Faults:

Leaking injector gaskets repaired at 310000 (garage).

Rear shock absorbers replaced at 264000 (DIY).

New glow plugs needed at 270000 (DIY).

General Comments:

I bought the car after it was hardly used for about 9 years. The few problems I had with the car were probably caused by this too long sleep.

I almost drove 50.000 km in one year and it never let me down or even gave the impression it would ever do so. The reliability is excellent, it's comfortable, it's very economic (1:18) and it uses less than one liter of engine oil in 10.000 km. The only occasion I had to bring it to a garage was last month, when the injector gaskets began to leak. The annual safety inspection and smoke test were passed with ease.

It is incredible, but it doesn't feel like a 27-year old car at all. It still feels and drives like it is brand new. No noises, trembles, leakages, worn materials, smoke or smells. The bodywork feels like it's made of massive concrete, the doors click into the locks as if the car just left the factory, the gearbox feels like an electric switch, the clutch and brakes are soft as silk. It has never heard of bad roads or crosswinds.

An incredible quality car, and nowadays it's still available for little money. If you find a good one, do it. You won't regret it.

Faults:

Front wheel bearings had to be replaced, rear brake calipers + brake discs left and right. All the reaction bars at the rear had to be replaced, stabilizer bar at front axle had to be replaced, And tomorrow I'm gonna replace the rear wheel bearings.

Oh, I forgot to mention the play in the steering, that will be fixed next month.

General Comments:

The previous owner did not take good care of this car, resulting in a lot of maintenance costs for me. Despite this, I still love the car. It gives you a feeling of royalty when you're driving it. And you can notice the decent build quality in every part.

Faults:

Although there's a distinctive rattle coming from one of the front wheels that's probably going to cost a few euros to fix, I finally own a W124 combi. I've wanted it for 20 years, but it was of course out of reach, as I just started working at the age of 18 in 1988.

Now I've bought a very well maintained 200TE from a man who's owned her for 11 years. It's been living under a cover in the garage for most of its time with him. So, the car looks like new.

As I said earlier, I do have a soft spot for the W124 combi, and I don't really care about the money I'll have to spend maintaining it. Within reason of course, which is why I tried to buy the best one available.

But as I'm driving around with the grin on my face, I feel very rich, driving this incredibly quality car on the cheap! This car was probably the best balance between modern engineering and old fashioned quality building the world has ever seen.

Faults:

Automatic antenna broke down.

Front springs broken.

Tires, brakes, exhaust, interior lights, usual wear and tear.

General Comments:

Great cruiser, but crap performance in mountains with 1,3 tons and 75 diesel horsepower coming from only 4 cylinders.

Has small turning circle for such a big car.

Extremely reliable, very comfortable, does 1 liter diesel in 14 kms in winter, 1 in 16 to 17kms in summer.

Very acceptable running costs, as long as you stay away from the official dealerships.

Karo interior is cool in summer, hot in winter.

No aircon, but the sunroof makes up for this in summer.

No electric windows, turning them keeps you fit instead.

Big lump of car, and will take you anywhere, also you can have kids in the meantime and pass the Merc on to them, it will keep running for a very long time.

Beats almost anything when it comes to value for money second hand. Great time machine that just keeps going forever.