1986 Mercedes-Benz W124 230TE review from Singapore

I purchased this twenty year old beauty in Oct 2006 and as expected for a car of this vintage, Several items were attended to.

New tyres. The auto was shod with Continental Premium Contact 2 tyres to replace the very dead Yokohama Aspec Db.

Front two seats were replaced due to some bizarre extreme wear on the springs. Never have I been in a Benz of this age with such poor seats. The were replaced with used ones from the scrap yard at a cost of USD$47 each.

During the service all belting's were replaced, Thermostat changed, brakes replaced and all fluids dumped. That cost me USD$300.

The garage informs me that the following will need attention soon. Rear propeller shaft coupling (thud thud sound,) steering box is seeping oil. A/C blower needs to be looked at and some rust on the underside and farside D pillar window will need to be addressed.

There are some electrical gripes for the moment, I'll need to address them gradually. The full on high beams don't work, it shuts off all the lights. the rear wiper is unable to work in intermittent setting, the dashboard clock is not working. The Economy meter (though non electrical) is inaccurate. Other than that, all seems to be OK.

For a 20 year old car I am completely amazed that it starts first go everytime, the water temperature has maintained at less than 90 celcius, The gear box is very responsive and it is still very tight interior wise.

Performance

This motorcar appears to be oriented to higher torque abeit lower power. it move sufficiently well from standstill and cruises very nicely at 60mph. Only drawback there is that the ratios seem rather low at about 3000rpm @ 60mph. Thus there is a little more engine noise at cruising than contemporary cars.

Handling

Not quite the sharpest handling (worn steering box) there is now a lot of freeplay in the steering, one is still able to place the car through the corner to get the right line. Then again this is not the type of car.

Comfort

Top marks to Mercedes for having one of the best damping around. road humps are humbled. Small gripes are directed at the rear seats. the TE (estate) has a more opera style bench seat arrangement in the rear thus is not as cosseting as the sedan's rear seats. When I picked up the car there was some occasional body wiggle at highway speeds. That seems to have been disappeared. I don't quite know why.

Economy

As expected this 20 year old 2.3 engine pulling a 1.4ton body is returning about 7 km/l. Its high in todays expectations, but not too bad seeing that the factory specs of the car suggest 8.5 km/l in urban cycle. I'll be cleaning out the valves etc with those fuel additives and will be hoping to see some improvement. I'm also hoping that the new tyres which are narrower (original spec 195/65/15) than previous will also assist.

Space

I'm running the 7 seater version and it offers excellent versatility! Just about equivalent to the versatility of a modern Honda Jazz. Seats will fold flat or the seat bases can be removed to store large things in the rear seating area. Just excellent!

Street Cred.

Being my first Mercedes, its amazing the responses you get about the car. Most are impressed with how tight the car is after 20 years and more than 282000miles (that's 450000 km) Sitting in it is a rather serene experience. The older folks also tend to have a smile on their face as they acknowledge it's a Mercedes of a certain time and design. I haven't seen that acknowledgement with the contemporary Benz's like the A and B Class. Perhaps because they are not stately enough, perhaps they don't have the 3 pointed star at the end of a straight bonnet.

Summary

in my short living experience with the TE, I must say that I am very satisfied with what I have and the USD$2000 that I would like to spend on her over the next few months will last me for years to come. If, like me the smell of an older automobile and the prospect of tinkering and restoring appeals to you this is an excellent modern classic to purchase. To be extra special, i'd recommend either this TE or a CE.

Updates on the car will follow in the comments section.