German Car Zone

In my own opinion the w124 dropped it's quality from the w123, for instance two little things which annoyed me about the interior.
In the w123 the dials had those nice silver center parts and a real, plastic Star in the center of the wheel.

In the w124 it's got the cheap plastic ones and a plastic integrated star...

It's the little details which make a special car

Well if you look at it like that, every Mercedes has dropped in quality from one generation to the next. The days when a car as all steel are forever gone. I'd like a Mercedes to have a solid metal grille like they used too, but that just isn't feasible anymore.

M

I guess it depends on what you consider makes a car special. Structurally I think the cars are just as good, and I would hope, better, than they were in the 70s. But metal dials are just not going to fly in today's world of recycling. I think it's important to remember to separate market changes/demands vs. the general quality of MB cars from the 70s era to today.

Actually the W123 is just as bit practical as a daily driver as a W124 or W201. For a 1976 design it feels surprisingly modern. Furthermore a W123 diesel can be registered as an oldtimer and thus you don't have the hassle with emissions. Like I said, get a 230E and you'll be happy for the rest of your life.

In one of my last Mercedes Classic magazines there's a huge article about the W201 190-Series. Bad news for those in Germany with diesel 190s. They're not allowed in the inner cities anymore because the Feinstaub and emission laws.

In that sense you'd be better off with a gasoline 190 because even the carburated 190 1.8 still passes modern emission standards - barely.

The major change between the W123 and W124 (W116 and W126) was the switchover to lighter materials. In the days when the W123 and W116 were developed, fuel economy still wasn't so much an issue. Beginning in the early 1980s it became and issue as did emissions. The Mercedes strategy was to ditch the heavy materials like chrome for lighter materials: plastic. This explains why the W124 and W126 have a lot of visible exterior plastic parts: weight-saving. And it worked. The W124 and W126 were very fuel efficient compared to their W123 and W116 predecessors. The ex-300SE W126 in our family on average used between 11.5 / 12 L / 100 km while a W116 280SE would be lucky to get below 15 L / 100 km.

I like w124 But i Like also w123

Being an owner of a w123 (300D) and a w124 (260E), I'd say that both cars have very different character, the w124 has a more sporting feel to it but the w123 has that certain charm that can only be found on a classic Mercedes. But my favorite among my Mercedes is the w126 260SE.

Welcome to GCZ and great collection of classy Mercedes-Benz!!

W203!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: usa7uh:

My dad owned two, a 230e and later on a 280e.
In the RSA there are thousands stil running strong, they still look elegant and the dash was a piece of art, those air vents...

I think it's the W203 that made Merc famous the world over from the late 70's and 80's.

Saftey wise the W203 was a pioneer...

From Mr. BMW myself I salute you W203!

w203? oO

w203 is a C class built from 2000 to 2007..

and this is about w123 and w124 (previous generations of E class) :P