1. How did you come to the decision of buying this car?
It had been a while since I'd had a car registered to me. After getting rid of my MK2 Supra, I'd used Ye Olde Corolla for commuting duties. The Corolla is an 88, last of the carbed versions, a car where you are the crumple zone. In a fit of nostalgia, lightly seasoned with a soupcon of common sense, I started looking for a W124, reasoning that it was the last of the overbuilt Benzes, and one with a reputation for reliability. On the mighty CL, I found a one-owner W124. A 400E. With complete documentation. Sold.
2. What has your ownership experience been like?
I took the Merc to a specialist for a once-over: "You've bought yourself some deferred maintenance." Fair enough. The car had sat for a while and European cars seem to suffer from entropy more than ones built,say, in Asia. The first year, the ignition system went out. Ignition coil. The M119 has two, and the Ignition system needs to be replaced every few years. That was about 800 dollars. But that pales in comparison to trying to get the thing to smog here in sunny, smoggy California- Turns out that both cats needed replaced, as well as some severely coked EGR passages that required some deep cleaning, to the tune of 3000 dollars. Oh, did I mention the fuel filter that let go in traffic? I guess that the rear window regulators that have disintegrated, and the limp headliner need not be mentioned. Still, after these things were sorted, the car is almost everything I need. It's properly sized for a doorway- filling galoot, acceleration is more than adequate, and the car will happily canter along at 80 per all day, with sufficient reserve to boot itself to well over the ton if needs be. Downsides? It's definitely an open road car. It's nowhere near nimble, despite being just a bit larger than a modern C klasse, fuel economy is abysmal- I get around 12 to 14 per gallon, and like any good old Mercedes-Benz, the radio is shot. Thank goodness that V-8 sounds so good.
3. What is your fondest memory with this car?
Anytime I go for a pleasure drive in this machine, or walk out to it in the morning. Looking at that line, still modern after nearly forty years, brings a smile to my face.
4. Why do you love cars?
Because they're cool.
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If you would like to participate, just answer the above four questions and submit one to three photos of your daily driver to milhousevanh at geemail. Thanks and have fun!
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