If Mercedes-Benz objectively still has quite a lot of brand equity in 2025, it’s certainly not thanks to the cars they’ve been making over the past quarter century. The story of how Mercedes de-contented their offerings and started cutting corners to save money here and there is well-documented, and we are now feeling the full effects of this policy. Mercedes-Benz have long lost their mojo. But when they still had it, it was something to behold.
When this W124 came off the line in the mid-‘90s, top brass at DaimlerChrysler had already started the nefarious turn towards mediocrity, but the consequences of the decisions that had been taken had not yet become evident. The W124, just like most of the M-B range, maintained their momentum, set back in the ‘80s towards utter perfection. But the rot was not far behind and would permeate pretty much the whole range by the turn of the Millennium.
Nothing showed that more clearly than the A-Class (W168, 1997-2004, top left), the marque’s first smallish FWD car. It was useless, ugly and it handled like a wet bar of soap. This was immediately called out when the car was tested too, much to M-B’s irritation. The replacement for the W124, the W210 (1995-2003, bottom right), was (to me) rather handsome, but it soon developed a nasty reputation for questionable build quality and poor rust protection. The new S-Class (W220, 1999-2005, top right) also garnered a lot of criticism for its many gremlins, especially those that plagued the air suspension. It seems only the C-Class (W203, 2000-07, bottom left) scraped by with its reputation pretty much unchanged. But then those were always built to a price.
The W124 was not built to a price. It was built to a spec, and that spec was to be as solid and reliable as possible. It’s as if Mercedes took the W123, which was already iron-clad and near bullet-proof, and added even more quality, as well as better rustproofing. Consequently, the W124 is still a daily sight in Tokyo, and from what I have seen recently, it’s still very common in Europe as well, for a 30-40 year old car.
At the regular Sunday morning Meiji Jingu Gaien meet-ups, there are routinely more than a half dozen W124s. Only Porsche 911s and Caterhams come in swarms like this. Aside from this specific time and place, W124s are very commonly seen in traffic here. The majority are four-doors, but the wagon is a close second, well ahead of the two-door variants. This is logical, given that 2.2 million saloons were made, versus 333k wagons. Two-door cars are much rarer (140k units for the coupé and only 34k drop-tops).
Being that there are so many to choose from, let’s divert our attention from the two-tone green late model 320 that headlines this post and take a quick look at this slightly older (1989-93) 280 TE, because honestly, it was just too nice to pass up.
The W124 saloon hit the dealerships in December 1984; the wagon (internally known as the S124 and initially badged as T (for Transport)) was the first body variant to join the range, entering the scene at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1985. Depending on markets, the wagon was offered with anything from a 2-litre 4-cyl. (both petrol and Diesel, the latter giving out a mere 55hp) to the 3-litre petrol or turbo-Diesel 6-cyl., as seen on the saloons. Aside from the V8s, the only engine not used in wagons was the 2.6, but it was replaced by the new DOHC 2.8 for MY 1992 – and was now available with the long-roof. A new 3.2 litre engine became the top dog of the 6-cyl. range.
There was virtually nothing to really compete with the W124 wagon, really. In Japan, a 6-cyl. wagon cost over ¥9m in the early ‘90s, i.e. three times the price of a fully-optioned Crown wagon and twice the price of the Buick “Regal” wagon that was then so popular. Even a Toyota Century retailed for a couple million less.
Yet the appetite for these was substantial. And when a Japanese person drops that amount of coin on a car, the tiller had better be on the wrong side. That’s how you know it’s a luxury import. Except that some people (a small minority, back then) obviously thought that was a little stupid, so a few W124s, like this 280, were ordered in RHD, but a majority were still imported with the steering on the left.
And we’re back to the 320 to illustrate this very point. This is the top-of-the-line wagon, with a silky-smooth 220hp engine and all the trimmings one could wish for, leather included. It’s a little odd that both the W124s included here have this upholstery, which is famously less then popular in Japan. Guess the exceptions prove the rule.
The exception is also evident in this example’s superb green hue. Most W124 wagons came out dark gray or silver, as per the fashion of the times, but this one miraculously escaped that sad fate. Incidentally, paint is the lone bit of cost-cutting that affected the W124: in 1993, Mercedes switched to water-based paints. The issue was that the paint baths would get contaminated with bacteria, which harmed the rustproofing.
So some late model W124s like this one, depending on whether the paint was contaminated or not, can rust quicker than others. Aside from that, these were as rock-solid as a mid-‘90s car could be.
Saloon production ended in Germany mid-1995, though some were made in India until 1998; the last wagons came off the assembly line in Bremen in June 1996, followed by the Karmann-built cabriolets a year later. The stage was now set for Mercedes to give up making top-notch cars, engineered to be the best. It’s said that the major dip in quality everyone witnessed in the late ‘90s was partially reversed by the 2010s, but nowadays, the three-pointed star is extremely low in reliability rankings. Three decades of decadence will do that.
