Faults:

Exhaust Rusted through - In Finland an exhaust replacement every 5ish years is pretty normal.

Door Return mechanism broke - This happened on two doors, cheap to replace. Trying to get the side panel off to replace it was pretty challenging. Like trying to open a can of tuna without a can opener.

Accent Piece on the door fell off. New mounting plugs from Mercedes dealer cost about a tenner (10€) and was remounted in the parking lot of the dealership.

Front Speakers crackling. Bought some new kenwoods from local car audio place.

Front right spring snapped - this cost about 100€ to replace at the local garage.

Wind screen wiper jammed up - I took it to local garage fearing the motor/gearing had serious issues, they greased it up and was good as new again!

General Comments:

As you can tell from the list of things that have gone wrong with this car you can tell that I'm highly satisfied with it!

My dad bought this car in 1998 and he gave it to me on the condition that I don't sell it. We imported the car from Germany to London and since then we made a move to Finland a couple of years ago.

Very little has gone wrong with the car through our ownership of it, and the things that did go wrong were very simple and cheap to fix.

This is the last in a line of "money no object" over engineered cars from Mercedes. It seems like after the W124 line the engineers had their hands tied behind their backs.

I have a pretty standard version of the car, I wish it had some more mod cons.

I would recommended this car to anyone who wants a hassle free driving experience with very little maintenance!

Fuel Economy could be improved, but I think a lot of that has to do with my lead foot :-P.

Faults:

Diode pack in the alternator shorted, leading to a discharged battery, this was sorted for 60 pounds. Instrument lights not working, sorted by turning the odometer reset button! Does not mention this in the owners handbook, so if your instrument illumination is not working give it a go. It is the small black knob on the left of the speedometer, just turn it.

Exhaust failed, 400 pounds for a complete new one.

Slight clunk from the transmission, caused wear in the prop-shaft coupling.

Not bad considering this car is nearly twenty years old, and is driven hard.

General Comments:

This car has to be, in my eyes and in the eyes of many others, one of the best cars ever made.

The reliability and durability of the w124 series is testament to the design and quality manufacture of Mercedes Benz vehicles. There will never another range of cars as complete and as satisfying to own as these. That includes more modern Mercs, which by comparison, just aren't the same.

Handling is fantastic for a car of this size and weight, although the front dampers do wear causing an increase in roll, and a vagueness under braking.

The seats are supportive, plenty head and leg room. A very good heating and ventilation system, nice and warm in the winter.

Steering does lack some feel, but then all modern cars do anyway.

Acceleration is fantastic, but can also cruise along, and in near silence.

You can pick them up so cheaply, that it really isn't worth buying any other car.