[Viraat13]

Originally Posted by vikramvicky1984

I have been frantically searching for a good E220 in mumbai for past 2 months. Have now found one in our classifieds 1.19l run asking price 4.85 lakhs. I will check it out over the weekend. Hope its a good one

4.85 is a bit on the high side. Look to pay around this much only if the car need no work or minimal amount of work. Of course prices in Mumbai and Delhi differ so I don't know if what I said is applicable to your city. (From what I know, prices south of Delhi are higher. Mumbai, Bangalore etc)

[Ravindra M]

Originally Posted by Viraat13

Updating a dead thread seems pretty pointless to me but I would just like to say that just last night my dear father closed a deal on a E220!
It's a 1996 model, 84K KMS, it's one of those that was sold by TATA which means no dashboard and an extra airbag (and well assembled by German hands?). It's a clean car with the past owners being polished MD's/GM's of respected companies. Just the kind of background I was looking for. I am the 3rd owner. I will post pics and give further details once the deal is completed and I take delivery of the car.
I have some nice plans for this stately looking car.

Hi Viraat13,
Eagerly waiting for pictures of your E220. Did you post them already on this forum somewhere else ?

[vikramvicky1984]

Originally Posted by Viraat13

4.85 is a bit on the high side. Look to pay around this much only if the car need no work or minimal amount of work. Of course prices in Mumbai and Delhi differ so I don't know if what I said is applicable to your city. (From what I know, prices south of Delhi are higher. Mumbai, Bangalore etc)

I agree the price is on a much higher side. But that could be negotiated later.

In the meanwhile I came across two more E220s in Mumbai with dealers yesterday, checked them out immediately
1st was a black colored 2 owners company registered car. Had membership stickers of some premium clubs of south bombay. 54k run ( highly suspected) Had 4 bridgestone tyres & a continental on steel wheels with plastic caps. revved fine. Exteriors okayish, few small dents here & there .interiors good for the age. Asking price 3L, will mostly come down to 2.5 (4 of my friends got cars together from this dealer, so discounts are very well expected). Will try to find out service history from auto hangar ( stickers on the car, was probably maintained with them for long). Dealer claims wiring is original which I think will eventually add to my costs.

2nd car: there was a shady looking used car dealership near my place. No board just cars left in the open. I used to see a SLK200(rooof open, covered with cloth) & Jaguar lying there. yesterday saw an white E220 there as well, so went to him. Quoted 3 lakhs, negotiable. Had an insane collection lying around Jag, SLK (ex gavaskar), LX470 (ex sohail khan) & few new generation E classes, said that he had many more such cars. Allowed me to rev all of them
Somehow I couldn't trust this guy with the condition of the car

I would be seeing atleast a couple more over the weekend.
In the meanwhile, suggestions & help from all of you is requested.

It is a big gamble for me, I am buying something for myself after 13 years (I am 26). Currently driving a '08 i10 which my younger brother had bought & a '02 victor, so you can understand . I was planning to buy a used cedia/baleno/ikon 1.6 but then thought, these can wait or could be borrowed from friends, E220 is dying out fast, now or never

@GTO: request you to provide contats at Autohangar for the check & any other suggestions
@the mod who recently bought the E220: please provide leads or suggestions

TIA
Vikram

[vikramvicky1984]

just came back after checking a black E220.
1st owner was a movie star, saw registration papers
2nd owner now, 72k run
black colour, had fancy horriblle neo alloys
4 bridgestone, spare goodyear tyres
Everything else stock, asking price 3.25.
Very silent engine, I couldn't make out it was idling while taking the wheel
suspension had little noise.
horn wasn't working

I liked the car but am a little afraid.
Have decided that won't buy without a full check (5k) at A.$.$.

suggestion please

[GTO]

Originally Posted by vikramvicky1984

Have now found one in our classifieds 1.19l run asking price 4.85 lakhs.

On the face of it, that's a ridiculously priced E220. Sure, if it requires ZERO work (and I mean, ZERO mechanical work), then its a different matter. But generally, when you are buying a 14 year old Mercedes Benz, plan on spending atleast 1.5 - 2 lakh rupees on various aesthetic & mechanical bits.

