Team-BHP - Mercedes for 4-5 lakhs.

Guys I want to buy a mercedes for keeps and want to know the following :-
1. Is it possible to buy one that is,
a. easy to maintain.
b. diesel and frugal (11kmpl should be ok.)
c. reasonably modern as far as features and comfort levels are concerned.
2. If the answer is yes, then,
a. Which model would it be?
b. How many miles it might have or that can be considered?
c. How much would it cost?
d. How much time would it take to find one?

I am in no hurry to buy one right now and am ready to wait but only if what I want is reasonable and possible.

More important than buying, it is the maintenance cost you should be worried of.
Mercedes dealerships are costly like sky. You'll have to either find a good merc expert mechanic or a garage which doesn't charge you by the clock! Spares can be bought for cheap prices from Dubai or east asian countries. Official spare parts are very very expensive if bought over the counter in our country.

Our W124 used to come with a minimum 20k bill everytime it visited the service centre. W210 raised the bar to 30k plus! :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderernomad (Post 1101646)

a. Which model would it be?
W124 E250D

b. How many miles it might have or that can be considered?
Look at cars that have done 60,000-80,000 Km. For W124s, this is peanuts as the engines will last much much longer than that.

c. How much would it cost?
5.5 to 7 Lakhs, depending on the condition and your location. Petrol W124s will cost you around 4.5-5 lakhs. I have seen W124 E220 cars for as low as 3 lakhs also but they'll end up costing a lot more once you are done with fixing everything that's wrong with them.

d. How much time would it take to find one?
I've been searching for the last 1 month but haven't found an absolutely mint condition car. But I'm in no hurry, I'll look around for as long as it takes. Look up New Cars, Used Cars, Buy Cars, Sell Cars, New Car Prices, Used Car Prices - CarWale.com .

Other points to consider-
1. A routine service will cost you 15,000-20,000 bucks
2. Parts are expensive at authorized service centers but can be sourced from other places at lesser costs
3. Diesels will give you an average of 10-11 kmpl, petrol W124s will give you about 7 kmpl.
4. These cars, even though they are 10-11 year old are pretty modern (relatively speaking), you get ABS, airbags, very refined and bullet proof engines...

The service estimates seem to be scary. 20K bill for service might well require me to draw my Provident Fund every time I need to get it serviced. Time is what I have aplenty as I am in no hurry. I am looking at a broad horizon of upto 12 months to find something nice.
PS>@ Zak, hope you get well soon. Should have gone easy on milk while you were in Delhi and should have taken the right spirits to keep the mosquitos at bay, lol.

15-20,000 bucks is just for a routine service. A suspension overhaul will set you back by 80-100,000 bucks, minor accident repairs will cost a bomb, fuel pump replacement will be approx. 30,000 bucks and so on.

If you find just the routine service costs exorbitant, my advice would be to drop the idea of a merc as unexpected costs will surely crop up and that might make a serious dent in your budget/ savings.

A W124 will surely be unlike any other car as far as ownership experience goes but it won't be cheap if you intend to maintain it well. Before I started looking out for a used W124, I figured this out and have set aside a budget of 100,000 Rs every year to take care of routine maintenance (2 services) and unexpected expenses.

If you could specify your requirements, maybe tbhians can suggest alternatives which will be within your comfort levels.

@Astle, requirements wise I already have what I need. A scorpio for long drives and hills and an Indigo Marina for regular highway commutes and city driving. Next year I plan to send one of the vehicles to my Dad and was thinking about a replacement. If I sent the Marina then I was thinking about the W124. If the scorpio goes then I might think about a Scorpio Weekend or a Bolero Commando concept. But 1,00,000 peryear for a W124 sounds steep. Are you sure?

Oh, I didn't mean that it will take 100,000 bucks every year, I meant I have allocated that amount per annum so that if unexpected expenses crop up, I'll be ready. 2 services will cost approx. 40,000 bucks, the remaining 60,000 is what I have kept as a buffer, hope that clears my point. I might not need to spend that amount if I find a mint condition W124 and if I don't have any accidents.

Sure thing. I'll first exhaust all the W124s in mumbai since I'm in Goa and it's easier for me to get one from mumbai. If I can't find anything, I'll try in Delhi.
From what I know, Delhi has a lot more W124s as compared to Mumbai but these are generally more abused.

Incase you want to check out some cars in Delhi, you can start here-
Used Cars - Search used cars available for sale in India - CarWale.com

BTW, I'm specifically looking for black or azurite blue W124s, so incase you do find mint condition mercs in those 2 colors, do let me know.

Our W124 definitely gulped down a lac every year. It was all managed as a company guest car and we used to calculate it as part of the government taxes which gave some solace in mind.
But whatever the expense, the 124 experience is something to live for. No car has this special feeling. Even the later Mercs lack that. So if one can afford/find some way to maintain it cheaper, then it's always worth taking the 124 route.
Even the fully imported versions which were sold in India by Tata is also worth looking. If maintained well, then these would be a better option. Specific imports like the E300 petrol models will have more luxury features and a bit more thirsty but amazing engines.

@wandererNomad, Milk supply (u know how to spell horlicks) was too good to avoid in dilli. And the right spirits always keep running away the moment they see my beard. ;)