The most produced and arguably the most legendary Mercedes-Benz Cars of all time are W123 proto-E-Classwith nearly three million units produced during the 1976-1986 production and many examples achieved breathtaking odometer. Naturally, W123 can be purchased in wagon form, and these long bangs are worshiped by a cult of Stuttgart fans. How can Daimler-Benz do it? that act? By building sleeker, quieter, safer, and generally more advanced E-Classof course: W124. As the first Mercedes-Benz to be officially called the E-Class (long after its introduction in 1985), the W124 remained in production until 1997. Wagon versions were still sought after for more than one quarter century later and so on hard to find in car graveyardbut I managed to locate this used up example with just over 225,000 miles in the yard of the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 1989, Americans could buy the W124 in sedan, coupe, and wagon form, all of which used a 3.0-liter inline-six engine. This car has an MSRP of $48,210 (about $114,455 in 2022), or about three times that a new Oldsmobile custom cruiser.
Mercedes-Benz shoppers elsewhere have a wide variety of engines to choose from in their ’89 W124 wagons (including four- and four-wheel drive). diesel), but Americans just have this: M103 3 liters powered by gasoline and its respectable 177 horses.
Americans can get their W124 with five-speed manual for the first few model years, but by 1989, the automatic was a must-have here. I was so excited when I found it a discarded W124 coupe with three pedals once backbut it turned out to be imports from the European market.
Cars in coastal California tend to rust from the top, as the harsh sun eats away at the paintwork and then wet winters and foggy mornings keep the areas around the trim points moist. wet. If the parking lot is near the sea, some Corrosion in real horror show can happen. I think this car has spent most of its life parked pretty close to the Pacific Ocean.
The interior of this car still looks good, if you ignore the damage caused by junk shoppers. I would guess that the rusted body along with some expensive mechanical failure caused it to suffer this fate.
You can still buy a new E-Class wagon todayBut the clock is ticking.
