J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

What are they really like to own, keep looking at old late 60's, early seventies models, they were built to last I know but how do they cope with daily use, for example the one below, four and half grand but what are they like to live with ?

Mercedes 250CE Pillarless coupe 1972 on eBay, also, Mercedes-Benz, Classic Cars, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 31-May-08 22:14:49 BST)

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

thats beautiful

paulwrxboro

looks nice
i remember a bloke over the road from me about 15 years ago had a ruff lhd one , he was always under the bonnet if i remember corectley

id go for it if ya got the itch and you wont lose money if its a good one

what would scooby do

I had a 1990 300E 24V for a while and it was superb. Dead quiet, quite quick and built like a tank. Parts are silly cheap for the W124 model. I got a complete glovebox for £4, cruise control stalk £11 (both new sealed in factory bags)

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yes, its an itch, I like new mercs but there is something about the old ones, quite like the thought of free tax though I should imagine economy wont be great on a heavy old tech straight 6.

I am kind of getting away from the faster is better thing nowadays, the wife says go for it which is unusual.

CrisPDuk

I had a battered 200k mile old '87 W124 estate for a couple of years;



and apart from the usual stuff (brakes, exhaust, etc), it was faultless, despite the relentless abuse heaped upon it during my ownership : Easily one of the best cars I've ever owned

The technology in those early 124s is no different really from the sort of thing you're looking at, so if you take the usual precautions before buying, you should have no problems

Plus, as WWSD has already intimated, parts are very reasonably priced and still plentiful, even from MB themselves. In fact Mercedes pride themselves on the ready availability of parts for their older models

CrisPDuk

Also, let's face it, there's not much in the world that's cooler than an early '70s pillarless Benz coupe

dpb

280 is the best compromise apparently

dpb

Blimey the car ll go thro anything - but youd break your neck for sure

what would scooby do

This is the sort of thing worth buying (make sure there's no oil leaks)

1992 MERCEDES 300E-24 AUTO RED on eBay, also, Mercedes-Benz, Cars, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 16-Jun-08 19:37:34 BST)

fatherpierre

Just noticed this thread 2 months after posted!

Obviously with any old motor they vary wildly, but old mercs (the ones I have) were build far better than any motor produced today. I only ever go for proper runners, and use the reasoning that if they are going after 20/30 years of use then they have been looked after.

I tend to go for 123s and 116s as they are regarded as the pinnacle of build quality and were sold in such numbers that parts and for them are cheap and readily available, and they still have a sound knowledge base from people that run them today. 116s were the limos, so they are ££££££s to fix though and tend to rust badly, but the 350 and 450 v8 lumps sound

You really can only go on condition and how they go. Service history is nice, but I've had a million miler 280se with no history that I ran for 2 years and cost me no more than a few oil changes. It's still running now apparently.

Smooth runners with good boxes and an MOT is what I look for (an minimal rust). Sounds obvious but some people get big ideas of buying a car with no MOT to tart up and then realise it'll cost £5k to get a ticket for it.

They cope with daily use perfectly, by the way. I use my 1977 280CE daily and it never fails to start, rain or shine. You just need to treat them with respect and let them warm up before you give them a bit of a spank! And you can only expect high teens MPG from the 6 cyl 60/70s engines. All the engines were chain driven so listen for any chain slap/drag and check for the obvious stuff.

A good 1st dip at cheap classic motoring IMO would be a 4 cyl 123 230E or 230CE if you have a few more quid. A grand wil get you a useable and respectable coupe and it won't lose any money at all.

Some of my previous cars:








I've dabble with beemers too

I also tried the Capri! Note my 1977 Merc 250E behind it.



And this Audi had been locked in a garage for 13 years before I rescued it. Spotless...