CLASSIC CARS

Mercedes-Benz W124: An Undervalued Classic

This 1993 300CE Cabriolet is one of the rarer W124 models produced, with global production amounting to about 36,000 copies. About half were 4 cylinder and half used a straight 6. Less than 500 came to Canada from 1992-1995. This car is being auctioned on Bring-A-Trailer, auction ending Sunday March 5, 2023.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1993-mercedes-benz-300ce-cabriolet-29/

This 1993 300CE Cabriolet has benefitted from a cost-no-object refurbishment from a European-trained master MB Tech which included over $13,000 in parts and over 100 hours of labour. It is unquestionably one of the best Mercedes W124s on the market today. Auction ends Sunday March 5, 2023.

I started in the car business in the year 2001 with Hyatt Mercedes-Benz in downtown Calgary. At that time they still serviced many 80's and 90's Mercedes including the W124 E Class, R107 SL roadsters and the W126 S Class. I was amazed at the condition of the cars - many looked almost new despite being over 20 years old. Many had very high mileages well into the 200,000 and 300,000 kilometer range.

When a nice looking 560 SEL came in on trade I bought it; it had 250,000km on it but with perfect compression and didn't use a drop of oil. It became the first of ten Bruno Sacco-designed Mercedes that have been daily (or weekly) drivers since. An 80,000km one owner E320 Cabriolet, similar to the car above, came in on trade and I convinced my mother to buy it - it seemed like the perfect car for her. And it was - she enjoyed it for 10 years.

For the S Class I have had the 420 and 560 sedans and a gorgeous white on red 560 Coupe, bought from Heinz Oldenthal in Banff. I bought a red 560SL Roadster on eBay and had it imported - it was a textbook example of deferred maintenance and it cost me dearly. I have had the most E Class variants though: all came from good homes and gave good service - A 300TE 4-Matic wagon, 300CE Coupe, 300E Sportline sedan and a 500E.

My daily driver is now an Ionic 5 electric car, but I still have our 1989 420 SEL. I bought it ten years ago when my wife and I were expecting our first child, and I wanted the safest car with the most room in the back. I also liked the idea of my son driving around in a limo! I bought the best one I could find, from Dean Lumbach in New Jersey, and had it imported. It had only 30,000miles and looked new. It still only has 70,000miles on it, but I don't use it much anymore. I don't seem to be able to sell it though - it still gives me a lot of pleasure to cruise around in it once in a while.

What struck me in 2001, and still carries with me to this day, is the quality of the cars. The way the doors close. The way the bonnet is double hinged. The two firewalls that contain all the electrical equipment. The way all the wiring and hoses are neatly organized and tied down. The obvious 'built-to-last' design of all of the parts.

The marketing line, "Engineered Like No Other Car In The World" really was true. This engineering didn't come without a high price tag: An 300CE Cabriolet was $USD76,000 in 1993 - a sum that would have bought you a nice house in many cities. Inflation would have more than doubled that sum today. A Porsche 911 started at $42,000 by comparison. You could have bought a fleet of Honda Civics ($12,000) for the price of the 300CE.

And you got what you paid for. In that era Mercedes-Benz were the safest, most advanced, most reliable and most durable cars money could buy. They had the highest resale value of any car, and the highest owner loyalty.

Becuase they were made in significant quantities - more than 2.5M were made from 1984 to 1995 - the cars remain remarkably affordable. The low production variants such as the 500E/E500 (about 10,000 copies) and the Cabriolets (about 36,000 copies) are starting to increase in value, and have excellent long term potential. Importantly, they are reliable if maintained properly and extremely practical. The design is timeless.