May I request some help from the collective mind on 400E purchase

[James In London]

None of the W124 V8s were ever officially imported into the UK, so there is no vast knowledge base here on them.

I am interested in this vehicle, currently in the Netherlands, and would be grateful for anything I should be aware of before going there to examine the vehicle.

This one.

Mercedes-Benz 200-serie 400 E V8

Bijzonder en zeldzaam! Uit de sterke W124 series van Mercedes-Benz komt deze indrukwekkende 400 E welke in kleine serie gebouwd werd in 1992 en 1993.

www.hofman.nl

Any help or advice will be gladly received

I realise that this is my first post here and it is to ask for help, however I am a journalist specialising in the wristwatch field - so, if anyone has a query about them, feel free to drop me a line and I will try to help.

Thanks
James

 

[Glen]

At first glance, it appears to have failing clear coat, mismatched paint and very dirty interior. Given the cosmetic condition, you have to wonder about it's previous mechanical upkeep. Tread carefully.

 

[gsxr]

VIN = WDBEA34E8NB810643
FIN = WDB1240341B810643

Datacard:

Mercedes VIN Decoder | Decode Your Mercedes-Benz VIN

Datacard for 1992 Mercedes-Benz 420 E (124.034) - WDB1240341B810643

www.lastvin.com

Ditto what Glen said... tread carefully. Antenna broken, headlight plastic "doors" are worn (and NLA), front passenger corner of bumper is broken, filthy driver carpet, dent on passenger fender, failing clearcoat in multiple locations all over the car (roof, hood, fenders, & bumpers are most obvious), stained trunk carpet, marks on driver door pocket not cleaned (why?), moderately worn seats, boot stop buffers toast, mirror boots shrunk & fossilized, driver mirror adjustment handle BROKEN, heated washer reservoir bypassed/deleted. Looks like the trunk/boot lid paint doesn't match either; could be my monitor though, or lighting. Probably more that we can't see. On the plus side, the car was always in CA so it could be rust-free.

Price seems high for 175kmi in that condition. After the €12k purchase you could end up shelling out an additional €8k-€12k in deferred maintenance, maybe more if paying a shop, maybe less if DIY'ing the work. Edit - that does not include the cost of a full repaint!

Overall this car looks ROUGH. You could find a nicer one in USA for the same money or less, and have it shipped across the pond. Biggest issue here is there are multiple visible problems, and the selling dealer has done nothing to fix them - and they haven't even cleaned the car properly. To me that says a lot about the dealer - I wouldn't buy from them.

BTW, welcome to the forum!

 

[Kridre]

For me this car would be no go only because it lacks asr, but I also see more problems:

• missmatched paint as @Glen already mentioned
• rusty front strut threads and OEM bolts for the strut mounts, so this would need to be probably replaced, but most of the suspension rubber looks to be in good condition
• radiator clamps are not fully seated, so maybe radiator was replaced or there was some front damage
• rust at the front and read fenders, this means that under the rubber coating there could be even more rust
• broken and not original antenna?
• transmission seams to be leaking
• missing jack point rubbers
• brakes and rotors in need for replacement
• lower cladding at the front right fender is riveted to the fender
• tunk stops are falling apart, and the lining is not correctly installed

There will be a lot of things to do in this car, pant job being the most time consuming and the most expensive if done right.
I will suggest you to try to search for a 400E that at least don't need a paint job, a lot of mechanical things are rather easy to do and not that expensive. Here I see 12k€ car that need attest maybe another 10k€ to make it looking good again.

It just looks like this car was not maintained like it should be.

 

[Gatorblue92]

Based on the condition I think that’s a $3-4000 car in the US market. Certainly not worth what they are asking.

 

[James In London]

I would like to thank you all for your advice, you have saved me - at least - the cost of a trip to Holland, and probably a great deal more.

