Hello people. I am currently looking for purchasing advice on a Merc I found for sale in my country (Argentina, South America), and hence resort to MB forums for oppinions (after having read several posts previously).



Here´s the thing. I found a '92 W124 260E Sportline for sale (300E 2.6 for the US market, M103 engine) with manual transmission (717.433) and Alpaca grey leather seats in pretty rough shape (234,000kms). As I couldn’t find any similar specimen (not even on internet images), I think this one could be a rare combination (260E w/ Sportline package and M/T), so I would like to hear your opinion about the vehicle.

The other day I went to personally see the car. Details are as follows:



Front fenders and hood have intense sunburns that de-coloured the paint [see pictures], as well as one of the rear quarter panels (although strangely not in the roof) and paint cracking and falling off on the rocker panel on one side, that together with small chips on other parts of the car (including door edges) underly a whiteish basecoat, making me think the car was repainted and has some body filler.

Both front fenders and hood have fading paint/severe discoloration (same with top quarter panels, not that much), but strangely enough not the same with the roof and trunk lid. Paint is slightly chipped, underlying a whiteish base in some spots (possibly body filler, although I am unaware if W124 use a white base and/or clearcoat), and elsewhere some rust where there is a chunk of paint missing. One rocker has paint falling off [see pictures] for whatever reason I don’t know. Hood hinges are slightly tweaked so the hood itself doesn’t close properly, and radiator support is barely bent, which, together with fading paint on the front makes me think the car was involved in an accident and these three panels were badly repainted. (Also missing fan shroud, and the date of manufacturing of the expansion tank is ’97 while the car is ’92, but frame rails don’t appear to be bent and original factory stickers are still in place).



Onto the rest:

-Grille is cracked, one headlight has a crack on the glass, sunroof is inoperative, same as the controls on the driver power seat and one of the rear windows, has driver seat torn on a couple of sewings and left bolster.

-Squeaking noise coming from the rear but as the car seems to had lack care for most of its life, it could possibly be differential, wheel bearings or brakes (state inspection sheet highlighted some issues with the effectiveness of the braking system and whole suspension), I’m afraid fixing this isn’t cheap at all.

-A/C doesn't work (or "it needs a recharge"), although the owner told me the system engages fail safe mode when it runs out of gas (I doubt it works)

-Car is running now on a Ford carburetor (because the owner installed CNG), although he still has the original Jetronic injection system stored.

-Headliner is not peeling off and the dashboard appears to have no cracks

-Shift **** is missing

-Oil pan is wet

-No severe visual rust on body (only superficial)

-Wiring harness has some patches, but I am not sure if this specific vehicle is affected with the MB wiring harness loom.



Should I give this car a try or is it better to stay away from? If it were a regular 300E A/T in such conditions I wouldn’t even consider the purchase, still it appears to be a more “rare” version that might (just MIGHT) be worth saving. What are your thoughts? Planning on doing part of the work myself. W124s here are not so common to find as they are in Europe or in the US, so the idea would be to have a car like this one as a project, hopefully not that expensive as I am planning to do some work myself if its really worth the effort. A "rare" version of the vehicle is, at least for me, more valuable (perhaps not in economic terms but I feel it is more special).

I am very aware there are many many w124s in far more better condition at a fair price, though I couldn't find any other odd yet interesting spec throuought the last two years I've been simply browsing for old Mercs. So, if it can ultimately be parted out and recoup the money (if it's not worth fixing), I may give it a try.


Thanks in advance!



-Model: 260E MY 1992 (124 542 27 68)

-Engine: 103.940 (E26), Gearbox: 717.433 06 009896

-Alpaca grey Sportline leather seats (078a, two individual rear seats)

-Paintcode: 199 (Black Pearl Metallic)

-VIN: WDB1240261B649683



Pictures described are in the following link (as the site doesn´t support heavier files). Hopefully you can see them:

https://imgur.com/a/Dfabxar