When I can afford it, I will be in the market for a late W124, that’s for sure.
One good friend has a W124 - 260E, which he got second-hand from Germany, only 60k on the clock… He has driven it for 5 years. Unfortunately selling, as it’s very expensive in petrol in DK.
A guy told me that the best ones would be the old inline 6 cylinder engine models, I guess that it’s the 280E, the 300E, and perhaps the 320E.
[quote=“Mr He”]
A guy told me that the best ones would be the old inline 6 cylinder engine models, I guess that it’s the 280E, the 300E, and perhaps the 320E.[/quote]Yes, real ostfront equipment, far less complex than later models.
[quote=“Mr He”]When I can afford it, I will be in the market for a late W124, that’s for sure.
One good friend has a W124 - 260E, which he got second-hand from Germany, only 60k on the clock… He has driven it for 5 years. Unfortunately selling, as it’s very expensive in petrol in DK.
A guy told me that the best ones would be the old inline 6 cylinder engine models, I guess that it’s the 280E, the 300E, and perhaps the 320E.[/quote]
Aside from the very rare 1992-1993 500E and 1994 E500 (V8) I think the most desireable models in that range are the 1993 300E and 1994-1995 E320 Sedans and Coupes with the 24 Valve engine. Not sure if those were available in Taiwan, or how hard they are to find today. If a V8 is your fancy, there was a 400E for 1992-1993 and E420 in 1994-1995 which were produced in larger numbers than the 500E and E500, although I suspect availability in Taiwan would be very limited for any V8 model. 1994 was the final refresh of the body before they went to the bug-eyed W210 chassis.
I quite like the Coupe version, but I know those are very rare in Taiwan. To this day, with it’s classical lines and design, I think it’s one of the most beautiful coupes that Mercedes has ever made, including the more moden CLK variants.
Ben, I personally don’t think that Japanese cars are anything special. I like Japan a lot. Love traveling there and most things Japanese, but the cars are just so so to me, simply a solid car for the money. I much prefer German engineering and styling and I am willing to pay a little more to get it. German cars just seem more substantial and well built. More heavy duty suspension and all around quality. The fact that you like the older Mercedes over the newer ones seems strange to me. The new E classes and the C class are extremely attractive. I didn’t even like Mercedes until the mid to late 90’s.
I still think you are crazy about the electronics on the Benz and BMWs. Never heard of it, never had a problem with Mercedes or BMW.
My preference in cars is not based on any sort of reputation or what country it comes from. I can see past that, and judge each individual car or model for it’s merits and drawbacks. Just because one maker made something good, doesn’t mean they are all good. Just because I think one Acura is good, I don’t think they are all good. With a couple exceptions here and there, Acura’s lineup has been kind of blah from about 1996 until 2003. And my preference for older Mercedes falls under the same thinking. I might like some, but not others. As for the newer Mercedes, one of the main reasons I don’t like many of them was that I never warmed up to the “bug eye” front end.
As for the reliability, don’t take my word for it. Do a Google search on “mercedes reliability” and see what the top few results have to say. One of the results was an article I read a few months ago, which includes some admissions from Mercedes themselves.:
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1254812004
As a sidenote, as I stated earlier, my preference in German cars leans towards BMW and Audi. This is for one important reason: you can get a variety of those cars in manual-shift, something that Mercedes doesn’t offer in most of their models.
Apparently, the drivers at Car & Driver and Road & Track would disagree, and they are professionals, so their opinion is good enough for me. My own experience as an S2000 owner supports thier assessment too. And, before you say that they are biased, etc., these are the same people that can’t heap enough praise on the BMW 3-series, so I think they are pretty objective in general.
And, I agree, many Japanese cars are nothing more than solid cars for the money. But, there are some worth looking at if you don’t discriminate based on the country of origin. Keep an open mind, and don’t sell yourself short. 
[quote=“Ben”]I think the most desireable models in that range are the 1993 300E and 1994-1995 E320 Sedans and Coupes with the 24 Valve engine. Not sure if those were available in Taiwan, or how hard they are to find today.[/quote]I have seen a few, had a friend who owned one, but they are rare.