Related posts:
CC Capsule: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 300 TE – Still A Classy Alternative, by Brendan Saur
CC Outtake: 1994 Mercedes-Benz E300 Turbodiesel Cargo Van – Formerly Known As Kombi, by Johannes Dutch
” It seems only the C-Class (W203, 2000-07, bottom left) scraped by with its reputation pretty much unchanged.”
Unfortunately, I have to disagree. The W203 is considered a poor roster, at least in its home country. Not much better than the W210. Keep away !
Great color for the feature car. I would put it in my garage in a heartbeat.
All the station wagons of the 124 series were not built in Stuttgart, but at the Bremen plant in northern Germany.
Agree, nearly impossible today to find a C-class of mentioned generation in countries with winterclimate without a substantial amount of rust.
Drove these alot as rental cars and they felt cheapish.
Wow! Beautiful Color indeed.
Very nice.
Many sold here were of the 4Matic variety, with all wheel drive, which seems to have a bit of a checkered reputation. That being said, my own W124 (1992 400E) was one of my favorite cars that I have owned and I would happily have a wagon version. They (any W124) still look good today without looking nearly as dated as the W123 generation and perhaps even less dated than its successor, the W210, somehow.
I spent some time recently looking at an end of life 1991 300TE with about 150,000 miles in the junkyard as well as a 302,000 mile 1993 400E amd the interiors of both had held up very similarly and to a degree that the average modern car with under 60,000 miles would struggle to match. In other words, NOTHING inside to indicate anywhere near their respective mileages. Simply superb vehicles, perhaps the best overall cars of the 1980s and 1990s, and a very rare example of a vehicle that it is not overly difficult to find an example of in similar condition to what roams around Tokyo in contrast to most other cars.
I want a 300TE 4matic so badly. I once drove over two-hundred miles (one way) to look at one. Of course, it was a basket case; it did run and drive pretty well considering, but was obviously a car that had never seen maintenance beyond that required to keep it running. I doubt the (surprisingly sophisticated… and complicated) 4matic system had functioned in years. It could have given it to me, and it would have been a losing proposition just to make it fully functional. What I’ve gathered from owners on webforums is that maintaining and repairing the 4matic system isn’t impossible or even necessarily impractical, but it does take significant skill and knowledge. It’s hard enough finding a mechanic for a plain 300E, so it can be quite a labor of love. I think most of them are gone now – even people willing to spend the money couldn’t necessarily keep them going. I’m not likely to come across one here in MT, but even a project will be tempting if I do.
As for the interiors, you’re noticing the result of the long-gone “cost is no object” approach Mercedes took. The best leather in the world will eventually crack, fade, and fail, but properly cared for, we’re talking about a 50-year timeframe, and the feel is so much better than most of what’s out there these days. Big-three grade leather feels like cheap vinyl compared to the leather in my W126s, and even the American and Japanese luxury brands’ leather doesn’t come close. About the only thing to compare it to these days is in the likes of Rolls Royce. And with Mercedes, it went out with the W124: even with the top-line S-class, there was a noticeable de-contenting for the ’96 or ’97 model years. You can see the difference, and while the later W140s eliminated the many teething issues of that chassis, it’s a “pick you poison” proposition. The later W140s just feel cheaper, and degrades that much worse if not garaged and immaculately cared for.
We keep hearing anecdotes about the decontenting of the W140 and after owning a 94 S420, 96 S320 and 97 S320 over the past three years, I can’t really say the material quality is significantly different among the three. They all felt extremely solid and meticulously assembled. Yes, the leather seatback had additional seams and the door panels lost the folding armest but then we gained an improved wiring harness, more reliable climate control system, remote door locks and better headlights.
The definition of “fine luxury car” changed with the introduction of Acura and Lexus (and I’ll begrudgingly include Infiniti). Prior to that, Mercedes pretty much stood alone in the “luxurious but attainable” class, so they had the privilege to define that class however they wanted. Along came the Japanese Luxury 3, and Mercedes management obviously felt they had no choice but to compete on price.
(Obviously, I wrote that from a US perspective, but the repercussions were worldwide.)
I had the good fortune to own two W124 Mercedes-Benz, a 1994 E320 Sedan (in the same color as the feature wagon: 888 Beryl) and a 1995 E320 Coupe in dunkelblau. I later had a 2007 C280 (W203). While the C280 was a good car and gave me 135,000 miles of trouble-free service, it was quite evident it was built to a price instead of to a specification as were the W124s. There were certain elements of the C280 interior that spoke more to Nissan or even (gack!) GM level quality than to an automobile from Stuttgart.
