid for whatever needs doing and have it serviced every year at an independent MB specialist who uses OEM parts (if still available).
Even though these cars are renowned for their reliability and build quality, they were in production from 1984 to 1997. My particular car is 27 years old. So although reliable, parts do wear out over time and plastic becomes brittle. Potential buyers should therefore be aware that these cars will require annual maintenance and parts replacement. To offset this however, the maintenance cost is likely to be less than the depreciation on a modern car.
Over the last four and a half years of ownership I have fixed the majority of faults and can truly say the car is now, "sorted".
I estimate the work has cost over £6, 500 and I have kept all of the receipts which I will pass across to the new owner.
Work undertaken since ownership
Engine wiring loom replaced by previous owner
Rear hydraulic accumulators replaced
All fluids replaced incl. hydraulic fluid, power steering fluid, differential fluid
All filters replaced incl. cabin air filter and fuel filter
Ignition coils and spark plugs replaced
Air conditioning re-gassed
Gear selector bushes replaced
Fuel pump relay replaced
Springs replaced
Windscreen washer pump and bottle replaced
Automatic gearbox replaced
Exhaust back box replaced
Engine mounts replaced
Track rod ends, idler bushes, steering damper replaced
Brake hoses replaced
Neutral safety switch replaced
Rear struts replaced
Battery replaced
For transparency, I list out below all of the remaining faults / niggles of the car. Being an enthusiast myself, I have often travelled great distances to view a car, only be disappointed by problems that have not been visible in the photos or highlighted by the seller. Hopefully this transparency will give you a full picture of the vehicle condition and the cost to bring it up to "perfect" condition. Alternatively you could just drive it as I've paid for the major work to be done already and the car is now in a great, reliable condition.
Items of note
The speedometer reads in km/ h. I have not changed this as I want to keep the car original and it's passed all of it's MOTs. The future owner may choose to have the speedo converted to mph
Head unit not working
Front passenger electric headrest not working (I believe this is due to a plastic part within the seat that breaks easily - drivers side already done)
Leak to rear differential - can probably be solved by replacing with the fluid with mineral oil, or otherwise a gasket change which is relatively straightforward
Minor engine oil leak - this is a well-known issue and it's not been a problem since I've owned the car. Only filling the oil to halfway helps
Rear bumper trim - it looks like this has been repaired or replaced at some point
Headlamp wipers working intermittently - probably due to worn out wiper motors - still available
I have set the selling price at a realistic level, bearing in mind that a car bought from a dealer would likely still need ££££ spent on it to bring it up to standard. There are lots of hidden jobs with these cars that dealers (and many private owners) won't pay for. Due to the work undertaken, my car performs and handles as it should do and is a great example of this modern classic.
Options list
221 - Left front seat, electronically adjustable
222 - Right front seat, electronically adjustable
240 - Second spare wheel
253 - Radio MB-Exquisit - Japan (no longer part of the car)
289 - Wood / Leather steering wheel and leather gearshift
291 - Airbag for front passenger
300 - Storage box in front tray
341 - Additional lamp
412 - Electric sliding roof with tilting device
420 - Automatic transmission, floor shift
443 - Cruise control and steering column, electronically adjustable
498 - Japan version
524 - Paintcoat preservation
547 - Double roller blind and sun visors with mirrors on the left and right, illuminated (not sure what the roller blinds refer to).
570 - Folding front armrest
586 - Behr air conditioner and electric window lifters (front and rear doors)
593 - Heat-insulating glass all-around, heat rear window pane (single-sheet safety glass)
600 - Headlamp wiper / washer
615 - Lamp unit, asymmetrical LH traffic and front and rear door courtesy lamps
652 - 8-hole light alloy wheels
731 - Wood trim, burred walnut root
805 - Bahrain (I think this refers to the leather colour?)
814 - Active bass loudspeaker system (no longer functioning)
844 - Folding seat bench in loading compartment, reverse to direction of travel
873 - Seat leather for left and right front seats
916 - 66 litre fuel tank