[quote=“Hobart”]I still think you are crazy about the electronics on the Benz and BMWs. Never heard of it, never had a problem with Mercedes or BMW.[/quote]BMW started having serious problems about the time of the E34. Too much complexity for the sake of it. We used to joke about the computer-controlled ashtray, but it’s not far off the truth. There are things wired with sensors and actuators which should have been left alone. The previous E30 was far more reliable, just because it was simpler. Benz then decided to follow suit with ever-increasing complexity, with similar results. You’d get a check engine light and find the most confusing array of sensors out of range that seemingly had nothing at all to do with the engine, like the ashtray overflow interlock combined with a low nodding-dog yaw rate sensor level had forced the ECU into limp mode. Much ado about nothing.
An 80’s Benz like a W126 is a stodgy car that’s well built and grindstone simple to diagnose/repair. Instead of spending money on unnecessary complication, they spent it on quality instead, with an extremely long service life in mind. A 90’s model is a stodgy, overly complex car that they have started cutting corners on in order to build in useless bling bling widgets at the expense of the underlying components. Once you get under all the plastic covers in the engine compartment, or put the car on the rack, you can tell the difference. The underside of an SLK is most unimpressive. They are building them for fashion victims and hood-rich who are going to be trading up (or having them repo’d) very quickly.
Some good discussion here, although I think we’re severely off topic now. 
The check engine light is among other things, one of the more common problems. My family has had them with our Mercedes, and I’ve heard it at least once from every one of my friends or co-workers who has owned a mid '90s or newer BMW that is more than 1-2 years old.
Another way you can really feel the difference between '80s-early '90s and the current crop. Just shut the door. The old had a nice resounding and solid “thunk”, like you just closed a bank vault. The new just doesn’t have that feel anymore (nor does any other car for that matter).
I didn’t realize how well made Germans cars are over Japanese cars until I compared a Mazda Miata to an Mercedes SLK 200K. Yes the SLK had a lot of bling and prestige, but it was the way it drove not just the way it looked. It just seemed like a much better car after test driving it. Maybe I should have tried an S2000, but they aren’t available here. As I said earlier Japanese cars are great for the money, but I would rather pay more and have a better car.
A few years later, I compared the Infinity FX35, RX330, Volvo XC90, Mercedes ML and BMX X5. The X5 seemed the tightest and most well built. The RX330 wasn’t stable on the curves and I didn’t like the design of the interior much, the Infinity was very plastic and cheap feeling. The Volvo XC90 was nice, but slow and it drove a little like a bus. Only the X5 handled well enough to zip around in traffic on the highways and had a really nice interior.
Wished the Japanese built better cars in terms of performance and handling, I would prefer them as they are much cheaper. Never had any problems or heard of anyone else with problems with Benz or BMWs, but then never heard of any problems with Lexus for that matter.
For your reading pleasure. 
One of the comparison test articles referenced earlier. Gotta love Google. Apparently, in the roadster class, someone thinks the Japanese cars are better and less money. High praise coming from the same guys that are often accused of favoring BMWs in any comparison test where a BMW is present.
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=6846
1st Place: Honda S2000
2nd Place: Nissan 350Z
3rd Place: Porsche Boxster
4th Place: BMW Z4
5th Place: Audi TT
Fairly accurate assessment for this class. The X5 is the sportscar of the bunch. The V8 models haul a$$. RX330 is more geared towards luxury, as all Lexus vehicles are. All the new Infiniti’s in general (not just the SUVs) I’ve seen so far have cheap plasticky interiors which is a shame, for they are otherwise fine cars.
[quote=“Ben”]http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=6846
1st Place: Honda S2000
2nd Place: Nissan 350Z
3rd Place: Porsche Boxster
4th Place: BMW Z4
5th Place: Audi TT
[/quote] I was talking about a Mercedes Benz SLK. I honestly have never driven or even sat in an S2000 or 350Z. I rarely even see them over here in Taiwan. Maybe the OP would fare well importing one of those cars into Taiwan, although he now seems to be leaning towards an SUV. Honestly, I wouldn’t care what Car and Driver says, I still prefer German cars over Japanese ones. Call me a dare devil for taking such electronic system risks.
I have noticed that the Nissan Primeras are quite cheap, 100K for an 8 year old saloon with 100k on the clock seems reasonable.
Are they expensive to maintain, or do they have some hideous issues somewhere?
[quote=“Mr He”]I have noticed that the Nissan Primeras are quite cheap, 100K for an 8 year old saloon with 100k on the clock seems reasonable.
Are they expensive to maintain, or do they have some hideous issues somewhere?[/quote]
Since they are Taiwanese built, as long as you can still source parts for them, they should be easy and cheap to repair and maintain.
As far as if they have issues or not in general, not sure, but it’s kind of a gamble with a Taiwanese built Nissan of that age.
