1984 Mercedes 230E (W123)

Highlights

  • Great condition throughout
  • Impressive history file
  • Recent restoration

The Appeal

The W123 series has only recently gained legendary status amongst Mercedes aficionados. With 2.7 million examples produced between 1975 and 1985 they have an enviable reputation for reliability and build quality, unsurpassed at the time and unequalled since. Millions of taxi drivers can’t all be wrong! The majority were run into the ground or shipped off to developing countries where the rugged build and longevity were most appreciated whatever the mileage!

But a few lived charmed lives, like this example. It was purchased from a dealer earlier this year and has been reliable and enjoyable, but is now reluctantly offered for sale as the owner has had knee replacements and has difficulty getting in and out.

If you are looking for a W123 Series Mercedes to add to a collection, or take to concours condition, or perhaps as a nearly perfect daily driver, then read on… 

History and Paperwork

  • First registered in March 1984
  • 6 owners over 38 years
  • Spent early life in France at holiday home
  • Approximate mileage 59,000
  • Speedometer changed in 2007 at 39,000 miles and replaced with km item
  • Now reading 31,922km
  • Good recent history file
  • MoT history back to 2006 and old MoTs on file
  • A Service book with recent stamps
  • Full service performed 600 km ago
  • New complete exhaust system
  • New discs and pads
  • New water pump, fuel pump, spark plugs
  • Impressive paintwork
  • Excellent condition throughout

The Interior

  • Unmarked grey cloth interior
  • Clean and original black carpets
  • Near perfect wood trim
The interior of the Mercedes is not faultless, but it’s pretty damn close!  We’d recommend a good look at the photographs.
We studied it closely and found only a couple of things that need to be mentioned:  There is a small crack in the wood veneer on the rear edge between the seats, and some stitching has come adrift on the base of the rear armrest.

That’s it. For a car that is 38 years old the interior is quite extraordinary and something we don’t often see.  It’s hard to say how much is original as there is little history older than a few years in the file.  The roof lining is immaculate, as are the carpets.  There are fitted mats in the rear and on the front passenger side, so the carpet beneath is like new. The plaid seat fabric is clean and unmarked throughout. There is a later JVC CD/Radio fitted in the dash connected to speakers mounted on the rear shelf, along with an operational electric aerial. The original Mercedes First Aid kit is still present mounted within the rear parcel shelf.

The dash board area is all very tidy, with good veneer throughout and no sun damage to the dash top.  The controls all appear to function correctly, although some of the white print areas are a little worn.  The instruments are all clear and working. As mentioned the speedometer was changed in 2007 from the original mph item to a kph one.  It could be that it broke, and as the car was in France a kph item was sourced?  Form the MoT history we know it was changed at just shy of 40,000 miles and the Mercedes has covered 31,922km (19,823 miles) since.  This totals at 59,823 miles approximately.

The door shuts and sills are clean and with barely a scratch to be seen. The doors all close perfectly with the quality Mercedes “chunk” sound. The boot area is equally impressive, perfectly clean with no scuffs, stains or marks.  The spare wheel and tools are properly stowed.
Overall is hard to find fault, and very little that would need to be addressed to be concours quality.

The Exterior 

  • Smart and virtually faultless Signal Red paint
  • Original 14 inch wheels with correct hubcaps
  • Excellent chrome trim
Again, we subjected the exterior to close scrutiny and can report that it’s in extremely impressive condition.  

There are tiny faults here and there; there is the odd paint chip, but minor and you’d need to hunt for them. We think that it has had a high quality repaint at some stage as we would expect there to be more wear given the mileage.  The chrome work is excellent, the bumpers are straight and the black plastic parts are all intact and show no UV fading.  The side trims that run the length of the car are all arrow straight and line up perfectly. The flanks are free from any dings and the shutlines are consistent on every panel.

We noted that beneath the rear bumper, particularly on the passenger side, there are some scratch marks that show signs of a small scuff in the past, but you need to be on your hands and knees to see them.

The glass is all in good condition with no major chips to the screen or the headlights. There is a Portman Cars, Croydon dealer sticker in the rear window, but also the fading remnants of what we think is a Malaya Garage sticker which would make sense.  We think apart from its time in France the Mercedes has resided in the Sussex area.

The wheels are original 14 inch steel items, complete with matching red full size hubcaps.  The red areas have a few small scratches on all four hubcaps, but there is no curb damage or dents to the rims. The tyres are matching Rapid 309 brand fitted in early 2022, all with only light wear.

The Mechanics 

  • Full service performed in January 2022, just 600km ago
  • New timing chain, water pump, fuel pump
  • New exhaust, brake discs and pads
When the seller bought the Mercedes in January this year it had just had a full service, and then received a new exhaust system including downpipes and the timing chain was changed.  Other works invoiced in the history file include brake discs and pads, new water pump, new fuel pump, accumulator and transfer pipe. A new radiator was fitted along with a new thermostat, fan belt and magnetic fan coupling.

Mechanically the seller assures us the Mercedes is in great shape with all systems operating as they should.  The automatic gearbox performs faultlessly, with a good kick down and smooth changes.

Although used only occasionally he has completed a couple of 100+ mile journeys without an issue.

