Can I get a decent W124 TE for less than £1500??

[busters the boy!]

Hello everybody

My dog is ruining my saloon with his hair, smells and worst of all, the back seat has been removed to accommodate his cage

I'm looking for a decent condition W124 estate (not 4matic) to take him around in for less than £1,500. Do you think there is such a thing?

If not, I'll just buy a rotten old ford or something for £300 and run it into the ground!

 

[paulcallender]

It depends how much you want to subsequently spend, on items, once you have purchased the car. I bought an H reg 230TE for £1100 and I've had these issues to sort out:

Drivers door window regulator
4 new tyres
full service
a thorough cleaning
fuel pump relay
a couple of bulbs, items of trim, etc.
leaky fuel tank

so I guess I've spent around £2000 in total, in the 9 months or so I've had it.

 

[raycul]

I bought a 1989 250 TD for £1000. Few bits need doing. ir service, New glow plugs, Damn good clean and three windows where they work but dont go up and down

 

[Chazchuzzlewitt]

I get the feeling a TE under £1500 is gonna quickly turn into a money pit unless you get one with a good service history. If you're looking for a good estate for that kind of money I'd recommend the Peugeot 405. I had a diesel turbo one before I got the Merc bug and it was a great reliable and economical car with plenty of space in the back for a smelly dog
There's plenty of crap ones around but at the £1500 end you could get a late model one with a/c, alloys etc in good nick. Mine had 185k on it when I sold it and was still going strong.

 

[LNM]

Loot,Chester Liverpool N Wales 11-14 March page 45 column two, top

I want this but am prohibited from doing so because of other financial comittments, usch as an imminent wedding.

If you spend 150 - 200 quid on getting someone to give it the once over to avoid spending any money on a ford then you should be on course.

 

[pde2000]

got mine for £1000

bought my 300te 1990 (4matic) a couple of years ago for £1000 plus a clapped out old swift p.ex. After that i had to buy a tyre, replace a gaitor, renew the silencer, change the oil a few times, buy lots of petrol, install an aftermarket cooling fan (£150 - kenlow), replace HT leads and threw £460 away by having a service performed by Romford MB agent. They charged for items not used (filters, plugs, screen wash) and claimed major faults existed quoting thousands, which i later found to be untrue (eg oil seals in rear diff. replace - came to top up and found full!!! of very old black oil). admittedly the 4matic has never worked, but so what i dont need it. to tell the truth i thought the 4matic referred to the number of gears. overall cost of running comparable to any car.

any way, you can definitely get a 300te for cheap, and the old ones are better made than latest offering.

 

[Copiertech]

just bought an 89 230te for £200, needs 3 tyres, but came with 2 ok part worns in the boot, drivers window doesn`t work, will swap the faulty part from the back one, and it needs a corroded brake pipe replaced. it came with a private plate too. keep looking if thats the car you want. try the loot paper.