Whats the best w124 for a euro trip ?

[marcus_uk]

Hi guys,

Im planning on buying a w124 estate for a trip around europe. But i dont know which one to go for. Does anyone have mpg, performance figures for the 200te, 230te and 300te or 300 diesel. Are there any pros/cons for a particular engine/model? Are there any differences apart from engine size? Anything i should be watching out for when buying?

Many thanks for your help,

Marcus

 

[paulcallender]

I'd go for the diesel, purely based on diesel being much cheaper than petrol, on the continent...

 

[telletubby]

I live in France and have owned a 91 turbodiesel estate ( I guess once in everyone's life you get stiched up this was a car with over 450000 miles 'clocked' to read 150000.) It gave a lot of (mostly head gasket) trouble but perhaps not the fault of the model thoughthey say these early turbo models are troublesome.
Eventually traded it for a low mileage '95 300 petrol 4matic estate - wonderful car but drinks like a fish. Avoid unless you live permanenetly in snow.
Now have a '95 300 non turbo diesel estate - and I love it to bits. Goes like a train, great autoroute cruiser, comfortable on the little potholey roads and very economical for a car of its size. In continent-speak I use about 8litres of diesel per 100km average, mostly on country roads.
Sorry I don't have any 124 experence of the smaller petrol engines but i remember the 123 200 was rather slow and dull although the 230 wasn't bad. I agree - take the diesel every time but find a good one 'cos although they go on for ever, they do get abused.

 

[flagstaff]

if you're going for economy then either the 230TE or the 300TD. whilst in town, my 230 thinks i own an oil well (mostly sub-20 mpg) but on a long run and with a light foot (cruising at 65-70mph) i can get nearer to 40 mpg. the 300TD will return similar figures but be less responsive on the throttle. if you have a need to cover long distances quickly, then i'd go for the big mama - 320TE-24. you'll chew through a lot of gas, but it'll be fun.

as to buying second hand, in my opinion the single most important consideration is the history of the car. this can either come in the form of documents (ie a stamped service book) or in an astute assessment of the previous owner. buy as late as you can (post-1990 as a baseline, ideally 94-95), and get leather and aircon - although these options are sought after, and will add to the price significantly.

 

[pascal]

All the actual engines you mention are pretty bullit proof if looked after.

The economy of the diesel goes without saying, and the simplicity of a non-turbo may also be an advantage.

As it is Europe you are travelling to, parts should not be a problem if you do encounter a problem.

If you do decide to buy a petrol, I would do the following as a precaution before leaving.

• Change all fluids and filters, including flushing cooling system and thermostat.
• Check brake pads/disks.
• Replace spark plugs. Also leads and Dist. cap if it looks old/tired
• Replace all fuses, with new ones and clean contacts of holders
• Run a tankful of fuel with injector cleaner added.
• Clean contacts on OVP sensor and fuse
• Replace fuel pump/autobox relay
• Charge up Air Con
• Buy 'Janis Joplins' 'Oh Lord .......' and sing along all accross Europe

The above list may seem a lot, but will not cost too much if you do it yourself.

Pascal

 

[R129]

I would definitely go the diesel route for two reasons.

1. In many places fuel will cost half what it does over here .

2. Virtually every taxi you will see in europe will be a diesel mercedes mainly w210s but there are still a few 124's about and even some earlier versions in some places. Because of this pretty much any garage you come across will have a fair amount of experience on this type of car which should help you out if you run into trouble.

Have a nice trip!

 

[marcus_uk]

Cheers for the info,

The only thing is diesel estates seem to be £1000 more than the price of even a 300te petrol and i dont think im going to save £1000 in fuel from a swap from petrol to diesel. So whats the best petrol to go for? The picture im getting so far is the 230e.

Marcus

 

[nick mercedes]

A LHD 300D multivalve.

 

[njpumphrey]

I have found there are pros and cons with either choice. Sure the diesels are more expensive to begin with, but for good reason, and they hold their value well. Out of the petrols I would go for the 230 without a doubt. At this age, condition is more important than anything else, even fuel type. 4 out of 5 you go and see will be dogs. I was very lucky to find a near-mint 1994 E300 24-valve diesel, and I love it. However, I was pretty fussy - I went to see about 7 carefully selected cars over 18 months! Good luck!

 

[paulcallender]

You probably won't make enough fuel savings on your Europe trip to offset a £1000 higher starting price. But, over time, say 2-3 years, you would. You'd have to do the sums, based on your own estimated mileage, to see if it works out.

I too spent a long time looking at cars, before purchasing (around 3-4 months, not 18 months though!!) but I took a risk and bought a car for £1100 with no history and stuff needing doing to it. Its all worked out, though.