Summary

For a car that will be tax exempt in couple of years the Mercedes is in exceptional condition throughout.  It is an excellent example from an era when Mercedes Benz meant real quality, with the ability to accumulate massive mileages with barely a murmur.   

We think it’s a lovely car and would, with just a little effort, be a potential show winner.

Notice to bidders

Although every care is taken to ensure this listing is as factual and transparent as possible, all details within the listing are subject to the information provided to us by the seller. Car & Classic does not take responsibility for any information missing from the listing. Please ensure you are satisfied with the vehicle description and all information provided before placing a bid.

As is normal for most auctions, this vehicle is sold as seen, and therefore the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. All bids are legally binding once placed. Any winning bidder who withdraws from a sale, is subject to our bidders fee charge. Please see our FAQs and T&C's for further information. Viewings of vehicles are encouraged, but entirely at the seller's discretion.

Consulta le nostre FAQ qui e i nostri Termini e condizioni qui

Domande frequenti sulle aste
Specifiche del veicolo
  • Anno 1984
  • Marca Mercedes
  • Modello 230E (W123)
  • Colore Signal Red
  • Chilometraggio 59,000 Miglia
  • Cilindrata 2299
Dettagli d'asta
  • Tipo di venditore Privato
  • Posizione Sussex
  • Paese Regno Unito
Storico delle offerte
34 offerte
  • ji•••• £9,500 14/06/22
  • ma•••• £9,200 14/06/22
  • ji•••• £9,000 14/06/22
  • ja•••• £8,250 14/06/22
  • ji•••• £8,000 14/06/22
  • ma•••• £7,300 14/06/22
  • ja•••• £7,200 14/06/22
  • ji•••• £7,000 14/06/22
  • ma•••• £6,800 14/06/22
  • ji•••• £6,600 14/06/22
Invia messaggio a team Aste di C&C

La galleria

Il modo più sicuro per acquistare un'auto d'epoca online

Il sistema di pagamento sicuro di Car & Classic protegge acquirenti e venditori. Al termine dell'asta, l'offerente vincente trasferisce il pagamento su un conto vincolato di terzi. Una volta completato il trasferimento del veicolo, entrambe le parti confermano di essere soddisfatte della vendita e il denaro viene rilasciato al venditore. Maggiori informazioni su come acquistare con noi
Processo di pagamento sicuro e protetto

Come funzionano le offerte massime

Il processo di offerta massima ti permette di fare offerte senza preoccupazioni.

Inserisci la tua offerta massima e il sistema farà offerte automaticamente per assicurarsi che tu sia il miglior offerente - fino all'ammontare da te stabilito come tetto massimo.

Anti-sniping

Car & Classic contrasta il fenomeno dello “sniping”, ovvero il fenomeno dei rilanci all'ultimo secondo per vincere l'asta.

Se viene fatta un'offerta nei 3 minuti prima della chiusura dell'asta, la scadenza di questa viene automaticamente estesa di 2 minuti per permettere agli altri offerenti di reagire e, se lo desiderano, di rilanciare.

Incrementi di offerta automatica

  • Se la sua offerta massima è uguale o inferiore al prezzo di riserva, la sua offerta massima sarà applicata per intero se lei è il miglior offerente.
  • Se siete il miglior offerente e fate un'offerta massima superiore a quella di riserva, la riserva verrà automaticamente inserita come prima offerta.
    • Una volta raggiunta la riserva, Car & Classic si assicurerà che tu sia il miglior offerente utilizzando solo gli incrementi di offerta indicati di seguito.
    • Vi terremo in testa fino alla vostra offerta massima O all'incremento più vicino alla vostra offerta massima, a condizione che la vostra offerta massima sia sufficiente a coprire il valore dell'incremento.

Ammontare dell'offerta Incremento
Da £0 a £9,999 £100.00
Da £10,000 a £49,999 £250.00
Da £50,000 a £99,999 £500.00
£100,000 + £1,000.00

Superamento immediato dell'offerta

Quando piazzi un'offerta massima e questa viene immediatamente superata, questo significa che un altro offerente ha impostato una soglia di offerta massima superiore alla tua.

Puoi fare nuovamente un'offerta o impostare una soglia più alta di offerta massima e il nostro sistema rilancerà fino alla nuova soglia, cercando di portarti a essere il miglior offerente.

Offerte massime di pari ammontare

Quando ci sono due offerte massime di pari ammontare, quella impostata per prima è quella che viene considerata “migliore offerta”.

Pre-autorizzazione

Potremmo trattenere un piccolo importo di pre-autorizzazione sulla tua carta fino alla fine dell'asta, quando quest'ultimo verrà poi stornato. Se vinci, verrà prelevata una caparra che verrà detratta dal pagamento del prezzo di vendita per il veicolo e non comporta costi aggiuntivi per te.

Cosa sono le Offerte pre-asta?

Offerte pre-asta significa che avete la possibilità di fare offerte prima dell'inizio ufficiale dell'asta.
Verrà comunicato se si è il miglior offerente o meno all'inizio dell'asta.

Problema con l'offerta

Le offerte sono contrattualmente vincolanti. Per tutelare l'utente, sono previste alcune regole nel caso in cui si ritenga che sia stato digitato in modo errato. Si prega di controllare e modificare quanto inserito.