There are already two million of the W 124 series Mercedes-Benz vehicles on the road globally and so many are being left to rot by the side of the road around the world today. But in Malaysia where cars are expensive, especially imported European cars, it is sad to see complete cars in a distressed condition.
Drive around most neighborhoods and even city kampungs and you will definitely see some great looking, well maintained W 124 sedans being driven around proudly by their owners and at the same time in the same area you will see at least one W 124 left to rot at the side of the road or even left for the town council to tow away for scrap.
WHY
So why would the owner of a car, which looks intact with a complete interior and a nice number plate leave it to be scrapped when they can at least sell it and get some cash back? A car at this age has no more loan on it and so selling it would be better than leaving it to be towed away by the city council.
WHO
Has the owner left the country or deceased and the relatives are unable to sell it without his thumb-print and signature? Was the owner a person with no relatives at all? Has the car engine seized for some reason and the owner has no money at all to undertake repairs, then why not sell it for scrap and get at least RM1,000 or so?
WHAT
Is it a stolen car? Is it a car that was used in a crime? Is it a car that has been cloned? Is it a car that has no registration documents? Is it a car that is haunted?
SOLUTION
Well, we are sharing the picture here with its number plate and its location in Petaling Jaya Old Town at the end of Jalan Dispensary with the hope that someone will rescue this 220E, revive it and make it roadworthy again. A search with our used car classifieds show a selling price of between RM9,000 and RM12,000 for a well maintained 1993 to 1994 model.
In June 1992 the 2,000,000th vehicle of the W 124 series rolled off the assembly line. Just a few weeks later the intermediate class again got a major facelift. This time Mercedes-Benz concentrated on the engine and appointments.
HISTORY
This petrol-powered Mercedes E220 were presented with a thoroughly revised engine range, completely converted to four-valve-per-cylinder technology and in the case of the 2.2-litre unit (pictured here) which was fitted with two overhead cams with adjustable intake camshaft. The four-cylinder units, featuring 2 and 2.2-litre displacements in the 200 E (100 kW/136 hp) and 220 E (110 kW/150 hp) models respectively, were from the new M 111 series.
The new engines were distinguished by increased output and higher torque over the entire engine speed range; at the same time, fuel consumption was down. Thanks to an increase in the volume of the catalytic converter, pollutant emissions were also reduced.
This 220E was an official model from Cycle & Carriage (before Mercedes-Benz Malaysia set up office in Malaysia it was Cycle & Carriage that handled all the brands business activities in Malaysia) and there were also many units sold in Malaysia that came from early Approved Permit holders importing in used units from England.