Ideally, you'd buy one for 3 lakhs (or less), spend another 1.5 - 2.0 lakhs completely refurbishing it and changing whatever parts are necessary, and then take her home. The wiring harness is a must-replace item and will cost you a minimum of 40 - 50K (if the existing owner hasn't already changed it).

That said, buy the cleanest car that you can find. No problem paying a premium (say, 20 - 25%) for a piece that's exceedingly well maintained. And a pre-purchase-inspection from Auto Hangar / any other Mercedes expert is MANDATORY.

Originally Posted by vikramvicky1984

1st was a black colored 2 owners company registered car. Had membership stickers of some premium clubs of south bombay. 54k run ( highly suspected)

Suspicious mileage, yet not impossible. With these old Mercs, odometer reading isn't as important as their condition & maintenance history.

[vikramvicky1984]

Originally Posted by GTO

On the face of it, that's a ridiculously priced E220. Sure, if it requires ZERO work (and I mean, ZERO mechanical work), then its a different matter. But generally, when you are buying a 14 year old Mercedes Benz, plan on spending atleast 1.5 - 2 lakh rupees on various aesthetic & mechanical bits.

Ideally, you'd buy one for 3 lakhs (or less), spend another 1.5 - 2.0 lakhs completely refurbishing it and changing whatever parts are necessary, and then take her home. The wiring harness is a must-replace item and will cost you a minimum of 40 - 50K (if the existing owner hasn't already changed it).

That said, buy the cleanest car that you can find. No problem paying a premium (say, 20 - 25%) for a piece that's exceedingly well maintained. And a pre-purchase-inspection from Auto Hangar / any other Mercedes expert is MANDATORY.



Suspicious mileage, yet not impossible. With these old Mercs, odometer reading isn't as important as their condition & maintenance history.

Thanks GTO
4.85 is indeed too high, prices as i have seen are around 3 lakhs only
I feel its not a bad idea to see the car once, I can negotiate for the price
if its good

I have already kept the 54k car out of my shortlist.
There is actually a funny thing about that dealer. He regularly sends an excel sheet of the cars he has in stock. For an innova, the kms run coloumn once read "to be reduced" i can mail the excel if anyone wants it

Meanwhile raja from pune has helped me locate a mumbai registered car in Pune. Thanks a lot. again asking price 4.5 lakhs, owner claims its mint condition. has an high end 80k worth music system. Owner is into automobile business himself. well known & recommended for some work on teambhp as well ( google is great)

so my current shortlist is
1. the ex bollywood car i saw today 3.25L
2. 4.85L one in our classifields
3. Another 2nd owner car in dadar parsi colony 3.8L
4. raja's friends car in pune 4.5L

@GTO: please provide Autohangar contacts you mentioned earlier
special thanks to srewdriva for the PM

Thanks a lot fellow members

[Viraat13]

Originally Posted by Ravindra M

Hi Viraat13,
Eagerly waiting for pictures of your E220. Did you post them already on this forum somewhere else ?

I haven't posted any pictures on any thread because I don't know which thread to post it to. Have a look at my garage if you want to see the pics.

If anyone wants to know what all work I got done on the car, please let me know. It was quite a bit of work. Spent over 2 lakhs on the car after purchasing it.

[Ravindra M]

Originally Posted by Viraat13

I haven't posted any pictures on any thread because I don't know which thread to post it to. Have a look at my garage if you want to see the pics.

If anyone wants to know what all work I got done on the car, please let me know. It was quite a bit of work. Spent over 2 lakhs on the car after purchasing it.