I simply couldn't find any diesels in my price range (up to £3000) - so hence I settled for a 230TE, after looking at a 200TE (which was from a dealer - the deal was to have 12 months MoT and he took way too long trying to fix simple issues!) and a 300TE-4Matic (ropey, black = hearse?). I'm assuming you know something I don't and are confident in finding one, and have the funds for a diesel.

 

[pascal]

If it's petrol, go for the 300. I had both 230 and 300 W124s. The difference in MPG is very little. 300s nearly always came with a better spec as standard.

Great cruiser for the Autobans.

Pascal

 

[Keith]

stretch for a diesel

Two reasons:

-you will have a big smile every time you fill up at half the price
-there's less chance of getting stranded ie more reliable (I once met a taxi driver in Brussels in a W124 250 diesel who had over 1m km on the clock with original engine and no rebuilds etc. car is driven 24/7 on shift basis - thats what I call reliable).

if you dont like the price, sell it again when you return and get the value back. I think diesels are worth every penny of the additional cost

Keith

 

[230K]

Hi

300D Auto either the 603 or 606, must say if like the note from the 603 great motorway cruisers.

230K

1988 190E Sold
1996 C230K Sport Sold
His: 98 E300TD Estate, 7 seater, Avantgarde, Silver, Black cloth, parameter steering, dipping rvm, folding mirrors, rain sensing wipers, pentagon tints, 17" Elegance wheels.
Hers: 93 300TD, 7 seater, pearl blue metallic, 15" 8 hole alloys, OTG, Cruise, not much else

 

[Keith]

any W124 diesel

I would say any 3 litre W124 diesel would be just great. the OM606 multivalve is in my experience the smoothest and simply hums along at 90mph. I get 33mpg on mine which has 170k miles on the clock, I wouldnt hesitate to take it on a tour of asia never mind europe. I bought it with 50k miles on the clock and it gave me 33mpg then too - you get the picture.

Keith

 

[OlafMaxwell]

I would go for diesel, for the longer range between fuel stops. Diesel more relaxed to drive over long journeys on motorway or autoroutes. If you are lugging heavy loads the diesel copes better and suffers less of a drop in fuel consumption.

 

[pascal]

Em.

Have you guys missed

So whats the best petrol to go for? The picture im getting so far is the 230e.

..... halfway through this thread.

 

[Keith]

no , but the best option is still a diesel!

Em.

Have you guys missed ..... halfway through this thread.

No didnt miss it, am just totally won over by oil burners .
K

 

[Bolide]

Mpg?

Off the top of my head I would categorise the MPG figures this way:

200T - awful
200TE - poor
230TE - not bad at all
300TE - have a lie down before checking mpg. Like a Range Rover
300TE-24 valve - I got 22 mpg out of one. Fun, though

250TD - slow, 33 mpg
300TD - slow, 30 mpg

E200 - did they make one?
E220 - probably best of the lot round town
E280 - best compromise overall, very quick & refined
E320 - like an E280, but thirstier

E250 D - rare, probably like an E300 D
E300 D - 30 mpg, best car overall for the long-term


Diesels have the edge on the continent but diesel fuel's a lot more expensive there than it used to be. I'd agree that there's a £1000 - £1500 premium on diesels, E300 Diesel multivalves in particular. Whether that works for you is down to how long you keep it and how many miles you do

Most MPG figures are bunk, but my 250TD averaged 30-33 mpg over 140k. A multivalve diesel's more variable but is a much, much nicer car to drive

I'd get an E220


Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[Keith]

real fuel data E300D

I did an accurate series of tank to tank tests on my 95 E300D mulitvalve(172k miles) recently , mixture of long and around town driving. Much to my surprise the result was 33mpg which is exactly what it was to the nearest whole number when I bought it 5 years ago with 55k miles on the clock.

So I think 30mpg is understating things and I am not sure what Nick means by 'A multivalve diesel's more variable'!


Keith

 

[Bolide]

Multivalve

My 1987 250Td did 30 mpg for 9 years over 140k miles, peaking occasionally at 33 mpg

My 1994 E330 Diesel multivalve does 30 mpg quite a lot of the time, sometimes 33+ mpg, and occasionally late 20s. This is over 4000 miles so I wouldn't say it's a representative mileage, nor do I think the car is fault-free yet

By more variable I mean there's more variance in mpg on my multivalve than on my 250TD. I think this is down to a number of factors, not least the fact that the multivalve is so much more responsive you tend to use the performance more. But, then again, the 250TD was normally driven with the pedal to the carpet. 250 owners will know what I mean!

Overall I think the 300 Diesel multivalve is the best long-term car but I'd run an E220 quite happily. The E300 Diesel has a smoother engine than the E220, which is pretty remarkable when you think about it!


Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk