What It Costs To Restore The Average ‘Barn Find’ German Luxury Car

This is what this W124 barn find is going to cost its new owner.

The ‘barn find’ is getting more common in recent months as more Malaysian neglected car owners are realizing there is cash in hand for their ignored and stored cars. Yes, many over the years have inherited some great and some not so great cars and with a lack of funds and mostly missing enthusiasm they have left these cars to rot away.

Some are lucky as they are parked in a dry car porch and some others end up in a car park, open field, or in some back housing area alley.

Now recently a Mercedes-Benz 300CE was discovered by a friend and he asked our advice on a good offer price and what it might cost to get the car in good running condition.

The car has been resting for some years in a dry covered car park. Rodents and others had made a home inside the engine bay and some other areas.

The first issue when we saw the car was the driver’s door outside lower panel. For the W124 4-door version, this is an easy part to source. However, for this 2-door, this was a major headache. Then with rodents living inside the engine bay, hoses and hidden wiring would have been chewed.

Then you have the issue of cockroaches and other ‘friendlies’ living and hatching eggs behind the dashboard. So, this was our evaluation for him to get an understanding of the task ahead.

W124 300CE_Average Cost Of Repairs

1. Fuel tank and pump replacement – RM2,500
2. Fuel injector service – RM200 and injector x 6 RM1,200
3. New battery – RM400
4. New set of tyres – RM400 x 4 RM1,600
5. New Radiator and thermostat – RM2,200
6. Radiator hoses replacement – RM400
7. Front brake pads and disc skimming – RM1,000
8. Power steering and brake fluids – RM300
9. Rear brake pads and disc skimming – RM800
10. Rear suspension struts and bushings – RM1,800
11. Front suspension struts and bushings – RM2,500
12. Air-conditioner compressor replacement and hoses – RM1,800
13. Air-conditioner filter – RM200
14. New wiper blade – RM100
15. Gear oil, engine oil change, air filter and oil filter change – RM1,200
16. Interior cleaning including removing dashboard to remove insects and larva – RM2,000
17. Steering bushes and bush covers – RM800
18. Drivers side door bottom panel – between RM500 to RM1,200
19. Polish and wax – RM600
20. Front headlamp wiper blades service and re-install RM200

W124 300CE_Repairs That Might Be Needed

• Wiring loom check to see rodents not damaged
• Roof headliner check to see if sagging
• Electric seats check if motor running
• Seat belt electric arm check if working
• Front and rear light bulbs
• Gearbox working or not
• Power steering pump working or not
• Front jump wiper motor working or not
• Alternator working or not

Please note that after all the above have to do repairs amounting to RM22,800 (item 1 to 20) we have not added in the cost towing,  JPJ transfer and the Puspakom inspection. Then you need to add in a new yearly road tax and insurance.

With a running well looked after used 300CE selling in our local classifieds for between RM35,000 to RM45,000, this neglected 300CE is worth at best right now, RM8,000. However, the current owner wants RM20,000. Well, they say ‘dreams are for free’!