Moderators Note:
This thread has wound it’s way from a guy asking what vehicle to bring in, with no financial restrictions, to a Japanese/German reliability debate, and now we are discussing a car that is not only no longer produced but has never set it’s wheels on American roads?
I think the poor guy stopped reading this thread about 3 pages ago…
On topic please!
MJB
I was a bit reluctant to post magazine tests, because they often need to be taken with a grain of salt, but the consensus among multiple magazines seems to be consistent in this case.
Regarding the SLK, I’ve never been that impressed with it. I doubt anything will change your opinion, but here’s more for your reading pleasure. It’s been a good discussion, and I respect your preferences. It’s friendly competition like this that keeps the carmakers on their toes, and eventually trickles down to more choices in cool cars for us to enjoy, no matter what our preference may be. 
I couldn’t dig up the Car and Driver article where the S2000 beat the previous generation SLK, but here’s one from Edmunds from about that same time frame.
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/comparison/articles/44465/page005.html
1st Place: Honda S2000
2nd Place: Mercedes SLK320
3rd Place: Porsche Boxster
4th Place: Audi TT
5th Place: BMW M Roadster
And, the most current Road & Track comparison from this month. On the surface, if you look at the cars involved, it’s a very apples to oranges test, but if you just look at the roadsters in the test, the S2000 beat the current SLK:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=31&article_id=1949&page_number=1
2nd Place: New Porsche Boxster S
4th Place: Lotus Elise
5th Place: Honda S2000
7th Place: BMW Z4
9th Place: Mercedes SLK350 (out of a 9 car field)
I had the good fortune of going for a 2 hour ride in an Elise a few weeks ago, it’s goes like heck, takes the turns like you won’t believe, and leaves you with a huge grin on your face. The unfortunate thing is that there’s no way one could ever be a daily driver. Another amazing fact is that it uses a Toyota engine, but it runs like no other Toyota engine that I’ve seen.
[quote=“MJB”]Moderators Note:
This thread has wound it’s way from a guy asking what vehicle to bring in, with no financial restrictions, to a Japanese/German reliability debate, and now we are discussing a car that is not only no longer produced but has never set it’s wheels on American roads?
I think the poor guy stopped reading this thread about 3 pages ago…
On topic please!
MJB[/quote]
Sorry 'bout that! Our last posts crossed in the system.
The Nissan Primera was known as the Infiniti G20 in the US, but US spec models were built in Japan.
I made my recommendations on which vehicle to bring several pages back, so I’ll shut up now. 
Whew, that was some discussion…
Yes, I’m bringing the vehicle in as a diplomat. Still thinking mid-size SUV, or double B. Would love to have a smaller sports car, but I’m pretty sure I’ll use 4 comfortable seats. Tough, tough decision.
[quote=“tango42”]Whew, that was some discussion…
Yes, I’m bringing the vehicle in as a diplomat. Still thinking mid-size SUV, or double B. Would love to have a smaller sports car, but I’m pretty sure I’ll use 4 comfortable seats. Tough, tough decision.[/quote]
For exclusivity and resale value in a Mercedes or BMW, you may want to look at the upcoming BMW M5 or M6, or something like a Mercedes S55, CL55, or E55. I don’t even know if they sell those in Taiwan. If they don’t, when time comes to sell, it will surely help the resale value when you find someone that is looking for such a car.
Whoa, I’ve been surfing the web looking at pictures from Taiwan. Looks like the most suitable car is something as narrow as possible, dirty and dented…
Maybe you should come and take a look around first before deciding on which car you want to bring. That said, if you have a large & secure parking space at home and office, and are willing to pay for paid parking lots when you go out (about NT$60 per hour), I think you can avoid 90% of potential dings, dents, and scratches.
I’ve had a car in Taiwan for about 2 years, and I’ve managed to get away with only 2 dings, and maybe 3 minor scratches on the bumper.
[quote=“tango42”]Whoa, I’ve been surfing the web looking at pictures from Taiwan. Looks like the most suitable car is something as narrow as possible, dirty and dented…[/quote]Now you know why I was posting links to commercial vehicles…
If you only ever park in your apartment building and office parking lots, and you’re a careful and alert driver, you’ll get a minimum amount of damage to the car. If you park it in public, it will get dinged. People here are generally careless and they do not care about the property of others at all. There is also some vandalism of prestige cars, not to mention the attention you’ll get from professional thieves. It’s also difficult finding a really good bodyshop.