My last Mercedes-Benz was a 2016 SLC350. It was lots of fun to drive if there had been more appropriate places to drive it and it was difficult to get into and out of and was also showing signs of oil leaking from the camshaft solenoids. I had that same problem on a 2013 E350 and the repair cost was staggering so the SLC350 was traded on a Lexus.
This is the most favorite of my favorite vehicles. I believe there are few equipped with manual transmission, that will be better? For me, W124 is the peak of Mercedes sedan even W126 S class is better built. Close to 40 years since it was first introduced, it doesn’t look dated. If I lived in California, I would get one a daily driving vehicle.
A friend in MD had a new 4-Matic wagon, a ’92? and had a lot of problems with it, but don’t recall the specifics.
Typical 4Matic problems include:
Dirty or defective ABS sensors. These can cause the 4Matic warning light to illuminate on dry roads.
Steering angle sensor. This sensor is part of the 4Matic system and can fail after years. Repair is very expensive.
Special chassis components. All-wheel drive requires special chassis components, which are significantly more expensive due to the lower production volumes and can lead to high costs if they fail.
Lack of workshop knowledge. Many workshops are not sufficiently familiar with the 4Matic system, which can lead to trial-and-error troubleshooting.
The W220 is made me comment in the shift of the definition of “luxury”. In the old days a basic but beautifully made car that lasted forever like a Mercedes W123 or a Rover P5. The new was an expensive car laden with gadgetry that had the reliability of Series II XJ6.
The W124 may have $50,000 in 1987 for a Cologne taxi cab, but you could get 200,000 miles for your money. Mercedes’ 4-Matic with the driveshafts passing through the coil springs always seemed like an overly complicated solution compared to Audi. It probably helped that Audi started with a longitudinal FWD setup so the complicated front drivetrain was already there.
I own a 2013 E350 W212 (owned since new) with a tick over 100k miles now. It looks new inside and out, so MB was still making good cars using quality materials and standards 12 years ago… at least in my experience.
I love this car, and really want a 300TE 4matic. Arguably, the W140 was the last “all or nothing” Mercedes, but unfortunately, they stretched themselves too far to incorporate features and enhancements that required probably twice the electronics of the W126 predecessor. And they also missed the mark style-wise. The W124 does a better job with the motif that the W140 followed – I think stretching that style resulted in a car that looked a bit bloated, but also too slab-sided and a bit anonymous. To my mind, the W123 is going to be the more desirable as a true classic, although the W124 is a big step up in NVH, power, an handling. The W123 is perfectly capable and comfortable, a bit simpler, and more of a tank, so it depends on what you want. Some will find that look a bit dated, and that’s fine. I think the W126 was the high water mark in terms of style: it left behind the 70s-style bumpers, window sills, and other dated elements, while keeping that classic shape and full grill. The W124 was the last great Mercedes and definitely marked the end of the era: the changes were already coming by the 90s, so the W124 was kind of a vestige.
I’ve been following a classic Mercedes mechanic by the name of Pierre Hedary, and he has some great rants about Mercedes’ quality. Not all newer Mercedes are junk, but they became just another car. If you went to VW, or Honda, or even GM and said “make me a new Mercedes,” you wouldn’t get anything much different than what Mercedes is building today. Everything is getting more alike these days – there’s just not much distinction between manufacturers building a car targeting on particular segment and price point – so it’s not entirely Mercedes fault. But no manufacturer, now or then, could have built a car like a classic Mercedes. The closest any came was Ford, with the Continental Mark II, and they quickly gave up on it. I’m not sure what would have happened if they’d persevered; maybe that kind of build was just a bridge too far for an American manufacturer.
That’s too bad, because while old-school Mercedes were ungodly expensive in their day, there was actual value there. Take an ’80 300D and maintain it properly, and it could still be running on it’s original engine and transmission with 500K miles; meanwhile, a big three car maintained to the same level would probably have seen every major component replaced multiple times over. Not that it’s idiotic to try to keep such a domestic car going; I’d guess the costs would be similar, but you have to pay up front for the Mercedes. Of course, the big deal-breaker (potentially) is if you live in the rust belt and have to drive in the winter – you can understand the disposable mentality a little more. A better answer to car-destroying road salt is proper winter tires and better drivers, but sadly, most people would throw a fit over having to buy them and swap every fall/spring while blissfully ignoring the amount of money going towards destroying their cars. And I’m sure the people building the cars have no problem with that either…
W124s are not without their issues. They suffered from biodegradable engine wiring looms. They are prone to blowing head gaskets. Reverse piston on the 4-speed auto gearbox can fail.
My ’94 E280 has suffered all 3 since I purchased (1 previous owner) with 111,000 ks in early 2009. I paid $10,000 and since then scheduled maintenance, the above mentioned, and general repairs have totalled over $30,000. Today it’s up to a relatively low 295,000ks, and it’s losing its clear coat. I keep driving it because I like the way it drives.