Hi Viraat13,
Had a look at your garage - the car is indeed in great shape. Congrats for such a good buy !!
I am also in search of a w124 in Bangalore for quite a long time.
Yes, I would be interested to know the works done on this car and the cost break-up. Could you please share the details.
Thanks, Ravindra

[Viraat13]

Originally Posted by Ravindra M

Hi Viraat13,
Had a look at your garage - the car is indeed in great shape. Congrats for such a good buy !!
I am also in search of a w124 in Bangalore for quite a long time.
Yes, I would be interested to know the works done on this car and the cost break-up. Could you please share the details.
Thanks, Ravindra

Thanks. The car was a decent buy. It wasn't exactly cared for lovingly, but it wasn't messed around with. So mostly all original parts etc etc.

I will post the details soon.

Mods - This is turning into a general discussion thread on the W124. May I request that it be left to carry on as there is no other thread where we can post such things. There are a few other threads, but those are started by people who are showcasing their W124's and may feel that their thread is being hijacked. Thanks.

[nandishpal]

i have been offered 2 cars in bangalore,
1 is the e220 direct import with auto trans, sun roof,alloy wheels & a very clean interior,it has 3 owners on it 7 has clocked 35k miles,
2 is the e 250 direct import with auto trans,sun roof,alloy wheels & a good wood interior from the factory,it is a single owner car & has clocked 75k miles,

both the cars feel fresh & have been pampered,best part is it is being sold by the owners,
my only question is,is the auto transmission desirable on the 124 let it be a 220 or 250,
please help me with the decision

[Screwdriva]

The Auto is a four speed, very tough and very smooth. I'd go with the Diesel if I were you.

See if the gear change is smooth and there are no jerks each time it shifts. Other signs to look for are excessive whining or a laggy throttle response (transmission slip)

Check the transmission oil quality before you buy anything. Also, ensure that the transmission oil filter has been changed.

[Viraat13]

Originally Posted by nandishpal

i have been offered 2 cars in bangalore,
1 is the e220 direct import with auto trans, sun roof,alloy wheels & a very clean interior,it has 3 owners on it 7 has clocked 35k miles,
please help me with the decision

I'd say go with the E220. Fewer miles clocked means that even if all the fluids weren't changed/haven't been changed, there is far less possible damage.
But 3 owners in 35K miles? Might have some expensive issue that crops up after a while of owning the car.

Regardless of which car you choose. Please do take the car to an authorised Mercedes Benz service center for a full evaluation. The repairs aren't exactly light on the pocket. Don't get me wrong, they're not too heavy either. They just let the pocket know that it has the keys to a Benz inside them. :-)

[nandishpal]

@viraat,screwdriva, i drove them both & both of them feel very sluggish,
the 124 fever is good but the engine power doesnt pull me too much towards it,
this might just be a car to drive in the city when i dont want to get my bigger car out & get worried about the small scratches on the bumpers,
if i had the extra dough i would have bought both,what should be the right price for these?

[Viraat13]

Originally Posted by nandishpal

@viraat,screwdriva, i drove them both & both of them feel very sluggish,
the 124 fever is good but the engine power doesnt pull me too much towards it,

That's very out of character for the E220. Mine sprints from 0 - 100 in 10 seconds flat. Just like every E220 should. E250D is slow, 16 seconds to the ton.

It could be various things. Low octane fuel, dirty injectors, poor engine oil, faulty mass airflow sensor/O2 sensor/idle control valve, choked air filter/fuel filter/injector basket. None of which cannot be solved by a full and proper service.

Like I said, full evaluation before any sort of exchange of money takes place. The evaluation can set you back by a maximum of 8000. And trust me, it's the best 8000 you'll spend on the car. It gives you an entire list of exactly what is wrong and what needs to be carried out. It's completely your choice if you want to get it done or not and if you want it done by the authorised service center or from outside.

Beware of the W124 fever. It started with 124 and now I'm 'diseased' by MB fever.

[nandishpal]

@ viraat,i have had a good experiece with my mercs,i have had the taste of it & can tell if the car is healthy or not by looking or cranking it,
authorised service centre can only get you scared by showing you the expenses & cannot help you take a decision on a good car,
i have had my share of goods & bads with them,
both the cars are healthy & have absolutely no problems,
the problem here is i am comparing them to my 280s & s320,they are much quicker then them,
that is where the problem is