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Calling McBear

808 views 5 replies 2 participants last post by  jodyt 
#1 ·
McBear I would like to pick your brain again. I have been to the 140 site and was reading about complex electronics that is only dealer available. Is that correct? I do the work on my 124 mostly all myself except some things that I do not want to go under the car. Is the electronics on a 140 all "dealer only items" and what kind of cost? My lust of the 140 is turning to a little sick in the stomach feel when I read what the owners are going through. There is a mint 124 400e in Ontario that looks brand new! They are asking a big$ for a 1992. As much as 1997 S class or 210. One big question did you sell your e55 and clk because of complex electronics? Are these "dealer only" electronics a way of making the car not cost effective long term? You have me thinking a newer 124 (mint) is starting to look a LOT better.
 
#2 ·
jodyt said:
McBear I would like to pick your brain again. I have been to the 140 site and was reading about complex electronics that is only dealer available. Is that correct? I do the work on my 124 mostly all myself except some things that I do not want to go under the car. Is the electronics on a 140 all "dealer only items" and what kind of cost? My lust of the 140 is turning to a little sick in the stomach feel when I read what the owners are going through. There is a mint 124 400e in Ontario that looks brand new! They are asking a big$ for a 1992. As much as 1997 S class or 210. One big question did you sell your e55 and clk because of complex electronics? Are these "dealer only" electronics a way of making the car not cost effective long term? You have me thinking a newer 124 (mint) is starting to look a LOT better.
Many of the replacement parts for the 140 and later cars that are software and electronic focused are, indeed dealer only - OR available on the used market. The older the series, the fewer parts that are proprietary and therefore available by thirdparty, or by the original manufacturer under their name [such as Bosch instead of MB].

Even the 124 Series will have some of those parts. The wiring harness keeps going up in price, the ignition module is around $1400US now. The LH Module is near $1000 if i remember correctly. So, unless you go with a 60's era car you are going to get electronics BUT, the later the car, the more complex the electronics.

I sold the E55 because it had electronic gremlins that were a result of "over engineering" of the car. Much the same as when Microsoft adds features that are not necessary and cause unnecessary bloat in the system. The problems that my car had turned out to be across the line, affecting all E55s and was due to software issues.

To settle your mind, go talk to a couple of MB independent repair shops in your area. Tell them you are looking at a 92 400E and a 97 W140. Ask them what the book charges are for equal repairs such as getting the heads done, getting brakes replaced, getting the Fuel injection system replaced. See what they say. Also, see what they recommend between the two cars.
 
#3 ·
I can see you are leading me to get a shock that the 140 is a lot more? In my area (Ontario) the 124's (clean and nice) are now getting more $ than 210's. (1996-1999) This was for sure not the case only a couple of years ago. Why? Public is now aware of Benz problems or just supply/demand? I do have to say it is nice to have an older car because plenty of junk parts if needed. I just did a valve job $1500can $1250 U.S. I did most of the work except the head itself and setting the timing. My mechanic claims that $ is dirt cheap. Would the 140 costs for engine repairs not be the same as later 124's both with straight 6 for repairs? Is it not other stuff exclusive to the S that cost's more? You have me convinced. A 124 has lots of advatages cheap parts and many being junked now because of age so more cheap parts. I was so amazed at doing the valves on the 21 year old 124. Every bolt just unwound like it was a 3 year old car. When I worked on my Honda everything needed heat and would often break! You are a very rare person who gets rid of the new car for one much older! I assume you took somewhat of a bath on the e55? But you still wanted out? Do you recommend buying a parts car? Do you? You can get a 124 for $500-$1000 here. Cheap parts in my mind. I am thinking about a 400e (something faster) and a parts car to strip. Is it me I have owned no other Benz and only a few other cars but are these cars easy to work on or what? My 124 has been Krown rust sprayed for 17 years (so no rust and easy to take apart) Krown is a penatrating oil. I have sent a link to a looks like mint 124. Is that the same kind of $ as your area. About 8K U.S. and that is 100k's on it. Supposed to be Mercedes club of canada Vice president.

1992 MERCEDES-BENZ 400E LEATHER
 
#4 ·
jodyt said:
I can see you are leading me to get a shock that the 140 is a lot more? In my area (Ontario) the 124's (clean and nice) are now getting more $ than 210's. (1996-1999) This was for sure not the case only a couple of years ago. Why? Public is now aware of Benz problems or just supply/demand? I do have to say it is nice to have an older car because plenty of junk parts if needed. I just did a valve job $1500can $1250 U.S. I did most of the work except the head itself and setting the timing. My mechanic claims that $ is dirt cheap. Would the 140 costs for engine repairs not be the same as later 124's both with straight 6 for repairs? Is it not other stuff exclusive to the S that cost's more? You have me convinced. A 124 has lots of advatages cheap parts and many being junked now because of age so more cheap parts. I was so amazed at doing the valves on the 21 year old 124. Every bolt just unwound like it was a 3 year old car. When I worked on my Honda everything needed heat and would often break! You are a very rare person who gets rid of the new car for one much older! I assume you took somewhat of a bath on the e55? But you still wanted out? Do you recommend buying a parts car? Do you? You can get a 124 for $500-$1000 here. Cheap parts in my mind. I am thinking about a 400e (something faster) and a parts car to strip. Is it me I have owned no other Benz and only a few other cars but are these cars easy to work on or what? My 124 has been Krown rust sprayed for 17 years (so no rust and easy to take apart) Krown is a penatrating oil. I have sent a link to a looks like mint 124. Is that the same kind of $ as your area. About 8K U.S. and that is 100k's on it. Supposed to be Mercedes club of canada Vice president.

1992 MERCEDES-BENZ 400E LEATHER
While a bit high, if the car has been well owned and well taken care of, $8K is a good investment. You should be able to look at receipts and see that much work has been done [like wiring harness] that will save you in the next year or so. Also, if that car has been on trader for a couple of weeks, you might want to contact the owner and at least get started or it could get sold out from under you.

As for taking a bath on the E55, no, I did enough research into what the problem was that MB was "nice enough" to insure that the dealer gave me high private sale retail for the car. They then did some allocating to accomodate the difference.

And yes, I have a parts car. With a 300E Sportline and 2 500Es, I have a 400E that had not been well kept as a parts car. It was suppose to be only for the restoration 500E but a couple of its pieces have been plundered for the other one. I would bet that, as this one goes away, another will take its place. Shopping right you can get a parts car that the motor/tranny value cover the cost of the car.
 
#6 ·
McBear this is a trip to Kingston Ont. We got 30mpg UK gallon 25 U.S. gallon. I babied it to get that. What do you get with the 500e? 400e? Much of a fuel penalty? To get that I drove a 70mpg. Did the exact same trip (I am a volleyball coach) in a another coaches new Totyota Corolla and got 37mpg Can 31 mpg U.S. I thought the little 4 cylinder would be better? With 4 adults in the Corolla not that great. My Jetta TDI (now sold was 2002) would get almost 50mpg U.S. on that trip. Do you know much about Merc diesels? Is the mid 90's one the best? I do hear some good fuel mileage there. I sold the TDI wayyy to many problems all under warranty, but scarred me when warranty was out.
 
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