The W124 generation Mercedes-Benz is perhaps one of the best luxury cars ever built and today it remains an accessible classic that you can use like any other daily driver. The car shown here is a lovely 1991 300E with 20,711 claimed miles on the clock and condition that certainly seems to reinforce its survivor status. The inline-six powered sedan is listed here on Facebook Marketplace for $33,000, which isn’t surprising considering how loved these cars are.
I recently had the chance to ride in a 1995 300TE, which is the wagon variety of the W124, that belongs to a local service facility. This shop specializes in Mercedes-Benz vehicles and uses the TE as its parts runner and shuttle for customers. What struck me is how, even with over 200,000 miles on the clock, the car was whisper-quiet, accelerated smoothly, and felt like it had 25,000 miles on the clock. This to say nothing about how well the interior was holding up. Most enthusiasts who follow the European marques know how over-built these cars are, so to see one with low miles such as this one is a treat.
The conundrum here is while this 300E will make a fantastic daily driver, it likely will never be used in this way. While I am normally a proponent for using your classic as much as possible, there are so few W124s out there with low miles that I can understand buying this one for long-term preservation. In addition, the exterior color is quite rare, so in addition to its incredible odometer reading, this 300E is also a collectible for not wearing the customary blue or white that many 300Es were seemingly ordered in.
The long-lived nature of the 300E’s inline-six made it a popular choice with cab drivers in Europe, effectively making it the German equivalent of a Ford Crown Victoria. In the states, the 300E was seen as a bread-and-butter luxury car and sold in fairly high numbers, so your run-of-the-mill driver with over 100,000 miles on the clock doesn’t command a very high price. But a car like this is truly a rare find, and while the seller’s asking price is strong, it certainly isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Nice car with low miles but a little high on the price for a sedan.
I agree the W124 series is a hidden treasure for car enthusiasts who want one of the last true Mercedes cars. I discovered them a few years back and I don’t know why it took me so long to own one considering I’m a German car guy at heart. My first driver was a 87 560SEL and I would still be driving it if it weren’t so fuel thirsty. 13mpg using premium fuel gets spendy if you are driving 15K per year. So when a 86 W124 with red interior turned up I bought the car and mechanically restored it. Wonderful car until it met its demise when another motorist ran into her. The Mercedes drove home that day but the Jeep did not!
Then I found a 92 400E in Seattle and mechanically brought that car back to good health. That is a real sweet spot in the series. The W119 engine is a real sweetheart. One of the best engines Mercedes built.
After selling that this past fall I found a 88 Mercedes 300CE coupe that had a bad transmission. Rebuilding that now and this will become my next daily. Bought a 92 300SL that will donate its M104 drivetrain for the 300CE. My plan is to make this into a euro spec 300CE-24 with the 5-speed auto and a 3.69 final drive. Should run really nice. I would also mention the R129 convertible is a steal as well. The 99 SL500 I have now is a wonderful car and a really fun car to drive. Get them while you can especially the V8 cars.
It’s a shame what Mercedes produces now compared to any time before say the 1990s
Just FYI – Mercedes-Benz used biodegradable wiring harnesses in models manufactured between 1991 and 1996. I have read that the wiring insulation starts to crumble creating a host of problems.
Not on this model/engine. That happened when Mercedes switched from Bosch KE-Jetronic to sequential EFI. Here are the models effected.
W124 M104 3.2 liter engines, and M119 4.2 and 5.0 engines. R129 93-96 M104 3.2, M119 5.0, M120 6.0 engines. W140 1992-1996 all engines.
“Biodegradable” is a misnomer, apparently originating as someone’s jest that others mistook for fact and parroted ever since.
The affected wiring insulation was merely meant to be more eco-friendly by avoiding the use of certain highly toxic chemicals in its production and allowing for better recyclability. It turned out that formula didn’t hold up well over decades of exposure to engine and exhaust heat, causing the insulation to crack and crumble, leading to shorting.
I gather it’s actually pretty straightforward, albeit fiddly and time-consuming, to replace the affected engine harness — just lay out the new harness alongside the old one, then go down the length of it matching up connectors one at a time and swapping them over until done.
Swapping the eco harness on one of these takes about a hour. Used harness is available on eBay for a couple hundred and made by Delphi.
“Keep as in investment” according to the ad. What a terrible idea
the plastic gears in the odometers were known for stripping and the odometer would stop working. when zero’s are in the trip odometer that is a sign that the odometer might not be working
I was going to comment about that. Red flag seeing all zeros on the odometer and the miles showing half a digit. No doubt the car is a clean low mileage example and hopefully a CarFax will back the sellers claims.
The last 25 year’s i have only owned MB. As my daily driver. And all of them Turbo Diesel. The strongest was a 124 250/ 5 cyl. Turbocharged. I got it with 250,000 km. Sold it to a friend with 450,000, and he parked it with ca. 750,000 km. On 1 engine and one transmission rebuild. The best car i have ever owned
Definitely a great car, just priced too high. Probably testing the waters.
Way too high people just don’t realize that not using a car everything dry rots and when you drive it everything goes and way too early you will be replacing parts every other week
Now if it were a coupe or a convertible than 33k l could maybe see for an asking price but not for a sedan of this year and make.
In 2002 a local dealer had a gorgeous 300 CE white with wine interior and 66k miles asking 9k. By the time I got the loan for the car. A guy from Milwaukee flew in and paid cash and was on his way back to Wisconsin.l was crushed. I believe l would still be driving that car today.
Pretty rare color combo. Another forum member I know has a 92 300CE with the pearl black and red interior. Has to be a one of one.
“Last true Mercedes?” alpha, really? I’m not saying the car for sale here isn’t good…..but, I’m the 2nd owner of a 2000 S430 that I bought from my brother. It just turned over 295,000 miles and still has no squeaks or rattles. Everything works just as it did when new. I do my own oil changes and I can tell you THIS car has never used any oil. I was not a believer in Mercedes Benz until I bought this one.
For that kind of money, no way! Mileage may do be right. But a decent one for $10,000 and put another 10k in in on wear items and now you saved 13k and know for sure the cars conditions!