Advice please on buying a CE coupe W124

[geordielux]

Hi, I am and Englishman living in Luxembourg and want to buy a CE coupe. There are a lot for sale, I can buy in Germany or France as well which widens the choice. What model/engine would any of the members recommend me to go for or alternatively what shoudl I avoid!

I can spend up to 10 000 but most cars here are around the 3 - 7000 mark. any help gratefully received.

Michael

 

[thechasmanblue]

The March edition of Mercedes Enthusiast magazine had a buying guide to these and has some good tips so you may want to buy a back issue from the website.
I'm also looking for one at the moment and have tried a few. Whilst the last of the line models look good the earlier ones can qualify for classic car insurance, which can make them very cheap to cover. A 300 CE-24 seems a good combination of performance and price and is becoming quite rare.
I'd also say always go for leather and as unmodified as possible.
I'll now hand over to the experts who already own one...

 

[Russell L B]

"Advice please on buying a CE coupe W124 "
DONT!
get a w123 instead, much better. you will enjoy buffing up the chrome. unless you like slab sided chromeless rusters!

 

[Ade W124]

there seems to be a lot on this topic if you use search you'll find out the main culprits. (loom, rust)

I bought a very nice 300CE-24 this christmas - so far (for 3000 miles) its been brilliant.

Things I found in the cars I looked at not often discussed:

slipping gearboxes
sticky throttles
damp footwells (front and back)
water in the boot!
rust (front wings, jacking points, aerial)
iffy alarms (my scorpion alarm has given me some agro)

I would say that condition and history are key considerations, I was initially after an E320 but decided on the 300CE 24V as I got fed up with looking at cars that differed from their description.

Check a few out, everything should work, there should be no rattles or squeaks, warning lights or noisy belts.

The 300CE 24 hangs on to the gears to 7000 rpm which is fun but a little lairy compared with the more torquey 320.

Its worth hanging on for a high spec. Things I didn't get but would have liked are heated seats with a memory and the adjustable steering column.

I had mine checked over by a local MB indy before purchase - things cost a lot to put right if you go down the MB route. There are some for silly prices out there, depending on how mechanically confident you are, nice cars can be had for not a lot of money.

Economy round town is horrendous (12-16mpg) - on long trips its pretty reasonable. (26-28mpg).

I really like my CE, its fast, comfy, quiet and refined and will hopefully last a long time - its on 54k and I can't believe its a 16 year old car.

Best of luck.

Ade

 

[kth286]

geordielux

the 300CE-24 is quite rare because it was an interim 24 valve model to keep up with the new 24 valve BMW which was introduced.

The real engine came a bit later in the guise of the 3.2 litre 24 valve 104 engine and had all electronic control (both ignition and fueling all controlled by one computer.

There are no electromechanical components on the car that can get "gummed up" with age and mileage like the the previous generation engines.
The computer has an adaption facility which allows for wear in components over miles to keep the same performance. There are lots of clever facilities built in which include allowing a single cylinder to retard if there is pinking, without retarding the whole engine which would of course mean a reduced performance; a first for any Merc engine.
Whilst the power was a lower figure 220bhp verses 231bhp of the previous model the torque was a good increase over the previous engine and was achieved at a relatively low 3750 revs and so the driveability of the car was very relaxed with overtaking power there for the asking without having to screem the engine as mentioned by a previous poster.

This engine was so good it was used in the important next generation mid sized Merc the 210 model introduced in 1995.

I have had mine for 4.5 years now and it's done 157,000 miles and I am pleased. I have built a knowledge library and I do everything possible myself to ensure it is done by the book and is cost effective.

The engine wiring looms and coolant pumps are the main thing to watch out for.