Thanks again & the offer of advice on any watch related queries is an open offer; DM me here or write to James.Dowling@gmail.com

 

[Ascension]

For me this car would be no go only because it lacks asr, but I also see more problems:

• missmatched paint as @Glen already mentioned
• rusty front strut threads and OEM bolts for the strut mounts, so this would need to be probably replaced, but most of the suspension rubber looks to be in good condition
• radiator clamps are not fully seated, so maybe radiator was replaced or there was some front damage
• rust at the front and read fenders, this means that under the rubber coating there could be even more rust
• broken and not original antenna?
• transmission seams to be leaking
• missing jack point rubbers
• brakes and rotors in need for replacement
• lower cladding at the front right fender is riveted to the fender
• tunk stops are falling apart, and the lining is not correctly installed

There will be a lot of things to do in this car, pant job being the most time consuming and the most expensive if done right.
I will suggest you to try to search for a 400E that at least dont need a paint job, a lot of mechanical things are rather easy to do and not that expensive. Here I see 12k€ car that need attest maybe another 10k€ to make it looking good again.

It just looks like this car was not maintained like it should be.

Agree with every thing here but one point. For me I prefer a car WITHOUT ASR. And that is a strong preference. The early ASR system is not stellar there is no way to turn it off and also if you have a problem with the EGas or a ETA you have a real problem where a non ASR car will have issues with idle but the ETA is mostly mechanical not partially drive by wire. My 95 is a non ASR car and for me NOT having ASR makes the car more desirable not less.

 

[Kridre]

@Ascension It comes down only to personal preference. For me ASR only serve one purpose, to keep my inner child in check. Without it I would probably drift every possible roundabout in the rain at night and my rear tiers would last less than 4k miles. Also my license woud be long gone by now, but You have good point with the problems with old electronics, if there is less things to brake the easier it is to fix and the car is over-all more reliable.

 

[gsxr]

I'm in the other camp. I won't buy a car WITHOUT ASR. You can add a defeat switch for drifting & hooning on demand. ASR is very, very useful on slippery surfaces (wet or snowy/icy pavement). I understand it's more difficult to troubleshoot when something goes wrong, but with a rebuilt ETA, the system is very reliable.

Now, the earlier ASR systems (versions I and II) used on the 126 and 129 chassis were more rudimentary and, possibly, more problematic. The ASR version III on the W124+M119 is quite good IMO.

YMMV, etc...

 

[Alphasud40]

Im in the other camp. I wont buy a car WITHOUT ASR. You can add a defeat switch for drifting & hooning on demand. ASR is very, very useful on slippery surfaces (wet or snowy/icy pavement). I understand its more difficult to troubleshoot when something goes wrong, but with a rebuilt ETA, the system is very reliable.

Now, the earlier ASR systems (versions I and II) used on the 126 and 129 chassis were more rudimentary and, possibly, more problematic. The ASR version III on the W124+M119 is quite good IMO.

YMMV, etc...

Originally I was in the I don’t want or like ASR camp because the early systems wouldn’t let you turn them off. However after using my 92 034 in the snow I didn’t find it to be a hindrance with dedicated snow tires. One exception is deep snow on a steep hill where momentum is king and ASR says no wheel spin for you! Easily defeated by unplugging the RF speed sensor. In some ways it’s better than a mechanical slip in a situation where one wheel has no traction ASR will brake that wheel to transfer torque. On 2 occasions I was able to reach my friends house on a 2.5 mile inclined drive with switchbacks. Jeff used to own a W140 with ASR and he looked at me in shock when I told him the Mercedes made it up. Also Blizzaks rule in my book.

 

[Gatorblue92]

I’ve owned 3 034 cars and 2 (both 93 models) had ASR but my current 95 doesn’t and I don’t miss it. My prior cars were dally driven in all kinds of weather but my current is parked in the winter since it’s rust free. In my situation it’s nice to not have to worry about it but it was definitely a good feature on my previous cars.

I definitely bought my current car on condition and not options.

 

[TerryA]

I love the ASR feature on my 500E. In SoCal
not much chance to use it but earlier in my ownership I drove in the rain a few times. In SoCal when it first rains the roads are slick with oil and are very slippery. With the ASR I never ever had a problem. I tested it a few times by flooring it and all it did was take off with no fanfare.

I wouldn’t leave home without it.